The power of 13

Well my team is ready. Since I only get 13 players, it's the power of 13 for this group. With 4th pick in our Fantasy Draft, I was taking pretty much what was left over from Garnett/Lebron/Kobe/Arenas, except maybe changing Kobe for Nash if Kobe was left over, cause I just can't root for Kobe, I can though root for a good ol Canadian boy.

First pick was Garnett, followed by Lebron and then (thank god) Kobe. That left me with my Pillar, the machine, the animal, the contract year playing, Gilbert Arenas. We do 8 cats, Pts,FG%,FT%,Asts,Stl,Blocks,Rebs,3's. Gilbert will give me everything except for good fg% and blocks. He is my foundation, and I am more then happy to have a chance to focus on his play this upcoming season. When you have a player on your fantasy team, you sure do pay a lot more attention to his teams and how well he does. Can't think of a better player to focus on.

So for round two, I was targetting Dwight Howard. He is a center (we need 4 guards, 4 forwards and 2 centers) and he looks like a beast in pre-season. The concerns about Howard are his poor ft% and assists. (the 3's won't be there, but only one or two players give all 8 cats) and in preseason, both his Ft% and his assists have bumped up. It's only preseason, but it's enough for me to target him with my 2nd pick. Of course, it just had to happen where the guy right before me, who I though wouldn't take Howard that early, took Howard and kinda took the wind out of my sails at that point. I really had my heart set on Howard.

I had to go best available at that point, and Paul Pierce got the call. On the power house Celtic team, Garnett will be the top fantasy player, but he won't be the top scorier, nor will Ray Allen. I see the Celtics giving Pierce the respect (he has been with the team the longest) and making him the focal point on the offense. That does not mean that Ray Allen is not going to get some shots (assists for Pierce) nor is Garnett going to get every board (Boards for Pierce). Pierce is going to give me the same things that Arenas does, and maybe even at a 1st round productivity now that he does have help. I still wanted Howard, but there is much to like with Pierce.

3rd round, somewhat targetting Carmelo Anthony because I had him 2 years in a row, but I made a game time decision to take a risk on Tracy McGrady. McGrady was a 1st round player previous, and with the new offensive style Houston will use this season, it could set up big things for Houston and McGrady. The injury risk is there, but it could be a nice payoff for a round 3 player.

Now here is what really broke my heart. I was going to Andrea Bargnani in the 4th round. I had him projected in round 7 and 8. NO way anyone was going to take him this early. I was reaching big time just to make sure I got him. He is a center which I needed also. So of course, the guy right in front of me, once again, screwed me over. He took Bargnani with his pick, when I really thought no one was going to do it that early. That hurt ALOT. At that stage I again, even though I needed a center still, went for best available and took Josh Howard. The guy does everything well except assists. He doesn't do anything great, but having a player again who can contribute to a majority of the cats is crucial and Howard does that. At this stage my weakest cats are fg% with blocks and Ft% not super. What does that mean?

Time for a center. I need two of them, and with such a small pool to draw from, it was time to make a move. And here finally I got some good news. I had in my sights Tyson Chandler. And I think this guy is going to be huge this year. I really have a feeling that he is going to be the Al Jefferson of the 2007 fantasy world. Chandler played with the U.S. team which is only going to help, New Orleans looks solid for this year. He won't get the points, but with Arenas/McGrady/Pierce I don't need points. He will shoot at a high percentage, gives me big boards and big blocks. And if he does get some more points (like that 19 in the preseason game a few days ago) that is just cream in the coffee. FT% though is even worse with him on the team, I gotta hope that the large volume of FT's that Arenas and Pierce get will off shoot the shaky FT% of McGrady and Chandler. I need someone to help the FT%.

I also need someone who is going to be a steal at number 6. Well what about then, a guy who might just very well be the offensive star of one of the 30 teams this season? Those types of players are generally top 3 rounds material. Well Corey Maggette, time to step up. Lot's of questions about this guy, but one thing is for sure, he can score and he can get to the line. And with Brand out for months, Maggette has been given the green light. Maggette also gives me decent boards, and at this point I am tight in that area. Only one rebounding superstar in Chandler, but every player I got will get me a handful.

Still weak on blocks, FG% and yeah, I could use another rebounding machine ala Chandler. Plus I do need my 2nd center. I guess it's about that time. It was a decision between Andrew Bogut and Andris Biedrins, and I went with Biedrins. He gives me the boards/blocks and FG%, does nothing for points/assists/3's and sadly FT%. But the Golden State Warriors are one of the few "dream teams" in fantasy basketball. When a team shots for 90 shots a game, that is good news to us fantasy players. Made this decision a no brainer.

Now I need a RAPTOR. No way I could take Bosh with my 4th pick overall, and he was not going to be around all the way to 21st pick. (He went 14th) I already mentioned my Bargnani incident. Ford was a top guy on the board in the previous round, but I needed a Center at that point. So at this stage in the 8th, I am going to do some reaching just to make sure I get a Rap, and take ether Anthony Parker or Jose Calderon. Both were available, and I went with Jose. For the record, we fantasy observers might worry about Jose's minutes, but I also worry about Parkers. AP is the starter, but with the strong wing men depth on the team, they don't need to give AP 40 minutes a night, I can see around the 30 mark. Well Jose is only going to give around 20 BUT if Ford does get hurt, that is HUGE for Jose. And Jose will get a large volume of assists fast, which makes him valuable this deep no matter what. The later we get in the draft, the less and less we find all round strong players and just find specialty players. The Raja Bells (3's) Drew Goodens (boards) Shane Battier (Stls and Blocks). Jose will give me assists quick. And he will also get times to shine, where Mitchell will give Jose the time with the starters. When Jose shines, he also can get some points as well as a wicked FG% plus some 3's. It might have been a stretch for the 8th round, but the potential is there.

Plus there was no way I was not going to have at least one Raptor on my team.

For number 9, it is time to find sleepers. At this stage there is guys like Andrew Bynum and Derek Fisher and Peja Stojakovic and Darko. Plus Ben Wallace!! But I went with a high energy sleeper in Tyrus Thomas. He is going to get minutes this year, and showed a lot of potential last year. If he can take the next step, lord knows he has little to fight with for position in Chicago (Joe Smith), this could be huge. He gives me boards which i need, blocks which I need and good FG%. He hurts me on the FT% and at this stage I am in trouble with that. THe only thing going for me is that the high volume FT guys I have shoot well (except for McGrady) and the bad shooters don't go to the line that often.

Luke Walton was doing really well in Fantasy last year up until he got hurt. Seems people forgot about the first half of the season. The guy does not stand out in any cats, he is best at assists, but does not hurt in any cat ether. He gets a handful of boards, points, a few steals, a few blocks, a couple of 3's and shoots decent percentages. He has gotten better every season he has played and Kobe trusts him (as mentioned in Phil Jacksons book). UPSIDE baby! Especially in the 10th round.

Now it's time to fill in the bench, and forget about catagories, I am going for sleepers. Guys who I think could be huge this season. If they suck after 2 weeks, then they can be dropped for someone else. First up is Jeff Green from Seattle. They are already building him up to be the Pippen to Durants Jordan. And since Seattle got rid of everyone, the Druant era will start this season, so too should the Green era as well.

Pau Gasol needed to be happy, and they brought in Juan Carlos Navarro to do so. So does that mean Navarro is going to get some PT? Navarro is a proven player on the international scene, so an adjustment period hopefully to the NBA game will be short. He has also looked good so far in the 3 pre-season games. PT will be the issue with this guy.

And last but not least, I took Antonio McDyess. Hey, he is a starter now on one of the better teams in the league. He is also going to try to prove he belongs. He might be a better 6th man then starter, and if that's the case, oh well, I look for some one else. At the 13th round, the selections get VERY tough.


So there you have it...
G- Gilbert Arenas
G- Tracy McGrady
G- Corey Maggette
G- Jose Calderon

F- Paul Pierce
F- Josh Howard
F- Tyrus Thomas
F- Luke Walton

C- Tyson Chandler
C- Andris Biedrins

B- Jeff Green
B- Juan Navarro
B- Antonio McDyess


I need Chandler to be huge this year, I need Tyrus Thomas to take that next step and I need Maggette to stay the focus in L.A. for the season. Oh, and McGrady to give me at least 70 games.