19. jcred5 - Giannis Antetokounmpo - As stated earlier, I thought he might make it to round 2 because lack of minutes in his best season, lack of a fifth decent season, and the whole positional ambiguity factor. I have since learned how wrong I was. Ha! I still had him as a mid 1st grade despite all of that, so it's not really that surprising to see him go when he did. Great usage, great efg% 3 seasons, elite 1 season, elite defense, great ast% for a frontcourt guy, fantastic drb% at the 3 several seasons (and great at the 4 for that season). All in all, tip top tier talent.
20. goetz93 - Scottie Pippen - Scottie's near the top of what I classify as Shooting Guards that don't shoot threes, but he actually does shoot quite a bit in several seasons. Top notch defense, rebounding, and assists from a two guard combined with tier 3 usage and solid efg% makes him a great piece to build around. I had him graded as a late 1st/early 2nd.
21. longtallbrad - Dennis Rodman - There's been a whole lot of discussion about Worm, and rightfully so. This ain't a cap league where you have to worry about trying to fit in the elitest of the elite, the bestest of the best, the mostest of the most, that 91-92 season. Like... as long as you don't screw up and go board-light in the rest of the frontcourt, you simply win the rebound battle for that season. He has two great full-minute seasons that are not SF eligible, several partial-minute seasons that are the same, and then several seasons where he IS 100% small forward eligible. I have him as a mid 1st grade talent wise, but wouldn't pick him till the end of the 1st because of how important I think it is in this league specifically to establish an offensive threat for five seasons, thus going 21st seems perfect, because you're going to be able to pair him immediately with someone that takes care of that. As I mentioned before, my plan (and Ben's - which should say something) was to grab Worm & Giannis on the turn. I also like Worm & AD or Garnett for similar reasons (the positional ambiguity game), and I really never like Garnett except in progs so that's saying something. There's one other guy I really like with him (based specifically in that positional ambiguity thing), but I don't think it's necessary to go that route. Had Worm fell to me and Ben picked Giannis, I had a list of several guys that I would have been delighted to pair with him. Superior boards + superior defense. Best of the best at what he does.
22. jhsukow - Anthony Davis, Steve Nash - So, like, he has that one season that is absolutely GODLY and several others that are really, really good. Short minutes hurts his value in this for me just slightly, but you & I both are drafting at the point where I feel that is becoming less of an issue. Overall, Davis (sim-wise) feels (somewhat) like a souped-up Hakeem (who I am HIGH on in this format, unlike where I've stood for the past decade on him in draft leagues in general) with less minutes. And offensive boards. And dimes. I think the minutes thing might be a challenge for you later on, but that's just part of the fun of this - not knowing. Nash was one of the guys I kept going over & over & over on my team. Nice usage, best efg% from a PG that isn't banned, best 3s from a PG that isn't banned, one of the few players that give you around 40% ast% for at least 4 seasons... his boards & turnovers blow - not to mention the lack of defense - but those positives probably outweigh the negatives by a good bit, especially when AD's strengths help curb that somewhat, and the positives Nash brings balance nicely with some of AD's negatives. I had AD as a late 1st/early 2nd grade & Nash as an early-mid 2nd grade.
23. ashamael - Klay Thompson, Oscar Robertson - what a poser! Does he even know what ADP is?!
24. benhoidal - Hakeem Olajuwon, Julius Erving - I could not have been more shocked by these selections. Not because they aren't good, because I would have never expected you to go in this direction. Yet when you said what you said, it makes total sense. Let's break it down: Hakeem is really, really good in this format. Had you not taken him, I probably would have as soon as it was my turn again. While he's inconsistent at efg% in his top seasons (none are bad really; it's just weird seeing 53%-54% and 49%-50% really close together), it's still solid, especially in this format. His defense is tippity toppity. He won't hurt you on the boards (though I really like a couple of seasons that are on the weaker side on orb% for a 4/5), has decent dimes (some seasons), typically a tier 2 usage guy... helps you in both the shooting struggle & possession battle. All in all, he's just *solid* as **** in this format. Lots of minutes, too. Him & Duncan are actually quite similar if you look at just the top several seasons of each. The Doctor is another of those Shooting Guards that don't shoot threes, and like Pippen, he's about as good as they come. He's exactly like Hakeem when it comes to the usage/efg% thing - some seasons that aren't exactly exciting (50%) but don't hurt you; some that are actually quite nice (54%). Nice boards & defense at the two. Lots of minutes for lots of seasons. And you don't have to stick him at the two, but if I know you, that's where he'll be. You have extreme flexibility with your later picks and won't be hamstrung by someone taking a certain player like a lot of teams will be. I don't know if the strategy will pay off, but it's definitely one that nobody else is employing as of yet. I had the Dream as a mid/late 1st grade and the Doctor as an early 2nd grade.
5/23/2020 7:11 PM (edited)