Hey guys, I just picked up Yahoo Fantasy this year and I absolutely bombed my draft - the computer autopicks could have probably done better. I had 4th pick in a 10 team league. I've been creamed these first two weeks so I would appreciate some advice for who to go for/who to trade/what to trade for. I've tried to pick up some useful players (Ricky Davis, Marquis Daniels, Wilcox), but as you can see i'm pretty limited in my options. If you see any glaring weaknesses (and I'm sure there are a ton), if you could help point them out, I would appreciate it. Thanks a lot! PG - Gary Payton (BOS) SG - Tracy McGrady (BOS) G - Jamaal Tinsley (IND) SF - Ron Artest (IND) PF - C. Wilcox (LAC) F - Austin Coshere (IND) C - Ben Wallace (DET) C - Jamaal Magloire (NO) Util - S. Abdur-Rahim (POR) Util - T. Prince (DET) BN - Eddie House (CHA) BN - Ricky Davis (BOS) BN - M. Daniels (DAL) IL - Jason Kidd
find out what categories you are losing in then find out what categories you are stacked at. Try making a trade in which you give up a player in which has cats that you are stacked at but not cats that you need help in. Trade for someone that gives you help in your weakest cats. IMO keep Artest, Ben Wallace, Payton. See if you can get an upgrade for McGrady, if not, then keep him. There's probably some great starters that haven't been picked up because they are not well known. Learn to analyze stats-per-minutes and see what you can get. Try to pick up some 6th Man or Starters that are FAs. Go through every team that played in a day and find out who these starters/6th men are. After all teams play you should have figured out who they are. Don't forget to find out who is playing for Injured players (ex: Mihm in place for Divac) Also, look through Yahoo Box scores and check for the "Top Performers".
I would trade Artest personally. He has a reputation as a very good player though, and I'm sure you could snag a Carmelo Anthony or someone like that for him, who will fill the statsheet better. McGrady is an interesting one, I would try and trade him for someone like Dirk or Kirilenko - he still has a rep for being able to put up big numbers, but he is still settling in to Houston and his health isn't at 100%. Eddie House is deadwood, while Ricky Davis and Austin Croshere are very inconsistent. Scan your waiver wire for bargains like Iguodala and Mo Williams - you need a point guard. They key is to keep up on top of the latest news and make your own calculated estimates - for example, I picked up Iguodala after I heard they were planning to buy out Glenn Robinson (and he rewarded me today with 11 points on 4/7 shooting, 8 boards, 3 steals and 3 blocks), and I scooped up Darrell Armstrong when I heard Baron Davis was getting back injuries again.
I don't think your draft was bad. Rather, I think the problem with your team is that you have players that missed games. Hmm, let me see: Artest was benched for two games due to his crazy request. Big Ben missed two games because of a death in the family. McGrady missed games due to injury. Obviously, Kidd is missing games, and probably was a high draft pick for you. If you keep your roster you should be doing ok. (Well, I do agree with Supersonic to drop House for a backup point or another guard.) None of your players are playing badly, they're just not playing at all due to those problems. Wallace and Artest are definitely back in their lineups, so you'll just have to hope McGrady gets healthy again.
Thanks a lot for the help guys! Just one more question: Assuming I drop House, Darrell Armstrong (FA) and Jason Hart (waviers) are available. Which one of those should I get? I'm leaning toward Hart just because Armstrong might only start for two weeks, but what do you guys think?
Hart has been good, but Baron Davis will miss more games than just two weeks throughout the season, you can bet your life on that. DA is also a fantasy stud when he gets minutes. Either is a much better option than House, though.
Hart is injured right now so I'd grab Armstrong and hope Hart stays available for a bit longer and then switch out. Overall, Hart is the better long-term choice.
