From: Charlie Zegers
Sent: Tuesday, April 6, 2010 10:04 AM
To: Carson Cistulli
Subject: Give and Go: Gabba Gabba
To paraphrase a man who has become a major influence in my daughter’s life – (DJ Lance from Yo! Gabba Gabba!) – “Yo! It’s almost time to go. But let’s remember what we did this season!”
(I’ll skip the dancey-dance portion of the program. You can thank me later.)
Here are some takeaways from NBA 2009-10 that might have some relevance for next year’s fantasy drafts:
Rookie lead guards can be great values
Tyreke Evans(notes) supposedly needed time to learn how to run an offense. Stephen Curry(notes) was going to be a major defensive liability. Brandon Jennings(notes) was a near-total unknown, Ty Lawson(notes) a depth player and Jrue Holiday(notes) as raw as they come. But every one of them has been worth owning at various times this season. I don’t know about you, but their success – and that of guys like Jonny Flynn(notes), Darren Collison(notes) and even Rodrigue Beaubois(notes) and Toney Douglas(notes) – will make me a lot less hesitant about drafting next year’s crop of rookie guards.
On the other hand, none of this season’s rookie big men or wing players really distinguished themselves. Obviously, guys like Blake Griffin(notes) and Tyler Hansbrough(notes) have been limited by injury, and we all sort of suspected Hasheem Thabeet(notes) would be a long-term project. But what about James Harden(notes) and Jordan Hill(notes) and DeMar DeRozan(notes) and Terrence Williams(notes) and Gerald Henderson(notes) and Earl Clark(notes)? Lottery picks all, and none of them seem to be obvious “must own” players for next season.
Is this a trend? Is the transition to the NBA easier for players who handle the ball a lot? Or is it just a fluke brought on by a particularly guard-heavy draft class?
Draft a shooting guard early
Some of the best fantasy players in the league line up at two guard – but the drop-off between the top five or six and the second/third tiers is severe. Obviously, if you draft in the bottom of the first round you’re not getting a Kobe, D-Wade or Kevin Durant(notes), but for next year’s drafts I’ll be making it a priority to get a two early, before options like Monta Ellis(notes), Brandon Roy(notes), Stephen Jackson(notes) and maybe Andre Iguodala(notes) or Tyreke Evans are all gone.
(We touched on this in a column published on March 26.)
Don’t trust the Sixers
The Eddie Jordan hire was one of the reasons I was high on several 76ers at the start of the season. Jordan’s version of the Pete Carril “Princeton” offense – the system that made Gilbert Arenas(notes) a star in Washington – was a good fit for talented scoring guards like Iguodala and Louis Williams(notes). Or so I thought. But Jordan’s tenure in Philly has been a disaster for fantasy owners, marked by tough-to-justify lineup changes and substitution patterns. I have no idea whether or not Jordan will be back for next season – but if he is, I’ll be staying away from the Sixers.
In the past, I’ve tried to avoid the Warriors as well, but my guess is Nellie will be gone as soon as a new owner takes over.
Teammates matter
Richard Jefferson(notes) looked like a major free-agent bust for the bulk of this season, but since Gregg Popovic started playing Jefferson alongside Manu Ginobili(notes), his production has improved considerably. To some extent, that reinforces my view of Jefferson going back years – that his production in New Jersey had more to do with Jason Kidd(notes) than anything else.
Some players need an elite distributor to play at their best – which is one reason I’ll be a little hesitant about Amar’e Stoudemire(notes) next season, assuming he leaves Steve Nash’s(notes) team and doesn’t join, say, LeBron’s.
What are you taking away from this season? (Aside from, I hope, a fantasy championship or two?)
Give and Go: Lessons learned – Fantasy – Yahoo! Sports.
