Here are the results of our pre-Preseason 14-team Categories mock draft, run yesterday with some of the top industry experts.

Taken Early:

• #39 Dejounte Murray (-33 vs. 72 ADP)
• #85 Cason Wallace (-33 vs. 118 ADP)
• #86 John Collins (-30 vs. 116 ADP)
• #91 Ty Jerome (-22 vs. 113 ADP)
• #98 Ajay Mitchell (-20 vs 118 ADP)
• #46 Matas Buzelis (-19 vs. 65 ADP)
• #76 Day'Ron Sharpe (-19 vs. 94 ADP)
• #48 Darius Garland (-18 vs. 66 ADP)
• #93 Jalen Suggs (-18 vs. 111 ADP)
• #57 Kel'el Ware (-17 vs. 74 ADP)

Taken Late:

• #145 Brandon Ingram (+82 vs. 63 ADP)
• #146 Kristpas Porzingis (+48 vs. 98 ADP)
• #105 AJ Dybantsa (+26 vs. 79 ADP)
• #116 Jabari Smith Jr. (+23 vs. 93 ADP)
• #90 Zion Williamson (+21 vs. 69 ADP)
• #54 Paolo Banchero (+20 vs. 34 ADP)
• #44 Jaylen Brown (+17 vs. 27 ADP)
• #95 Caleb Wilson (+16 vs 79 ADP)
• #55 Deni Avdija (+15 vs. 40 ADP)
• #88 VJ Edgecombe (+15 vs. 73 ADP)

Team Builds:

1. bigpictureonly (Breakout) — Punt TO, Semi-Punt BLK

• Strengths: #1 in PTS, #2 in 3PM, #4 in REB/AST
• Nikola Jokić (2), Chet Holmgren (27), Brandon Miller (41), Jaylen Brown (44), Damian Lillard (69), Paul George (72), Josh Hart (97), Darryn Peterson (100), Zach LaVine (125), CJ McCollum (128), Anthony Black (153), Draymond Green (156), Maxime Raynaud (181)

2. milo (Breakout) — Balanced

• Strengths: #2 in STL, #3 in BLK/TO, #5 in FG%
• Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (3), Kawhi Leonard (26), Derrick White (40), LeBron James (45), Dyson Daniels (68), Alex Sarr (73), Andrew Wiggins (96), Isaiah Hartenstein (101), Jaime Jaquez Jr. (124), Yaxel Lendeborg (129), Nikola Vučević (152), Sam Merrill (157), Keon Ellis (180)

3. Chuckball_ABA (Airball Association) — Punt 3PM/PTS/AST

• Strengths: #1 in FG%, BLK, #2 in TO, #3 in REB
• Victor Wembanyama (1), Anthony Davis (28), Jalen Duren (42), Kyrie Irving (43), Jarrett Allen (70), Ausar Thompson (71), Ajay Mitchell (98), Myles Turner (99), Toumani Camara (126), Peyton Watson (127), Herbert Jones (154), Rui Hachimura (155), Kelly Oubre Jr. (182)

4. leaguewinner (LeagueWinnerSports) — Punt PTS/REB/AST

• Strengths: #1 in TO, #3 in FT%/3PM, #6 in STL
• Tyrese Haliburton (14), Donovan Mitchell (15), Lauri Markkanen (29), Desmond Bane (56), Kel'el Ware (57), Jaden McDaniels (84), Cason Wallace (85), Neemias Queta (112), Keegan Murray (113), Cameron Johnson (140), Mitchell Robinson (141), Aaron Nesmith (168), De'Andre Hunter (169)

5. D-Mac (NBA Fantasy Bible) — Punt REB, Semi-punt FG%

• Strengths: #1 in FT%/AST, #5 in STL
• Cooper Flagg (10), Jamal Murray (19), James Harden (33), Donovan Clingan (52), Zach Edey (61), De'Aaron Fox (80), Immanuel Quickley (89), Ayo Dosunmu (108), Kevin Porter Jr. (117), Tre Jones (136), Brandon Ingram (145), Saddiq Bey (164), Dillon Brooks (173)

6. Adam King (Old Man Squad) — Punt FG%/FT%

• Strengths: #2 in BLK, #4 in STL, #5 in PTS/REB
• Luka Dončić (4), Evan Mobley (25), Dejounte Murray (39), Matas Buzelis (46), Stephon Castle (67), Naz Reid (74), Caleb Wilson (95), Darius Acuff Jr. (102), Kyshawn George (123), Jeremiah Fears (130), Joan Beringer (151), Collin Sexton (158), Morez Johnson Jr. (179)

7. wha1en (RotoWire) — Punt STL, Semi-punt 3PM

• Strengths: #2 in AST, #4 in PTS, #5 in BLK, #6 in FG%
• Cade Cunningham (5), Devin Booker (24), Walker Kessler (38), Kon Knueppel (47), Michael Porter Jr. (66), Derik Queen (75), Ja Morant (94), Nic Claxton (103), RJ Barrett (122), Isaiah Stewart (131), DeMar DeRozan (150), Max Strus (159), Kris Dunn (178)

8. MattyG (Old Man Squad) — Punt FG%/AST

• Strengths: #2 in REB, #3 in PTS, #4 in 3PM/BLK
• Anthony Edwards (7), LaMelo Ball (22), Jaren Jackson Jr. (36), Onyeka Okongwu (49), Cameron Boozer (64), Julius Randle (77), Norman Powell (92), AJ Dybantsa (105), Moussa Diabaté (120), Egor Dëmin (133), Yves Missi (148), Tobias Harris (161), Bobby Portis (176)

9. bdub (Fantasy Basketball International) — Punt STL

• Strengths: #1 in REB, #4 in FT%/TO, #6 in BLK
• Scottie Barnes (11), Karl-Anthony Towns (18), Domantas Sabonis (32), Keyonte George (53), Joel Embiid (60), Dylan Harper (81), VJ Edgecombe (88), Miles Bridges (109), Jabari Smith Jr. (116), Tari Eason (137), Devin Vassell (144), Al Horford (165), Brook Lopez (172)

10. Alex Barutha (RotoWire) — Punt STL/BLK

• Strengths: #2 in FT%, #3 in AST, #4 in FG%, #5 in 3PM
• Kevin Durant (13), Austin Reaves (16), Trae Young (30), Deni Avdija (55), Tyler Herro (58), Payton Pritchard (83), John Collins (86), Jusuf Nurkić (111), Jakob Poeltl (114), Gui Santos (139), Jrue Holiday (142), Christian Braun (167), Naji Marshall (170)

11. Adam Stock (EliteFantasyBasketball) — Punt FT%/3PM

• Strengths: #2 in FG%, #5 in TO, #7 in REB
• Giannis Antetokounmpo (8), Stephen Curry (21), Bam Adebayo (35), Franz Wagner (50), Ryan Rollins (63), Rudy Gobert (78), Ty Jerome (91), Collin Murray-Boyles (106), Grayson Allen (119), Isaiah Jackson (134), Andrew Nembhard (147), P.J. Washington (162), De'Anthony Melton (175)

12. Dan Titus (Yahoo) — Punt BLK, Semi-punt FT%

• Strengths: #3 in FG%, #5 in AST, #6 in TO
• Jalen Johnson (12), Amen Thompson (17), Jalen Brunson (31), Paolo Banchero (54), Nickeil Alexander-Walker (59), Cedric Coward (82), Mikal Bridges (87), Davion Mitchell (110), Brandin Podziemski (115), Daniel Gafford (138), Wendell Carter Jr. (143), Aaron Gordon (166), Pelle Larsson (171)

13. 9CatNinja (Hashtag Basketball) — Punt FG%/PTS

• Strengths: #1 in 3PM/STL, #7 in FT%/AST
• Jayson Tatum (6), Josh Giddey (23), Trey Murphy III (37), Darius Garland (48), OG Anunoby (65), Day'Ron Sharpe (76), Jalen Suggs (93), Khaman Maluach (104), Sandro Mamukelashvili (121), Reed Sheppard (132), Quentin Grimes (149), Collin Gillespie (160), Scotty Pippen Jr. (177)

14. Papi Roi (Fantasy Basketball PH) — Punt FT%/3PM

• Strengths: #2 in PTS, #8 in FG%/TO
• Tyrese Maxey (9), Alperen Sengun (20), Jalen Williams (34), Pascal Siakam (51), Ivica Zubac (62), Coby White (79), Zion Williamson (90), Jalen Green (107), Fred VanVleet (118), Paul Reed (135), Kristaps Porziņģis (146), Jonathan Kuminga (163), Keaton Wagler (174)

8 players who will their destroy their ADPs in the second half of the season & fantasy playoffs

I believe that most of the players on this list will outplay their ADPs regardless this season. However, there are a few names that I believe will specifically outperform their ADPs, and yield their best production in the second half of the season, and into fantasy playoffs for one reason or another.

Tyrese Haliburton

I could’ve put a few different players recovering from long term injuries on this list, but Haliburton is worth featuring due to the amount of draft capital currently being spent on him. Haliburton will be over 16 months removed from game action on opening night, recovering from a torn achilles. While I do believe he will work his way up to first round value in the second half of the season, it might be a slow path to get there as he inevitably has to shake off rust, with potential for limited minutes, and rested games. I’m generally fine with his current ADPs of 15/12/21 (Yahoo/Fantrax/ESPN) although, the production to reflect that value is unlikely to be immediate.

Cam Boozer

Cam Boozer is the featured player for the several rookies being drafted in fantasy drafts this season. Rookies almost always gradually improve throughout their first season, and play their best basketball down the stretch as they adjust to the NBA game. There’s a chance Boozer beats his current ADPs of 57/58/77 right from the start of the season, and I have confidence regardless that he will soar past those numbers in the second half.

Jaylen Brown

Philadelphia will be a very interesting watch this season, both from a fantasy and real life perspective. Players joining new teams sometimes struggle at the beginning of the season in a new environment. This struggle could be amplified for Brown as he is joining a team with 3 other high usage players, including fellow new arrival LeBron James. Brown technically doesn’t fit the description of this list, as I don’t like his ADPs of 28/43/33. He is worth featuring, as he will probably have a top 50 finish, as the new grouping isn’t as bad as it might have been initially made out to be for fantasy value.

Damian Lillard

Lillard has three separate factors that might translate to a slow start. The obvious is that he hasn’t played in an NBA game in over 17 months, and will likely have some rust to shake off. He is also joining a new team, which can sometimes have an adaptation period.

The third reason involves the team construction in Portland, which features too many guards with overlapping skillsets, and no clear hierarchy established. I am high on Lillard this season as I believe the guard overcrowding will not impact him on a significant level, but it might get messy to begin the season. There’s also a good chance for a trade to balance out the roster prior to the deadline which could benefit Lillard. Whether that trade involves Morant is unknown, but Morant’s frequency of injuries is another path for Lillard’s success. Lillard is one of my favorite picks on the board at 66/81/72.

Kel’El Ware

Ware joined Milwaukee this offseason, and entered a center room with Myles Turner. Turner is coming off of a career worst season. While I believe there’s a chance Ware overtakes Turner in the near future, it’s not going to happen on opening night. Regardless, there is a chance Ware starts next to Turner, and should play minutes alongside Turner at the very least. Ware is arguably Milwaukee’s best prospect, and I don’t see a reason why they wouldn’t want to give Ware significant run in a developmental year. It’s possible he experiences some role fluctuation to open the season, but he should make it clear fairly quickly that he deserves a big role on a likely bad Bucks team. Preseason games will tell us a lot about how to value Ware in fantasy drafts. Fantrax has his ADP in a good spot at 59, while there is some potential value in Yahoo & ESPN leagues at 75/108

VJ Edgecombe

Jaylen Brown’s segment had a lot of reasons that apply directly to Edgecombe who has a wide range of outcomes this season. He’s specifically worth watching as he moves from the number 2 scoring option at times last season, to the clear number 5. Edgecombe is an elite prospect who should theoretically take a big leap entering year 2, and I’m curious to watch how he gets there with much less offensive opportunity. I think he’s a fairly safe pick in the 80s. There is added upside as Philadelphia likely rests LeBron & Embiid quite a bit this season, with high likelihood of actual injuries for the two as well, and potentially in fantasy playoffs as they prepare for real playoffs.

Dylan Harper

I think drafting Harper in the 80s, where he is currently going on all platforms, has taken a lot of the value away from drafting Harper. I see a realistic possibility that he is only producing fringe value for several weeks, or months into the season. I think he will eventually play well enough where he eventually receives enough playing time to reflect top 80 fantasy value, but as of now he is not in the starting lineup, and has a murky path to 30 minutes. Even though I believe it could start out slow for Harper, I think he will eventually play his way into 30 minutes through talent alone. He also has the upside of getting boosted if any of the starters get hurt. If San Antonio is as good as they are projected to be, there will also be quite a few blowouts Harper can accumulate stats in down the stretch, and potential rest for his teammates as they prepare for a playoff run.

Khaman Maluach

Maluach is one of the biggest risers since the start of draft season, and it’s for a good reason as he presumably moves into the starting center spot in Phoenix with a long term injury for Mark Williams. Despite this rise, his ADPs have not reflected this, (119/173/140) and I believe Maluach is worth taking around pick 100. I feel fairly confident he will destroy his ADPs right out of the gate. Preseason will tell us a lot about Maluach’s value. Oso Ighodaro will take an unknown amount of center minutes, which could translate to a slow and volatile start for Maluach. Regardless, there is no doubt in my mind that Maluach is not only the best prospect on this team, but the best center option by a wide margin. He should establish his dominance in the Phoenix center room sooner or later.

I'm starting to realise I'm probably too scared of reaching If you really want someone and don't think they'll make it back to you, how far above ADP are you comfortable taking them? At some point surely getting the player you want matters more than winning the draft on paper.

How do they make the UI (User Interface) worse every year on mobile??? I cant see my players faces anymore, so you might as well keep all of the players hidden at that point. You cant see the stats of your players at as much as you used to be able to. Cant see the total stats your players are putting up for the week. This is so disheartening. Are there any positives to the Ui at all? I think the UI team just needs an excuse to have their jobs and mess everything up in the process?

Seems like Cade is a consensus 5th round pick for CATs. Giannis looked crazy good during preseason. Who you got?

After watching Warriors media day, I’m honestly a little nervous about drafting Curry this year.

The tone around the team feels pretty different. There’s a lot less championship talk and a lot more about resetting things and focusing on the process. Jimmy and Moody are still working back from injuries, and KP is still out indefinitely.

Curry is healthy going into camp, but he only played 43 games last year because of the knee issue. At 38, that’s just hard for me to ignore.

The schedule doesn’t help either. Golden State has a bunch of back-to-backs early, including four in the first 16 games, and I’d be surprised if they pushed Curry through all of them.

That’s basically my problem with him this year. When he plays, I still expect him to be great. I’m just not sure I want to spend a pick in the mid-20s if there’s a real chance he ends up playing only 40–50 games again.

Seeing Curry fall this far is obviously tempting, but I’m still having a hard time pulling the trigger.

I haven’t watched Phoenix much before… I’ve been seeing Jalen Green with an ADP 115 on espn points ranking. Isn’t he the 2nd option on the Suns? His projection total is also pretty low. I guess injury risk is pretty high, but I’d have thought that he is as least gonna be pretty decent per game being healthy?

I've done mock drafts where I see him fall to the lake 2nd/early 3rd. Why? Towns was the best player for the Knicks during the finals. The Knicks ran their offense through him and Mike Brown said they will do the same again this year. He averaged like 6 assists in the postseason. I think we should see a bump in assists an even scoring. Drummond is awful that gives them no defense. Plus, he's playing for contract. Why is Josh Lloyd dropping the ball again saying that he's low on him? Because of a deep playoff run? Huh? I have a suspension that Lloyd is secretly downplaying certain guys so he can get a discount in his own leagues. Towns should be drafted early 2nd round. He should not fall past pick 15.

Center scarcity has become a really interesting problem in 9-cat, especially in auction drafts.

In my experience, quality centers have become increasingly difficult to find, both in fantasy and in the NBA. In a 12-team 9-cat league, the difference between having a reliable high-end center and having to rely on the waiver wire can be huge.

Last season, I noticed that after the obvious elite options, players like AD and Kessler could command an enormous premium in trades. Managers were willing to give up very valuable players just to acquire a quality center.

This makes me particularly interested in how to approach the situation in an auction draft. If center scarcity is obvious to everyone, I expect managers to massively overbid for almost all centers. Once a few managers start paying huge prices, there is also a psychological effect where everyone starts thinking, “If I don't get one of these guys now, I'll be screwed at center later.”

So what do you think is the optimal strategy?

What are some of the top 5 dollars and cheaper players you guys are targeting in auction drafts?

Didn’t see a discussion on this. Curious everyone’s thoughts on how Bam pairs with Giannis in two ways. IRL and together on a fantasy team.

Meaning how much of a hit do we think his production will take with Giannis in town, or does the Heat’s play style and lack of depth buffer that impact.

And how do we feel about pairing them together on a fantasy team. I’m usually opposed to having two of my top players from the same team but their styles are very complimentary (punt ft%/blocks/3s builds).

If you had to pick two of the following, and leave the rest on the table, who are you taking? For points and/or cats

Day’ron Sharpe

Pelle Larsson

Yaxel Lendeborg

Collin Gillespie

Quentin Grimes

Kyshawn George

Moussa Diabate

Santi Aldama is sitting on our league's waiver and I was thinking if he is worth the pick-up this year considering the depth of Dallas's bigs this year.

Wagler’s shot wasn’t falling in the Clippers’ preseason opener, but I thought the usage and on-ball opportunities were really encouraging. He seemed to have a lot of freedom to create and take shots.
Do you think this is indicative of the role he’ll have during the regular season, or was it mostly a preseason thing? Worth taking a late-round flyer in standard points leagues?

I have the second pick (most likely Wemby). How would you rank the following guards? Standard 9 category league.

Austin Reaves (likely the best for 9 cat)

Steph Curry

Lamelo Ball

Devin Booker

Jalen Brunson

James Harden

Who's projections do you trust more?? Or do you average the two?? I play in salary cap leagues h2h.

What do you think of him this year? Sacramento is rebuilding, however he did not improve too much during last season, and is likely stuck behind Lavine for now.

Where is Ja Morant going in drafts? The Blazers are a tough team to understand this year from a fantasy perspective. Our projections have Ja as a Sleeper heading into drafting season for points leagues - let me know if you disagree.

I’m curious is there a website to refer to, to see what the starting roster is for each team they way daily face off shows each nhl team’s lineups. Helps to see which players to target off the waiver wire.

Title.

New to fantasy basketball this year, have been playing fantasy baseball the past few years and loving it. I love hoops even more than baseball and they seem to be pretty similar fantasy sports so far, so I’m really looking forward to it.

I think my approach for my h2h points league (and feel free to suggest otherwise) will be finding a projection system I like, attaching my league’s scoring to it, and creating a Projected Fantasy PPG spreadsheet for myself.

The first step in that process obviously is finding a good projection system, so I’m curious what the community has found success with in recent years.

So far I’ve seen mentions of Hashtag, Fanscout, and The Roster Report, but I’m curious if there are any other good ones out there that include FGA & FGM, FTA & FTM, and DD & TD, as all of these carry point values in the league I joined.

Also would be interested if there has been any research published on the performance of these projections in recent years. Creator of Roster Report projections advertises a 92% accuracy in the last few seasons for reference.

Thanks in advance for help and expertise!!

I feel like the depth isn’t a problem. but the starting 5 if embiid and lebron are healthy. Would it affect his performance?

What are your thoughts on him for 9Cat 14T? Is he a must roster?

A friend of mine invited me to join his long running league. I’m pick 7. It’s only 7 cats (no TO or FT%-no idea the rationale here), and im thinking of it kinda like a punt TO/FT build. Two questions:

1. I came across roto wire and hashtag (free for top 30) for customizable projections, but both are behind paywalls. All good, but anything out there with free projections with customizable categories?
2. Who are good targets for this build? I’m thinking bigs get upgraded (Giannis, Kessler, Mobley, sengun) and trying to target 3s/assists/steals where it makes sense.

Podziemski mi intriga parecchio: se davvero avrà tanti minuti e un ruolo stabile, mi chiedo se questo possa essere finalmente l’anno del vero salto fantasy. Ha già fatto vedere sprazzi importanti, ora deve trasformarli in continuità.
Quando prenderlo? 14t