nsellyn (7 posts)  10/16/2012 2:23 PM

In a 9 CAT H2H keeper league (entering our 13th season, incredibly).

Four keepers allowed, and I'm locked into:

Dwight / Al J / Rondo 

For my fourth keeper, I have to decide between Ty Lawson and Marc Gasol.

I know Rondo can easily be debated, especially given the headache I'm having our my fourth keeper, but I love him dearly, and if there's any strategy that increases his value, it's obviously this one.

I have reservations about Ty's unpredictable health, as he's prone to missing 1-3 games here and there, which add up over the course of the season. However, it seems as if pundit consensus has him earning a Top 20 rank this year. I also feel his AST numbers may be negatively impacted by Iggy's presence. Denver is going to be a really fun team to watch, but there are so many options on that team, and I wonder if there will be a single player who will emerge as their consistent, night after night fantasy producer.

Gasol's projections are almost as rosy, and he's more consistent. 

In addition, I feel as if PG is very deep and contains several attractive sleeper candidates, while getting a reliable inside option is far more difficult come the fifth round. My plan (assuming Lawson has been snapped up by then and I can't re-add him with my first non keeper pick) was to shoot for Lillard, as it seems he could easily develop into a potential keeper.

Thoughts? Is this a no brainer? Help me, Great Buser!

nsellyn (7 posts)  10/16/2012 2:33 PM

Buser, your thoughts from another thread on punting FT%: "It's pretty difficult to run out of suitable big-man options when you are punting FT%. Make sure to address those PG-SF-SF in pretty short order - and assume you'll have to do it at market value, even if you are passing on some "valuable" bigs within your strategy. Keep an eye on scoring, because those late bigs tend to be low-volume scorers.

I'm assuming, given this opinion, that you'll suggest Lawson here, but I'll await the confirmation of your hallowed word.

dasein (624 posts)  10/17/2012 6:34 AM

Keep Ty. You can near-replace what Gasol gives you by getting guys nobody else wants like tristian thompson at the end of your draft. Scoring guards that give you good ast, 3s, stls and FG%....a little harder to come by. Ty is also rated more highly in a vaccum (easier to trade if need be), and is no more likely to bust than Gasol. Easy choice for me. 

nsellyn (7 posts)  10/17/2012 3:05 PM

Thanks, Dasein - You're right, and I'm beginning to face that reality.

I didn't want to... it's funny, for seasons I was just waiting for Lawson to get the playing time required to show his talent, and then last year all he did was give me headaches with missed games or poor performances whenever it mattered most. But he will be running a dynamic offense, and - as you reasonably point out - his contributions will be far more difficult to replace than Gasol's. 

I guess, when considering the Punt FT% strategy, or any punt strategy for that matter, it's difficult to know when enough is enough. Will one more FG%/REB/BLK monster be enough on the inside, beyond Al and Dwight, or do I need two complements before turning my attention to focus solely on the other cats?

When trying to 'lock down' categories, what kind of total VAL numbers do you guys aim for?

bruin99 (201 posts)  10/17/2012 10:09 PM

Lawson.  Lawson.  And Lawson.  Lawson's a great pair for Punt FT% (He's not great in it).  Gasol has Randolph to worry about now, and he's not that great on a punt FT% team.

nsellyn (7 posts)  10/18/2012 9:58 AM

Much thanks, gents. Now to build out the rest of my target list...