Thanks for the concise question. In a roto league your focus should be on BOTH maintaining your leads and working on your weaker categories. That said, the short answer to your question is focus on STRIKING DISTANCE. What categories are you at risk of losing significant ground in if multiple owners catch up and pass you? What categories could you potentially leap frog more than one or two owners? Keep an eye on all 9 cats and good luck!

Bublitchiki,
Good question regarding the main beneficiary of an Al Harrington trade - J.Childress vs J.Smith.

They both should benefit. Just note that they have somewhat different skill sets. They both get similar amounts of Pts,Rebs,Asts.

Childress is MUCH better for FG%, TO, 3’s, and a little better for FT%.

While Smith is MUCH better for blocks.

So, i’d say go with Childress, unless blocks are a major need for your team.

ps As a Childress owner, I can tell you that he’s been much more consistent throughout the year, whereas Smith has been very up & down.

I also have Wade to go along with those other studs! Plus dimes are worth the most in my league, which is the biggest reason I’m in 2nd out of 12 right now. I actually scooped up Felton before everyone else, and I’m thinking about playing both of them. Thoughts? Will Brevin be worthy of starting on another team? I think Felton’s a potential stud for the 2nd half.

One rumor that I actually think has a good chance of going down is a Hawks trade of Al Harrington. Baby Al will be a free agent after this season and he’s all but said that he’s not interested in re-signing with Atlanta next year. So it would certainly seem to behoove the Hawks to get whatever they can for him while he’s still under contract.

My question: Which of the two Joshes do you think would have the most value in the event of a Harrington trade? I currently have J. Smith on my roster, while J. Childress is sitting on the waiver wire. Because of the way my roster is currently structured, I can keep one or the other but not both. Any thoughts?

To charlie:

Dude, you must be the king o’dimes if you’ve got Knight, Paul and Chauncey all on your roster. Of those three, I’d definitley hang on to Chauncey as I don’t really see him tailing off much. The recent trade of Arroyo only solidifies his position and all but assures that he’ll receive decent minutes going forward. I’d try and sell high on Paul, though. Even if you don’t subscribe to the “rookie wall” theory, I’m not sure how well he’ll bounce back from his recent spate of nagging injuries. As I’ve said in earlier posts, I actually think that he could easily be out-produced by his fellow ACC rookie Ray Felton from here on out (especially if Knight does get dealt).

To all, what are your thoughts on Brevin Knight right now? The most underrated fantasy player in basketball (in my opinion) may land on a new team. I think a new team can only hurt his stats. He runs the show in Charlotte, would he do the same at, say LA? I’m just looking for the same 8-12 assist/night performances I’ve been getting in Charlotte, with perhaps 10 pts/night.

Also, should I move Chauncey and Chris Paul?

My question: when making roster decisions should I focus on the categories that I’m already good at (but have a lot of folks close behind me) vs. trying to improve in the categories that I’m worst at (but have people within reach just above me).

My good cats:
FG% 1st place
Stl 2nd place
Blk 2nd place
Pts Tied 2nd
Reb Tied 2nd
Ast 4th place

Not as good cats:
TO 10th place
3’s 7th place
FT 7th place

My first thought was to focus on improving by “bad” cats, but now I’m thinking it’d be smarter to focus on maintaining position in my good cats.

My new reasoning is that I’ve got more to lose in my good cats than I have to gain in my bad cats. Does that make sense?
For example,
FG% - 4 teams right behind me (within .003%)
Ast - 4 teams right behind me (within 0.07/game)
Stls - 3 teams right behind me (within 0.07/g)
Pts - 3 teams right behind me (within 0.7/g)
Rbs - 3 teams right behind me (within 0.12/g)

whereas for by bad cats:

TO - 2 teams right ahead of me (within 0.7/g)
3’s - 2 teams right ahead of me (within 0.05/g)
FT%- 1 team right ahead of me (within .004%)

Am I on the right train of thought?
Would you call this strategy conservative? or would you call it a smart strategy for someone in first place?

My hope is that it will keep me in first the rest of the way (barring a major injury to one of my studs - Brand,Arenas,Pierce)

My roster:
PG Gilbert Arenas
SG Paul Pierce
G Luke Ridnour
SF Richard Jefferson
PF Elton Brand
F Josh Howard
C Sammy Dalembert
C Tyson Chandler
UTIL Mike James
UTIL Josh Childress
BN Brian Cook
BN Kendrick Perkins
BN Darius Miles

I was just questioning the wisdom of plugging him into next week’s starting lineup.

It is, of course, entirely possible that he could someday develop into a good player a la Jermaine O’Neal, but I very much doubt that it will happen by next week. There certainly would seem to be better (less risky) options at the center spot.

In my own case, for example, I’m faced with having to choose two centers to start in my weekly H2H league. The centers currently on my roster are: Brad Miller (2 games), Magloire (4 games), and Perkins (maybe 4 games, maybe not). I’m definitely going to start Magloire, but the second center is problematic. I’ve ruled out Perkins because of the injury risk and Miller’s two games make him a marginal play at best. Right now, the centers with four games on the waiver wire Milicic, Wilcox, and Robert Swift. Each option has its drawbacks, yes, but Darko seems to have the most of all. Personally, I’m leaning toward picking up Wilcox and using him as my second center. Yes, he’s also a risky play, but at least he’s shown he can produce when given the minutes. It’s just a question of whether or not he’ll get them.

PR is absolutely correct when he points out that we are all engaged in a form of gambling here. But there are calculated risks and there are desperation longshot flyers. Putting Darko in the lineup next week strikes me as one of the latter; the fantasy hoops equivalent of betting your last two bucks on a 100-1 shot in the ninth at Aqueduct with the hopes of breaking even for a day in which you’ve lost $200.

I am currently 4th /12. I am behind in rebounds and blks nut good in assists.

I just compared my “last month average” against my current “overall statistics” and my “last month average” is above “overall statistics. So, my roster is at least playing good right now. Seems no need to disturb the chemistry.

BTW, what should be the comparable trade target for my Ridnour. I want to trade Ridnour for rebounds and blks

First 3 years with Portland he averaged unspectacular numbers…

11 mins, 4 points, 3boards, 0.3 ast, 0.4 blks?!

Then once he moved to IND, and got playing time he blew up into the all-star that he is.

I’m hoping like so many that Darko will make the leap!! For crying out loud he’s only 20 years old?!!!