Hello Hoop-Ballers,
Hope all of you are doing well. In my main league I have the wonderful opportunity to draft at the 8th spot. Yes, I know very exciting. I've been tossing and turning in my sleep for the past week and changing my mind constantly. So I wanted to hear from you guys were all of your heads are at assuming the Top7 goes as it should - Harden, Kat, AD, Steph, Giannis, Jokič, Lillard.(That is my order!)
The next group of guys I am considering are Irving, Embiid and Kawhi. Also important to note if there is confirmation that George starts the season from the first game he would be the one I pick at 8th.(Thoughts?)
One thing with all of those guys is certain - they will miss games. All three of them will play around 70 games give or take if everything goes right. Probably less.
Irving - I'm not worried about the recent face "fracture". I could even say I am optimistic of his games played for this year. Last year Russell played in 81 games. What he was not capable of doing the 2 seasons before in a starting role. Atkinson managed him well and while he did play only 30 MPG. In no way I think Kyrie plays only 30 but is there a chance Atkinsons is able to manage him well and for that keep him healthy through this long season? Also he spoke in the media day how everything went south in Boston and that he plain and simple was not happy. With the young guys wanting to get their own and then also dealing with a loss in the family.
Embiid - Last year he was amazing averaging 27.5 pts, 13.6 reb, 3.7 ast and 1.9 blk with good %'s. He did play only 64 games and missed 8 straight at one point(that I as an Embiid owner felt while fighting for the play-offs). The general assumption is he won't play more than 70 games, probably it's going to be closer to 65. Now back to his great performance last year. Does anyone think he can significantly improve? Without Butler those number were fairly similar.
Leonard - Also had an amazing season on per-game basis but only played 60 games. Everyone is expecting him to play closer to 70 this year but I don't see him pushing past that. Clippers are loaded so they will give him some days off and he has never been an "ironman". He has played over 70 games two times in seven season(not counting the one were he played 9 games).
The games missed for both Kyrie and Kawhi were all over the place while Embiid did hurt you with a longer stretch(Kawhi did have a 4 game stretch in there). On per game basis they were next to each other in the ranks. It probably comes down to a personal preference, positional scarcity and potential pairings later on. And I want to add that this is a 20 team league so elite contributors in each position get picked off quick.
These are my thoughts, excited to hear what fellow forum people think.
Thanks.
Hi Hibachi, I too have pick 8 in my main 20team h2h league. Same top 7 for me and I'm seriously considering Kyrie with mine. Beal is also on my radar and seeing as the season is only 19 weeks then 3 playoffs weeks it mightn't hurt as bad if he's shutdown later. I can't risk Embiid Khawi or George sitting especially as their teams are better stacked at depth this season. Best of luck.
PS I'm targeting Draymond at my 32
Well guys, the 8th pick really sucks! Worst spot to pick this year. The only hope is that 1 of the top 7 that you mentioned slip down to you at 8. Because it’s H2H I wouldn’t go with Embiid, Irving or Leonard because of load management. I would go Bradley Beal. Monster usage! He’s the safest way to go in my book.
Good luck guys!
I agree that contribution-wise Kawhi and Embiid are similar. Both possess more upside than Kyrie at this point also imo. I Will be drafting Kawhi there tho because he’s a gd champion who has come through when his team needs him...and because I’m a raps fan and will always be a Kawhi-Stan from now on LOL.
I think I'm with Coach on this one, though in h2h you might even consider dropping farther down the board and look for guys making a playoff push in your playoff weeks. Kyrie fits that mold. Jimmy Butler, perhaps. LeBron, even, if you're not worried about FT%.
Comes the saying you can't win your league in the first round but you can definitely lose it lol. Fair point regarding Beal. But as much as he doesn't want to rest or be shutdown it might happen. And I do believe he regresses in his def stats as well as his FG% now that he has little to no help around him. The likes of Ish Smith and Troy Brown Jr are starting next to him. Being a Wizards fan makes me sick to my stomach. Porter and Satoransky were capable players. Can't say the same about these dudes. Defenses will be even more locked in on him. And they will live with him dishing it to whoever they throw out there.
Hello,
Also have the 8th pick but in roto.
And i plan to draft Beal if there is no slide from the tier of 7 guys.
Also got the 8th pick in my H2H $ league with Erik, Neil, and Chef. Ended up trading it. But if i had kept it, the obvious choice right now would probably be LeBron. Drummond or Gobert might even be available with your 2nd pick. Just punt free throws.
I think I would definetely avoid Beal at 8th in h2h because of shutdown risk in fantasy playoffs. I found hard to take that kind of a risk with my 1st round pick. I like Irving (the popular one) and my gut even tells the Drummond is the nice one (safe one). Not a lot of people talking about him at 8th, would like to here more expert opinions about Drummond at 8th - why yes or why no.
