rate your reaches

[Derek Bodner]

The first two weeks of the year or so I don't play like I normally do, which is keeping 2-3 spots to add/drop and fill roster spots.  Reason being, I want to see who on the bottom part of the roster looks like they might work out.
- Kevin Love.   Drafted in 8th round.  12 pts, 9 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 stl, 2 blocks in opener.  no question he'll get minutes this year, so should be solid (but not spectacular).
- Tyrus Thomas.  Drafted in the 10th round.  15 pts, 10 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 steals, 1 block in his opening game.  Looks like he's won the starting PF spot and has fantasy monster potential.
- Wilson Chandler.  Drafted 11th round.  17 pts, 9 rebounds in opener.  Hopefully earns him more minutes, which are the main concern.
- Rudy Fernandez.  Drafted in the 12th round.  16 pts, 4 assists, 2 rebounds, 3 3ptm, 3 ftm in season opener.  Hope he ends up winning the starting spot in Portland.
- Kelenna Azubuike.  Drafted in 13th round.  17 pts, 3 rebounds, 3 assists, 5 ftm in opener.  Only played 23 minutes.  Hopefully his play will earn him more minutes as the season progresses.
- Darrell Arthur.  Drafted 14th round.  11 pts, 15 rebounds in opener.  Should get time on the awful Grizzlies, hopefully eventually starting. 

Main disappointments. 
- Greg Oden.  Drafted 6th round.  0 pts, 5 rebounds, 1 block.  Injured.  Only played 12 minutes.  right now "only" 2-4 weeks, but who knows with sprains.
- Eric Gordon.  Drafted 9th round.  Only 3 pts, 1 reb, 2 assists.  I expected him to get more time.  13 minutes obviously isn't going to cut it. 

Can't complain with the production I got in rounds 10-14.  Hopefully 2 of them shake out.

[WayOutWest]

Funny my reaches started in the 8th round as well.

I gambled a little and drafter by position but if my 2nd choice was comming up on Auto-Pick I would go with it and hope my 1st choice would still be there.  That worked out twice but it did cost me JO.  I really wanted that guy but I wasn't going to give up the SG I wanted when I already had a PF/C combo in Gasol and a PF in Dirk.  So I didn't feel like I left someone better on the board to take a player I needed except in round 8.


Round 8 - Al Harrington PF,C - I took him here cause I need a safety net center and he was comming up on auto-pick, I was going to go with Price but that C eligibility swayed me towards Al and he did ok for me last year.

9. Ryan Gomes SF,PF - Again his eligibility swayed me away from Prince and my original plan was Prince in the 8th and Gomes/Al in the 9th but I just went by gut feel.

10. Monta Ellis PG,SG - I did not think he would last much longer so I took him at the cost of losing Al Thorton.  Al was a guy I thought would be off everyone's radar, seeing as I'm one of the few Clippers fans around here, it really hurt to lose out on him but in the long run Eillis will be a great pickup, potentially keeper material in the future.

11. Luis Scola PF,C - Guy put up some solid numbers and I didn't leave anyone better on the board but then again I don't research as much as some of you other guys.  I like his solid play and I hope Artest does not eat into his minutes much but I figure there will be an injury or two or he will be a solid sixth man.  He's an "in a pinch" type of roster filler.

12. Bobby Simmons SG,SF - He was a solid guy before he left the Clippers and I should have known it was a "contract year" type of performance but because of injuries he has not had the opportunity to prove/disprove himself.  Again, filler but I hope he's solid as a 3rd stringer.

13. Ronny Turiaf PF,C - Hope he gets minutes in GS and their free flow offense might generate a lot of points and rebounds.  I like his C eligibility as well since my team seems to ALWAYS have injuries to key players, that's players with an S!

14. Jordan Farmar PG,SG - Homer pick.

[jemagee]

Wasn't a reah but i put chalmers on my watch list after his first game (cause it was the knicks) and turns out i wasn't fast enough

[atom2030]

Vienna picks:
1. (7) Dwight Howard 
2. (18) Amare Stoudemire 
3. (31) Chauncey Billups 
4. (42) Brandon Roy 
5. (55) Mike Dunleavy 
6. (66) Michael Beasley 
7. (79) David Lee 
8. (90) Gilbert Arenas 
9. (103) Derrick Rose 
10. (114) James Posey 
11. (127) Brook Lopez 
12. (138) Raja Bell 
13. (151) Rodney Stuckey 
14. (162) Kyle Korver 

well, you coulod argue my "reaches" started in round 4 where I nabbed Brandon Roy way too high ... but desperate for a quality PG (and he'll spend quite some time there) I hoped to take the BPGA.

Beasley as the #6 pick is the first real reach. He'll have his ups and downs and minutes will be inconsistent, but there's hope he can put up numbers ... especially once Marion is traded. And I will probably need scoring ...
The other rooks, Rose in rd 9 (half homer, half hoper pick) already looks better now than  before the season. The Bulls will play him a lot, and while they suck so bad offensively his assist numbers are horrible, he's doing pretty good otherwise. Brook Lopez in rd 11 may or may not start this season, but his blocks, steals and rebound in limited minutes also make this pick look solid, albeit a round too high.

Arenas in rd 8 was a no-brainer. He'll return before long and he's a round 2 talent at worst ... when healthy, which might not be the case before late in the season. but as last year proved, once you reach the post season, anything is possible.

For the rest ...
... I hope Posey (rd 10) will be my Battier this year, nothing spectecular, but solid numbers across ... and for now he overachieved despite coming from the bench. Great %, 3 triples per, steals and even scoring more. Apart from the occasional block from Shane this is more than I had hoped for.
... Raja looks awesome early with torrid shooting, tho the  rest of the numbers slipped a bit so far.
... Stuckey's role with AI on board is more unclear than ever, and in his first starts he didn't exactly put up Chauncesque numbers, but I take the wait and see approach for a few more weeks.
... and finally Kyle is there for the occasional long distance calls. But he's also the first one out the door if I see some weakness on my team I have to address.


So I get myself a B+ on reaches for now, mostly because the guys overachieved so far. Won't stay that way, so in the end I hope for a solid B- when all's said and done !