Ultimate Fantasy Commissioner. At this stage it's hard to say which one is going to be better, so if you're like me, you'll enter a team in both versions this season. If you just want to go for one, I would recommend Yahoo! purely based on their track record.

There are also various Fantasy games out there where you have to pay, providing you with extra features and prize money sums. I prefer to stick with the free one myself and make the wagers on the side with friends.

Tips

With the NBA season approaching and thus Fantasy drafts approaching, I thought it a good time to start with some tips for putting together a winning strategy for your team. If you want to analyse the full details of the rules, I recommend you go to one of the sites above and read up on their Help sections (which are quire useful). Rules do vary from league to league and can be adjusted by individual commissioners.

What I am going to discuss here are some key tips for getting over the line in your league. These articles will continue in the coming weeks as we wait for the season to start. Today's topic is potentially the most labour-intensive part of preparation: ranking players.

Ranking Players

No matter what type of league you are competing in, the key is that you need to put a spreadsheet together. That is of course assuming that you want to win. If you just want to select players that you like to add some enjoyment to the season, then do it. But believe me, you will soon grow bored of your fantasy team as it languishes at the bottom of the ladder and your co-competitors will not want you to join their league next season.

The difficult truth -- a good player in reality does not equal a top fantasy NBA player.

Most Rotisserie FNBA leagues involve the following categories: FG%, FT%, 3PM, REB, AST, STL, BLK, T/O (less is best) and PTS. The objective is for your fantasy team to rank highest in each of these categories with comparison to your competing FNBA teams.

Your spreadsheet needs to take into account the statistics from 2007/08 for every player. You then need to rank each of these players with respect to the average for the league in each category. For example, if Tim Duncan averages 20.0ppg for the season and the average ppg across the league is 11.0ppg, then Duncan is 9.0ppg above average. This increases his fantasy value. However Duncan also shoots significantly below average from the free throw line. This decreases his fantasy value.

The reality of this means that a player such as Duncan may kill your fantasy team in one category, despite the fact that he is highly useful in many others (blocks, rebounds etc). A player such as Shaquille O'Neal is a FNBA rookie mistake from this perspective -- he will absolutely demolish your chances of winning the FT% category. If you have him on your squad, you might as well give up on that category and get every other poor FT shooter in the league and concentrate on their other categories.

The techniques of ranking using a spreadsheet can get a bit daunting if you are not too keen on mathematics or use of Excel, but try to follow this analysis. In order to rank your players, you need to do the following:

1. Copy the 2007/08 NBA statistics for every player in the league in the categories listed above.

2. Make adjustments to the statistics to reflect what you predict the players to output during the 2008/09 season.

3. Insert rookies to the list and make conservative estimates of their statistics.

4. Work out the average for each category of all players (eg work out the average PPG, the average FG% etc).

5. Calculate the standard deviation for each category. Your spreadsheet software should be capable of doing this for you.

6. Take each player's output in each category, subtract the average for that category. Divide this number by the standard deviation.

7. The resulting number if ABOVE ZERO, is GOOD. If BELOW ZERO, is BAD.

8. Tally all category results as per 7 (remember that turnovers is a negative). This total determines the rank for each player - the higher the better.

That's enough to get you started in your preparation. More hints and tips to come in future posts.

Similar posts: fantasy basketball

Similar posts: fantasy basketball

Similar posts: fantasy basketball

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Have we reached the era of the point guard? Well, for all his Canadian charm, Steve Nash has not been able to lead the Suns to the promise land, the most interesting thing about Tony Parker is his wife, and Jason Kidd to Dallas worked out about as well as Mike Myers The Love Guru. But those guys are the old guard (literally). Its the young PGs in the league that are not only fun to watch, but easily make their teams significantly better. Both Chris Paul and Deron Williams led teams that had legitimate shots at the championship THIS year and that will be contenders through the next decade. Boston won the finals with (not despite of) Rajon Rondo running the point and Jordan Farmar was one of the only bright spots for the Lakers in the finals.
And now, thanks to the draft, the NBA is adding some significant PG talent to the league. Starting with Derrick Rose, there are some talented point guards entering the NBA.
Derrick Rose So, I guess this is the end of the Kirk Hinrich era in Chicago. Im sure that youre going to miss it, right Nels? Unlike a lot of lottery teams, the Bulls are actually a good team – at least they have the talent to be – so unlike a Kevin Durant, Rose wont be asked to lead this team right from the start. Ive heard Rose compared to someone like Deron Williams, which if he follows Williams career path, would mean that hes in for one season of adjustment to the NBA game (think 10-12 points/5 assists) before he begins his quick journey to the elite group of PGs. This year, Id put him in the 3rd/4th tier of PGs, in with the likes of Jameer Nelson and Anthony Carter.
O.J. Mayo Heads to Memphis were it appears they will install him as their shooting guard and keep Conley at the point. I still have him in the PG rundown because Memphis sucks and Mayo should get plenty of opportunity on the offensive end. As a result, I think he has an excellent shot at rookie of the year. I expect Mayo and Michael Beasley to have the 2 best fantasy seasons among all rookies. He wont play much defense or score efficiently, but the counting stats will be there.
Russell Westbrook Goes to Seattle, a team who is current in an arms race with Portland to see who can build the youngest team in the league. Westbrook apparently has Tremendous. Upside. Potential. But when I hear the words, lockdown defender and has some work to do offensively and has the chance to be like Rajon Rondo Im going to pass for fantasy purposes for this year. Let him develop that offensive game on someone elses fantasy team.
D.J. Augustin I dont think it needs to be said, but Michael Jordan is not a good NBA executive. I hear Charlotte is shopping Raymond Felton around, so of course, they decide to go and draft the same type of player in D.J. Augustin. If Felton gets traded, maybe Id think about drafting Augustin in the late rounds, otherwise Id avoid him this year because I dont think the minutes will be there.
Jerryd Bayless Very Nice pick for the Blazers (via Indiana). Portland sent Jarret Jack as a part of this trade, so Bayless competition at the point is currently Steve Blake and Sergio Rodriguez. I like those odds. Bayless could side into the starting lineup this year and while he might not get big minutes right away, but hell be worth taking a flyer on in drafts just to see what kind of minutes he gets.
George Hill The Spurs drafted this 3rd year combo-guard because he can step right in next year and play a reserve role on an aging championship caliber team. If that sounds interesting to you, maybe fantasy basketball isnt your thing.

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I swam.
Yes, I understand that's part of the whole sport of triathlon -- the first leg involves a swim. But earlier this month at Keuka Lake my first open water competitive swim was spent on my back, floating, backstroking and calling over Ashley, my personal lifeguard.
At the Quakerman Triathlon in Orchard Park on Sunday, there was no floating on my back. Granted, I made friend with the lifeguards on the surfboards during the swim warm up, but I never needed to hang on to board, canoe or member of the Buffalo Underwater Recovery Team.
Green Lake may be the ideal introductory open swim for a local triathlon. There are no waves. There is no current. It's kinda like a big pool.
I started out slow. My breathing was rushed. It wasn't panic but nerves and adrenaline -- like a basketball player who airballs her first 3-pointer at the start of a big game. I wrote notes on my hand before the swim: on my right hand and chocolate milk on my left to help me focus and relax. I started thinking strong and went to my default plan -- count 10 breaststrokes then 10 freestyle strokes. Eventually, I was doing all freestyle. I went back to breaststroke several times -- when I needed a breather, when I needed to site where I was in relation to the next buoy or when another swimmer bumped into me and I had to get my rhythm back.
Several times I was passed by some speedy swimmers. I paused again in breaststroke, let them swim into and on top of each other, then resumed my slow, but steady swim.
My official swim time -- including the run from the beach back over to transition -- was 18:51.
Most importantly, I swam the entire time. I felt smooth and strong.
On the bike I hammered through the second loop, including taking one of the intersections a bit too fast. I made a wide turn and ended up in a pothole filled gravel parking lot. Impressively (at least to me) I negotiated the mistake well, kept my balance and poise and got back on the road. I then said a quick prayer nothing broke on my bike and, thank you higher power, nothing did.
In the end, I averaged 19.7 miles per hour on the 22 mile course to finish in 1:06:54 -- that's more than three-miles an hour faster than my average speed at Keuka.
On the run, I felt like one big plodder. The route through a residential area next to Yates Park was well marked and tree-lined but I felt incredibly slow and heavy. It was a four-mile run and when I heard I had about 300 yards to go I started to kick it up. My timing on the run needs to get better, or my endurance needs to improve, because I try to speed up for the finish a bit too soon. The end, which was very cruel, included a short hill. Volunteers said up the hill and the finish is there -- but unfortunately it was still a few feet away.
l found the wizard on the final sprint and couldn't push it across the line, but still, my run pace was 9:19. Really? I ran a 9:19 mile? That's the fastest pace time I've ever recorded.
Final tally: I did the course in 2 hours, five minutes and 14 seconds finishing 131 overall out of 211 registered participants.
But more important than where I finished is how I did and how I felt. My swim was 100 times better while my bike and run were both faster paces and stronger finishes.
While family, friends and Sherpa have some suggestions on improving event management for spectators at the event, as a participant, I had no problems. For a first-time triathlon, things seemed to go smoothly, at least from my perspective.
And the Canisius sports information department will be happy to know that this triathlon did not ruin my appetite and I heartily finished all of my blueberry pancakes.
As an aside, my warm-up event on Saturday was the Ride for Roswell. A great event for a great cause, I got the rain and wind out of my system during the 33-mile ride. It was a light and easy ride for me, completely for fun.
Still, I have to note how disappointed I was in the Ride for Roswell's post-ride party. An event that's meant in part to help promote healthy living and disease prevention had hardly any healthy options in the lunch tent for participants. Worse yet, there was no vegetarian option. The announced rider figure was around 6,000 -- surely I could not have been the only vegetarian on the ride. How hard could it be to have a peanut butter sandwich option in the boxed lunches or offer veggie burgers with the cookout.

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Have we reached the era of the point guard? Well, for all his Canadian charm, Steve Nash has not been able to lead the Suns to the promise land, the most interesting thing about Tony Parker is his wife, and Jason Kidd to Dallas worked out about as well as Mike Myers The Love Guru. But those guys are the old guard (literally). Its the young PGs in the league that are not only fun to watch, but easily make their teams significantly better. Both Chris Paul and Deron Williams led teams that had legitimate shots at the championship THIS year and that will be contenders through the next decade. Boston won the finals with (not despite of) Rajon Rondo running the point and Jordan Farmar was one of the only bright spots for the Lakers in the finals.
And now, thanks to the draft, the NBA is adding some significant PG talent to the league. Starting with Derrick Rose, there are some talented point guards entering the NBA.
Derrick Rose So, I guess this is the end of the Kirk Hinrich era in Chicago. Im sure that youre going to miss it, right Nels? Unlike a lot of lottery teams, the Bulls are actually a good team – at least they have the talent to be – so unlike a Kevin Durant, Rose wont be asked to lead this team right from the start. Ive heard Rose compared to someone like Deron Williams, which if he follows Williams career path, would mean that hes in for one season of adjustment to the NBA game (think 10-12 points/5 assists) before he begins his quick journey to the elite group of PGs. This year, Id put him in the 3rd/4th tier of PGs, in with the likes of Jameer Nelson and Anthony Carter.
O.J. Mayo Heads to Memphis were it appears they will install him as their shooting guard and keep Conley at the point. I still have him in the PG rundown because Memphis sucks and Mayo should get plenty of opportunity on the offensive end. As a result, I think he has an excellent shot at rookie of the year. I expect Mayo and Michael Beasley to have the 2 best fantasy seasons among all rookies. He wont play much defense or score efficiently, but the counting stats will be there.
Russell Westbrook Goes to Seattle, a team who is current in an arms race with Portland to see who can build the youngest team in the league. Westbrook apparently has Tremendous. Upside. Potential. But when I hear the words, lockdown defender and has some work to do offensively and has the chance to be like Rajon Rondo Im going to pass for fantasy purposes for this year. Let him develop that offensive game on someone elses fantasy team.
D.J. Augustin I dont think it needs to be said, but Michael Jordan is not a good NBA executive. I hear Charlotte is shopping Raymond Felton around, so of course, they decide to go and draft the same type of player in D.J. Augustin. If Felton gets traded, maybe Id think about drafting Augustin in the late rounds, otherwise Id avoid him this year because I dont think the minutes will be there.
Jerryd Bayless Very Nice pick for the Blazers (via Indiana). Portland sent Jarret Jack as a part of this trade, so Bayless competition at the point is currently Steve Blake and Sergio Rodriguez. I like those odds. Bayless could side into the starting lineup this year and while he might not get big minutes right away, but hell be worth taking a flyer on in drafts just to see what kind of minutes he gets.
George Hill The Spurs drafted this 3rd year combo-guard because he can step right in next year and play a reserve role on an aging championship caliber team. If that sounds interesting to you, maybe fantasy basketball isnt your thing.

Americano new top 10 >>> fantasy basketball

The Experts at FantasyFanatics.com give you the scoop on the latest news, events, and developments in the world of fantasy sports. We cover fantasy football, fantasy basketball, fantasy baseball, fantasy golf, fantasy hockey, and fantasy racing. Each day, new content will give you the edge you'll need to dominate your fantasy leagues. FantasyFanatics.com also features expert interaction, detailed player profiles, and all the tools to make you a fantasy expert.

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For those of you out there that play fantasy sports you can understand my obsession with it. I started my career in fantasy sports in fantasy baseball like 8 years ago when my dad and i decided to go in on a team together with some of his buddies from work. I told him i would help him win the league if he had me his assistant manager, sure enough we won. He went from last place in the league to first place in the league. Well the next season i decided to not keep A rod on our team and we gave him away and had the last pick. Terrible decision and we went back to last place. It was ugly! Now i'm playing in a fantasy league with Jason Reddick, Rory Morgan and some other clowns from my hometown. i'm in 8th place of 10 teams and cannot seem to figure out why i can't get my team into the top half of the league. on paper i have a solid team but i don't know what it's going to take to get them above where they're at now. The reason I write this blog is because sports consume me, they're a part of me, ever since I was a little I always thought there was nothing more to life than sports. Well, as i've gotten older i hav noticed there are some things that are important other than sports, but still haven't found anything i love as much as sports. I remember when i was in high school when my dad introduced me to someone i later asked my dad if he played sports or like sports. He told me that he didn't like sports and i remember saying," what a weirdo. Why not?" my dad gave me good advice and told me taht you don't have to like sports to be a good person, you don't even have to like sports to be a FUN person. I found that hard to believe at the time.

This morning I got an email from Aubrey in Vienna about an experience that Digger Phelps had on his tour of europe. She had to read this quote for homework when she was in Vienna. The quote reads, "I had a very narrow vision of the world, and when I became a basketball coach, I guess my vision became even narrower. I lived basketball 365 days a year. When I became a basketball coach at Notre Dame, I thought I had gone to heaven. Then, in 1975, I took my first trip to Europe. It's hard to explain the impact, but all of a sudden, I saw another world. I went to museums- in Paris, London, Amsterdam- I was overwhelmed by what I saw. I couldn't absorb all of the painters, so I fell in love with van Gogh. I studied his art. I studied his life, his struggles, his sorrows. I stopped being consumed by basketball. The change was visible. I took down the plaques and trophies in my office and I put up paintings. I switched off the hard rock music and tuned in to classical. I even gave up the colorful sports jackets that had become my trademark and bought three-piece suits. I still care very much about basketball. I still want o twin. But there are so many other things in the world, so many things just as important, more important. Give me a choice now between winning the NCAA championship- for te first time in my career- and getting a can Gogh for my wall, and I'm going to have to do some very heavy thinking.

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Bat Of The Night: Nate McLouth 3/5, 2 R, 2 HR, 3 RBI

And to think McLouth entered spring training competing for the starting CF gig in Pittsburgh. The 26 year old now has nine homers on the season to go along with 28 RBI, 30 runs scored and a .333 batting average. More impressively, those 28 RBI have come from the leadoff spot. McLouth also has good speed as he stole 22 bases in only 329 at bats last season and is a legitimate 20-20+ candidate.

Arm Of The Night: Gavin Floyd 8.1 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 3 BB, 4 K (W)

Floyd carried a no-hitter into the 9th inning before a Joe Mauer double ended his bid. The young White Sox righty is now 3-1 with a sparkling 2.50 ERA and 0.96 WHIP in 39 2/3 innings this season. In his first six outings, Floyd has posted 5 quality starts and only really been hit hard once April 24th against a powerful Yankees lineup. The 25 year old is not much of a strikeout artist, but appears to be coming into his own by relying on great control. He is a good start at Seattle on Sunday.

Bottom Line: Felipe Lopez 0/5, 4 K

Lopez was among three players to earn a golden sombrero on Tuesday. His 0/5 night at the plate gave him the nod over Carlos Pena and Khalil Greene who went 0/4. Yuck.

Honorable Mentions

Top Five

Big nights for several youngsters both at the plate and on the mound. Stephen Drew, Blake Dewitt and Chris Iannetta make sure that the NL West youth is well represented in the Top Five while the ageless Garrett Anderson keeps hitting driving in a season high 5 runs. Scott Olsen and Jair Jurrjens continue to impress in the early going while Carlos Zambrano is a true ace for the Cubbies.

Bats

Garrett Anderson 3/5, 1 R, 1 HR, 5 RBI
Blake DeWitt - 3/4, 2 R, 1 HR, 4 RBI
Stephen Drew 2/4, 1 R, 1 HR, 3 RBI
Erik Bruntlett 2/3, 1 R, 1 2B, 1 HR, 3 RBI
Chris Iannetta 2/4, 2 R, 1 HR, 3 RBI

Arms

Scott Olsen 8.2 IP, 2 H, 0 ER, 4 BB, 8 K (W)
Carlos Zambrano 8 IP, 3 H, 0 ER, 3 BB, 3 K (W)
Tim Wakefield 8 IP, 2 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 6 K (W)
Jair Jurrjens 6 IP, 7 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 7 K (W)
Justin Duchscherer 7 IP, 4 H, 2 ER, 2 BB, 4 K (W)

Bottom Five

The aforementioned golden sombreros for Pena and Greene while two of the NLs top bats Chase Utley and David Wright had uncharacteristically poor nights at the plate. David Delluccis three run bomb off Joba Chamberlain gives the young Yankee reliever his first appearance in the Bottom Five.

Bats

Carlos Pena 0/4, 4 K
Khalil Greene 0/4, 4 K
Alex Rios 0/5, 3 K
Chase Utley 0/4, 3 K
David Wright 0/4, 3 K

Arms

Mark Redman 2.2 IP, 9 H, 6 ER, 1 BB, 2 K (L)
Jonathon Sanchez 4.1 IP, 6 H, 7 ER, 3 BB, 4 K (L)
Miguel Batista 2.1 IP, 3 H, 6 ER, 6 BB, 2 K (L)
Adam Eaton 4 IP, 5 H, 6 ER, 3 BB, 1 K (L)
Joba Chamberlain 1 IP, 1 H, 3 ER, 2 BB, 1 K (L)

Making A Case...

Chris Iannetta Blake DeWitt

These two youngsters entered the season as backups but are seeing decent playing time of late. Iannetta has filled in more than admirably for the struggling Yorvit Torrealba hitting .361 with 3 homeruns in only 47 at bats. DeWitt got off to a bit of a slow start after entering the season as the Dodgers starting 3B follwing an injury to Andy Laroche in spring training. However, he has turned it on of late and is now batting .317 with 11 RBI in his last 7 games. DeWitt has earned the starting 3B job in LA it appears so he is the safer option right now but keep an eye at Iannetta as he has great potential at the thin catcher position.

Justin Duchscherer

Between 2004-2006, Duchscherer was one of the top middle relief options in leagues with holds. Last year, his season was derailed by injury and after the As gave him a spot in the starting rotation entering 2008, many looked at him as an afterthought. Duchscherer hasnt been spectacular in any of his first four starts and has had to miss time with injuries yet again. However, after posting his best start of the season last night, the As righty is now 3-1 with a 2.45 ERA and 1.14 WHIP in 22 innings. Duchscherer is currently a good fantasy spot starter at best. If he can prove healthy and string together a few starts where he goes 6+ innings, Duchscherer can be a solid contributor heading into the second half.

Closer Corner

- The Braves bullpen is officially a mess. Manny Acosta, filling in for injured Rafael Soriano, failed in his effort to lock down save number three and had to be bailed out by a combination of Royce Ring and Jeff Bennett. Bennett got the final out and his first save. With Soriano still hurting, John Smoltz is slated to become the closer upon his return from the DL. Stay tuned.

- Francisco Rodriguez is officially a machine. K-Rod maintained his torrid pace, closing out his league leading 14th game last night. He has been lights out since his return from injury.

- Jose Valverde (7) and Takashi Saito (5) both locked down saves last night and seem to have put their early struggles behind them.

- Good night for save vultures Tuesday as in addition to Jeff Bennett, Santiago Casilla and Ryan Franklin notched their first saves of the season. Jason Isringhausen and Huston Street, two of the most heavily worked closers thus far, got the night off.

- Troy Percival notched his 7th save and has still not been scored upon in 11 innings of work.

- Other Closers Locking Down Saves Last Night: Brandon Lyon (10), Kevin Gregg (6), Kerry Wood (5) and Rafael Betancourt (3).

Fantasy Observations Thoughts

- The NL East is powering up in 2008! Chipper Jones hit his tenth homer while Mike Jacobs continues to rake hitting number nine last night. Lets not forget that Major League homerun leader Chase Utley (13) also resides in the division.

- Barry Zito is back in the San Francisco Giants rotation and will start today at Pittsburgh. Zito was demoted to the bullpen a week ago, but never made any relief appearances. The 0-6 Zito should not be started in any league unless you have masochistic inclinations.

- AJ Burnett struck out 10 Tampa batters last night but took a loss allowing 5 ER in 6 innings of work. Burnett has been terribly inconsistent in the early going, but its only a matter of time before it comes together for the fireballing righty who is in a contract year and pitching for his next big pay day.

- Dont look now but White Sox GM Ken Williams has put together a mighty fine starting rotation in Chicago. Javy Vasquez has been dominant in the early going while youngsters Gavin Floyd and John Danks seem to be coming into their own as Major League starters.

Check out the Fantasy Baseball Happy Recap every weekday on Fantasy Sports Experience.

Americano top 10 >>> fantasy basketball

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Sports Illustrated Group has reached an agreement with Citizen Sports Inc. to develop and promote sports-related Web content, including a fantasy-football game that will be played on the Facebook Inc. Web site. The move is, in part, an admission by the iconic sports brand, owned by the Time Inc. division of Time Warner Inc., that it needs to do more than draw traffic to its own Web site. It also needs to take its products to a site people already visit. The move is, in part, an admission by the iconic sports brand, owned by the Time Inc. division of Time Warner Inc., that it needs to do more than draw traffic to its own Web site. It also needs to take its products to a site people already visit. Facebook has shown that it has the potential to disrupt the fantasy-sports industry, says Mr. Walker. In particular, he notes that a recent game on Facebook in which people picked the team they thought would win the National Collegiate Athletic Association basketball tournament was more popular than similar games on traditional sports Web sites.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB120995330086566597.

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I know the feeling. The NBA regular season is over and your life feels empty. Fantasy baseball is a nicotine patch to last through the summer, but fantasy football sucks, as does having to face the real world without being able to talk about how you picked up Beno Udrih in the third week of the season and now he’s your starting point guard on your first place team. So, what do you do?
Have you tried playoff fantasy basketball? You don’t hear much about fantasy basketball during the playoffs. With the popularity of regular reason fantasy sports, I wonder whats keeping it from being bigger. An extremely long regular season can’t help. After 82 games and almost 6 months, it can be tough finding takers for another month and a half. And after scouring the internet for good 2 minutes, I wasn’t able to find a site that will let you manage a fantasy basketball league with your friends during the playoffs. As Bill Simmons would say, its 2008, can’t we make this happen already?
In fact, this playoff league is the first that I’ve done. We were able scrounge up five teams and the commissioner is keeping stats by hand like its 1985. Eight players per team. Scoring consists of adding up points, rebounds, assists, steals, and blocks for each player for the duration of the playoffs. Here’s how my draft went (I had the second pick).
1. Kobe (Garnett was my first choice, but he went number 1)
2. Pau Gasol (At this point, I’m pulling for a Lakers/Celtics final)
3. Ray Allen (Really pulling)
4. Amare Stoudemire (all the good Celtics and Pistons are gone – time to speculate)
5. David West (I feel better about this pick now, but at the time, all the “experts” could talk about was the Hornets “lack of playoff experience”)
6. Caron Butler (with guys like Jason Kidd and Mehmet Okur going at this point in the draft, I couldn’t help myself)
7. Gilbert Arenas (As long as I was hitching myself to the Wizards bandwagon… ugh… this will probably turn out to be the worst pick out of anyone’s draft)
8. Tracy McGrady (Give me 7 games, Tracy. That’s all I ask)
Considering guys like Rondo and Tayshaun Prince were drafted, it seem like I went with “pick great players even if they’re going to go out in the first round approach.” And now that the Suns, Wizards, and Rockets all look they won’t make it out of the first round, I can see how that might have not been the best plan of attack. Interestingly, no Hawks or Sixers were picked and I picked the only Rocket (in the last round). Now that the Jazz are up 3-1, maybe I should have passed. But Carmelo Anthony and Iverson were drafted from the Nuggets and Chris Bosh was taken, so maybe there’s still a chance.

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