The new season of the National Basketball Association is still two weeks away but for fans like me who engage in fantasy leagues, the “work” has started.
If experience is to be used as an indicator, I am pretty sure that the pre-draft rankings section of fantasy league pages is very busy now.
The section, for the uninitiated, is where “team managers” can see the NBA players’ rankings which can help in their decision in building their respective teams.
As of this writing, now Golden State Warriors teammates Stephen Curry and Kevin Durant are numbers 1 and 2 in the rankings in Yahoo! Fantasy League Basketball, not really surprising if you are to ask me since the two can do a lot across the board, foremost of which, offense-related stats.
Behind them are James Harden of the Houston Rockets and Russell Westbrook of the Oklahoma City Thunder at 3 and 4.
The two former teammates should have a big year in the about-to-begin NBA season, making them must-haves.
Harden is set to play more point guard under new Houston coach Mike D’Antoni which should further enhance his stats, particularly his assist, while Westbrook is now the main man in OKC with Durant now out, and his potential is limitless at this point.
Two new entrants in the pre-draft rankings this year are Karl-Anthony Towns of the Minnesota Timberwolves (#5) and Giannis Antetokounmpo of the Milwaukee Bucks (#7).
Again this should not come as a surprise as the two upstarts proved themselves as game-changers on both ends of the court last year and are set to continue to rise this year with their respective teams pinning much hope and responsibility on them.
At number six in the rankings is do-it-all forward Kawhi Leonard of the San Antonio Spurs with Anthony Davis of the New Orleans Pelicans (#8), Chris Paul of the Los Angeles Clippers (#9) and Paul George of the Indians Pacers (#10) rounding out the top 10.
Interestingly, NBA superstar LeBron James of the defending champions Cleveland Cavaliers is outside of the top 10 at number 11.
Maybe the presence of more help from guys like Kyrie Irving (#22) and Kevin Love in the team has something to do with it but still knowing what he is capable of some managers may pick him higher than his current ranking.
The same go for Portland’s Damian Lillard (#12) and Sacramento’s DeMarcus Cousins (#14), whose all-around talent could merit them looks higher than where they are.
Worthy of looking at as well are Miami’s Hassan Whiteside (#13), Boston’s Al Horford (#17), OKC’s Victor Oladipo (#18) and New York’s Kristaps Porzingis (#24) for the jacked-up and/or different roles they will play for their current teams.
Steady hands Paul Millsap of Atlanta (#15), Jimmy Butler of Chicago (#16), Draymond Green of Golden State (#19) and LaMarcus Aldridge of San Antonio (#20) are still in the top mix.
With the way players and teams are stacked up in the NBA, interesting play is up not only for the league itself but also in fantasy league. Have you already craft your path, fantasy freaks?
© By MYBigBrother Mike Murillo | BusinessWorldOnline