Drafting is on the minds of most fantasy hoops fanatics this week. You may be busy with NFL leagues and haven’t had time to prepare for the NBA, but there are many resources here to help. We keep you current on breaking news every morning in the Fantasy Spin. Our Division Previews looked at every player on every team. The Depth Chart is updated every week. Our single best feature may be the Fantasy Basketball Primer. If you’re new to the game,
No game escapes our scrutiny. Every morning, we look at what happened on the court, from a fantasy perspective. Then we guess what might happen next, and who we think might do well. We are sometimes spectacularly wrong, but predictions are hard, especially about the future. The vast majority of you are in at least one Rotisserie or Head-to-Head league. I’m in a few too many, each different and enjoyable. Compared to long experience at those traditional formats, I’m a novice
The decision of Dirk Nowitzki to have knee surgery isn’t a complete surprise. It will cost him all of November, a definite setback to his owners, including Mark Cuban. If there’s any consolation, Dirk should be much better in the second half; the non-surgical option might have ruined his entire season, with the Mavericks and in fantasy leagues. You cannot replace a Hall-of-Famer. Elton Brand will start at PF. How much he has left, we’ll find out. Brandan Wright is also in
Our 24/7 coverage of Kevin Love’s broken hand began with a Wednesday tweet by Jeff Nichols, continued through my update Thursday morning, led off Bruce Wrigley’s column on auction drafting yesterday and has since returned to Twitter. My feeling is, Love will be fine, and if everyone else in your league overreacts to this unfortunate news, you should take advantage. Bruce cautions that an injury to the shooting hand can have lasting effects, so even if he returns sooner than the six-week
If you already own Kevin Love, his fractured right hand is a bad break indeed. If someone else owns him, you might send a friendly note of sympathy and a trade suggestion. If your league hasn’t drafted yet, this is a possible opportunity. He’s certain to fall, from third or fourth overall to much later in the first round, if not lower. In keeper leagues, Love’s value hasn’t changed. Target him. In redraft leagues, you know he’s going to miss a fifth of
The Atlanta Hawks are full of surprises. Devin Harris, in his first action of the preseason, started at SG alongside Jeff Teague. Their two best players, Josh Smith and Al Horford, got the night off, while Anthony Tolliver (14 PTS) started at PF. Tolliver’s ability to stretch the floor might keep him in the rotation when the games matter. Louis Williams did his thing — 18 points in 26 minutes off the bench — and still has a chance to
NBA news changes every day, but the Spin format is consistent. If one item has a huge fantasy impact, it leads. Then we look at the previous night’s games for anything (positive or negative) that might help you prepare for a draft or manage your team. Next is a preview of tonight’s NBA games, in a speculative mode, pointing out what to watch for. That segment becomes even more important when the games count; it will include a few tips. Finally, we mention
Our 2102-2013 Depth Chart has been updated. Version 2.0 adds some newcomers, makes a few position changes and reflects injuries. It’s a consensus of the most likely starters and backups for all 30 teams. If your league drafts more than 300 players, we haven’t gone deep enough. The chart is not only a convenient look at expected roles. Each player’s name links to his stats page and you’re one click away from full team rosters. For the last few weeks, we