Draft Strategy - Part II

#3: O.J. Mayo: Mayo is a player that will put up good rookie numbers. His 3-point stroke in preseason has been surprising. It looks as though Mayo is ready to challenge for the rookie of the year award. It is not only Mayo's 3-point shooting that should attract your fantasy eye but he also has shown that can drive to the mid-range jumper, and also go to the foul line. If Mayo is not content with shooting 3's (like some of his other rookie class members, ex- Eric Gordon, Donte Greene, to be discussed later) and uses more of his game he will surprise many fantasy owners. On top of that Mayo will likely start for the Grizzlies. The Grizzlies will need scoring, and Mayo will get his opportunity to become one of their main scoring threats. He will also likely get open shots from the double teams and extra attention of Rudy Gay. O.J. Mayo is definitely a player to take a chance on earlier than the late round. O.J. Mayo may be a rookie sleeper but he is a not a hibernator. Pick him up -around your third-to-last round. He may surprise you. #2: Greg Oden: The NBA considers Oden to be a rookie this season so I will insert Oden into this list as a rookie. Oden will get many attempts on a young Blazers team. He will get you a little less than ten points, rebounds here and there, a couple assists from a few double teams, a block or two, and plus he's not bad at free-throws like many centers tend to be. However, Oden is paired in a frontcourt with scorer Lamarcus Aldridge and will not be as good as expected during his first year, partly due to playing on the west. Hence the number one rookie you should draft is... #1: Micheal Beasley: Beasley will receive attention in drafts. Depending on the IQ of your league he could go anywhere from 5th round to the last round. Where should you draft him, you may ask? You should draft him around the 5th to 7th round. If he slips past that far, take him with a grin and laugh at your competition, figuring it will be a fun season. Beasley is just about a lock to be a starter with Miami. Beasley appears to be already put into a steady starting position with Miami, either starting night or a few weeks after starting night. With a healthy driving Wade, Beasley should do fine in his rookie year. If you get 10 points and 7 rebounds from Beasley he will have been a good pick at that position. Any more than that (a good chance) should result in you being happy from taking the risk. Players not to draft: Russell Westbrook: Westbrook may score a couple points here and there, but as a point guard he will not do very well. He will also be splitting time with other guards. Don't draft him. Donte Green: Green put up 40 points in a summer league game, however don't be fooled by summer league. Donte Greene will not play many minutes for the kings, and did not play well in preseason, don't draft him. Jerryd Bayless: Bayless will be a good point guard for the blazers. But according to them, he is not ready yet. He will have too much competition for his minutes also. Hope this information helps with your draft, good luck!

Draft Strategy - Part I

With this edition of Fantasy Basketball help, we will be discussing the league's newcomers. Usually you want to stay further away from most rookies on draft day than Josh Howard does camera phones. However, if you can nit-pick through the busts and developers, you can pull some real sleepers out of there. If you are a regular with fantasy basketball, you know that sleepers can definitely win leagues for you. That's what I will help you do for this upcoming season of fantasy basketball. During summer league and preseason, almost all rookies are entitled to break-out games and hot streaks. However, not being fooled by those will help in your pursuit of fantasy dominance. So, I've put together a list of rookies you should consider drafting late in drafts, and some rookies that you you should probably stay away from. However, rookies are unproven and don't play much in the NBA, and you should in most cases not draft rookies in the first 3-4 rounds unless noted. #8: Joey Dorsey: Dorsey may be worth a chance in the last round of your draft. Among Ming, Scola, Landry, and Hayes he will have to battle for his playing time. However, his rebounding ability along with aggressiveness in the paint can get him some PT. If Dorsey does happen to see some consistent minutes in Houston, they will be focused on rebounding. Think of him as a Tyson Chandler mini-me. He can help you out with rebounding and can get you a couple assisted points here and there. For your last draft pick, you may want to assess the board and give Dorsey consideration. #7: Derrick Rose: You may be wondering why Derrick Rose isn't lower on this list. The reason can be found with his position. Point Guards generally take a while to learn their team and be effective with their teams. Rose is no exception. He is definitely worth looking at late in your draft though. Rose will not be the assist leader on your team but he can get you some utility points. The Bulls seem set to put Rose in a position where he will see consistent minutes and many chances to prove that he could compete with Hinrich for the starting position. Don't get your hopes up though. Be happy if rose gets you 6-8 points with 3 assists per game. No wait, very happy. #6: Robin Lopez: Lopez will be a utility player for the Suns. His minutes are very questionable as a rookie though. On one side, with Shaquille O'Neal not likely to play many minutes, he could see some PT at the PF and/C position. But on the other hand, there are many players that are likely ahead of Lopez. Robin Lopez is a risk due to playing time, he is worth watching in the free agency list, but probably not for draft purposes. #5: Rudy Fernandez: Rudy Fernandez has experience will pro basketball and it will show. Fernandez will not start, however he will see consistent minutes as a shooter. Fernandez, through preseason has also proved that he will rack up assist as well. #4: Joe Alexander: Joe Alexander has the potential of being a sleeper for a late pick. On a team that doesn't have great depth, Alexander will see minutes worth fantasy consideration. He looked pretty solid for a rookie in preseason action and could be put into a role in his rookie season with Milwaukee. Again, a last round chance of a pick.