Reviewing the Bruski 150

Rankings are only as good as the analysis of the ranks that follows, and looking back every season at the successes and failures of the Bruski 150 is always fun, or funny, depending where you’re standing.

For my part I’m never going to be thrilled with my own rankings because I’m too busy picking them apart, but I do think this year I was better than the last. I got another top-3 finish in the big boys division of the National Championship of Fantasy Basketball and I generally cashed out in my important leagues. In the previous year I felt I scraped by winning 1-of-2 NFBKC leagues and over the last three years I’m 1-of-3 winning it all in a serious ringers league, including mad men like Eric Wong and others that I’m not even sure want to be named. Every year the B150 is the backbone of my draft strategy and it is the culmination of an extremely unhealthy amount of research.

It’s also a fearless list that I typically release as late in the drafting season as possible as to not tip off the rest of the fantasy public too quickly. There are usually a few high profile misses on my part, as well as a bunch of home runs, but the idea is to take public opinion and throw it out the window in an attempt to get maximum value.

I’ve seen some cursory analysis out there on the Interwebs on whose rankings are doing well, but nothing that has come close to a normalized set of ranks for the rankings. If anybody finds something like that out there I’d love to know about so let me know.

Now … the details. The Bruski 150 attempts to measure the cumulative value of players over the course of the season, which means that measuring injury risk is most definitely a factor just as it is for owners on draft day. They’re also measuring ‘Roto’ value, so your head-to-head builds, punting and playoff leagues take a back seat to true, overall value here. In fact, if you want the primer on all that I have to give you the link to last year’s B150 anyway, and in this day and age of posthumous rank changing I welcome you to take all the screen shots that you can.

You’ll note I order the list in 8-cat and I generally prefer that format, as does the NFBKC. I’ll rant at you guys about 9-cat throughout the year, but I do include ranks, ADP* and B150 ranks for both formats. The Win-Lose-Draw (W/L/D) column, also focusing on 8-cat, is where I give my very subjective ranking of my own picks.

Mostly, I’m measuring whether or not I beat ADP, whether I encouraged you or discouraged you accordingly, and the overall impact of that cat and mouse game. A big-time hit will get multiple Ws and a big-time loss will get multiple Ls. A waiver wire stud like Hassan Whiteside will be labeled ‘WAIVER.’ I may also notate that a player was a grinder, somewhat artificially enhancing his ranking in the case of low-end players. I’ll note that a player was injured or traded so a ranking is almost pointless, and I might give something a win or loss and then also explain that they were hurt or traded.

So feel free to hit me up on Twitter and let me know what you think. And without further ado, the analysis of the ranks….

*ESPN ADP used for 8-cat and Yahoo! ADP for 9-cat

**N/A means we didn’t have an ADP or B150 rank. H/M means I listed a player in the Honorable Mention section (151-200 ranked loosely in order)

ROUND ONE

Rank (8)	Player	GP	ADP (8)	B150 (8)	W/L/D (8)	Rank (9)	ADP (9)	B150 (9)
1	James Harden	81	6	5	W	3	6	8
2	Stephen Curry	80	3	1	W	1	4	3
3	Chris Paul	82	5	6	L	4	6	4
4	Anthony Davis	68	3	4	EXACT	2	3	1
5	Russell Westbrook	67	6	3	W	10	8	9
6	Damian Lillard	82	16	12	W	6	16	13
7	John Wall	79	9	8	W	20	12	14
8	LeBron James	69	1	2	L	19	2	2
9	Klay Thompson	77	33	22	WWW	5	35	20
10	Kyrie Irving	75	19	17	W	8	16	18
11	Pau Gasol	78	59	64	LLL	7	60	71
12	Marc Gasol	81	30	31	LL	9	38	30

Notes: James Harden played 81 games and rolled over opposing owners, and I had him a slot higher than his ADP but I won’t be crowing over it. The big story was that LeBron James started shooting too much from outside and Kevin Durant’s season was a disaster, so that left Harden to compete with Stephen Curry, Chris Paul and Anthony Davis for top honors. I called Curry a win for the B150 even though he finished in-between my No. 1 ranking and his No. 3 ADP. That’s because the top 5-6 picks are crucial to nail and I’d take that result anytime with my No. 1 pick.

Chris Paul also benefited from the dives that LeBron and KD took, but the story here was that he beat out Anthony Davis, who naturally couldn’t stay on the floor and finished at No. 4 where I had him. One last thing, Harden and Curry smoked the competition in terms of pure value.

Russell Westbrook was an adrenaline rush every night for owners and landed in the No. 5 slot despite playing just 67 games. Yes, some of that was augmented by KD’s absence and the other Thunder injuries, but he also took a serious hit in field goal percentage value because the OKC offensive system was … well … as bland as it ever was. And that was really too bad because any sort of inspiration in that department would have led to a historic fantasy season. I had him at No. 3 and based on where he finished I’m calling it a win, though I wouldn’t fight anybody if they wanted to call it a loss.

Damian Lillard was a cold-blooded killer and I’m just happy to have had him higher than most. Ditto for John Wall where I barely edged out his ADP. Hindsight is 20/20 but I feel like we should have seen the LeBron thing coming. There was slippage everywhere last season, but with new teammates and another year on the tires it makes sense that he wasn’t getting to the rack more often. Klay Thompson was a big win for me as anytime you can sneak a third round pick into the top-9 that’s going to help change your season. And as great as that is I swung and missed on Kyrie Irving from a projection standpoint, but I’ll take the win over the ADP in a squeaker.

The Gasol brothers roasted me last year, as I was the only one around here that didn’t get on the Pau train after his monster preseason. Tom Thibodeau will leave a mark on a lot of guy’s long-term health in Chicago, and it’s arguable that Pau crapped out in the playoffs because of his unworldly workload, but he was a dominating force and key component of championship squads. Marc toyed with the idea of having a hurt knee, which was really the impetus for my being down on him, but 81 games later he slowly marched into that all-important first round.

ROUND TWO

Rank (8)	Player	GP	ADP (8)	B150 (8)	W/L/D (8)	Rank (9)	ADP (9)	B150 (9)
13	Eric Bledsoe	81	42	41	L	26	40	58
14	DeMarcus Cousins	59	10	10	DRAW	35	11	16
15	Paul Millsap	73	33	21	WW	18	28	21
16	Draymond Green	79	119	76	DRAW	12	125	57
17	Gordon Hayward	76	50	23	WWW	31	55	44
18	Jeff Teague	73	45	34	W	29	59	45
19	Tim Duncan	77	60	74	LL	16	44	62
20	LaMarcus Aldridge	71	14	36	DRAW	17	11	26
21	Al Horford	76	37	26	W	11	27	23
22	Nikola Vucevic	74	45	33	W	22	41	35
23	Trevor Ariza	82	72	63	W	21	66	48
24	Kawhi Leonard	64	18	9	L	13	20	5

I was in line with Eric Bledsoe’s ADP and the trade deadline really helped his cause, and he also beat expectations about his health. It’s hard to get down on anybody drafting DeMarcus Cousins, as we reported numerous times on the Cowbell Kingdom podcast that Pete D’Alessandro did a number on that squad and eventually the local media he was feeding followed suit. Paul Millsap gave me another win for the B150 before promptly falling apart in the playoffs. I’m calling Draymond Green a draw even though I came in much higher than his ADP. I knew he would outplay David Lee, but I just didn’t have the balls to predict he’d stuff Lee into a corner never to be seen again.

Gordon Hayward was a huge win for B150ers and so was Jeff Teague. I basically conceded defeat on my Tim Duncan pick in the notes section last season, and he’ll beat all of us again this year because that’s how he rolls. I’m calling LaMarcus Aldridge a draw because he cost owners that drafted him in the early teens a sizeable chunk of value. Playing through all those injuries was a bit of a lucky break as well, considering the gloom and doom reports mid-season. Despite the loss I’m attributing to Kawhi Leonard’s ranking, which has a major silver lining in that he was dominant when not suffering freak hand injuries, I feel like the second round was a good one for me.

ROUND THREE

Rank (8)	Player	GP	ADP (8)	B150 (8)	W/L/D (8)	Rank (9)	ADP (9)	B150 (9)
25	Danny Green	81	112	91	W	14	116	53
26	Jimmy Butler	65	68	69	L	15	68	55
27	Rudy Gay	68	36	51	LL	39	37	94
28	Kyle Lowry	70	28	20	L	38	21	22
29	Monta Ellis	80	33	42	L	45	47	82
30	Tyreke Evans	79	84	88	L	57	88	151
31	Rudy Gobert	82	140	90	WWWWW	24	140	54
32	DeAndre Jordan	82	37	53	LL	25	36	33
33	Marcin Gortat	82	65	57	W	23	65	49
34	Kevin Love	75	11	13	W	30	8	10
35	Brook Lopez	72	52	96	L	27	33	77
36	Goran Dragic	78	26	32	W	44	28	43

Notes: Danny Green took a jump that even my optimistic ranking couldn’t keep up with, but my hope is that most of you guys got him with the 20-slot advantage I gave him. I was dead-even on the Jimmy Butler rating, which is a loss in my book as I noted, but I did draft him in my NFBKC team and man was he good. Rudy Gay stung because I’m in Sacramento and I should have known better. Things start getting down for me with the tandem of Kyle Lowry and Monta Ellis, who were outright losses, but Tyreke Evans sneaking in there isn’t something I’ll lose sleep over as I had him near his ADP.

If Mike Gallagher is the acting president of the Rudy Gobert fan club, I’m the founder and CEO with a No. 90 rating in 8-cat and No. 54 in 9-cat last season. I really pushed his ranking down against my own algorithms, too. That and I went all over Utah radio and said he was the next great big man in the NBA while he was still playing low bench minutes. He was on every single team of mine. Gush.

DeAndre Jordan bit me in part because teams weren’t hacking him early in the year, which is actually a benefit to his value. That trend would change, however, and he would end up adding another free throw per game on the season. He still beat me down as his rebounding and field goal percentage were insane. I hope that my lower than ADP ranking of Kevin Love saved some of you guys. I didn’t get him anywhere and what a mess if you did. I’ll gladly take the ‘L’ on Brook Lopez and I wouldn’t think twice ranking a guy with that injury history so low.

ROUND FOUR

Rank (8)	Player	GP	ADP (8)	B150 (8)	W/L/D (8)	Rank (9)	ADP (9)	B150 (9)
37	Blake Griffin	67	12	18	WW	41	16	29
38	Kyle Korver	75	74	114	LLL	28	73	105
39	Victor Oladipo	72	42	39	EXACT	54	60	78
40	Markieff Morris	82	79	48	WWW	47	107	56
41	Tyson Chandler	75	107	122	LL	32	98	103
42	Khris Middleton	79	N/A	H/M	WAIVER	34	N/A	H/M
43	Derrick Favors	74	50	50	DRAW	37	61	47
44	Ty Lawson	75	25	62	WW	53	34	79
45	Nerlens Noel	75	72	66	WW	46	55	75
46	Mike Conley	70	36	16	LLL	48	32	17
47	Dirk Nowitzki	77	26	19	LLL	33	20	11
48	Serge Ibaka	64	13	11	LLL	36	14	6

Notes: Blake Griffin continued to drift away from the hoop and his athleticism started to decline. Though I wasn’t close to his final value that’s the type of ‘pass’ that saved owners big time. I bet against Kyle Korver and he had a historic shooting season – my big mistake there was attributing too much age and mileage to a shooter. I got the Victor Oladipo pick right on the money. Markieff Morris was a Rotoworld guy and it was another win here. Right behind him, however, Tyson Chandler wasn’t so much of a miss compared to ADP but being bearish cost readers a shot at big returns.

Khris Middleton was a waiver wire pickup of the year candidate. Ty Lawson and Nerlens Noel were wins but then it gets ugly with three of my guys – Mike Conley, Dirk Nowitzki and Serge Ibaka each blowing a hole in my ranks. Mr. Consistency Conley finally had all the nicks and dings catch up with him. I got too bullish on Dirk and Ibaka was forced into way too much offense. Specifically with Ibaka, it’s a lesson that shooting from distance isn’t always a good thing, and I’d have been much happier had Westbrook and Durant been healthy all season.

ROUND FIVE

Rank (8)	Player	GP	ADP (8)	B150 (8)	W/L/D (8)	Rank (9)	ADP (9)	B150 (9)
49	Jonas Valanciunas	80	80	73	W	40	86	73
50	Gorgui Dieng	73	119	72	WWW	43	135	50
51	Giannis Antetokounmpo	81	100	108	L	59	109	153
52	J.J. Redick	78	106	93	WW	42	95	60
53	Brandon Knight	63	91	102	LL	73	111	143
54	Greg Monroe	69	82	80	W	56	88	104
55	Zach Randolph	71	71	125	LL	61	73	142
56	Andre Drummond	82	24	54	WWW	52	30	40
57	Tobias Harris	68	101	58	WWWW	51	97	37
58	Reggie Jackson	77	93	49	WW	85	110	65
59	Lou Williams	80	140	H/M	WAIVER	50	140	H/M
60	Joe Johnson	80	74	137	LL	65	86	130

Notes: Gorgui Dieng was among the top plays for the B150 and he would have climbed higher if not for the missed games at the end. I’m calling Giannis Antetokounmpo a loss but had Jabari Parker not gotten hurt it would have been a drastically different season for him. J.J. Redick had one of the bigger value jumps that nobody will remember last season, and I was on the right side of that, while the inverse was true for my Brandon Knight pick. Had Knight stayed in Milwaukee and not gotten hurt in Phoenix, I’d have hung another L or two in that column.

The Greg Monroe and Josh Smith rankings aren’t great here but I did have them in my undervalued report in the draft guide, citing the potential trade that would free them up. Staying in Detroit I didn’t buy the Andre Drummond hype, due to the obvious fantasy deficiencies from the line. Stan Van Gundy gave me an assist by entrusting Drummond with too many post-ups.

Tobias Harris will go down as one of my top picks and I almost nailed it. Though I got some injury assistance and later on some trade assistance on the Reggie Jackson pick, I was bullish enough to make it an easy win. A swing and a miss on Joe Johnson rounds out the first of the middle rounds.

ROUND SIX

Rank (8)	Player	GP	ADP (8)	B150 (8)	W/L/D (8)	Rank (9)	ADP (9)	B150 (9)
61	Enes Kanter	75	117	150	TRADE	69	124	172
62	Andrew Wiggins	82	62	124	LL	89	219	69
63	Thaddeus Young	76	53	30	LL	60	46	19
64	Robert Covington	70	N/A	N/A	WAIVER	67	N/A	N/A
65	Nicolas Batum	71	27	15	LLLLLL	68	26	15
66	Dwyane Wade	62	47	56	W	108	36	98
67	DeMarre Carroll	70	117	106	W	49	123	84
68	Wilson Chandler	78	120	H/M	L	64	136	H/M
69	Josh Smith	83	60	87	W/TRADE	110	76	140
70	Isaiah Thomas	67	103	67	WWW	82	69	67
71	Jarrett Jack	80	124	H/M	L	105	151	H/M
72	Chandler Parsons	66	48	29	LL	63	45	27

Notes: Enes Kanter doesn’t hurt me here if he doesn’t get traded. The low ranking for Andrew Wiggins looked good for me for much of the year and then Minnesota saw multiple injuries and unleashed him for 39 minutes per game after the All Star break. Thaddeus Young was a major disappointment even when he was putting up early numbers, and he never really caught on in Brooklyn either. Robert Covington was one of my waiver wire guys so hopefully you got in on him.

Nicolas Batum deserves his own paragraph and he goes down as one of my worst calls of the year. Yes there were injuries and yes it’s hard to predict mental breakdowns, but a No. 15 rating coming back at No. 65 is going to leave a mark. To cheer myself up I’ll celebrate getting Isaiah Thomas right. I’ll also laugh about how he was run out of Sacramento because all the locals ate up the front office plot to get a Michael Malone guy off the team. Demand more from the local rag, Kings fans (we cracked that story in our spare time). Chandler Parsons was a big miss for me as I thought he’d get the ball a lot more than he did, which corresponded with my pessimism on Monta Ellis.

ROUND SEVEN

Rank (8)	Player	GP	ADP (8)	B150 (8)	W/L/D (8)	Rank (9)	ADP (9)	B150 (9)
73	Evan Turner	82	118	N/A	LL	113	138	N/A
74	Kenneth Faried	75	50	24	LLLL	77	59	24
75	P.J. Tucker	78	N/A	132	WW	66	149	101
76	Al Jefferson	65	18	37	WWW	55	16	25
77	Timofey Mozgov	81	140	85	WWW	76	134	70
78	Elfrid Payton	82	97	144	L	127	107	279
79	Wesley Matthews	60	61	43	W/INJURY	62	56	28
80	Ben McLemore	82	140	N/A	GRINDER	87	149	N/A
81	Jeff Green	78	87	99	TRADE	78	108	99
82	Kemba Walker	62	44	35	LLL	75	53	34
83	Michael Carter-Williams	66	60	59	DRAW	174	70	118
84	Matt Barnes	76	122	142	L	70	128	119

Notes: Evan Turner was a lot better last season than I thought he could be, which was a testament to his conditioning not falling apart as it did in Indy. But let’s not mince words; I have to get bludgeoned for the Kenneth Faried pick. I should have been more aware of the toxicity in that locker room and though momentum had a lot to do with it, Faried never took the offensive step forward that I thought he would watching him in the preseason and with Team USA. I was a year early on the Al Jefferson downgrade last year but this year he followed suit. Timofey Mozgov has an outside shot at an All Star game in the Eastern Conference, maybe not this year but soon. That’s reflected in his ranking here.

Elfrid Payton might have been dropped after his slow start but he started to get things together so I’m not sure this is a loss but I’ll take it as one. Ben McLemore shows what an 82-game grinder can do to the rankings, though he sat on the waiver wire for much of the year. If you go for one of these guys you literally have to set it and forget it, which is easier said than done. Kemba Walker’s knee injury and the shooting issues really were a buzzkill, and a sizable loss here in the rankings.

ROUND EIGHT

Rank (8)	Player	GP	ADP (8)	B150 (8)	W/L/D (8)	Rank (9)	ADP (9)	B150 (9)
85	Luol Deng	72	76	104	W	83	81	121
86	J.R. Smith	70	102	131	TRADE	79	113	109
87	Mario Chalmers	80	113	75	W	119	109	92
88	Deron Williams	68	54	38	LL	104	34	41
89	Jeremy Lin	74	91	45	LLL	112	107	63
90	Andrew Bogut	67	115	128	L	81	106	102
91	Patrick Patterson	81	N/A	134	W	58	N/A	95
92	Mo Williams	68	N/A	N/A	WAIVER	124	140	N/A
93	Avery Bradley	77	116	98	W	90	140	96
94	Corey Brewer	80	140	H/M	WAIVER	98	120	H/M
95	Harrison Barnes	82	140	N/A	GRINDER	74	139	N/A
96	Roy Hibbert	76	86	83	L	88	85	110

Notes: I lost betting on Deron Williams’ rejuvenated ankles, even if he did show glimpses of good play early on. Then I really lost putting Jeremy Lin as high as I did, though I hope owners saw the thinking after Byron Scott put him in the corner all year long and he still met his ADP.

ROUND NINE

Rank (8)	Player	GP	ADP (8)	B150 (8)	W/L/D (8)	Rank (9)	ADP (9)	B150 (9)
97	Tyler Zeller	82	N/A	H/M	GRINDER	80	N/A	H/M
98	Ed Davis	79	N/A	N/A	WAIVER	72	N/A	N/A
99	Nikola Mirotic	82	N/A	N/A	WAIVER	86	N/A	N/A
100	Bradley Beal	63	78	113	WWW	101	68	125
101	DeMar DeRozan	60	43	27	LLLLLL	118	48	36
102	Amir Johnson	75	112	118	DRAW	95	116	85
103	Aaron Brooks	82	N/A	N/A	WAIVER	137	N/A	N/A
104	Kentavious Caldwell-Pope	82	140	H/M	GRINDER	91	140	H/M
105	Rajon Rondo	68	52	46	L	175	42	61
106	Paul Pierce	73	112	94	DRAW	93	91	97
107	Brandan Wright	75	N/A	129	WW	71	N/A	72
108	David West	66	75	101	WW	116	67	111

Notes: As you can see things start to get wishy-washy as we get further down in the ranks. Bradley Beal is the first big name to pop up here and I feel really good about this ranking because my colleagues were really high on him. It’s very hard to go against the grain with the crew we have, because top to bottom they’re dangerous. I killed you guys with the high DeMar DeRozan ranking. Yes, the groin injury was hard to predict for one of the most durable guys in the league, but he was yet another casualty of Team USA hype for me.

My Brandan Wright selection was on its way to being in the same realm as Rudy Gobert and Gorgui Dieng before the trades. And for a team that goes by the name ‘Ghost of Red Auerbach,’ who hit me with all sorts of shade for hanging onto Dieng in lieu of a David West trade – I smoked that ranking from start to finish and yet I never heard from you.

ROUND TEN

Rank (8)	Player	GP	ADP (8)	B150 (8)	W/L/D (8)	Rank (9)	ADP (9)	B150 (9)
109	Joakim Noah	67	28	47	WWW	121	25	39
110	Donatas Motiejunas	71	N/A	N/A	WAIVER	123	N/A	N/A
111	Jamal Crawford	64	90	78	LL	100	96	83
112	Gerald Henderson	80	140	H/M	GRINDER	115	143	N/A
113	Courtney Lee	77	N/A	133	W	94	N/A	91
114	Tony Parker	68	59	105	WWW	151	61	138
115	Zaza Pachulia	73	N/A	N/A	WAIVER	139	N/A	N/A
116	Brandon Bass	82	140	N/A	L	99	139	N/A
117	Andre Iguodala	77	106	126	DRAW	102	96	122
118	Anthony Morrow	74	N/A	H/M	W	84	N/A	H/M
119	Marcus Morris	81	N/A	N/A	GRINDER	97	N/A	N/A
120	Wesley Johnson	76	140	120	EXACT	106	146	89

Notes: Joakim Noah was a big win considering how far he fell. I didn’t have the decline in Jamal Crawford’s game pegged very well. Tony Parker’s ADP was ridiculous and that was easy money. Wesley Johnson was a direct hit.

ROUND ELEVEN

Rank (8)	Player	GP	ADP (8)	B150 (8)	W/L/D (8)	Rank (9)	ADP (9)	B150 (9)
121	Arron Afflalo	78	91	H/M	WW	134	86	H/M
122	Manu Ginobili	70	113	H/M	DRAW	162	96	H/M
123	Rodney Stuckey	71	119	H/M	WAIVER	138	142	H/M
124	C.J. Miles	70	140	119	W	103	144	90
125	Darren Collison	45	96	82	WW	130	97	106
126	Eric Gordon	61	105	127	W	143	102	157
127	Marvin Williams	78	N/A	N/A	DRAW	92	N/A	N/A
128	Greivis Vasquez	82	N/A	H/M	GRINDER	142	140	H/M
129	Devin Harris	76	N/A	N/A	DRAW	109	N/A	N/A
130	Jordan Hill	70	104	146	WW	131	112	139
131	Tony Allen	63	N/A	H/M	DRAW	114	137	H/M
132	Jared Sullinger	58	90	81	W (RW)	107	118	108

Notes: Arron Afflalo was an easy call as a guy with a declining game and a crowded situation in Denver. Jordan Hill was a tidy win for the B150 in the late rounds, and with all the Rotoworld hype over Jared Sullinger I’m just happy I didn’t rank him higher.

THE REST OF THE TOP-150

Rank (8)	Player	GP	ADP (8)	B150 (8)	W/L/D (8)	Rank (9)	ADP (9)	B150 (9)
133	D.J. Augustin	82	140	H/M	WAIVER	161	140	H/M
134	O.J. Mayo	71	140	116	LL	154	133	171
135	Hassan Whiteside	48	N/A	N/A	WAIVER	96	N/A	N/A
136	Tristan Thompson	82	114	N/A	W	117	130	N/A
137	James Johnson	70	N/A	H/M	DRAW	111	N/A	H/M
138	Boris Diaw	81	140	H/M	DRAW	155	134	H/M
139	Trey Burke	76	112	95	LLL	157	117	112
140	Kelly Olynyk	64	120	123	DRAW	136	119	88
141	Chris Bosh	44	19	28	WW	135	23	32
142	Zach LaVine	77	N/A	N/A	WAIVER	217	N/A	N/A
143	Solomon Hill	82	140	N/A	GRINDER	152	142	N/A
144	Terrence Ross	82	115	121	W	122	138	100
145	Channing Frye	75	118	H/M	W	128	111	H/M
146	Jrue Holiday	40	55	40	L/INJURY	145	53	68
147	George Hill	43	87	61	L	125	80	59
148	Carmelo Anthony	40	7	14	WWWW	147	8	12
149	Danilo Gallinari	59	100	H/M	L/WAIVER	120	105	H/M
150	Taj Gibson	62	110	110	DRAW	133	103	120

Notes: I bought the O.J. Mayo fitness improvement but he never really broke through, despite checking in at least 25 pounds lighter over the season before. Trey Burke was a wasted bullet in the late rounds for me. Chris Bosh was torching me early on in the season but he started to slow down and then the blood clot hurt his owners badly. I feel like I was on the right side of the rank and hopefully that helped owners avoid bad injury luck.

George Hill’s injury situation was reported very piece-meal so I won’t beat myself up as bad as some of the other guys on this list, but it was certainly a blow to the rankings. On the other hand, Carmelo Anthony looked like trouble from the beginning of last season and passing on him was a big win. Danilo Gallinari landed on a bunch of waiver wires as his knee acted up, but if you held on you smashed my ranking. His turnaround last season was among the more surprising injury turnarounds I’ve seen.

NOTEWORTHY

Rank (8)	Player	GP	ADP (8)	B150 (8)	W/L/D (8)	Rank (9)	ADP (9)	B150 (9)
153	Robin Lopez	59	87	68	L	132	76	38
154	John Henson	67	121	107	L	149	143	113
155	Gerald Green	74	114	100	L	163	100	87
157	Patrick Beverley	56	107	71	LLL	153	99	42
158	Kevin Durant	27	16	7	L	148	6	7
160	Marcus Smart	67	118	145	WW	160	134	193
164	Dion Waiters	80	112	H/M	WW	181	122	H/M
165	Ryan Anderson	61	81	103	W	144	49	74
174	Derrick Rose	51	22	44	WW	230	28	86
176	Mason Plumlee	82	140	89	LLL	184	133	52
186	Brandon Jennings	41	58	52	INJURY	193	85	66
194	Kevin Martin	39	87	139	W	191	75	117
205	Kobe Bryant	35	26	55	WW	253	29	93
216	Dwight Howard	41	26	65	WWWW	251	32	141
217	Kyle O’Quinn	80	N/A	84	LLLLLLL	203	N/A	46
248	Terrence Jones	33	85	60	INJURY	231	113	31
251	David Lee	49	54	86	WW	244	60	107
262	Lance Stephenson	61	64	70	W	336	69	76
264	Nick Young	42	112	138	W	256	139	135
276	Tony Wroten	30	119	143	W	344	142	254
290	Ricky Rubio	22	57	25	L/INJURY	307	50	51
313	Alec Burks	27	120	112	INJURY	321	139	158
316	Jabari Parker	25	48	115	W/INJURY	316	58	218

Notes: I was higher on Robin Lopez than most and a hand injury and decreased effectiveness blew my ranking up. John Henson showed flashes but never got things going consistently. Gerald Green talked to himself on the court a lot but played his way into the doghouse so that was a miss. Patrick Beverley burned me again but it was more of an injury thing than a major miss in projections like the previous season. Kevin Durant was discussed but here he is for notation purposes. Marcus Smart was a guy that got a ton of hype but his shooting guard like numbers didn’t justify the hype he got. Dion Waiters seemed like an easy call but drafters felt otherwise.

I was nowhere near correct on the Derrick Rose projection but hopefully I dissuaded many of you from that mess. Mason Plumlee was, to me, one of my bigger misses because cracked my late-middle rounds and then I hyped him again during the middle of the year to no avail – all while my RW colleagues were correct with their salt. Kobe is a big name just waiting to be overdrafted and two years ago he killed me, but we got it right this past year.

Terrence Jones’ injury was unforeseen so I won’t lose any sleep there. David Lee was an easy call. I was barely on the right side of the Lance Stephenson disaster so I didn’t have him on any of 10 teams. Ditto for Nick Young and Tony Wroten. I’m calling Ricky Rubio a loss, though the ankle issue wasn’t exactly foreseeable. Jabari Parker’s natural rank was much lower than what I ended up giving him, but either way my pessimism was on track to win out before the ACL injury.

Kyle O’Quinn deserves his own paragraph, not just because of the awesomely bad Photoshop floating around here with my head on his body, but because he was easily my biggest miss of the year. The worst part about it is that Orlando is such a small market, including a history of not reporting major injuries, that we have no real idea what happened there. I saw with my own eyes that he was terrible and even very terrible at times, but this was a guy that put up consistent numbers for 2-3 months the year before and just fell off a cliff. And there are still folks around the league that think he is a diamond in the rough find for the Knicks. Was he injured? Was he pissed off at the low playing time and uninspiring team environment? I don’t know, but you guys know I don’t pull any punches with my lists and I basically knocked myself out here so fire away.