Round 4
31. Joakim Noah
32. Ray Allen
33. Kenneth Faried
34. Mario Chalmers
35. George Hill
36. Tiago Splitter
37. Wilson Chandler
38. Jamal Crawford
39. Mike Conley
40. Paul Pierce
Notes: Joakim Noah’s feet are a concern, Mario Chalmers’ production is a concern, George Hill’s groin is a concern, and Round 4 is when the real crapshoot starts. I didn’t love my Chalmers pick, but after looking at my other choices, I’m not all that upset. I was, however, kind of bummed not to get Wilson Chandler with my next pick. If the Grizzlies get by the Clippers, Mike Conley and Zach Randolph (Round 5) are going to end up being steals in this thing.
Round 5
41. Klay Thompson
42. Roy Hibbert
43. Zach Randolph
44. Kevin Garnett
45. Joe Johnson
46. Carlos Boozer
47. Mike Miller
48. Corey Brewer
49. Andre Miller
50. Luol Deng
Notes: I liked the Hibbert pick here, as the Pacers are favored to get by the Hawks and play great defense. Carlos Boozer could get a boost if Derrick Rose returns (and is actually in condition to play meaningful minutes), while I rolled with another minor member of the Heat in Miller. He’s also a forward, and I needed one at the time, but again, not thrilled with the pick.
Round 6
51. Jeff Teague
52. Manu Ginobili
53. Kosta Koufos
54. Chris Copeland
55. Danny Green
56. DeAndre Jordan
57. JaVale McGee
58. Omer Asik
59. Kyle Korver
60. Steve Nash
Notes: Here’s where the dice started rolling on injured players, underperformers and odd balls like Kyle Korver. I went with my own kind of oddball in Chris Copeland, who could be great or could do nothing. But I like my chances due to the fact that the Knicks are still so beat up.
Round 7
61. Lance Stephenson
62. Matt Barnes
63. Thabo Sefolosha
64. Jeff Green
65. Monta Ellis
66. Evan Fournier
67. Caron Butler
68. Reggie Evans
69. Jason Kidd
70. Jarrett Jack
Notes: Round 7 is the land of misfit kids, although I thought the Lance Stephenson, Thabo Sefolosha, Jeff Green and Monta Ellis picks were all pretty strong. Even if Monta only plays in four games, he might put up more production than my Heat brothers, even if they make it to the Finals. And no, Derrick Rose, Brandon Jennings, Larry Sanders and John Henson were not even drafted in this league (and there are no add/drops). You just set your lineup and go.
So there you have it. Get your boys together on Friday night and have yourselves a fantasy playoff draft. It should only take an hour and you might get another trophy or some cash to brag about.
The Rotoworld Hoops crew and a couple rockers got together on Thursday night and completed an NBA Fantasy Playoffs Draft. These leagues can be very fun and don’t take much prep time. You just have to figure out who you think will advance in the playoffs and try to get as many of those players as you can, although the fact I have Mike Miller and Mario Chalmers on my team is not necessarily the way you want to go. Yeah, they should play a lot of games and get to the Finals, but it’s a moot point if they aren’t doing anything in the process. This scoring system is heavy on points scored, and had I had more time to plan for it, I probably would have weighted the categories differently. Bucks players were not popular targets as most of us believe they’ll be swept by the Heat, or go five games at best. Therefore, Monta Ellis was the only Buck drafted, and he was taken with the 65th pick out of 70.
In any case, here is what went down on Thursday night. And no, I don’t think I had a very good draft, but it was fun and I look forward to seeing how things shake out.
Rules: 10 Teams, 2 G, 2 F, 1 C, 2 FLEX, 1 point awarded for each point, rebound, assist, steal, block, 3-pointer and -1 point for each turnover, with some small bonuses thrown in for double-doubles, triple-doubles and 30-point scoring performances. Obviously, LeBron James will be a beast in this league. If you want to make things more interesting, it might not be a bad idea to put him on a “can’t draft list,” as some of us had to do with Michael Jordan back in the day. Then again, that might make Kevin Durant too valuable, which might just start a vicious circle. Stroup lobbied for keeping LeBron in play, won, and then got the first pick in our random draft.
We’re using a website called Fantasypostseason.com for the third or fourth straight year. The live draft feature is awesome, it’s simply laid out and a nice choice if you’re going to do one of these drafts. Check it out.
Snake Draft Order
Matt Stroup
Corey Griffin
Matthew Braine
Ethan Norof
Brian Rosenworcel
Adam Levitan
Steve Alexander
Mike Gallagher
Aaron Bruski
Stephen Malkmus
All but two of us work for Rotoworld hoops, and I’ll let you figure out what the other two do, besides kick butt at fantasy hoops every year.
Round 1
- LeBron James
- Kevin Durant
- Russell Westbrook
- Dwyane Wade
- Carmelo Anthony
- Chris Bosh
- Ty Lawson
- J.R. Smith
- Serge Ibaka
- Chris Paul
Notes: This round is pretty simple to figure out, at least for the first four picks. I really wanted Chris Bosh at No. 7, but he was gone. Therefore, I went with Ty Lawson and the hope that the Nuggets will keep winning at home and at least get past the Warriors in Round 1, which actually isn’t a guarantee. Serge Ibaka looks like a better pick here if rebounds and blocks were weighted a little differently, but he’s still a guy who has a good chance of going deep in the playoffs, which makes it a decent pick. I was probably going to take him with my next pick.
Round 2
11. Blake Griffin
12. Tim Duncan
13. Tony Parker
14. Dwight Howard
15. Kevin Martin
16. Stephen Curry
17. Pau Gasol
18. Paul George
19. Deron Williams
20. Raymond Felton
Notes: Things obviously get dicey in Round 2 and fantasy playoff leagues are the only place you’ll see Kevin Martin taken in front of Stephen Curry. I have the Lakers upsetting the Spurs in Round 1 and put my money where my mouth is (Dwight Howard), except that there’s no money involved. Raymond Felton was an interesting pick here, and Stroup is counting on the Knicks to breeze by Boston and possibly get to the Eastern Finals.
Round 3
21. Al Horford
22. Marc Gasol
23. Josh Smith
24. James Harden
25. Kawhi Leonard
26. David West
27. Andre Iguodala
28. Brook Lopez
29. Tyson Chandler
30. David Lee
Notes: Al Horford qualifies at center here, but if the Hawks get routed by the Pacers, that’s a tough way to spend a 3rd Round pick. Then again, it’s possible that most of the players taken in this round may not make it out of Round 1. Since I already have Lawson I figured I’d double up on Nuggets and went for Iguodala.
Round 4
31. Joakim Noah
32. Ray Allen
33. Kenneth Faried
34. Mario Chalmers
35. George Hill
36. Tiago Splitter
37. Wilson Chandler
38. Jamal Crawford
39. Mike Conley
40. Paul Pierce
Notes: Joakim Noah’s feet are a concern, Mario Chalmers’ production is a concern, George Hill’s groin is a concern, and Round 4 is when the real crapshoot starts. I didn’t love my Chalmers pick, but after looking at my other choices, I’m not all that upset. I was, however, kind of bummed not to get Wilson Chandler with my next pick. If the Grizzlies get by the Clippers, Mike Conley and Zach Randolph (Round 5) are going to end up being steals in this thing.
Round 5
41. Klay Thompson
42. Roy Hibbert
43. Zach Randolph
44. Kevin Garnett
45. Joe Johnson
46. Carlos Boozer
47. Mike Miller
48. Corey Brewer
49. Andre Miller
50. Luol Deng
Notes: I liked the Hibbert pick here, as the Pacers are favored to get by the Hawks and play great defense. Carlos Boozer could get a boost if Derrick Rose returns (and is actually in condition to play meaningful minutes), while I rolled with another minor member of the Heat in Miller. He’s also a forward, and I needed one at the time, but again, not thrilled with the pick.
Round 6
51. Jeff Teague
52. Manu Ginobili
53. Kosta Koufos
54. Chris Copeland
55. Danny Green
56. DeAndre Jordan
57. JaVale McGee
58. Omer Asik
59. Kyle Korver
60. Steve Nash
Notes: Here’s where the dice started rolling on injured players, underperformers and odd balls like Kyle Korver. I went with my own kind of oddball in Chris Copeland, who could be great or could do nothing. But I like my chances due to the fact that the Knicks are still so beat up.
Round 7
61. Lance Stephenson
62. Matt Barnes
63. Thabo Sefolosha
64. Jeff Green
65. Monta Ellis
66. Evan Fournier
67. Caron Butler
68. Reggie Evans
69. Jason Kidd
70. Jarrett Jack
Notes: Round 7 is the land of misfit kids, although I thought the Lance Stephenson, Thabo Sefolosha, Jeff Green and Monta Ellis picks were all pretty strong. Even if Monta only plays in four games, he might put up more production than my Heat brothers, even if they make it to the Finals. And no, Derrick Rose, Brandon Jennings, Larry Sanders and John Henson were not even drafted in this league (and there are no add/drops). You just set your lineup and go.
So there you have it. Get your boys together on Friday night and have yourselves a fantasy playoff draft. It should only take an hour and you might get another trophy or some cash to brag about.