Teams with 2 Games: BOS, CLE, DEN, PHX, POR

Teams with 3 Games: ATL, BKN, CHA, CHI, DAL, DET, GSW, HOU, IND, LAC, LAL, MEM, MIA, MIL, MIN, NOP, NYK, OKC, ORL, SAC, SAS, TOR, UTA, WAS

Teams with 4 Games: PHI

Week 1 back-to-back games

Tues-Weds: None

Weds-Thurs: None

Thurs-Fri: None

Fri-Sat: ATL, CHA, CHI, DAL, GSW, HOU, MIA, MIL, NOP, SAS, WAS

Sat-Sun: BKN, PHI

Sun-Mon (Week 2): IND, MEM, MIN, OKC, UTA

Late Start

First Game on Thurs: CLE, DEN

Early Finish

Last Game on FRI: BOS, POR

Big Gap

POR: Game Friday, Next Game on Tuesday (Week 2)

Game Schedule

Mon: 0 Games

Tues: 3 Games (Light Game Day)

Weds: 11 Games

Thurs: 2 Games (Light Game Day)

Fri: 12 Games (Heavy Game Day)

Sat: 8 Games

Sun: 7 Games

Teams that play Tues & Thurs: OKC, PHI

NBA Season begins Tuesday, October 20th

Hey everyone! I wanted to do a quick AMA this morning, as I know many folks still have drafts left this weekend.

Thanks in advance for all your support with my draft content. I am going to hang around for about an hour and answer as many of your questions as I can in real time.

For those that I don't get to this morning, I promise I'll try to answer every one of your questions at some point before your draft (or before Week 1 starts if you've already drafted)

What are we doing with him

Looked healthy and moving well. Is anyone taking a flier on him or is it just preseason tings

I know it’s preseason… I know, BUT…

Tatum in two games: 23/5/4 on 9/19 shooting & 19/8/6 on 8/17 shooting

Hali’s 2/3 games: 17/3/6 on 7/14 shooting & 24/3/3 on 9/14 shooting

Dame tonight (still going): 23 pts (4/10 fg, 2/5 3fgs)

All three have looked impressive so far in preseason - I think Hali has impressed me the most so far - how we feeling about em? Usually nba players’ careers fall off drastically after an Achilles tear (minus Durant in recent times)

Will he step up to the ever growing pressure and log 32+ mins 🤔

My late night nerdy fantasy analysis time - This time, im trying to see which guys to target for BLKs without dragging your FTs. I think this one is naturally easier than the Assist + TO combo I looked into last time.

For 26-27 season projections, here are some notable blk sources:

Blocks with little or no FT cost

The middle ground

Bigger FT trade-offs

How did I calculate FT impact? Projected makes above or below a 79.9% shooter taking the same attempts. That baseline is the attempt-weighted FT% of this top-180 pool. Negative means FT drag, not the percentage-point drop in your team’s FT%.

For a lot of these guys listed in the middle ground and even a few in the drags in the 3rd table, I think a high FTA guard may be able to compensate the drag, at least to bring you to a level where you dont have to punt FT.

Giannis (very obvious one), Sengun and even Mobley could be pretty hard to recover.

Full chart saved here

Kyshawn George was the hottest name on this board last preseason. We're getting a more efficient version of the same player this year. Have folks moved on or just don't believe this year?

Preseason numbers

23.7 minutes

15.3 points

63% FG

59%3PT

83% FT

3.5 rebounds

2.8 assists

1.3 steals

1.5 blocks

3.0 turnovers

There's no rookie I'm higher on vs. ESPN this year than Yaxel Lendeborg (ESPN rank #173). I have him personally ranked at #98. 

The read is simply that his game is already well polished and has no holes. A rare rookie combination of: Maturity (5 year NCAA athlete), Smooth Jumper, Size, Agility, and Confidence 

He was Summer League MVP, posting the highest Summer League BPM ever (15.9), and set his own bare minimum for the season at 15P/6R/3-4A per game."If I get under that, then I'm ass." ~ Lendeborg

He will hit the ground running while Jimmy Butler is working his way back, leading to more trust/minutes once Butler eventually returns. 

His preseason averages so far in ESPN standard points:

TL;DR: Lendeborg is a do-it-all wing with a secured role, priced like a waiver-wire afterthought. 

i'm hoping tape grinders and local sports guru's will be kind enough to use this thread to drop some gems with players that are standing out in pre-season

raps fan here: kawhi looks very good, and CMB is getting targeted in all of my 9 cat drafts.

bball season is almost here gang, let's go!!

Our league has been going for 8 years I think. Despite that, there is probably one or two trades each season. My thoughts are that nobody wants to lose a trade and everyone gets attached to the guys they draft hoping they keep up the good play or turn around the bad play. Or they drafted with fit in mind for their build. A trade that might be fair either side, you will have caution about doing the trade in fear or downturn or injury also.

I guess the question is around value and how you guys see it? Does a 3rd rounder and a 5th equal a second? Does a 5th and a 6th equal a 4th and an 8th?

And how often are you guys making trades. I think we all know that most work is done on the wire.

I feel like a dynasty league would have more trades because of competing vs tanking and picks.

Any thoughts appreciated.

I am curious to know wh you all are keeping an eye on like rookies and players going into their 2nd and 3rd year and so one.

not sure why I feel so unsure drafting this season because of all the new talent. or at least players who the chance to boom . pause

Surprised nobody is talking about this. Right now they're calling it "shoulder soreness". But we know that never means anything, especially when Sweeney gave no update and just said "to be re-evaluated".

Thought this dude was a steal. But maybe not so fast

“Basket Zaragoza have publicly challenged Aday Mara's move to the Oklahoma City Thunder, insisting that the rookie center remains under contract with the Spanish club for the 2026-27 season. In an official statement, Zaragoza said it has not yet received a request for Mara's international transfer but warned that it will formally oppose one if such a request arrives.”

Daily points league discussion, you should note how many teams are in your league when asking for advice. Please try to respond to other people’s questions if asking a question yourself.

Love doing fantasy basketball but have no one that likes to play. Looking to join if anyone is welcoming of a spot.

Did not play all preseason. Are you guys confident drafting him? I usually target him 3rd rd of 10-team mock drafts. But season’s about to start now and there is still no clear update on him. We’ll draft soon, and while i’d like to draft him, i’d rather avoid injured players.

And it's here! I finally finished my manifesto with a look at three-point shooters who can contribute in other non-traditional categories.

I also have a full breakdown of the unicorn ratings at the end. Check it out and let me know what you think!

Also hosting an AMA here tomorrow around 7:30 AM; stop by and ask me anything you want ahead of your weekend drafts.

Good luck this season; let's crush!

Historically I've always avoided rookies cuz I don't have the patience to wait through their early season questionability and trying to "figure out their role". Wondering what rookies you guys are truly big on this season and what about their situations make you think they have that much upside? 10T 9Cat

One of the biggest ways I like to determine future success is by how younger players finish up the later parts of the season (a sign of things to come). Obviously you need to take into account if injuries played a roll on why their usage is up etc but here are my 4 favorite players to consider.All these stats are courtesy of BBM.

Donovan Clingan (36th on year, 14th over the last 2 months)

Nothing changed here (not even minutes) but he learned to block more effectively allowing him to make such a huge leap.

Dyson Daniels (45th on year, 22nd over last 2 months)

Lets face it. This guy is better than everyone made him out to be. The previous year he had an absurd 3.0 steals per game. Steals went down last year but rebounds, assists, and fg went up. Look out!

Jalen Duren (32nd on year, 17th over last 2 months)

Slight uptick in everything over the last 2 months. Should finish top 24 imo

Neemias Queta (68th on year, 36th over last 2 months)

No he is not your prototypical "young guy" (still only 27 years old) but he was finally given decent minutes. His minutes per game only went up 1 over the last 2 months (almost 26 whole minutes) but his efficiency went up. Don't worry about Mitchell Robinson. He breaks down and never plays more than 25 minutes/game. He is a steal wherever you get him.

In my 9-cat league, it's looking like I'll likely be choosing wither Cade, Tatum, or Ant with my mid/late first rd pick.

Numbers point to Cade being the pick here, but I haven't seen much discussion/concern around what seems to be a somewhat consistent lack of availability for him.

Cade's only hit 70 games once, whereas Tatum and Ant have done it almost every year.

With this in mind, would yall move Tatum / Ant slightly up ahead of Cade in preference? I would be more keen on Ant specifically but his AST numbers with Ball are making me hesitate

ESPN Points:

What’s everyone’s thoughts on Suggs this year? From what I can gather he’ll be starting PG and should have some decent room to operate with Paolo and Franz both requiring defensive attention.

My main concern for Suggs is he tends to be injury prone. But if we can look past that and hypothetically he plays 55-60+ games, is he an absolute steal at 130? Surely he can provide top 100 or even top 80 value if he continually plays 30 minutes or so, right?

Does anyone recall players in recent history who played great in the pre season but poorly in the regular season?

Or players who didn’t play well in the pre season but ended up having a good regular season?

The one i think of immediately is Anthony Bennett lol

All 7 players should have short term value at the very least with injuries to their teammates

Isaiah Jackson

Isaiah Jackson is the starting center for the Clippers. Yanic Konan Niederhauser will receive a chunk of center minutes upon his return, but he is nowhere to be found for the time being, and Los Angeles will turn to Isaiah Jackson. Jackson’s playing time has been limited in recent seasons for health reasons, but there’s a lot of upside if he manages to play 25+ MPG. He’s going in the later rounds of drafts, and should produce as a back end rosterable center with upside.

Grayson Allen

Allen seems to always sneak his way into fantasy value, and he has a chance to do so again with Kon Knueppel & Coby White both out. I thought there was a chance Allen could’ve been rosterable before the two injuries, and now his path to top 100 value is clear for the first few games of the season at least. I seem to be much higher on Allen than consensus, and I think he’s worth drafting around pick 120, as he has a chance to be relevant all season, with an early season boost as a bonus.

Jalen Smith

Nicolas Claxton has still technically not been ruled out for opening night, but Chicago is a bad team for accurately reporting injuries, and I think Claxton’s absence is safe to assume. It’s a mystery how much time Claxton misses, but Smith has a clear path to big fantasy value however long that absence transpires. I wouldn’t take Smith any earlier than one of my last three picks as the extent of his value is a bit of a roll of the dice, but there’s no question that he has to be drafted due to that upside.

Dennis Schroder

We’ve seen Schroder get extended run at multiple points throughout his career, and the results have been less than impressive. He gets a chance to start opening night in Charlotte with Coby White out, and is further boosted by Kon Knueppel’s absence as well. Schroder could have some back end value in this alignment, but at this point in the season I’m likely passing on Schroder to try to use that roster spot for more upside.

Rui Hachimura / Keaton Wagler

The injuries are piling up for the Clippers with Ingram, Strus, Beal, Konan Niederhauser, and Miller all sidelined to start the season. Both Hachimura & Wagler should both start and have large roles. The success for both of these players in large roles is an unknown that I meet with skepticism, but they both need to be rostered to see what happens on this strange team.

Morez Johnson

The rotation in Dallas is one of the most intriguing around the league, and a lot of that intrigue revolves around the center position. Johnson will likely be the starter, and is one of my favorite fliers to draft with a lot of runway in the absence of Dereck Lively. There are a lot of unknowns as a rookie with role, playing time, and fantasy production, but those unknowns make it worth taking a shot in the 130-140 range to see what happens.