Rolling the dice means confronting the prospect of drafting a single player that could, all on his very own, make or break your season.
At its core, winning in fantasy hoops is about one thing: maximizing return on your draft-day investment. You need to create differentiation between your team’s numbers and your fellow pseudo general managers. To do that, you’ll have to balance risk versus reward in some extreme configurations.
If you’re in it to win it, you’ll need to venture out of your comfort zone and take a player with at least one red flag.
Red flags come in all shapes, sizes and hues. There are a lot of “maybes” in fantasy hoops.nike nfl jerseys cheap china
Maybe a player is coming off a season-ending injury and has a return date you can’t trust. Maybe a player just switched teams. Maybe a player just got relegated to a sixth-man role. Maybe a player is getting up there in years. Maybe a player is still a couple of seasons away from his peak. Maybe a player has a key statistical flaw you’ll have to build the rest of your team around. Maybe a player is playing for a coach he can’t stand … and the feeling is mutual.
I play in a lot of expert leagues. To win in those, I’m looking to take at least two big swings. Players that might scare other experts off, but will provide the statistical differentiation I’ll need to succeed.
Let’s take a look at some polarizing options that could single-handedly make or break your season.
(For the purposes of this discussion, I’m going off of our preseason points rankings.)china nike nfl jerseys cheap
Do you take Antetokoumpo No. 1 overall in a points league? Will he finish the season at No. 1 on the Player Rater? There’s no question the Greek Freak is a top-five asset, but is his considerable upside worth risking a No. 1 overall pick over more established uber-talents like James Harden and Anthony Davis?
If you’re picking No. 1 overall and you miss — even by a few draft slots — the squandered value can tank your team.
If you wager on Antetokoumpo at No. 1, you’re betting on the 23-year-old’s considerable upside. Unlike Harden and Davis, Antetokoumpo still has room to grow. In 2017-18, he only posted a middling 76.0 FT percentage. And although his 3-point production improved as the season progressed, he still only finished with a 30.7 3PT percentage.
