By RotoEvil
10-26-07
First of all, I would like to thank those of you who have taken the time to email me. Your comments will keep me going strong throughout the season, no doubt. Make sure you bookmark my section, because I have
many things in store for the regular season (check back on Sunday for Week 1 player rankings and a Weekly Team Schedule Grid).
Secondly, keep in mind that I haven't updated my rankings in a few days so draft accordingly. I have 2 big drafts this weekend and know that some of my competitors are watching, so I don't want to reveal any of my last minute changes. One example is Chucky Atkins. I had him ranked #116 and decided to draft him in the 11th round yesterday, but just a couple of hours later watched him collapse in pain after re-injuring his groin. I would now drop him out of my top 150.
I would also like to stress that your position needs and category needs are far more important than my actual rankings are on draft day. While I DO suggest that you utilize my rankings, cheatsheets, and tiers during your draft, I'm sure that most of you know there is much more to it than just picking the highest ranked player available. Make sure you pay attention to what positions you need help in and what players at those positions are still on the board. More importantly, focus on how your team is doing in each CATEGORY. This is where my Cat Values come into play. As you build your team, I recommend that you copy and paste the cat values for each player that you pick and then look at your team's average in each category to detirmine where you need help. Here is an example from my draft yesterday:
|
PTS |
3's |
REB |
ASS |
STL |
BLK |
FG% |
FT% |
| Dwight Howard |
6.25 |
4.00 |
7.75 |
4.50 |
5.00 |
7.25 |
8.00 |
1.75 |
| Chris Paul |
5.75 |
5.25 |
4.75 |
8.00 |
7.25 |
4.00 |
4.25 |
5.75 |
| Carmelo Anthony |
7.50 |
4.75 |
5.25 |
5.25 |
5.50 |
4.75 |
5.50 |
5.75 |
| TEAM AVERAGE |
6.50 |
4.67 |
5.92 |
5.92 |
5.92 |
5.42 |
5.92 |
4.42 |
|
I had the #11 pick overall and decided to go with the "Man-Beast" as my #1 center. I followed up Dwight Howard with Chris Paul and Carmelo Anthony. After pasting my Cat Values in Excel and making a "Team Average" row at the bottom, you can see that my team was excellent in points, boards, assists, steals, and FG% after 3 rounds. However, my team was below average in threes and FT%, suggesting I draft a top notch shooter sooner rather than later. Sure enough, Mike Miller fell into my lap in round 4, which made me (and my team's cat averages) very happy.
As the draft goes on, it will be harder and harder to keep your team averages above 5.00 in each category, but that is the goal. If you track your team during the draft like this, it will make it much easier to see what your overall strengths and weaknesses are.
I hope you can use this to your advantage during your draft and that it proves to be successful for you. Good luck this year!
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