NBA Fantasy League bid

The new season of the National Basketball Association is a week old and so far it has been an engaging one as far as this writer is concerned.
And as has been the case for nearly a decade now, I have thrown my hat in NBA Fantasy League play anew, looking to work on my “managerial skills” and enjoying The Association in added light.
Just like in the previous years, this writer has decided to maintain three fantasy league teams for this season.
One is with colleagues in the office, a 12-team field and the longest I have been part of and the one that got me in Fantasy League play. My team there is dubbed Roadblock, named after my favorite GI Joe character FYI.
The two others, both 20-team tournaments, are with friends and brothers in sportswriting, with team names “Nacho’s BW Posse” and “BW Skychurch,” in reference to one my favorite Jack Black movies (Nacho Libre) and the latter in homage to local metal band Skychurch, another favorite of mine.
All three are head-to-head and nine-category competitions.
For this season I consciously angled to have my teams anchored by Golden State superstar Kevin Durant, believing that he has the all-around skills set good enough to build my teams around.
I was able to get him for two of my three squads. Durant heads Roadblock under a league that had an automatic draft.
Joining him there are Russell Westbrook (Oklahoma City), Otto Porter (Washington), Eric Bledsoe (Milwaukee), Robert Covington (Philadelphia), Paul Millsap (Denver), Julius Randle (New Orleans), Serge Ibaka (Toronto), Dewayne Dedmon (Atlanta), Malcolm Brogdon (Milwaukee), JaVale McGee (LA Lakers), Kent Bazemore (Atlanta), and Marvin Bagley III (Sacramento).
In the first week, the team had it slow with Westbrook missing their first two games off knee surgery and Dedmon still out. But Roadblock was able to squeeze past and win, 5-4.
I also dropped Bagley in my roster in favor of Milwaukee’s Ersan Ilyasova, who I am hoping to get more from with his steady playing time with the Bucks than rookie Bagley with the Kings.
Overall, I am satisfied with my players in Roadblock and looking forward to the team picking it up as the season progresses.
Another Durant-led team is Nacho’s BW Posse, backstopped via live draft by Tobias Harris (LA Clippers), Ricky Rubio (Utah), Jusuf Nurkic (Portland), Andrew Wiggins (Minnesota), De’Aaron Fox (Sacramento), Markieff Morris (Washington), Kelly Olynyk (Miami), Zach Randolph (Sacramento), and Austin Rivers (Washington).
I lost my first match on opening week by a narrow score of 5-4, no thanks to limited contributions from my big men. But Durant, Harris, Wiggins, and Fox have been steady so far, which is good news.
I also added Josh Powell (Dallas), dropping Randolph, to somehow address my big man problems and he has been giving early returns.
For BW Skychurch I have as anchor Karl-Anthony Towns of Minnesota, whom I selected first as the sixth pick in our live draft,
After him I had LaMarcus Aldridge (San Antonio), Rubio, Nicolas Batum (Charlotte), Brandon Ingram (Lakers), Danilo Gallinari (Clippers), Kevin Knox (New York), Ilyasova, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (Clippers), Randolph, Dwyane Wade (Miami), Wilson Chandler (Philadelphia), and Mason Plumlee (Denver).
On opening week I was bamboozled to a 7-2 defeat, outplayed in almost every category.
I have since dropped Chandler and Randolph in favor of Raymond Felton (Oklahoma City) and Amir Johnson (Philadelphia). Just as the first week ended I also replaced Felton with Donte DiVincenzo (Milwaukee), hoping for more offensive production, especially from beyond the arc.
Aldridge, Batum, Gallinari and Wade have been steady but with the way it went for me in the first match I definitely have to move and find ways to improve my team.
Oh, yes, Knox is out injured (ankle) and Ingram is suspended by the NBA for four games, so more things to address.
But I am not losing hope on BW Skychurch.
It is just the first week of the new NBA season and there are more to expect both in real time and Fantasy League-wise. Good luck with your Fantasy League teams, kids. Enjoy!
 
Michael Angelo S. Murillo has been a columnist since 2003. He is a BusinessWorld reporter covering the Sports beat.
msmurillo@bworldonline.com