Fantasy Basketball: The Punting Game, Version 2

Last week I introduced a weekly column that focused on the idea of punting categories in a head-to-head fantasy league.

Here are the updated tables through November 13th. We're again dominated by Anthony Davis and Chris Paul, and Kevin Love is having a career year, topping the list in a couple of these categories as well.

To get optimal use of this column, I would focus on players that you wouldn't expect to find in the top 10, but are there when categories are punted. Everyone knows that Davis and CP3 are studs; you aren't going to get them in a trade without giving up a ton of a value. However, most people in your fantasy league probably don't know that Andre Drummond is a top-four player when punting points or FT%, or perhaps how underrated Brook Lopez is; a top-10 one when punting three of these categories.

One thing I focus on in head-to-head leagues is scarcity of certain categories. For example, I don't think you should focus on turnovers at all. Though it's anecdotal, in all of the leagues I've been in, the owner who has done the best in the turnover category has never won the championship. I think the reason is simple: many of the guys that commit the most turnovers in the NBA are guys who dominate the ball. While not great for the one turnover category, this is great in every other category as they have the most opportunities to accumulate statistics and fantasy points. Our entire top 10 in the "Punting Turnovers" table all have dramatically positive increases in value.

The other category I would look closely at is FT%. A lot of these tables have the same names in their respective top 10s, but FT% is the one category where it dramatically changes a certain type of player's value. We see a lot of new names in this table and if you decide to punt FT%, you can definitely find some willing trade partners. Yes, you may be giving up some "overall value" as they see it on their ESPN or Yahoo! rankings, but little do they know that you are really getting the better of the deal and getting the higher rated player for your team.

Enjoy the ranks, see you all next week!

Punting Points

Punting 3PM

Punting Rebounds

Punting Assists

Punting Steals

Punting Blocks

Punting FG%

Punting FT%

Punting Turnovers