Basketball jones, I got a basketball jones
Got a basketball Jones, oh baby, oo-oo-ooo ...
Oh, it feels so good, gimme the ball
I'll go one-on-one against the world left-handed
I could stuff it from center court with my toes
I could jump on top of the backboard
Take off a quarter, leave fifteen cents change ...
Basketball jones, I got a basketball jones
I got a basketball jones, basketball jones
-- Cheech and Chong
Our fantasy basketball jones has been building up for months and months, and we are finally going to scratch it this week as gleefully as Cheech and Chong exorcised their hoops jones 40 years ago. It feels so good.
As we head into the first week of the season, there are myriad questions hovering over Fantasyland. Today, I'll take a look at five of the top questions I've heard from our readers as the season gets underway. Each Monday going forward, I will posit and seek answers to five key questions at the start of each week, thus the name of this column: "The Starting Five."
Let's get to it.
1. Will Paul George return as a top-10 player?
There are injuries that should give you pause when it comes to investing in a high-end player: reconstructed knees, chronic ankle injuries, nagging shoulder issues. A freak accident that breaks a player's leg is not one of them.
George is just 25 years old, it's been 15 months since he sustained his injury and he has been balling at full speed of late. And since he missed a total of only five games in his prior two seasons, I really see no health risk at all. I'm perfectly OK with simply writing off last season as if it didn't happen.
During the 2013-14 season, he averaged 21.7 PPG, 2.3 3-PPG, 3.5 APG, 6.8 RPG and 1.9 SPG while shooting 42.4 percent from the field and 86.4 percent from the free throw line. Now, the Pacers plan to run up and down the court, which should give him more chances to expand his stat line. We also should see an increase in rebounds, field goal percentage and free throw attempts (already 5.8 in '13-14), since he is slated to play plenty of power forward.
Further expanding his fantasy value is being eligible at SG, SF and PF.
My preseason rank for him is No. 14, but that may turn out to be a value pick, as he is just as likely to finish in the top 10 as those players I rank just ahead of George: Kawhi Leonard, John Wall, Klay Thompson and Jimmy Butler.
2. What should we do with Derrick Rose?
Rose is one of the more intriguing players as the season gets underway because every player can have value if taken in the right spot, and his value has rightfully sunk to the lowest levels of his career.
We have every reason to not trust Rose, considering his lengthy and serious injury history, the negative buzz about his work ethic and the Bulls perhaps becoming Jimmy Butler's team.
But even if his skills have diminished some, they haven't evaporated completely. Plus, Rose remains a key cog for the Bulls, who are expected to open up their offense this season.
Of course, we basically haven't seen him during the preseason because of his fractured orbital, but aside from it seeming to fit his profile of being hurt all the time, it is a fluke injury and nothing that will impact his ability to play. Rose may well come on strong early this season.
Although I have largely been passing on Rose in drafts, I have him ranked No. 63, where I think the risk is worth the potential reward. I got him for $5 in a recent experts draft, which is a perfect value. If the rest of your roster doesn't have much in the way of injury risks, give Rose consideration if you can draft or acquire him on the cheap -- then trade him for more value if he does have a good start to the season.
3. Should I drop players I just drafted in order to work the wire?
A long time ago, I told someone that in the latter rounds I like to draft players whom I can drop. He looked at me sideways: "Then why do you draft them?"
What I meant by that was that later in drafts, you can either take players who are solid and whom you would want to remain invested in, or you can focus on lottery tickets. I prefer the lotto approach. If your high-risk, high-reward ticket hits, then you ride him. If it doesn't, then you dump him for a different upside free agent who might be about to hit his stride.
Regardless of how you put your team together, you should aim to be bold when it comes to your waiver moves. You'll want to make well-informed and well-reasoned decisions, but be active when it comes to free agents -- especially early in the season when rotations are still fluid and opportunities abound for under-the-radar players.
You want to be like the owners who were ahead of the curve with guys like Gorgui Dieng and Hassan Whiteside last season.
4. Is Reggie Jackson for real?
Yes. And I think he is going to be one of the big impact players in the first month of the season, likely replicating the 17.6 PPG, 9.2 APG, 4.7 RPG, 1.0 3-PPG pace we saw from him during his 27 games with the Detroit Pistons last season.
He has everything going for him: a huge contract that secures his role, no competition for minutes (Brandon Jennings will be a backup upon his eventual return from a ruptured Achilles), an offense geared to his skill set and a beast in Andre Drummond with whom he will work tons of pick-and-rolls.
Don't be shy about reaching for Jackson if you have drafts this week.
5. Are injured players like Wesley Matthews, Chandler Parsons, Kyrie Irving and Jrue Holiday worth targeting for trades?
Absolutely -- as is any other player you believe in who gets off to a slow start. The early days and weeks of the season are a great time to acquire players you like on the cheap. Just because an owner drafted a player doesn't mean he or she is enamored with him or wouldn't accept a reasonable offer for him -- especially if the player stumbles out of the gate.
Of course, the trade narrative is a little different if that slow start is the result of a surgery or a long-term injury, as it will be for the aforementioned players. Part of it is the same, in that injured players are always tradable, at least for a reasonable price. But not only do you have to believe in the player, you also have to believe he will get back to full speed and become an impact fantasy player sooner than later this season.
I doubt any of these players churn out impact box scores on a nightly basis until after Thanksgiving, but I do think all of them will be on top of their games by early January. If you can invest in them at a price that reflects that thinking, pull the trigger on a trade. Keep in mind that to best position yourself for championships you want your players to hit their stride in January and peak in April.