The Rockets know they face a talent deficit in cobbling even an average defense from their revamped, James Harden-centric roster. No scheme will turn Harden, Ryan Anderson, and Eric Gordon into good defenders, or make Trevor Ariza a 25-year-old stopper again.They are banking on the sort of happy chemistry that drives everyone to prepare a little harder, follow the game plan, and fight like hell for their teammates -- the vibe that was missing last season, when tension between Harden and Dwight Howard poisoned the locker room.The biggest thing with defense is that our chemistry will be good, Mike DAntoni, the teams new head coach, told ESPN.com -- adding that he wants Houston to finish in the top 10 in points allowed per possession.This year, we have guys that trust each other, Harden told ESPN.com. We are not going to take possessions off.It is almost an article of faith that players give more on defense when they feel involved on offense -- when they get to touch the ball, and do stuff with it. We are going to be at our best when everyone touches it, Ryan Anderson told ESPN.com, and we really move the ball. That creates a natural tension: the Rockets built a roster of finishers whose job boils down mostly to shooting when Harden passes to them.DAntoni knows that players occasionally crave more in exchange for their grunt work on defense -- even if he hates to admit it. There is something to the human nature of it, DAntoni said. But I dont want to believe it. Because when they feel their paycheck every two weeks, shouldnt that make you play hard on both ends? Look: you have to be a star in your role. And here, your role is: when James gets the ball to you, shoot it, and then run back and play hard as heck.That system is devastating, by the way -- at least when Harden is on the floor. (If you look up Houstons scoring numbers with Harden resting, your computer just laughs at you.) Harden is the most brilliant pick-and-roll orchestrator outside Cleveland, and the Rockets have surrounded him with the perfect supporting cast: a pick-and-pop bomber in Anderson, two bigs -- Clint Capela and Nene -- who love to screen and zip to the rim, and just enough shooting around the arc.They have answers for everything. Switch a big onto Harden, and hes cooking. Hug Anderson to snuff his jumper, and Harden is flying to the rim:The dude is an artist -- all calculated shoulder fakes and sideways glances designed to open up a pass two chess moves away.Slide a wing onto Anderson to switch the Harden-Anderson dance, and Harden just waves Capela and Nene into the action -- often on wing pick-and-rolls crafted so there is no natural weakside help defender to crash the paint:Now that Harden brings the ball up as the anointed point guard, opponents press to try and wear him down. Harden invites the harassment. Thats fine, he said. That makes my job easier. We just set a screen near half-court, and Im downhill. Im gone. Critics kill Harden for dancing with the ball, but he knows when to get rid of it early:When teams flood Harden pick-and-rolls with a third defender -- look how early Deron Williams is helping from the right corner, and how far he ventures -- Harden whizzes crosscourt passes:(Note: Dallas quieted Houston by smothering Harden with this exaggerated help, and forcing him to swing the ball. Expect other teams to try it -- and to switch more.)Opponents hide their point guards on Ariza, Gordon, and Corey Brewer, and the Rockets exploit that by having those guys screen for Harden -- daring teams to switch a little guy onto him:That Ariza drive-and-kick is proof the Harden show has room for others. But it is Hardens show. He has used up 34 percent of Houston possessions with a shot, turnover, or drawn foul, and assisted on 61 percent of teammate baskets while on the floor -- a combination no player has ever pulled over a full season. Hell, that assist rate alone would be an all-time record.Hes not selfish, but hes almost literally doing everything. Houston is dead last in passes per game; Harden often needs just one to find an open shot for someone else.In crunch time, Harden has shown an early tendency to slow the offense and hunt for his own. Even that doesnt bother DAntoni, and perhaps it shouldnt. Harden isolating is generally a good thing; no one can guard him, and if he spies a help defender creeping into the paint, hes ready with a laser pass. It might not be textbook YMCA basketball, DAntoni said. It might not be what your dad taught you. But its effective.It also gets at the difference between these Rockets and DAntonis peak Phoenix teams. Those Suns sported three top-20 players in Steve Nash, Amare Stoudemire, and Shawn Marion; Nash controlled the ball as much as Harden, but he never averaged more than 13.5 shots per game. Harden has jacked almost 20, and hes had to, because he might be the only top-50 player on Houstons roster.Having just a single star was obviously not the plan.For a half-decade after Tracy McGrady and Yao Ming broke down, Daryl Morey, Houstons GM, operated under one rule: get stars without tanking. Every contract had to be a golden trade chip that could fetch another and another, until Houston stashed enough to nab Harden. One star would lure a second, and that twosome -- Harden and Howard -- damn near got them a third in Chris Bosh. It was masterful team-building. (How bizarre and sad is it that Houston might be better off having whiffed on Bosh, even if they gifted the Lakers a first-round pick to dump Jeremy Lin to L.A. and open cap space?)And then this past summer the Rockets agreed to pay Anderson and Gordon $33 million per year combined. Those are not golden trade chips; Andersons deal is a better candidate for the stretch provision than to become some appealing piece of bait in a mega-trade. The signings leave Houston with only about $10 million in projected cap space this summer -- way short of what it takes to land a star.The moves marked an undeniable pivot. Sources familiar with the process say Houstons owner, Leslie Alexander, assumed a larger role in the team-building process, and that he was eager to rebound at any cost from the malaise of last season. The moves signaled Moreys position may not be quite as secure as it once was, league sources say. The dismissal of Gianluca Pascucci, Houstons former vice president of player personnel and a Morey confidant, was widely seen as a shot across the bow at Morey. Morey says the decision was his, and the Nets quickly snapped up Pascucci after several teams expressed interest in him.Last year was disappointing, Morey told ESPN.com. Its always uncomfortable in Houston. Thats how it should be. I dont feel more or less pressure about my job than I ever have.Last seasons regression drove Houstons spending spree, Morey said. The Rockets know they wont pick high enough to draft a star, and that they cant outbid Boston, Phoenix, Philly, and others on the trade market after sending out picks in the Lin and Ty Lawson deals. We are outgunned, Morey said.That leaves free agency as the only path to a second star, and stars generally have spurned mediocre teams. Kevin Durant didnt even grant Houston a meeting in July. Last year hurt us in terms of perception around the league, Morey said. We felt like if we didnt have a more successful season this year, our ability to be a top destination would be hurt.The Rockets had room to burn amid an unprecedented cap spike, and concluded they couldnt stand pat -- or trawl the bargain bin for cheapo guys with potential to develop into trade assets. We had a choice: keep our powder dry and value play, or go for two blue-chip players past the obvious superstars, Morey said. It was a tough cap environment. You have to spend the money on someone.Dont let the meager leftover cap room fool you: Houston still wants stars. Teams that win it all generally have two top-10 players, Morey said. We have one. We will always look for more.The Rockets are confident everyone will thrive in DAntonis go-go system, bumping up their trade value, and?that they can open cap space in a pinch -- via trade, waiver, or an unexpected cap leap. We may have created some downside risk for ourselves, Morey said. But if were as good we think we are gonna be -- and thats a team that gets home-court in first round, or just short of that -- I dont see any problems getting it done.Houston probably wont hit that mark if they finish 27th in points allowed per possession -- their current rank. We have to commit to defense, said Jeff Bzdelik, the assistant coach charged with guiding Houston on that end, or were just a .500 team that runs up and down a lot.Believe it or not, they are actually (kind of) trying. Before the season, Moreys crew culled video of every pick-and-roll faced by top-10 defenses in each of the last three seasons -- about 59,000 ball screens -- and crunched numbers on which strategies worked best against every variety. Bzdelik drafted a set of foundational rules based on that information.They still start each practice with drills on transition defense, their old bugaboo, and call out breakdowns in film sessions. Coaches found mistakes on 65 percent of Houstons defensive possessions during their loss in Cleveland last week, Bzdelik said.Everyone appears to be (mostly) working hard. Theyre talking, rushing out on shooters, and limiting the number of shots at the rim; only five teams have allowed fewer attempts from the restricted area so far. Their transition defense ranks around league average, a huge triumph given last seasons lollygagging and the worst turnover rate in the league. Beverleys return will help.We have some good individual defenders, DAntoni said. If the rest of them just try, well, thats the plan.They just face so many structural limitations. Anderson is lethargic at a position where opponents can run him through pick-and-rolls until he breaks. More teams will go small against Anderson, forcing him to chase speedier wings -- especially because those same wings can run him off the arc on the other end.Anderson can bully those guys in the post, but teams dont fear him there. They know exactly whats coming when Anderson goes to the block: a step-back jumper, or a spinning layup. He never passes, and his teammates have already realized it; Ariza chatted with Anderson in New York last week after Anderson missed him wide open in the corner during another post spin job. Trevor talked to me right away, Anderson said. I need to be a better playmaker there.Capela is learning on the job, and sometimes lets point guards penetrate too far on the pick-and-roll -- triggering more emergency help away from enemy shooters, coaches say. Ariza has lost a step. Brewer is an unreliable gambler. Harden and Gordon just arent good enough over full games. Run enough motion and screening action, and the Rockets will screw up:Teams are feasting from 3-point range, and that low number of shots allowed near the hoop doesnt mean much when opponents hit better than 65 percent of them -- the third-highest such mark in the league, per NBA.com.Houston hopes to mitigate some of this by keeping things even simpler, and switching all over the floor. We have guys who are challenged just to get through screens, Bzdelik said. If we switch, they dont have to do that. We keep bodies on bodies.Capela and Nene are experts at staying in front of waterbugs, and Harden is surprisingly stout in the post. Sam Dekker has looked comfortable chasing smaller players, a welcome boost to Houstons depth with Beverley and Donatas Motiejunas absent.But Gordon is undersized against wings, and dispatching their tallest players 25 feet from the rim risks a crisis on the glass -- a troubling trade-off given Houston was the leagues worst defensive rebounding team with Howard. Theyre bottom 10 so far this season, and mean-spirited behemoths love shoving Capela almost out of bounds when a shot goes up.On a more basic level, its hard to kick old habits. Harden still spaces out too often when hes off the ball. Two teams have grown so weary of Andersons soft defense, they let him go for nothing. Houstons collective first step in transition comes and goes:Harden compounds turnovers with the NBAs version of pestering the goalie -- leaping and poking for steals at half-court instead of rushing back. If there is even a one-second delay in sprinting back, Bzdelik said, we have no chance.The Rockets look awesome when the shots are falling, and they are rolling. Its unclear if they can dig down and do the grimy stuff on nights when they are cold from deep, or an elite defense mucks up Hardens game. Theyve shown signs, including their fourth quarter in Washington on Monday, and they won 56 games two years ago when Howard missed half the season. They have never gotten enough credit for rallying from 3-1 down against the Clippers. Weak-willed teams dont do that, not even to the Clippers.But even if these Rockets hit their ceiling, they are a one-star system team that needs more talent to compete at the very top.Its sort of incredible that Harden and Russell Westbrook, second and third bananas for years in Oklahoma City, now helm upper-middle-class teams facing the same question: which second star wants to come play with the guy who has the ball all the time?Peak Howard was, in theory, the ideal second star for Harden: an all-time defender who would cover Hardens weaknesses, and didnt need the ball unless Harden passed it to him on the pick-and-roll. But Howard considered that role beneath him, and the Rockets are still searching.Harden resists the notion that he can play only this ball-dominant style. Listen, he told ESPN.com, I can play with anybody. I can play off the ball, on the ball, whatever. Im just doing what my coaches ask me to do.Still: Houston will look at every dive-and-dunk rim protector that hits free agency during Hardens tenure. Failing that, Houston faces a choice: find small upgrades that fit the current system seamlessly, or go big for stars with skill sets that might overlap a bit with Hardens. Maybe they find a mid-salaried wing with longer arms, and the ability to do a bit more off the bounce than Ariza.Maybe they unearth a master of the short roll -- a guy who can set picks, slide to the foul line, catch a pass from Harden and make plays from there. Boris Diaw thrived in that role under DAntoni in Phoenix. Houston could have kept Terrence Jones for this job on the cheap, but concerns about his health and work ethic turned off suitors.Maybe Motiejunas signs, stays healthy and makes a leap.In the end, expect Morey to chase stars again -- even if they need the ball. Chris Paul, Blake Griffin, and DeAndre Jordan dont make for the cleanest spread pick-and-roll fit in L.A., but they are all studs, and the Clips have found a way to make it work. You can bet both Houston and Oklahoma City hope to pitch Griffin; he has experience playing off a ball-dominant lead guard, and finding ways to assert himself anyway -- in the post, leading the break, and playing connector between Paul and Jordan.We have one guy who can be the best player on a championship team, Morey said. I have zero doubt of that. The more you have the better, as long as they mesh.10 Things I Like And Dont Like1. Julius Randle and the rollicking Lake ShowKiddie Showtime is so fun. Even Nick Young is doing helpful basketball things!Seriously: Luke Walton might have salvaged Nick Young! Like, how did that happen? What did Walton say to motivate him? How much would he charge to record it so I could play it whenever Im feeling down?Randle is the least flashy of the Lakers kiddos, but his early-season surge is the most encouraging post-Kobe subplot. Randle is the anti-modern big; he cant shoot 3s or protect the rim, and the pace-and-space era is supposedly weeding those guys out. Larry Nance Jr. looked like a more intriguing long-term fit at power forward for parts of last season.But bigs who face up, drive into the defense, and draw a second defender open space for their teammates. They just do it in a different way -- provided they whip the right passes. Randle is a canny passer, and when teams play him one-on-one, hes bulldozing his way to floaters and soft-touch fadeaways.He can go coast-to-coast after grabbing a rebound, and when he tries, hes a mobile defender capable of switching onto smaller guys.The coaching staff loves Nance; hes a better defender than Randle, with a jumper that might stretch further in a couple of seasons. He does all the gritty high-IQ things that win. But the Lakers are plus-4 in 38 minutes with both Randle and Nance on the floor, and Walton should explore that more.2. Dancing into jumpersWere nearing the point at which players can do the Loco-Motion as they gather for jumpers. Referees stared right at Giannis Antetokounmpo line-dancing into a potential game-winning buzzer-beater on the last possession of regulation Sunday in Dallas -- and choked on their whistles.Shooters gain a huge advantage if they can get away with extra steps to balance themselves. Defenders know the rhythm of a normal NBA jumper, and they cant adjust their footwork in the heat of the moment to guard a guy suddenly allowed to sidestep them.I wish the refs had whistled Antetokounmpo for walking, even if it would have short-circuited an edge-of-your-seat possession. It might have had a chilling effect. The NBA needs to crack down before someone hits a postseason game-winner after a blatant travel. Admitting that error the next day will be more embarrassing than their concession Monday that Antetokounmpo traveled (duh).3. Hassan Whiteside, swallowing shots wholeNo one else does this:Whiteside is the NBAs Venus flytrap. The ball is there, and then, bam, its gone -- enveloped into invisibility within Whitesides giant hands. Yeah, sometimes these are goaltends, and Whitesides overheated pursuit of no-chance-in-hell rejections can leave Miami exposed under the rim. I dont care. Awesome things are awesome.4. Utah, now with flexibility!The Jazz closed their comeback in New York on Sunday with a small-ball group of George Hill (on fire!), Rodney Hood, Gordon Hayward, Joe Johnson, and Rudy Gobert. It is really hard to defend lineups featuring four 3-point shooters around an athletic dive-and-dunk screen-setter -- especially when all four perimeter players can run a nice pick-and-roll. Expect this group -- and the version with Derrick Favors in Goberts place -- to be a crunch-time staple.Utah hasnt had the flexibility to shape-shift like this in a long time. Few teams do. To go small, coaches usually have to shoehorn in that extra wing who either cant shoot, dribble, or pass.Utah has faith in the long-term viability of its mammoth Favors-Gobert partnership. Lineups featuring those two have generally scored well over the last two seasons. But there will be nights against elite defenses when the Jazz cant pry open enough space to score with both bigs on the floor -- nights when they have to downsize to survive.You need that versatility to navigate the playoffs. Thats why Diaw became such a key piece of San Antonios long runs in 2013 and 2014: when defenses suffocated the Tiago Splitter-Tim Duncan pairing, the Spurs plopped Diaw into Splitters spot -- loosening the floor without sacrificing much on defense. Trey Lyles may eventually play that role for Utah.One potential difference: The Spurs had the cap flexibility to hoard that depth without breaking the bank. They had a star on a rookie contract (Kawhi Leonard), veterans who took slight discounts to stay, and reclamation projects -- like Diaw -- who signed on the cheap. Utah will not have that luxury. They may face some hard choices, and they need more information about how Favors and Gobert mesh before they make any of them.5. The unpleasantness of Taj GibsonI mean this in the best possible way: it must be miserable to play against Gibson. He sets nasty, physical screens. When he attacks off the dribble, he will lay a hard shoulder into some suckers chest to create room for a hook or floater. Fend him off with a weak pseudo-box-out, and Gibson will just throw your ass aside. Form real resistance, and Gibson might use dirty tricks to snag prime rebounding position -- pointed elbows, forearm shivers into your lower back, and hockey checks.You feel Taj Gibson. With Joakim Noah and Pau Gasol gone, Chicagos most underappreciated player is finally getting his due. Gibson is shooting 53 percent, generating some late-clock offense from nothing, snagging offensive boards at a career-best rate, and doing his best to anchor Chicagos defense as the de facto center on smaller second units.6. The Thunder during breaks in the Westbrook showThe Thunder are just an average-ish offensive team with Westbrook on the floor, and when he rests, holy hell do they become unwatchable. They have scrounged just 84 points per 100 possessions in those precarious minutes, a number so far below Phillys league-worst mark it makes you wonder if a D-League team could pull it off.Oklahoma City just doesnt have a ton of bench pop. Smart teams are doubling Enes Kanter in the post, daring him to fling passes all over the arena. Getting Cameron Payne back will help, and Victor Oladipo figures to settle in as the alpha dog in hybrid lineups; hes just 8-of-27 so far without Westbrook on the floor, per NBA.com.But this is something to monitor. The Thunder are shooting-poor, and their entire offense revolves around Westbrooks singular ability to attack the rim from any angle, at any time.7. The Suns, bringing purple backHallelujah. The Suns mercy-killed their misguided Halloween-y black-and-orange, and brought back the purple we all know and love.The shift away from purple three seasons ago was an attempt to symbolically move on from the Steve Nash era, said Jason Rowley, the Suns president. The idea was to be a little more edgy, Rowley said. Black tends to be a very popular selling color, in terms of uniforms and merchandise.Credit the Suns for gauging fan reaction, and moonwalking back to purple. Once you go that route, you realize, Hey, we also need to be true to our traditions, Rowley said. And part of our tradition is the purple and orange color scheme.It can be hard to untangle nostalgia from artistic quality. Sometimes, we like bad stuff because it reminds us of happier times. The Suns purple is a case where good taste and good vibes align.8. Sacramentos new road dudsSpeaking of purple!The Kings nailed every aspect of their makeover. Their old look bordered on garish, with a darker purple and a logo so cluttered it was almost indecipherable.Their new road duds might be the highlight. That purple is gorgeous -- muted, but without losing its purpleness. It is almost regal. Slapping stripes down each side risks overstimulating the eye, but the central gray is a calming shade that mostly serves to highlight the purple around it.The new font is clean, and that tiny gray crown logo in the middle of the neckline is a subtle masterstroke. Their purple alternates, sporting SAC instead of KINGS, are even snazzier.9. Joel Embiid, must-see TVMan, this is the season of crazy statistical outliers. Embiids per-36 minute averages: 30 points, 11.5 rebounds, 4.5 blocks, almost a dozen foul shots, 5.7 fouls and 7.4 turnovers. Honestly, the turnovers might be the most impressive number. No rotation guy has ever averaged more than 5.6 cough-ups per 36 minutes over a full season. The Sixers are letting Embiid do whatever he wants, and it is amazing.10. Kelly Oubre, wandering aroundOubre is lost on defense, one reason the shallow Wiz are over-reliant on their starters -- plus Marcus Thornton. Relying on Marcus Thornton is good way to lose games.Oubre smacks into picks all over the floor, both on and off the ball, and just doesnt know where to be once an opposing offense forces Washington into rotations.Oubres only 20, and he has the raw tools to turn into a solid two-way wing. But the Wiz are under pressure to win now after missing the playoffs, and he doesnt look ready. Dennis Seidenberg Jersey . -- The Bishops Gaiters are showing they belong among the countrys top varsity football teams. Alan Quine Jersey . Westbrook has missed 27 games since having a procedure on Dec. 27 to deal with swelling in his injured right knee — the third operation on the knee in nine months. http://www.islandersauthority.com/authentic-thomas-hickey-islanders-jersey/ . -- Al Jefferson found a groove just in time for the Charlotte Bobcats. New York Islanders Gear . -- Ty Montgomery had 290 all-purpose yards and two touchdowns, and fifth-ranked Stanford held on to beat No. Ryan Pulock Jersey . -- Claudio Bieler hadnt scored since early September, and not from the run of play since mid-July. If youre reading this, its because youve joined the high-flying ranks of auction league ownership. Perhaps youve even endeavored to throw your arms around that most noble king of all fantasy sports; the auction keeper hoops league.Congratulations on choosing the high life!Lets get busy.The basicsIn ESPNs standard auction format, your reign as owner will commence with a wad of cash, and an empty roster to fill.You start with $200.You have 13 roster spots.You start 10 players at the following positions: PG, SG, SF, PF, C, G, F, 3 UTIL and 3 BenchYou can pick any categories you like, but we like: FG%, FT%, 3PM, REB, AST, STL, BLK, PTSThis is still America, so youre still free to chose the scoring system that suits your league best, be it Head to Head, traditional Rotisserie, Categories, Points and so on.How to winAbove all else, make a plan. I dont have a plan for retirement, but I sure as hell have a plan for my fantasy basketball auction draft. Dont judge me.What is my recommended plan? Spoiler; it involves using your calculator app. But because I care, Im about to do the calculating for you.Step 1: When bidding on a top 5 player, calm yourselfIm jump-starting this with a warning. Before performing all of the other tasks and functions Im about to recommend, remember one thing: first round snake-draft players are going to require a 150 percent over-investment of your imaginary money.Youre paying a premium for statistical peace of mind. Youre paying for name value, for the sense of odd identification that occurs when your superstar shows up on SportsCenter. Just know going into this that overpaying for stars may not be the way to go.Step 2: Pre-draft homework1. Properly valuate your player pool into an easy to remember ratioThis is an eggheady way of saying figure out how much money your league has to spend on the amount of available value.I write for ESPN, so Im trying to figure out how many dollars I have to spend per Player Rater point. How do I do this? Its a similar calculation to determining auction keeper league inflation.First (stick with me), determine the depth of your leagues player pool. Lets say youre in a 10-team league with 13 man rosters. Thats 130 players.Second, I determine aggregate production. Again, because I write for ESPN, I use Player Rater points as units of production.And because I have no life, I know that 130 players produce an aggregate 900 Player Rater points. So, we are spending for 900 points of available production.Third (stick with me), I determine how much money my league has to spend. A 10-team league with $200 budget per team has $2,000 to spend.So our equation looks like this -$2,000 for 900 Player Rater points of production.$2.22 per Player Rater point.When you have this ratio in mind, its a good way to calibrate what a player is actually worth on the fly... especially in the mid-to-late stages of your draft when owners have overspent on big names.(Going back to my Calm Yourself missive: in 2015-16 Stephen Curry had one of the great fantasy seasons in the history of everything, producing 23.6 Player Rater points. Going by our $2.22 per point valuation, that means Currys pure production was worth $52.39. As I write this, Curry is going for $74 in ESPN auction drafts... and thats 2016-17-with-Durant Steph Curry.)2. Downgrade certain players if your league counts turnoversThis is a subtle tactic that gets ignored far too often.Turnover leagues penalize players who tend to rely on volume (points, assists) to produce their fantasy value. When turnovers are factored in, certain players can lose 10-25 percent of their value.Heres a quick list of players to downgrade in rough order of importance (in terms of how much turnovers ding their overall value); DeMarcus Cousins, Dennis Schroder, DAngelo Russell, Reggie Jackson, John Wall, Russell Westbrook, James Harden, LeBron James, Rajon Rondo, Damian Lillard, Eric Bledsoe, Brandon Knight, Goran Dragic, Elfrid Payton, Tyreke Evans, Victor Oladipo, Gordon Hayward, Derrick Rose, Nicholas Batum, Dwyane Wade, Stephen Curry, and Kevin Durant.Alternately, big name big men like Anthony Davis, Hassan Whiteside, LaMarcus Aldridge, and Karl-Anthony Towns get upgraded. All big men this side of DeMarcus Cousins gets at least a small bump up.So do efficient wings that play more catch and shoot like Kawai Leonard, Jimmy Butler and Klay Thompson.But point guards with high assist-to-turnover ratios like Chris Paul, Mike Conley and George Hill get the biggest bump. This is because theyre producing in assists without hurting you like a Wall or Westbrook.Paul -- the rare (only) PG who racks up elite usage and assists without turning the ball over at a high rate -- gets the single largest boost in valuation.3. Break down your player pool by projected dollar value and position into tiersJoe Kaiser has already done most of the work for you. And Joe Kaiser knows his tiers.4. Figure out which positions suffer from positional scarcityBecause ESPN is generous with its PF/C classification, centers arent as scarce as youd believe. Value at the small forward position is available in abundance.On the other hand... both backcourt positions are looking a little thin. Kaiser has an excellent piece in our draft kit underscoring the need to lock up star PGs early. I would add that once you get past the DeMar DeRozan (who will be overrated in your draft)/Evan Fournier (underrated) tier, shooting guard dries up with swift and sudden force.5. While considering positional scarcity, make sure to prioritize players with multi-positional eligibilityMulti-positional eligibility is the single most underrated boost of a players fantasy value. Giannis Antetokounmpo, already a fast-rising fantasy darling, gets even more of my auction dollar due to his qualifying at three positions.6. Make a list of players who carry and alternately destroy certain categoriesDeAndre Jordan can help dominate blocks. He will help dominate field goal percentage. But Jordan will absolutely kneecap your free throw percentage.In a non-points league, I dont even think about rostering Jordan. Instead, I make a list of players that force owners to throw out an entire category. Then, I make sure to bid those guys up (Jordan and Andre Drummond top my list this preseason).Prioritize players like Whiteside who can carry teams in blocks and field goal percentage without hurting his teams anywhere else. Jonas Valanciunas subtly adds positive weight to a teams field goal percentage, while not dragging said team down anywhere else.And again, if youre prepping to draft in a turnover league, make sure to fold in which players produce drag.7. Make a list of players youre going to target at different stages of your draftIf you want to go stars and scrubs, build a plan around the stars you want. The single best aspect of an auction draft is that every player is available. You cant get snaked out of a targeted player.If you want Durant, you can have him. You just may not have a lot of depth at other positions. If you want to follow Joes advice and lock in an elite PG early, you can do it.But also list backup options if the price gets too high. An auction draft, like life, is all about options.If you want to forgo $60-plus players and go more for across-the-board depth, you can get a little more precise in your planning up and down the roster.8. Make a list of end-game sleepersGuys who might be worth an extra buck or two at the end of a draft when everyones punchy.Heres a quick look at some of my favorite end-game picks so far; Jusuf Nurkic, Rodney Hood, Markieff Morris, Robert Covington, Otto Porter, Stephen Adams, Dario Saric and Nikola Mirotic.9. Make a list of players to ultimately avoid, but bid upAuction drafts allow you the flexibility to also pinpoint players you definitely dont want.This is more important than youd think. In the heat of a draft, Ive gotten sucked into drafting a player who was off my brand because I couldnt believe he was going for so cheap. I still get night sweats thinking about the time I paid $12 for Evan Turner.At the same time, keep the same players in mind for bidding up. When you know a player you want to avoid is lingering $10-$20 below what hell eventually go for, jump in and raise the ante.Every dollar you can bleed out of a fellow owner for one of his or her targets means theres aggregate value being left on the table. It will really come in handy late in your draft when youre hoarding players in the $2-$9 range.10. Make a list of your fellow owners favorite teamsKnow that owners tend to overpay for players from their favorite NBA squads, because they want to see their players in the games they watch.Also know that Knicks and Lakers fans tend to really suffer in this area. (Dont believe me? Lakers Exceptionalism is now an accepted term in the NBA lexicon.)Again, this helps when figuring out which players to bid up.11. Dont puntI cant stress this enough. Dont go into your draft thinking you can ignore a single category. You win by building depth across all positions and categories.Step 3: Making your actual planYou can probably tell Im not a fan of Stars and Scrubs.Stars and Scrubs is a high-risk, high-reward strategy. Here, you focus big bucks on three to four ringers, then filll the gaps with cheap role players.ddddddddddddHeres a typical Stars and Scrubs roster for a 13-man, $200 budget. Im using actual current average auction value. Note that $174, or 87% of the budget, is spent on three players:PG: Chris Paul $53 SG: James Harden $73 SF: Marvin Williams $1 PF: Ryan Anderson $4 C: DeMarcus Cousins $59 G: Wesley Matthews $1 F: Markieff Morris $1 UTIL: George Hill $2 UTIL: Alex Len $2 UTIL: Otto Porter $1 BENCH: Gary Harris $1 BENCH: Danny Green $1 BENCH: Al Jefferson $1This team is way too top heavy. Remember, the top player overall generally generates 20-24 Player Rater points. Which means a 24-Player Rater point player would only be worth about $52 in terms of hard value. Thats for an off-the-charts historic type of statistical performance, along the lines of... 2015-16 Steph Curry or 1974-75 Bob McAdoo.But the truth is that we pay more for the big names because A) were suckers for marquee value and B) we want piece of mind. Youre paying a markup because you know that Harden, Lillard and Cousins will anchor your team. And its also just fun to roster those guys.Just dont forget to keep in mind that using our $2.22 per Player Rater point ratio, 2015-16 Stephen Curry -- the number one player on the Player Rater -- produced only $52 in actual value.When youre paying that kind of markup across multiple players, youre left wide open to injuries, trades, slumps, and scheduling abnormalities. It also places a lot of pressure on an owner to be resourceful on the waiver wire, since you will undoubtedly be scouring for new scrubs to plug in when other scrubs dont pan out.Owners new to auction leagues tend to fall into this strategy by mistake. Many a time Ive seen new owners get bid happy and scarf up three of the first eight or nine superstars. Just like in the real NBA, the main issue with Stars and Scrubs is that if you whiff on one of your stars, its difficult to recover.This isnt fantasy football. In fantasy football, you can whiff on a pick or two in your draft and recover on the wire. Fantasy basketball doesnt offer a whole of free agent depth... especially after the first month of the season.With apologies to our Fantasyland pigskin-pushing brethren, a fantasy basketball draft holds a lot more season-long significance.Of course, there is another way to go about all of this. You can promise yourself you wont spend more than $28-32 on a single player.You have to weather the initial storm, napping comfortably while other owners go hog wild for Russell Westbrook at $77 (his current price on ESPN.com) and Durant at $68. Because youve done your homework that I previously assigned -- you will do that -- you will notice bargains starting to fall through the cracks. A team built with this approach might look like this:PG: Eric Bledsoe $21 SG: Jimmy Butler $31 SF: Rudy Gay $9 PF: LaMarcus Aldridge $24 C: Pau Gasol $28 G: Kemba Walker $27 F: Serge Ibaka $14 UTIL: Gorgui Dieng $5 UTIL: Nerlens Noel $11 UTIL: Goran Dragic $14 BENCH: Ricky Rubio $6 BENCH: Myles Turner $3 BENCH: Trevor Ariza $7I agree, this doesnt have the same sizzle as having Harden and DMC, but this is a winning roster that gives you tons of options.The benefits? You are guarding against a single injury destroying your teams prospects. You are building solid foundations across the board in every category. You have more flexibility when setting your lineups. And you have more flexibility when making trades.Step 4: Draft night1. Track how other owners are managing their moneyIf youre not using ESPN Fantasys snappy auction draft engine, I recommend a spreadsheet that tracks available money left by position, and even by category.2. Dont get sucked into bidding warsDont let draft over-ebullience suck you into a mano-y-mano, womano-y-mano or womano-y-womano test of mettle. Like DeNiro in Heat, dont get into a situation you cant walk away from at any time. Thats how people get shot near the airport.3. Bid up players you dont want and/or need.Again, even if its a player you disdain, dont be shy about jumping in early and bidding a player up a few bucks... as long as youre confident the price will keep soaring.Youll never forget the moments where the floor drops out from beneath youre feet and youre holding the bag. In 2009, I once ended up with J.J. Hickson... it was very embarrassing, trust me.4. Dont reach for hot sleepersThese are players who are referred to as sleepers in draft guides to the point where they reach a tipping point and become the existential opposite of hot sleeper, the Im trying to look smart post-draft regret malaise pick.Once players are touted? The sleeper prefix becomes an oxymoron. A true sleeper is a player who produces far more value than his price. Nothing more. Thats my kind of hot.5. Dont panic once established fantasy starters at a certain position are all almost off the boardThe last mid-round point guard, the last center that gets 2.0 blocks... these moments inspire overbidding.Thats why its important to note the second-to-last player in each tier. The second-to-last player in a tier usually ends up as the bargain.They show up in the lull. The hangover period before the panic that accompanies that oh, #*$@, this is the last good shooting guard left stage.6. Dont engage in craven attempts at Gordon Gekko/Post-Season-2 Walter Whiteian gamesmanshipDont say things designed to get into other owners minds. We see you coming from a mile away. Dont draft like a boss. Youre not a boss. R.C. Buford is a boss. Pat Riley is the boss of bosses. You are, at best, a James Dolan; a guy who fell upwards into an ownership situation and celebrates blues music with a disquieting intensity.7. Dont offer stupid trades during the draftDont be That Guy. That Guy is the guy who offers you DeMar DeRozan and Jarrett Jack for Kawhi Leonard. (Coincidentally, That Guy tends to drive a BMW 3-series, or rides a bike.)8. Identify when your draft is entering what I call hangover periodsThese are the pockets of relative inactivity after owners have hit hot-spots where theyve spent a large amount of their budget.Hot-spots of overspending usually occur with the top 12 players, so-called hot sleepers, and when the final surefire starters at certain positions (especially center and point guard) are almost off the board.After these frenzies, lulls appear. Thats the hangover period. Theres less money available for larger projected value.Thats when you sneak in and get those players in the $5-$25 range at a discount. And thats how you win a league.9. Just as the top 25 players go for too much money, players 26-130 go for too littleLets look at the median. The 65th-best player in fantasy last year was Andrew Wiggins. He produced 5.54 Player Rater points. Using our ratio, he produced $12 of value.This year, the 65th-highest salary in ESPN auctions (Marcin Gortat) is going for $8. So in 65th-pick territory, you could be getting $12 of value for just $8. Thats a savings of fifty percent.Last season, the players who finished in the 110-120 range on the Player Rater still averaged about 3 Player Rater points in production. Which means that those players are actually worth $6 to $7 dollars. 110-120 is $1 territory in our Live Results.10. Gear up for the end gameThe end-game is often the most important part of your auction draft. Its definitely the part of the draft that produces the highest ratio of aggregate profanity per pick.The profanity is produced by your fellow owners, swearing at the heavens that a valuable producer just went for a couple of bucks. (Per example, Jonas Valanciunas for $2? @*#&, dude!)I like to sit on just enough money to have the ability to go to $3 on a couple of end-game guys. I dont like to save too much more than that though, because theres nothing more lacking in Roto Honor than being the guy or girl that leaves...11. Money on the TableDont leave money on the table. Dont leave any more than a buck at the absolute most. Any more than that, and your fellow owners should free to mock you to their hearts content.Leaving money on the table meant you thought you could get a little cute. And trust me, if you were even a little cute, youd be doing more interesting things than participating in an auction basketball draft.One final noteDeep breaths before the first throw, green tea at the halfway mark, then cold brew for the endgame.Before the draft? Exhale. Mediate. Medicate. Have a Manhattan. A Matcha. A Manhattan with Matcha. Stretch. Whatever you can do to relax, do it. An overabundance of adrenaline is going to fuel the first half hour. Players are going to go for way too much. Keep your cool.Halfway through, get up and walk around the table. Start ramping up your energy intake as the other owners begin to flag.When youre at the precipice of $1 territory?Jumping jacks. Cold brew. Thunderstruck by AC/DC. Whatever you need to do to make sure youre not as punchy as your fellow owners. This is where you sneakily bring your A game, friend.Because in the end? The very end of the end game is where imaginary champions are forged.And that, fellow fake basketball enthusiasts, is as profound as I get. Cheap Adidas Hockey Jerseys Wholesale College Jerseys Cheap Nike Basketball Jerseys Cheap Football Jerseys Free Shipping Cheap Baseball Jerseys Cheap Jerseys Free Shipping Cheap Jerseys From China Wholesale Nike NFL Jerseys Cheap NFL Jerseys China Wholesale Nike NBA Jerseys Cheap NHL Jerseys Authentic Cheap MLB Jerseys Authentic Wholesale Soccer Jerseys China Cheap NCAA Jerseys China Stitched NFL Jerseys Cheap Custom Jerseys China Cheap Basketball Jerseys Authentic NFL Jerseys China Cheap College Jerseys Wholesale Football Jerseys ' ' '