Fantasy basketball: four draft trends you need to know

I’ve been doing a lot of mock drafts in preparation for the upcoming fantasy basketball season and have seen some trends that can help you prepare for your big fantasy hoops draft day.

Here are four that stand out.

Choose from the top four or go last

I absolutely love the top four picks in checkers this year. It doesn’t matter what order you put them in, it will look good; Victor Wembanyama, Nikola Jokic, Luka Doncic and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. I love getting a top-four pick and then backing up one of those fantasy superstars with another quality star at the end of Round 2.

In the last ESPN mock draft (eight teams, points, against each other) I was lucky enough to get the No. 1 pick and take my man Wemby. And because there were only eight of us, I turned around and got Scottie Barnes at the end of lap 2, which I’m very happy about. Then I picked Kevin Durant with the first pick of Round 3.

But I honestly think I could have taken Jokic, SGA or Luka first overall and still have a real chance of winning the league. But the drop after the fourth choice is enormous. I love Tyrese Haliburton as much as the next guy, but I have some trust issues with him after his weird second half last season. I don’t like Giannis Antetokounmpo’s knee; Domantas Sabonis doesn’t do enough blocking and stealing for a big man; I don’t trust Joel Embiid any further than I can throw him; Anthony Davis, who played 76 games last season, feels like crap; and I don’t know if Jayson Tatum is doing enough to get you a competition. So my strategy was to hope for a top-four pick or settle for the last pick. I’ll just take Anthony Edwards or Trae Young at the end of Round 1 if I’m not among the first four picks.

Point guards are available late

Many experts will tell you that assists are hard to come by and you need to get good point guards early, but I see things a little differently. Terry Rozier, Scoot Henderson, Chris Paul, Russell Westbrook, Mike Conley, Alex Caruso and Keyonte George are all available late in the draft and should all produce solid numbers.

I think Scoot could be on his way to a breakout season after averaging 19.4 points, 3.4 rebounds, 9.7 assists, 1.1 steals and 2.9 triples in his seven games in April, and he played much better during the second half of his rookie season. George is a swing-for-the-fences type talent who could be either a success or a failure, but I feel very comfortable using either of these guys as the starting point guard for my fantasy teams. I often dream of watching CP3 throw lobs at Wemby.

Centers are also available late

In addition to point guards, there are also very useful centers with late upside. Daniel Gafford, Jalen Duren, Isaiah Hartenstein, Brook Lopez, Deandre Ayton, Naz Reid and Dereck Lively II have all been there in the later rounds, and they are all productive and valuable in fantasy leagues. I’m very intrigued by Hartenstein in Oklahoma City. And while we have yet to see how he will work with Chet Holmgren, the Thunder did not sign Hartenstein to sit on the bench. Hartenstein averaged eight points, eight boards, a steal and a block last season and those numbers can only increase in OKC.

Reid also gets a big boost with Karl-Anthony Towns now wearing a Knicks jersey. I like the idea of ​​grabbing Reid late in the draft, and while no one on the list above will strike fear into your opponent, they are all solid fantasy centers.

High scoring small forwards move fast

It can be difficult to find a great small forward after the first few rounds of your draft. Jalen Williams, Jaylen Brown, Kawhi Leonard, Paul George, Jalen Johnson, Mikal Bridges, Miles Bridges, Kyle Kuzma and Franz Wagner are the bigger names typically available in the mid-rounds. I’m not going to touch Leonard this season, but I’m curious to see what George does in Philly.

The guys I’ll target here are “the Jalens,” as in Williams and Johnson. If you get a high pick and start with a top four player, back it up with solid picks from the second, third and fourth rounds, and then if you can get ‘the Jalens’ in rounds 5 and 6, you should be there be completely ready to roll out your competition.

It’s almost draft time as the season starts on October 22nd! I hope to see you in the art room!