Fantasy Basketball Nba Draft Advice

I suppose you can say I own far too many fantasy basketball teams. I just finished drafting my eighth team, with three still pending and one currently in progress -- it's a 30-team experts league draft. Enough is enough, right?

I figure that if I talk the talk, I should at least walk the walk.

Recently I was a part of an experts league draft started up by fantasy guru Dave Gawron over at RotoCommunity.com. The league consisted of 12 fantasy experts, each from a different fantasy publication or Web site.

I had the 11th pick in the draft, which seems to be my lucky number. After the jump I'll let you in on what I was thinking as I drafted and show you how I put my strategy to work.

You kids and your Twitter. There's something about 140 characters to get your point across that just seems to make sense. The whole idea got me thinking that instead of dragging out some fantasy basketball column that you'll likely just skim over, what do you say I give you 50 fantasy basketball tips and observations in 140 characters or less. You have no vote in this matter, so you're getting them anyway.

These tips are not only designed for those of you who have yet to draft your fantasy teams, but they're also for those who are looking to improve on their post-draft squads. Hopefully this is a helpful way to get out as much information as possible while keepin' it mainstream.

The NBA referees seem to be on their way back to work, according to Howard Beck of The New York Times. What a perfect way to open up a post about those who are undervalued. This is not only good news for Dwight Howard and Mike Dunleavy, but it's also fantastic news for NBA fans in general. No disrespect to the replacement refs, but you don't want a pediatrician performing heart surgery.

All order has been restored in the 2009-10 season, so it's time to put the referee situation behind us and talk about those fantasy players who are not getting the respect they deserve.

Using the data from the fine gents over at Mock Draft Central, I identified 10 players whose average draft position is well below their value.

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Value is in the eye of the beholder. Memphis owner Michael Heisley saw value in signing Allen Iverson to a one-year, $3 million contract much like some people see a 99-cent hamburger as great value. "I remember having a good hamburger at one point; it cost me five dollars at the time. This one is only 99 cents -- value!"

It goes both ways, though. In one hand you have a fist full of diamonds. In the other, a hand full of mud.

Using the data collected by the hard-working guys over at Mock Draft Central, I'm going to identify 10 guys in the top 100 who are being overvalued in mock drafts. It's for your own good.

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As in comedy, all things fantasy basketball come in fives. In finishing my positional previews I now give you my list of the Top 50 point guards. There is very little surprise as to who sits at the top of the list. That honor goes to the potential number one overall pick -- Chris Paul. Thanks to his high assist and steal totals, Paul once again finished with fantasy MVP honors in '08-'09.

There is a premium price to pay for point guards this year. Only 14 players dished more than 500 total assists last season, two of whom are not eligible at the point. On the defensive side of the ball, 20 players posted more than 100 steals -- half were point guards. On the court they're leaders. Off the court they're freaks. Actually, I have no proof of that. What I do have is a list!

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The power forward position is the deepest of all positions. Much like I mentioned how many of the the best power forwards are eligible at center, many small forwards and centers have dual eligibility at power forward. The range of ability consists of some of the league's best rebounders, scorers, three-point specialists, and efficient shooters. Some fantasy owners load up on power forwards and slot them into their center and utility positions. This position runs so deep, so deep that 50 players may not be enough to cover each and every fantasy relevant power forward. The depth leaves great value toward the end of drafts, but there's no reason to sleep on the players atop the draft board.

Again, I followed Fleaflicker's fantasy basketball positional eligibility. The rankings are based on standard, 8-category head-to-head (H2H) scoring: points, rebounds, assists, blocks, steals, three-pointers, field-goal percentage, and free-throw percentage.

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Kevin Durant is not playing around anymore. Last season he joined the ranks of the elite fantasy ballers. Now he's hoping to make that final leap toward the top tier, which is the resting place of LeBron James and Chris Paul.

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Historically, the small forward position has been designated for slashers and swingmen who are smaller and not as physically imposing as their frontcourt counterparts. They're easy enough to identify. LeBron James, Carmelo Anthony, and Paul Pierce are all small forwards. Brian Scalabrine, on the other hand, is a power forward. I suppose the true definition of a small forward is someone who, for the most part, measures at least 6-feet, 5-inches and encompasses a more versatile skill set -- a player who can dribble, pass, shoot, and rebound.

Three of the most versatile and all-around NBA talents in the game are eligible at the small forward position. The top of the list is headlined by King James, the first or second pick in all fantasy drafts -- depending on who you ask. The rankings themselves are considered to be a little top-heavy. You'll find some value toward the end of the list, but it's at the top where the bread and butter is.

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The center position is often considered the thinnest position. Possibly because most leagues require you to start at least two centers, or maybe it's because once you get past the first 12 or 15 centers you start seeing players queued up who have some serious deficiencies in their game. The one saving grace is that many of the league's top power forwards are also eligible at center.

You'll often hear guys strategize about getting out of the draft with a few centers who can rebound, block shots, and shoot a high percentage from the field while doing limited damage to their team's free-throw percentage. That's not so easy to do, however. The strategy here is to find a center who has limited free-throw attempts. If you're drafting Dwight Howard you have to be careful of his 59.4 FT% since he gets to the line 10.8 times per game. On the other hand Andris Biedrins' 55.1 FT% is manageable because he got to the line just 3.5 times per game last season.

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When searching for sleepers at the point guard position you are usually after two things: steals and assists. Sure, a healthy free-throw percentage helps and some three-pointers would be nice, but as Jason Kidd has shown it's not all about scoring.

In the first two rounds there are 10 eligible point guards who should fall off the board: Chris Paul, Dwyane Wade, Deron Williams, Brandon Roy, Steve Nash, Jason Kidd, Chauncey Billups, Jose Calderon, Devin Harris and Joe Johnson. If you are able to grab one of those top-tier point guards, congratulations. Now you just need to find a second point to bolster and fill out your categories and a third for, well, good measure. If not, I would suggest loading up on fourth- or fifth-tier point guards -- Rajon Rondo, Tony Parker, Russell Westbrook, etc. -- where you can find plenty of star power.

Using the average draft positions (ADPs) as reported by Mock Draft Central (MDC) and Yahoo! Sports (Y!), the following five point guards are all sleeper candidates as third, and in some cases second point guards.