1. albiband0 - LeBron James, Marcus Camby, Robert Parish, John Collins, Rodney McCray, Devin Booker, John Henson, Nate McMillan, Mike Miller, Mason Plumlee, Trae Young, George T. Johnson
Obviously you can’t really have a better start than LeBron. I like Camby for what he is, can always use his rebounding, passing and defense. I considered Parish in a similar spot. Collins, Henson, Plumlee and Trae are all solid picks. McMillan’s usage profile seems off for where he slots in with the other guards. Too early for Booker. Dislike the McCray, Miller and Johnson picks. Should be able to avoid the very bottom but probably not a contender even with LeBron. Should have traded LeBron to me.

2. ncmusician_7 - Wilt Chamberlain, Gary Payton, Andrei Kirilenko, Montrezl Harrell, Richaun Holmes, Carlos Boozer, Chris Webber, Jameer Nelson, Thaddeus Young, Eddie Jones, Bob Gross, Jeff Ruland
Mostly really smart drafting. Payton was a steal where he was taken but I would rather pair Wilt with more three point bombing. I feel like I see Boozer paired with Wilt a lot but it isn’t a pairing I would do. Since Wilt can’t defend PFs, I have a hard time picking a poor defending PF who can’t switch with SFs. Boozer really needs to pair with a more positionally flexible big. Kirilenko, Harrell, Holmes, Webber and Jones are all solid. Meh on the rest, this team could have benefited from more perimeter shooting. Top 10, maybe top 5. Definitely a contender.

3. ty84moss - Giannis Antetokounmpo, Joel Embiid, Ben Simmons, Alonzo Mourning, Jose Calderon, Terry Porter, Anthony Mason, Zion Williamson, Buddy Hield, Shane Battier, Julius Randle, DeMar DeRozan
Individually, most picks are hard to quibble with in a vacuum. DeMar, Battier and Randle don’t do anything for me but fine for where they were taken. Zion backing up Giannis for a season is cool. Honestly it is all pretty impressive for a first time Savage participant. Simmons and Giannis make for a tight fit but I think you got enough shooting to make it work although the starting lineups could get squeezed. Not sure what Mason is doing on this team. You invested really heavily in passing, so hopefully the new assist changes work out for you. Probably in the 15-20 range just because team building is hard in this league but could get as high as top 10 with some savvy in the construction.

4. chewy3344 - Steph Curry, Dikembe Mutombo, Elton Brand, Bam Adebayo, Andre Iguodala, Otto Porter, Bobby Portis, Kyle O'Quinn, David West, Tony Parker, Nikola Mirotic, Bobby Phills
A lot to like on this team. Iguodala and Mutombo are overdrafted in Savage IMO. Not sure what the point of Phills is. Besides that though, I love every single pick and how they fit together. Surrounding Curry with defense, passing, rebounding… it’s really smart team building. Even Parker’s rim pressure will be a nice curveball off the bench with teams likely playing heavy + defense against Curry. Top 10, maybe top 5. Definitely a contender.

5. gerryred - Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Buck Williams, Jonas Valanciunas, Draymond Green, Mark Price, Derek Harper, Pascal Siakam, Kyle Anderson, JaMychal Green, Larry Nance Jr., J.R. Smith, Cheick Diallo
I am shocked gerryred picked Jonas and Price. Where tf is Kyle Korver? KAJ – Draymond – Buck is a sensible front line. Jonas is a good backup for KAJ but given how many minutes KAJ plays, that is a premium draft slot to use on that. Someone like Nurkic late would have made more sense to me. Harper is butt IMO, in the Cheeks zone: not enough shooting, terrible rebounding and not enough passing to make up for either of those things. Really, really strong drafting on the back half here. Turnovers are probably going to be real high. I see a bottom 10 finish.

6. robusk - Michael Jordan, Larry Nance, Manu Ginobili, Pau Gasol, Mitchell Robinson, Chris Andersen, Robert Williams, Vince Carter, Ivica Zubac, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Marcin Gortat, Rasheed Wallace
If this isn’t the best defending team, then it is one of the best three. Chance to be the best defending squad in Savage history. Should have the lowest turnovers in the league and the shooting percentage is solidly above average. The rebounding is going to be light, probably bottom half of the league. Really struggled to get enough threes with Jordan soaking up so many guard minutes. Will be below the assist floor most of the time on most teams. Fouls are merely average. Hoping top 5 but lack of threes and rebounding could push me closer to 10.

7. jethroeg - Artis Gilmore, Kevin McHale, Ray Allen, Grant Hill, Kevin Johnson, James Worthy, Victor Oladipo, DeMarcus Cousins, Mo Cheeks, Stromile Swift, Rick Barry, Mark Jackson

I really would have preferred McHale to Nance but you had to go and swipe him huh? I guess Oladipo and Cheeks will have to play a lot, otherwise the backcourt will get torched. Not sure what the point of Stromile Swift is. A pretty alarming lack of rebounding besides Gilmore. I guess it is Gilmore/Cousins at C, McHale/Swift at PF and Worthy/Barry/Hill at SF? Yikes. Lot of passing, some nice threes from Allen but I have a hard time seeing it coming together. Bottom 5.

8. raggedclaws - Shaquille O'Neal, Damian Lillard, Serge Ibaka, Jarrett Allen, Mike Conley, Kermit Washington, Brandan Wright, Delon Wright, Jarred Vanderbilt, Patrick Beverley, Dwight Powell, Jusuf Nurkic
I posted this earlier but I will repeat myself. I like Kermit better at SF. Getting such a great backup for Shaq that late in the game is amazing. Love the SF rotation. Lillard + Shaq is a winning combination. Conley is a fine backup for Dame but I think you could have gotten him later. I honestly am not sure how I would defend this team. I am guessing your fouls will be pretty high, rebounds a little low. Everything else should be good. Top 10.

9. dontburnearl - Dwight Howard, Scottie Pippen, Chauncey Billups, Jerry Lucas, Marques Johnson, Tyrese Haliburton, Lonzo Ball, Charles Oakley, Daniel Gafford, Larry Sanders, Walt Bellamy, Marquese Chriss
I have cooled on Dwight, I think Pippen is overdrafted as is Billups. Lucas was a good pick, Johnson is a great Pippen backup and occasional starter. Not sure what to expect from Ball + Haliburton but that’s a fun combo. Gafford, Sanders and Chriss all bring an awesome season to the table. This looks like another high foul team but excellent defense. Dontburnearl has proven himself an automatic top 10 in my book.

10. pharrop - Chris Paul, Shawn Kemp, Donyell Marshall, Tree Rollins, JaVale McGee, Ed Davis, Domantas Sabonis, Jason Terry, A.C. Green, C.J McCollum, Baron Davis, Connie Hawkins
Speaking of fouls, woof. That front line is going to hack you to death. Is this a Terry / CJ starting SG combo? Interesting… I like them both as okay bench options but could be rough as starters. Davis is a good CP3 backup. Really strong rebounding with good defense options at forward. Should have some really good shooting numbers. 10-20 range I think.

11. amerk1180 - David Robinson, Karl-Anthony Towns, Horace Grant, Jimmy Butler, Rajon Rondo, Paul Pierce, Dan Roundfield, Russell Westbrook, Arvydas Sabonis, Roy Tarpley, Evan Fournier, Desmond Bane
Jesus H… did public nuisance to lady golfers everywhere actually draft a good team? I like a lot of this team, although there is some odd conflict with 4 hyper low TO guys up top and then lots of turnover machines in the middle. I have a hard time projecting who plays where on this team, lots of duplicity. Pretty sure you did not get enough threes. No idea why you drafted Fournier. The rebounding should be excellent. People love Roundfield but I am not one of them. Arvydas was excellent value in that spot. 10-20.

12. edsortails - Charles Barkley, Jason Kidd, Patrick Ewing, Clyde Drexler, Brent Barry, Tracy McGrady, Cedric Maxwell, Nerlens Noel, Micheal Ray Richardson, Derrick Rose, Yao Ming, Brandon Ingram
Lots of good players, I am sure Ed was mining that list of successful players list as much as he could again. I really wanted McGrady to back up Manu and MJ but I had to settle for Vince. Might have gone a little usage crazy. While there are lots of good players here, it feels a bit like a pupu platter, not cohesive. McHale should have been the move over Kidd, but Kidd is pretty great. Lots of work ahead to try and construct teams that make sense here. 10 -20.

Posted by robusk on 7/5/2022 8:55:00 AM (view original):

Posted by raggedclaws on 7/4/2022 10:01:00 PM (view original):
Lillard / Conley
Delon Wright / Pat Bev (sometimes flipped)
Ibaka (usually) / Brandan Wright / Dwight Powell
Jarrett Allen / Kermit
Shaq / Nurkic

Playing a few more mins from underwhelming seasons than I had hoped, but felt like the draft played out well, liking the efficiency numbers.

I like Kermit better at SF. Getting such a great backup for Shaq that late in the game is amazing. Love the SF rotation. Lillard + Shaq is a winning combination.

I'm always a bit wary of penciling in guys at 98% or below, but I can definitely see it with a lower usage guy like Kermit. First time running him in any league - my relative lack of experience showing. I did end up with a bit of a logjam at the 3/4, but this also seems to happen to me a lot and I don't totally hate having good choices to mix and match.

Usage ended up being... tricky. I loved Conley as Dame's backup in theory but in practice things like the PG only seasons and good seasons with 2 usage points make things a bit difficult. Managed to work it out though.

Posted by robusk on 7/5/2022 10:22:00 AM (view original):
7. jethroeg - Artis Gilmore, Kevin McHale, Ray Allen, Grant Hill, Kevin Johnson, James Worthy, Victor Oladipo, DeMarcus Cousins, Mo Cheeks, Stromile Swift, Rick Barry, Mark Jackson

I really would have preferred McHale to Nance but you had to go and swipe him huh? I guess Oladipo and Cheeks will have to play a lot, otherwise the backcourt will get torched. Not sure what the point of Stromile Swift is. A pretty alarming lack of rebounding besides Gilmore. I guess it is Gilmore/Cousins at C, McHale/Swift at PF and Worthy/Barry/Hill at SF? Yikes. Lot of passing, some nice threes from Allen but I have a hard time seeing it coming together. Bottom 5.

8. raggedclaws - Shaquille O'Neal, Damian Lillard, Serge Ibaka, Jarrett Allen, Mike Conley, Kermit Washington, Brandan Wright, Delon Wright, Jarred Vanderbilt, Patrick Beverley, Dwight Powell, Jusuf Nurkic
I posted this earlier but I will repeat myself. I like Kermit better at SF. Getting such a great backup for Shaq that late in the game is amazing. Love the SF rotation. Lillard + Shaq is a winning combination. Conley is a fine backup for Dame but I think you could have gotten him later. I honestly am not sure how I would defend this team. I am guessing your fouls will be pretty high, rebounds a little low. Everything else should be good. Top 10.

9. dontburnearl - Dwight Howard, Scottie Pippen, Chauncey Billups, Jerry Lucas, Marques Johnson, Tyrese Haliburton, Lonzo Ball, Charles Oakley, Daniel Gafford, Larry Sanders, Walt Bellamy, Marquese Chriss
I have cooled on Dwight, I think Pippen is overdrafted as is Billups. Lucas was a good pick, Johnson is a great Pippen backup and occasional starter. Not sure what to expect from Ball + Haliburton but that’s a fun combo. Gafford, Sanders and Chriss all bring an awesome season to the table. This looks like another high foul team but excellent defense. Dontburnearl has proven himself an automatic top 10 in my book.

10. pharrop - Chris Paul, Shawn Kemp, Donyell Marshall, Tree Rollins, JaVale McGee, Ed Davis, Domantas Sabonis, Jason Terry, A.C. Green, C.J McCollum, Baron Davis, Connie Hawkins
Speaking of fouls, woof. That front line is going to hack you to death. Is this a Terry / CJ starting SG combo? Interesting… I like them both as okay bench options but could be rough as starters. Davis is a good CP3 backup. Really strong rebounding with good defense options at forward. Should have some really good shooting numbers. 10-20 range I think.

11. amerk1180 - David Robinson, Karl-Anthony Towns, Horace Grant, Jimmy Butler, Rajon Rondo, Paul Pierce, Dan Roundfield, Russell Westbrook, Arvydas Sabonis, Roy Tarpley, Evan Fournier, Desmond Bane
Jesus H… did public nuisance to lady golfers everywhere actually draft a good team? I like a lot of this team, although there is some odd conflict with 4 hyper low TO guys up top and then lots of turnover machines in the middle. I have a hard time projecting who plays where on this team, lots of duplicity. Pretty sure you did not get enough threes. No idea why you drafted Fournier. The rebounding should be excellent. People love Roundfield but I am not one of them. Arvydas was excellent value in that spot. 10-20.

12. edsortails - Charles Barkley, Jason Kidd, Patrick Ewing, Clyde Drexler, Brent Barry, Tracy McGrady, Cedric Maxwell, Nerlens Noel, Micheal Ray Richardson, Derrick Rose, Yao Ming, Brandon Ingram
Lots of good players, I am sure Ed was mining that list of successful players list as much as he could again. I really wanted McGrady to back up Manu and MJ but I had to settle for Vince. Might have gone a little usage crazy. While there are lots of good players here, it feels a bit like a pupu platter, not cohesive. McHale should have been the move over Kidd, but Kidd is pretty great. Lots of work ahead to try and construct teams that make sense here. 10 -20.

Thanks for the kind words. It's interesting - I'm not as worried about fouls as much as I am worried about TOs, especially with my first 2 picks. Oakley has a ton of fouls and TOs (believe this site calls them towels), but is only playing about 7500 to 10k minutes, so hoping that limits the impact. I do think I'll play pretty good defense, and my rebounding and passing are superior to last year's teams, and shooting is just slightly below.

Good luck everyone.

Ya it does!

13. 24kpyrite - Kevin Durant, Hassan Whiteside, Bill Walton, Jerry West, Kenneth Faried, Enes Kanter, Kemba Walker, Gordon Hayward, Carmelo Anthony, Ron Harper, De'Anthony Melton, Paul Silas
I have had Durant before and one of my takeaways from having him in this league: go load up on rebounding. Well, with Whiteside, Walton, Faried, Kanter and Silas, 24kpyrite did just that. I am guessing Melo is backing up Durant making the guard rotation Kemba, Hayward, West, Harper and Melton? I don’t love West but he is solid and the other guys are very competent. Faried and Silas I think are better off at SF but playing PF here? Either way, a lot more good than bad here, I’ll say top 5-10.

14. dbkc - Karl Malone, Dwyane Wade, Steve Nash, Joakim Noah, Andrew Bogut, Chris Boucher, Kevin Love, Jamario Moon, James Johnson, Bill Bridges, Miles Bridges, Joel Przybilla
Really very little to complain about in dBKC’s return. Malone is incredible value at 14. Wade always scores highly in my metrics, Nash is a nice compliment to Wade. Bogut, Boucher, Love and both Bridges are highly valued by my models. Joel P is a personal favorite. I am expecting excellent rebounding, pretty high assists, good enough shooting. Triumphant return, top 5, contender.

15. jhsukow - Kevin Garnett, Andre Drummond, Kyrie Irving, Nikola Vucevic, Paul Millsap, Bradley Beal, Robert Covington, Marvin Williams, Antonio McDyess, Tobias Harris, Myles Turner, Mark Eaton
Eaton is one of the worst performers in Savage history so you got that going for you. Garnett, Irving, Beal and McDyess on the other hand all have a nice league history. Classic jhsukow team here with tons of threes and a lot of holes on defense. It seems like a really small amount of guard minutes. Kyrie doesn’t play a lot while Tobias, Beal and Covington are better in smaller doses. Garnett does plug a lot of holes though. I will say 10-15 range.

16. ashamael - James Harden, Tyson Chandler, Shawn Marion, Anfernee Hardaway, Wes Unseld, Mikal Bridges, Dale Davis, Terrell Brandon, Alex English, Hot Rod Williams, Fat Lever, Gheorghe Muresan
I feel like I have seen this movie before. A very familiar ashamael team. It is probably better than his last Harden team but the league is much better as a whole now than it was the last time ash rolled this out. Chandler, Marion, Unseld, Davis, Hot Rod is a solid front line, great on D and good enough on rebounding. Marion was confounding for me to build around when I had him due to his wild swings in defense and position effectiveness. Mikal was taken way too high for my tastes, Alex English is a curious pick and Fat Lever was a steal. Top 5-10.

17. notoriousj - Rudy Gobert, Bill Russell, Kobe Bryant, Jayson Tatum, Zach LaVine, Kyle Korver, Joe Ingles, Clifford Ray, Walter Davis, Ja Morant, Drew Eubanks, Donovan Mitchell
Bricks and boards are the name of the game here. Walter Davis and Drew Eubanks… no idea what the idea is with these picks. Mitchell and Morant have solid single seasons. Tatum, Ray and Ingles feel overdrafted. Gobert and Kobe are great building blocks. There are a ton of threes to go along with the midrange misses. I am going to go bottom 5 here although the first three picks were a really nice start.

18. 20ks - John Stockton, Oscar Robertson, Bobby Jones, Amare Stoudemire, Derrick Favors, Dave Cowens, Charlie Ward, David Thompson, Anderson Varejao, David Lee, George Gervin, Elgin Baylor
A lot of popular old guys here, the draft feels a bit like a Midge wet dream. Stockton and Robertson is not a backcourt combination I would consider… I struggle to picture myself ever drafting either one although I feel like jkaye maybe won independently with both of them? I like the Favors, Jones, Stoudemire, Varejao, Lee quintet quite a lot. Baylor, Gervin and Ward feel like wasted picks. 10-20 range for me.

19. tarheel1991 - Anthony Davis, Julius Erving, Clint Capela, Kyle Lowry, Al Horford, Andrew Bynum, Nicolas Batum, T.J. McConnell, Mo Bamba, Rudy Gay, LaMarcus Aldridge, Cole Aldrich
Davis + Erving + Lowry is like a slightly more butt version of Davis + Kawhi + Lillard that I had a couple seasons ago, with Capela thrown in to offset any negative difference. I think Horford is a good sim player but I don’t especially love him in an uncapped league. Love Batum and Capela, Rudy Gay and Bynum are excellent picks. The other picks do nothing for me. Team feels like a lock for the top 10.

20. jcred5 - Kawhi Leonard, Ben Wallace, Luka Doncic, Sidney Moncrief, Bo Outlaw, Bob Lanier, Bob McAdoo, Dejounte Murray, Josh Smith, D'Angelo Russell, Bismack Biyombo, Maurice Lucas
Jcred5 is speaking my language with Kawhi + a big man + another high usage guard. Moncrief is one of my favorites in Savage but the spot you took him in feels a bit early. Getting both Lanier and McAdoo is a nice haul, letting you cherry pick the best seasons. I quite like Murray’s two seasons if you have enough other threes which you do. Very impressive draft, top 5-10.

21. dh555 - Larry Bird, Dennis Rodman, Paul George, Mookie Blaylock, Emeka Okafor, Deron Williams, Khris Middleton, Deandre Ayton, Samuel Dalembert, Mel Daniels, Cedric Ceballos, Danny Granger
Like Bird a lot… I am already dubious of Rodman and at PF it is not taking advantage of his best traits. PG13 is always someone that sounds awesome in my head until I go look at the seasons. Mookie is way overdrafted IMO but getting Deron down the road makes up for that. Okafor, Ayton, Dalembert, Daniels… they are all best as your third or 4^th big… but where is the primary big? I’m a big Ceballos guy in WiS. Not dh’s best, 10-15.

22. jpevans31 - Magic Johnson, Moses Malone, Klay Thompson. Willis Reed, Gerald Wallace, Tom Boerwinkle, Paul Pressey, Reggie Miller, Amir Johnson, Ryan Anderson, Oliver Miller, Don Buse
So many damn turnovers. A few 1-2 dimensional guys in Wallace, Thompson, Reggie, Buse. Probably leads the league in turnovers? Maybe the passing bump to eFG will offset the losses. Should have a ton of rebounds, some of the best in the league. Lots of threes between Reggie and Klay. Solid defense… I’ll go bottom 10.

23. benhoidal - DeAndre Jordan, Nikola Jokic, Jrue Holiday, Christian Wood, Eric Bledsoe, Michael Porter, Brandon Clarke, Jaylen Brown, Terry Tyler, Blake Griffin, Jakob Poeltl, Pat Connaughton
Probably the trickiest team to evaluate. Between Jokic’s most recent two seasons, Wood, Porter and Clarke, this seems pretty clearly like a top heavy compete in a couple worlds and suck in the others gambit. Jordan and Jokic really compliment each other nicely. I absolutely love Holiday after the last two seasons dropped. I have soured on Bledsoe though, he will be fine as a back up but I don’t ever want to start him in Savage. However the other SG options are Brown, Tyler and Connaughton… that is pretty grim. Defense looks average at best, probably the best shooting team in all of Savage. Poeltl and Griffin are excellent backups for the big starters. Top 5-10.

24. midge - Tim Duncan, Hakeem Olajuwon, Walt Frazier, Danny Green, Dirk Nowitzki, Alvin Robertson, Chris Mullin, John Havlicek, Kevon Looney, Jeff Hornacek, Bailey Howell, Clarence Weatherspoon
However well I think Midge will do, he will outperform my expectations. Hakeem and Duncan are a great start, Holiday would have been the perfect compliment… going with Frazier of Jrue was a rather large misstep IMO. I don’t understand the Dirk pick, I do not like Alvin Robertson. In fact, I am not sure I like any picks besides Duncan, Hakeem and Looney. 15-20.

I have no idea what seasons anyone is using, who is starting where, which season are getting paired with which other seasons, etc. So take any eval with a grain of salt, I just wanted to make sure we had some this season since I didn't have the energy for another Zoom call.

Davis is covering for Tatum's two worst seasons.
Eubanks is eating some minutes in Ray's worst season (this pick was not good).
Mitchell and Morant might be playing instead of Kobe's worst season.
I ran out of guys who could improve upon my roster in round 9.

6. robusk - Michael Jordan, Larry Nance, Manu Ginobili, Pau Gasol, Mitchell Robinson, Chris Andersen, Robert Williams, Vince Carter, Ivica Zubac, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Marcin Gortat, Rasheed Wallace
If this isn’t the best defending team, then it is one of the best three. Chance to be the best defending squad in Savage history. Should have the lowest turnovers in the league and the shooting percentage is solidly above average. The rebounding is going to be light, probably bottom half of the league. Really struggled to get enough threes with Jordan soaking up so many guard minutes. Will be below the assist floor most of the time on most teams. Fouls are merely average. Hoping top 5 but lack of threes and rebounding could push me closer to 10.

You should have traded for LeBron.

Pretty impressive to get 24 evals out that quickly, robusk.

As for my team: I still think my first five picks realistically couldn't have gone much better in terms of who fell to me. The last time I used Horford, my team wasn't all that successful, but on that team I tried to use too many of his seasons at PF instead of SF. This time I'm using 4 of his seasons exclusively at SF (16-17 and 19-20, both 100% at SF; 12-13, 99% at SF; and 17-18, 98% at SF); and only one season, his bonkers 958-minute 13-14 season, at PF backing up AD. I think in the 5th round, there aren't many guys available at SF who bring Horford's combo of rebounding, assists, threes, and low towels. Hopefully I'll be successful this time.

The only pick I sorta wish I had back was Bamba, who is fine but not very good value where I picked him, iMO.

TATOOINE

It is Anakin Skywalker’s fifth birthday. His mother has invited a number of Ani’s friends over to celebrate the event. Balloons and streamers are hung all over their house. The children are all wearing party hats and blowing noise makers. Anakin has unwrapped all of his presents except for one, the gift from his mother.

Shmi: “Ani, it’s time for your last present. It’s in the backyard!”

Anakin: “Yippee!”

Anakin races through the back door, eager to see his last present. He comes to a sudden stop. In the middle of the backyard is a brand new sandbox, piled high with fresh, dirty, brown sand.

Anakin: “Aw, ****!”

You don't normally have the chance to grab both Tim Duncan and Hakeem Olajuwon in a draft league, so when I saw the opportunity I took it. I should have 3,936 minutes of strong defense at center. My third pick was Walt Frazier, who gives me 38.4 minutes per game of 90 defense or better, 52.7 eFG%, 14.9 CReb%, and 19.1 ast%. Jrue Holiday has better peaks, but Frazier gives you $40,000,000 worth of stuff in five seasons and Holiday gives you $29,000,000 worth of stuff in five seasons. Holiday averages 29.5 minutes per game for the five seasons. I try to have five competitive teams and go for the five team bonus. I was happy to get Frazier. Ben was happy to get Holiday, with his better peak seasons. My next pick was Danny Green, who is yet another good defensive guard and adds some much needed threes. I took Dirk Nowitzki because Rob hates him because his usage is similar to Hakeem and Timmy, he can score points, he will always play with Hakeem or Timmy, so I can hide his mediocre defense behind those two. His rebounding and passing are acceptable. After taking three bigs with my first five picks, I would not have to take any more bigs. No I need 9 minutes on team 2 and 14 minutes on team 4. None of that. Getting five useable seasons with your fifth pick is not bad. Pick number six was Alvin Robertson. There are only two seasons that I like, but they both have elite defense and plus passing. A third season will probably be a backup point guard. My next pick was Chris Mullin, Olympic Gold Medal winner. I was hoping to get Kyle Korver here, but Notorius J was attempting to draft every three in NBA history. Once again, I took someone who gives me five useable seasons. He also gives me some more threes. He can also play the 2 or 3. My next pick was John Havlicek. By the end of the 8th round, I didn't think there was a lot to choose from in small forwards who could give you a lot of minutes. Havlicek gives me good defense and good passing from small forward. What he doesn't give me is good shooting or rebounding. At the time, I was wanting to get someone with minutes, so I had something. I also thought at the time if worse comes to worse, Havlicek can actually be a backup point guard, with good defense and rebounding and adequate passing. It seems to me that I am using the words adequate and useable way too often to describe my team as opposed to elite and (there has to be a really good word to go here, but I can't think of it). The thing is, when you are making your 8th pick, you don't really know yet who your next four picks will be. It may turn out that Havlicek doesn't play much at all, but when I took him I thought I needed him. Oh well. I then took Kevon Looney, who has a couple of nice seasons. More importantly, Rob liked the pick. My picks at the 10/11 turn were Jeff Hornacek and Bailey Howell. Hornacek does a lot of things well, but he doesn't do anything great. He gives you five seasons, if you need them. He can be a backup at SG or PG. His daughter is really nice looking. He goes well with Frazier, either as his backup or playing along side him. Bailey Howell is a useable (go Midge!) player at SF for one season. I was glad to get Clarence Weatherspoon with my last selection. I should have taken him when I took Howell, but oh well. Weatherspoon will start for sure on one team and should provide backup minutes at SF on some other teams.

I thought it was odd that Rob mentioned that his team might be the best Savage defensive team of all time and didn't mention my team's defense at all. I have Olajuwon, four 100s and a 95. I have Duncan, 100, 97,90,90 and 90. Frazier has one 100 to go with four 90s. Robertson gives me a 100 and a 90 with a lot of steals. Green, Weatherspoon and Howell give me six more seasons between 80 and 88. When Havlicek plays he will give me another 90 and an 80. My weaker defenders play in positions where they can hide behind good defenders. We'll see.

Yeah I didn't really understand the Havlicek pick midge. You already had a lot of high-defense guys; you already had more minutes than just about anyone else; and the only real weakness of the Duncan/Hakeem combo is that their efg is fairly middling. Lots of available SFs who could have given you better quality minutes, and better efficiency, to be a better fit. But I do think the team has a chance to be solid.

Posted by Midge on 7/5/2022 7:55:00 PM (view original):
TATOOINE

It is Anakin Skywalker’s fifth birthday. His mother has invited a number of Ani’s friends over to celebrate the event. Balloons and streamers are hung all over their house. The children are all wearing party hats and blowing noise makers. Anakin has unwrapped all of his presents except for one, the gift from his mother.

Shmi: “Ani, it’s time for your last present. It’s in the backyard!”

Anakin: “Yippee!”

Anakin races through the back door, eager to see his last present. He comes to a sudden stop. In the middle of the backyard is a brand new sandbox, piled high with fresh, dirty, brown sand.

Anakin: “Aw, ****!”

You don't normally have the chance to grab both Tim Duncan and Hakeem Olajuwon in a draft league, so when I saw the opportunity I took it. I should have 3,936 minutes of strong defense at center. My third pick was Walt Frazier, who gives me 38.4 minutes per game of 90 defense or better, 52.7 eFG%, 14.9 CReb%, and 19.1 ast%. Jrue Holiday has better peaks, but Frazier gives you $40,000,000 worth of stuff in five seasons and Holiday gives you $29,000,000 worth of stuff in five seasons. Holiday averages 29.5 minutes per game for the five seasons. I try to have five competitive teams and go for the five team bonus. I was happy to get Frazier. Ben was happy to get Holiday, with his better peak seasons. My next pick was Danny Green, who is yet another good defensive guard and adds some much needed threes. I took Dirk Nowitzki because Rob hates him because his usage is similar to Hakeem and Timmy, he can score points, he will always play with Hakeem or Timmy, so I can hide his mediocre defense behind those two. His rebounding and passing are acceptable. After taking three bigs with my first five picks, I would not have to take any more bigs. No I need 9 minutes on team 2 and 14 minutes on team 4. None of that. Getting five useable seasons with your fifth pick is not bad. Pick number six was Alvin Robertson. There are only two seasons that I like, but they both have elite defense and plus passing. A third season will probably be a backup point guard. My next pick was Chris Mullin, Olympic Gold Medal winner. I was hoping to get Kyle Korver here, but Notorius J was attempting to draft every three in NBA history. Once again, I took someone who gives me five useable seasons. He also gives me some more threes. He can also play the 2 or 3. My next pick was John Havlicek. By the end of the 8th round, I didn't think there was a lot to choose from in small forwards who could give you a lot of minutes. Havlicek gives me good defense and good passing from small forward. What he doesn't give me is good shooting or rebounding. At the time, I was wanting to get someone with minutes, so I had something. I also thought at the time if worse comes to worse, Havlicek can actually be a backup point guard, with good defense and rebounding and adequate passing. It seems to me that I am using the words adequate and useable way too often to describe my team as opposed to elite and (there has to be a really good word to go here, but I can't think of it). The thing is, when you are making your 8th pick, you don't really know yet who your next four picks will be. It may turn out that Havlicek doesn't play much at all, but when I took him I thought I needed him. Oh well. I then took Kevon Looney, who has a couple of nice seasons. More importantly, Rob liked the pick. My picks at the 10/11 turn were Jeff Hornacek and Bailey Howell. Hornacek does a lot of things well, but he doesn't do anything great. He gives you five seasons, if you need them. He can be a backup at SG or PG. His daughter is really nice looking. He goes well with Frazier, either as his backup or playing along side him. Bailey Howell is a useable (go Midge!) player at SF for one season. I was glad to get Clarence Weatherspoon with my last selection. I should have taken him when I took Howell, but oh well. Weatherspoon will start for sure on one team and should provide backup minutes at SF on some other teams.

I thought it was odd that Rob mentioned that his team might be the best Savage defensive team of all time and didn't mention my team's defense at all. I have Olajuwon, four 100s and a 95. I have Duncan, 100, 97,90,90 and 90. Frazier has one 100 to go with four 90s. Robertson gives me a 100 and a 90 with a lot of steals. Green, Weatherspoon and Howell give me six more seasons between 80 and 88. When Havlicek plays he will give me another 90 and an 80. My weaker defenders play in positions where they can hide behind good defenders. We'll see.

I do think your defense is excellent, when I said I could fall to top 3, your team was one of the considerations. Just more of a matter of how the defense is distributed across the roster.

Also, my approach to Savage is maximizing "peak" and less about getting lots of "okay". That was my main takeaway after seasons 1 and 2 and I improved a lot after that shift.

Posted by tarheel1991 on 7/5/2022 8:41:00 PM (view original):
Yeah I didn't really understand the Havlicek pick midge. You already had a lot of high-defense guys; you already had more minutes than just about anyone else; and the only real weakness of the Duncan/Hakeem combo is that their efg is fairly middling. Lots of available SFs who could have given you better quality minutes, and better efficiency, to be a better fit. But I do think the team has a chance to be solid.

We’ll just chalk Hondo up as an oops.