Celticsblog Fantasy Roster Review

[Lucky17]

C: Darko Milicic (23)
PF: Chris Bosh (24)
SF: Kevin Durant (19)
SG: OJ Mayo (20)
PG: Chris Duhon (25)
-----------------------
6th: Rashad McCants (23)
7th: Luke Walton (28)

Nice young core. When/How did you deal Okafor for Bosh?

Lots of question marks, but that goes with fielding a young team. Does Durant develop into better than a poor man's Rashard Lewis? Can Darko be happy doing the dirty work on the blocks, or does he become a black hole on offense? Can Duhon lead a team? Can McCants discover how to pass, and not simply jack shots? And can Bosh (and Walton) stay healthy, or do they break down noticeably as they approach the late 20s?

Overall, I like the squad, though. Do you anticipate fielding a McCants-Mayo backcourt, with OJ acting as PG on offense and SG on defense?

[Kwhit10]

Ok so after the 8th round my team got bigger so here is the roster of the 76ers now

C: Brendan Haywood
PF: Chris Wilcox
SF: Carmelo Anthony
SG: Ron Artest (he can be a mismatch  and still guard the other teams best wing)
PG: Rafer Alston

---------------
6th: Shane Battier
7th: Andres Nocioni
8th: Jannero Pargo
9th: Ronny Turiaf
10th: Kurt Thomas

I think this team will be pretty good on defense especially guarding the wing players.

[celticmaestro]

C: Darko Milicic (23)
PF: Chris Bosh (24)
SF: Kevin Durant (19)
SG: OJ Mayo (20)
PG: Chris Duhon (25)
-----------------------
6th: Rashad McCants (23)
7th: Luke Walton (28)

Nice young core. When/How did you deal Okafor for Bosh?

Lots of question marks, but that goes with fielding a young team. Does Durant develop into better than a poor man's Rashard Lewis? Can Darko be happy doing the dirty work on the blocks, or does he become a black hole on offense? Can Duhon lead a team? Can McCants discover how to pass, and not simply jack shots? And can Bosh (and Walton) stay healthy, or do they break down noticeably as they approach the late 20s?

Overall, I like the squad, though. Do you anticipate fielding a McCants-Mayo backcourt, with OJ acting as PG on offense and SG on defense?

dealt for bosh a little while ago, felt he and darko together were a significant upgrade from okafor/kaman. his health isn't a concern at all, nor is luke's.

i don't anticipate darko having a problem doing the dirty work, because on offense i have bosh durant and mayo in that line-up that should have no problem averaging over 20ppg.

duhon has the ability to become a prime distributor. he's a good guy, no concern in terms of his attitude and his AST/TO ratio is superb. i've got no questions about this guy (though young himself) leading my young team.

as for mccants, i have no doubt that he will mature into a team player along with the rest of the squad. they're all young, they all "want theirs" but they have sky high potential that could turn this team into a dynasty. his effort on the defensive end is also very pleasing to see in a young player.

now for the main response - Does Durant develop into better than a poor man's Rashard Lewis? - kevin durant has a killer streak. he goes for the jugular. to see that in a player of 19, as well as his effort and commitment is rare. couple that with his rookie numbers (20.3ppg, 4.4rpg, 43%fg) and the sky is the limit for this kid. i've got supreme confidence in him and my whole team.

[crownsy]

This is me through 8, thoughts so far?

PG: jordan farmer
SG: ray allen
SF: Ryan Gnomes
PF: al jefferson
C: Spencer Hawes

defensive stopper in training/shooter: Corey Brewer

[Lucky17]

This is me through 8, thoughts so far?

PG: jordan farmer
SG: ray allen
SF: Ryan Gnomes
PF: al jefferson
C: Spencer Hawes

defensive stopper in training/shooter: Corey Brewer

I'm not wild about Farmar as your PG, but there may not have been much better options for you when you were looking to get one.

Jefferson and Hawes are both extremely talented on the offensive end. I wonder how they will do on defense, especially against more physical frontcourt players.

Ray Allen is a consummate professional, and a great veteran leader, but he's only got a few years left. Gomes is a great glue guy, but as a starter, he may be overmatched having to defend some of the starting caliber SFs of the league.

I like Corey Brewer, and considered drafting him when he was on the board at the end of the 7th. If he can develop some offense, and not merely be a defensive specialist, he'll be a nice rotation player (probably taking over for Ray Allen in a year or two at SG).

[indeedproceed]

C: Darko Milicic (23)
PF: Chris Bosh (24)
SF: Kevin Durant (19)
SG: OJ Mayo (20)
PG: Chris Duhon (25)
-----------------------
6th: Rashad McCants (23)
7th: Luke Walton (28)

Nice young core. When/How did you deal Okafor for Bosh?

Lots of question marks, but that goes with fielding a young team. Does Durant develop into better than a poor man's Rashard Lewis? Can Darko be happy doing the dirty work on the blocks, or does he become a black hole on offense? Can Duhon lead a team? Can McCants discover how to pass, and not simply jack shots? And can Bosh (and Walton) stay healthy, or do they break down noticeably as they approach the late 20s?

Overall, I like the squad, though. Do you anticipate fielding a McCants-Mayo backcourt, with OJ acting as PG on offense and SG on defense?

dealt for bosh a little while ago, felt he and darko together were a significant upgrade from okafor/kaman. his health isn't a concern at all, nor is luke's.

i don't anticipate darko having a problem doing the dirty work, because on offense i have bosh durant and mayo in that line-up that should have no problem averaging over 20ppg.

duhon has the ability to become a prime distributor. he's a good guy, no concern in terms of his attitude and his AST/TO ratio is superb. i've got no questions about this guy (though young himself) leading my young team.

as for mccants, i have no doubt that he will mature into a team player along with the rest of the squad. they're all young, they all "want theirs" but they have sky high potential that could turn this team into a dynasty. his effort on the defensive end is also very pleasing to see in a young player.

now for the main response - Does Durant develop into better than a poor man's Rashard Lewis? - kevin durant has a killer streak. he goes for the jugular. to see that in a player of 19, as well as his effort and commitment is rare. couple that with his rookie numbers (20.3ppg, 4.4rpg, 43%fg) and the sky is the limit for this kid. i've got supreme confidence in him and my whole team.

I just don't think Darko has the drive to be a success in the NBA. His heart is weak

[Lucky17]

Ok so after the 8th round my team got bigger so here is the roster of the 76ers now

C: Brendan Haywood
PF: Chris Wilcox
SF: Carmelo Anthony
SG: Ron Artest (he can be a mismatch  and still guard the other teams best wing)
PG: Rafer Alston

---------------
6th: Shane Battier
7th: Andres Nocioni
8th: Jannero Pargo
9th: Ronny Turiaf
10th: Kurt Thomas

I think this team will be pretty good on defense especially guarding the wing players.

Nice squad after 8 rounds. Cheap shot alert: you'll want to invest some serious payroll in a team psychologist, because you're starting five is a bunch of head-cases.

Haywood and Artest both have a bit of the nasty streak in them, and when Wilcox feels up to it, he's a very good starting PF, capable of 20 and 10. Alston's and Anthony's problems with the law are well documented; rap sheets aside, they're some of the more offensively-oriented players at their position in the league. Scoring should not be a problem for your starters.

Your bench features some real lunch-pail type players; Nocioni and Battier might both lead the league in charges taken if they could get starter's minutes. Turiaf gives effort every night, and KT is solid, if not spectacular, despite the mileage. I think Pargo actually works as a PG option off the bench, since your bench players might struggle to score a little bit (although Battier and Nocioni can both knock down the occasional outside jumper).

It's an interesting collection of players. On paper, they ought to win more games than they lose, I think. In real life, if this team were ever assembled, I'd expect serious drama and infighting (literally).

[Big Ticket]

C: Darko Milicic (23)
PF: Chris Bosh (24)
SF: Kevin Durant (19)
SG: OJ Mayo (20)
PG: Chris Duhon (25)
-----------------------
6th: Rashad McCants (23)
7th: Luke Walton (28)

I like it a lot.  As I've said on plenty of other occasions, I think our teams will be meeting in the WCF for probably 6 out of 8 years (with Minnesota crashing the party a couple of times) beginning in 2011 or so.  In the interim, I'll have to try to win a championship or two to get a head start on you.

I'm not that high on this team... Really week at point guard and center.  This team's fortunes lie with Mayo I guess... who I think will win ROY... but I still like my team more at each year of progress.

[Big Ticket]

Ok so after the 8th round my team got bigger so here is the roster of the 76ers now

C: Brendan Haywood
PF: Chris Wilcox
SF: Carmelo Anthony
SG: Ron Artest (he can be a mismatch  and still guard the other teams best wing)
PG: Rafer Alston

---------------
6th: Shane Battier
7th: Andres Nocioni
8th: Jannero Pargo
9th: Ronny Turiaf
10th: Kurt Thomas

I think this team will be pretty good on defense especially guarding the wing players.

Without looking too deeply, I'm going to go ahead and say this is the best bench in the league.

[Kwhit10]

Ok so after the 8th round my team got bigger so here is the roster of the 76ers now

C: Brendan Haywood
PF: Chris Wilcox
SF: Carmelo Anthony
SG: Ron Artest (he can be a mismatch  and still guard the other teams best wing)
PG: Rafer Alston

---------------
6th: Shane Battier
7th: Andres Nocioni
8th: Jannero Pargo
9th: Ronny Turiaf
10th: Kurt Thomas

I think this team will be pretty good on defense especially guarding the wing players.

Nice squad after 8 rounds. Cheap shot alert: you'll want to invest some serious payroll in a team psychologist, because you're starting five is a bunch of head-cases.

Haywood and Artest both have a bit of the nasty streak in them, and when Wilcox feels up to it, he's a very good starting PF, capable of 20 and 10. Alston's and Anthony's problems with the law are well documented; rap sheets aside, they're some of the more offensively-oriented players at their position in the league. Scoring should not be a problem for your starters.

Your bench features some real lunch-pail type players; Nocioni and Battier might both lead the league in charges taken if they could get starter's minutes. Turiaf gives effort every night, and KT is solid, if not spectacular, despite the mileage. I think Pargo actually works as a PG option off the bench, since your bench players might struggle to score a little bit (although Battier and Nocioni can both knock down the occasional outside jumper).

It's an interesting collection of players. On paper, they ought to win more games than they lose, I think. In real life, if this team were ever assembled, I'd expect serious drama and infighting (literally).

Thanks for the criticisms/praise.  You're right on the team being known for some problems.  Haywood can get out of hand at times, but I feel he has been coming around the past year and has put in some good effort on the boards.  I like having Kurt Thomas as a back up he is known to be a good defensive player against the all star bigs of the league.  

I think my bench can help keep the team in line a bit, they're all hustle type players, and I really feel if I have Artest/Battier/Thomas in at the same time the defense would stand out quite a bit.

I guess I will need someone like Mr. T or Mike Dikta to help out with the team and keep people in line lol.

[Rondo2287]

My Team so far
Pg-Billups
SG- Vince Carter
SF- Joe Alexander
PF-Antawn Jamison
C- Big Z

Bench
PG- DJ Augustine
Sf- Shaun Livingston
PF/C- Sean Williams

Thoughts?

[indeedproceed]

Your mix of young and old players to me lacks direction.

My Team so far
Pg-Billups
SG- Vince Carter
SF- Joe Alexander
PF-Antawn Jamison
C- Big Z

Bench
PG- DJ Augustine
Sf- Shaun Livingston
PF/C- Sean Williams

Thoughts?

Billups: Winner. Plain n simple
Vince: An enigma, but a steal where you got him. The question is does he really want to win? He's not going to be competeing for any "floor burn" awards
Joe Alexander: What do we even know about this kid? Freak athlete? Sure. Crappy summer league though and obviously not ready to be a starter in the NBA.
Then you have Antawn and big z, who are both fantastic complementary players in their own right.

Then on the bench you've got shaun livingston who by all accounts isn't even ready to go for a full practice yet, and he isn't even close, and you've got the marcus camby clone, a fantastic help side defender in williams. The problem is though that you've got no one to actually man up against good big 4's. Williams isn't there yet, and Antawn gets beat. There is a ton of talent on your team but I just don't see your 'vision'.

[indeedproceed]

C: Darko Milicic (23)
PF: Chris Bosh (24)
SF: Kevin Durant (19)
SG: OJ Mayo (20)
PG: Chris Duhon (25)
-----------------------
6th: Rashad McCants (23)
7th: Luke Walton (28)

I like it a lot.  As I've said on plenty of other occasions, I think our teams will be meeting in the WCF for probably 6 out of 8 years (with Minnesota crashing the party a couple of times) beginning in 2011 or so.  In the interim, I'll have to try to win a championship or two to get a head start on you.

I'm not that high on this team... Really week at point guard and center.  This team's fortunes lie with Mayo I guess... who I think will win ROY... but I still like my team more at each year of progress.

Question: If OJ Mayo had not been traded on draft day by kevin mchale, thus almost guaranteeing his success, do you still think he's ROY? Like if Memphis had just out and out draft him, is he ROY?

[JSD]

Coach K can get creative:

Starters:

C –  Andrew Bogut
PF - Shaquille O’neal
SF – Lamar Odom
SG – Kevin Martin
PG – Tony Parker

Bench:

C  – Alonzo Mourning
SF – Gerald Wallace
SG – Michael Finley
PG – Luke Ridnour
SF - Bonzi Wells
PF – Tyrus Thomas
PF/C – Zaza Pachulia

I think your team could use a trade.  You have four centers, and zero "true" power forwards.  Arguably, you only have one "true" small forward, in Bonzi (as Wallace and Odom are hybrids).

It's a good roster, in terms of talent, but I'm not in love with how the pieces fit together right now.  Also, outside of Wallace, your bench is full of guys either past their prime, or with yet to be reached potential.  Zo may not play next year, Finley is close to being washed up, Ridnour has been getting worse, Bonzi has fallen off, Zaza had a horrific year, and Thomas hasn't tapped into his potential yet.  Plus, Bonzi and Thomas have had attitude problems, as has Odom.

I'm not sure what the right answer is, and I don't want to overly pick on your team.  It's a very good one, it just seems mismatched.

All indications is that Zo is playing, and although he suffered a pretty serious injury to his knee, he's still a gamer and a great locker room guy.

Yes, Finley didn't look so great in the last playoffs but had a better regular season in 2008 then in 2007. The reason is he logged to many minutes and started to many games for the Spurs because of injuries to teammates in 08. For the Rockets he'll be back on the bench playing a limited role during the regular season to assure he is rested to fit into the 8-man rotation for the postseason.

Ridnour has had a tough time making an adjustment to PJ Carlesimo and his system. He's still a good pass first point who can drain an open jumper. He will rebound in "09" (no pun intended).

Bonzi has gotten older and is not the player he once was,  but I'm confident that come the playoffs he will be able to contribute something as he did this past season in New Orleans.

Zaza and Thomas are for the pipeline. Zaza is a 24 year old  who can rebound and be an enforcer. Thomas has a great upside and doesn't take a play off. Both players will log minutes in garbage time on this team.

The personalities are for the Coach to handle not the GM. As you have faith in Norman Dale, I have faith in Coach K.

Thanks for the feedback


Did you read my boxing style playoff against you in the WCF?

8 Man Playoff Rotation:

Starters:

C –  Andrew Bogut
PF – Lamar Odom
SF – Gerald Wallace
SG – Kevin Martin
PG – Tony Parker

Bench:


C- Shaquille O’neal
SG – Michael Finley
PG – Luke Ridnour
_______________________________________________________________
SF - Bonzi Wells
PF – Tyrus Thomas
C – Zaza Pachulia
C  – Alonzo Mourning

[KCattheStripe]

C: Andrey Blatche
PF: Andrei Kirelenko
SF: Shawn Marion
SG: Rodney Stuckey
PG: Raymond Felton

Bench:
PG: Sebastian Telfair
SG/SF : JR Smith
PF: Charlie Villanueva
PF/C : Glen "Big Baby" Davis

I don't think my team gets enough credit for being what it is, which is Nellie ball with defense. I would fully expect this team to win 44-47 games a year and make it to, at least, the second round of the playoffs on a fairly consistent basis. Do I expect it to be a dynasty, no.

I'm realistic, as soon as I botched the first couple trades I tried to make a team that would be competitive and fun as all get out to watch.

Oh, and I got two picks left in the rounds that matter.