Living the Fantasy for the 2012-2013 Season

The 2012-2013 NBA season is almost upon us, and for Hoop Nuts like me, that means several things:

- a chance to see if the Heat can repeat the feat (just for the record, I hope they don't),

- only a few months (or weeks?) away from seeing Derrick Rose back in action,

- my buddy, Rolly Mendoza, will be writing more stuff (teehee),

- the NBA 2K13 series will get real-life-based updates, and

- FANTASY NBA!!!

As you can see from the image below, I've been playing Fantasy Basketball for quite some time now (I actually started with Gatorade's Virtual GM back in college). I've been at it since 2002 and have achieved varying levels of success. I've annexed the top prize twice (in 2006 and 2011, both in public leagues), came in second twice (in 2003 and 2008, both in a league with my HS buddies), and finished third twice (2004 in my HS league and 2008 in the Ateneo HS Faculty league). 

Those aren't exactly shabby numbers, but, of course, I'd like to find more success. 

Most of the leagues I join utilize the head-to-head (H2H) format. I prefer it over the rotisserie scoring system simply because the H2H seems a bit more realistic, lends itself better to late-season comebacks, and rewards good roster management much more effectively. Based on my experience, the roto system sees a lot less flexibility. By this, I mean that the guys who get a head start early in the season tend to stay at the top tiers till the end. Because of this mindset, I see roto rewarding good drafting more than good daily roster management. An H2H system employs completely different dynamics. It demands more diligence from the players, especially in terms of updating themselves about what's happening in the NBA and who should get dropped from, or picked up for, their respective rosters. 

This year, I'm joining 4 leagues and creating 1 more. I've joined the first ever AHS Batch 99/LS Batch 2003 Kiefer League, the annual AHS Faculty League, the 80500 H2H public league, and the 11297 roto public league. 

I've also just created the the inaugural Hoop Nut Fantasy league. As of now, this league has 6 teams, 1 from me and 5 from my HS buddies. I'm opening it up to the readers of this blog. Join our league (max is 12 teams, so 6 more slots are open) and play some serious Fantasy ball. Oh, I'll be giving away a prize to the winner, too! Right now, I'm thinking adidas gift certs, but it might get even better by the time the season ends! If you want to join, the League ID is "76156" and the password is "hoopnut". I'm assuming, of course, that you have a Yahoo! account. Can't join unless you have one.

I'll also give you a peek at my draft rankings. They're pretty unorthodox, especially when you look at the picks outside of the Top 10, but I'm a risk-taker when it comes to these things. I don't play the percentages too much. I rely on my gut more than I rely on the stats. I guess that explains why I only have 6 trophies to show after 10 seasons! Haha! :)

Let's do this! Let's live the Fantasy! :)