FanPost

2010-11 Fantasy Basketball Week 1: The Season Starts Today!

By now, you've drafted your team. The NBA tips off tonight, and undoubtley, there will be a quite a few people checking the games out, seeing what their guys look like and how they stand. This is gerat. I actually recommend watching as much as you can, as it makes you a better fantasy player, and it really gives you more detail than what comes out of the boxscore.

The big thing to keep in mind, however, is the season is 82 games. It's not one night long, nor is it one week long. Something that the popularity of fantasy football has done, as it has gotten people to have short sighted views of baseball and basketball seasons. Depending on your player, they have 2-4 games this week. That's only 2-4% of the season, and not really enough of a sample size to draw conclusions.

Players have bad games. Others start slow. Don't make any drastic changes. The only thing I'd keep in mind is playing time, especially if the guy is not injured. I'm still not saying to make any drastic changes, but if you drafted a guy who you were hoping was going to get 30 minutes a night, and they are getting 20, it's time to investigate. Keep in mind of who's playing ahead of him, and how that player is doing. Keep in mind if playing time is varying based on the team they are playing. Was their foul trouble? There's a lot to keep track of, but things you have to pay attention to if you want to be good at this. Either way, be patient. Unless there is a major rift and/or a guy may be on the way out, let things play out a bit. Don't drop somebody who ends up to be very serviceable, and don't let someone take advantage of you, by sending you a crap trade offer.

Lastly, a couple of things I'm interested in seeing from a fantasy perspective this week

1. How the Big Three in Miami fare. Specifically how LeBron and Wade coexist and what happens with their statistics. I mean, they will be a good team and win some games. Just from the fantasy perspective, how big of a hit their assist and point totals take. Will one guy try and dominate, or will they both give a little to try and help the team win? Have to see. Good news is that they will be on National TV on both tonight (TNT) and Friday (ESPN) and playing 4 games this week as well. We'll learn more.

2. Blake Griffin. I've heard he is going to be a monster. I've banked on it, in a way. I'm not exactly expecting him to take over the game, but I do expect him to be one of the better big men in the game. I'm looking forward to seeing him play. Will get my first chance on ESPN on Wednesday night.

3. The return of Yao. I don't own him, but interested in seeing how he does and how his feet/legs hold up. Get to see him in action tonight on TNT.

4. Big Al Jefferson in Utah. He's an upgrade to Boozer, and with a better point guard situation than Minnesota, I can't see why Al Jefferson can't put up 20-10 with 1-2 blocks/game. Utah will be a fun team to watch.

What are you looking forward to?