Good stuff, rob. Love what you bring to this league with the analytics and insights.

You are definitely right, I used every pick to cobble together seasons. Below is the current 47 seasons and minutes I am using across the 5 teams:

Season Player	Min/82
87-88 76ers Barkley, Charles	39.5
88-89 76ers Barkley, Charles	38.4
89-90 76ers Barkley, Charles	38.4
86-87 Celtics McHale, Kevin	38.0
88-89 Celtics McHale, Kevin	35.8
05-06 Suns Nash, Steve	35.0
07-08 Suns Nash, Steve	34.6
86-87 76ers Barkley, Charles	34.0
89-90 Celtics McHale, Kevin	33.9
06-07 Suns Nash, Steve	33.5
07-08 Bobcats Okafor, Emeka	33.5
09-10 Suns Nash, Steve	33.1
08-09 Bobcats Okafor, Emeka	33.0
04-05 Suns Nash, Steve	32.0
90-91 76ers Barkley, Charles	31.1
87-88 Celtics McHale, Kevin	30.0
85-86 Celtics McHale, Kevin	29.8
09-10 Hornets Okafor, Emeka	29.5
06-07 Bobcats Okafor, Emeka	29.0
14-15 Spurs Green, Danny	28.5
20-21 Pelican Williamson, Zion	28.5
10-11 Hornets Okafor, Emeka	28.4
95-96 Bullets Muresan, Gheorghe	27.9
18-19 Raptors Green, Danny	27.6
20-21 76ers Green, Danny	27.5
12-13 Spurs Green, Danny	27.4
22-23 Clippers Zubac, Ivica	27.0
81-82 Celtics Maxwell, Cedric	26.5
80-81 Celtics Maxwell, Cedric	25.0
11-12 Spurs Green, Danny	23.1
21-22 Clipper Zubac, Ivica	23.0
20-21 Clipper Zubac, Ivica	22.5
94-95 Bullets Muresan, Gheorghe	21.4
22-23 Jazz Kessler, Walker	21.2
78-79 Celtics Maxwell, Cedric	19.5
19-20 Clipper Zubac, Ivica	18.8
21-22 Thunder Giddey, Josh	15.8
77-78 Celtics Maxwell, Cedric	15.0
21-22 Hornets Ball, LaMelo	14.9
22-23 Thunder Giddey, Josh	14.5
79-80 Celtics Maxwell, Cedric	13.5
20-21 Hornets Ball, LaMelo	13.2
22-23 Hornets Ball, LaMelo	13.0
18-19 Clipper Zubac, Ivica	12.9
22-23 Pelican Williamson, Zion	12.0
19-20 Pelican Williamson, Zion	9.5

Enjoy Zubac. He is a personal fave.

Player	Times Used	MPG	Round
Olajuwon, Hakeem	5	37.3	1
Wade, Dwyane	5	32.9	2
Butler, Jimmy	5	27.6	3
Millsap, Paul	5	26.9	7
Lowry, Kyle	5	26.3	4
Noel, Nerlens	5	17.3	9
Nance Jr., Larry	4	19.7	6
Biedrins, Andris	3	25.7	8
Ceballos, Cedric	5	14.7	11
Clarke, Brandon	4	16.5	5
Bryant, Thomas	3	15.0	12
Chriss, Marquese	1	18.4	10

Vacation came back to bite me in the butt... looking at my forecasts for the season, I have myself slotted in the 5-10 range definitely outside of the top 5. Nothing was wrong with any pick in a vacuum per se, but because I was not able to be at a computer as much I was not building my teams as I went so I did not have much team context. I thought I was shallow at one position when in fact I was shallow at a different position. I ended up taking a guard (Ceballos) when I needed a forward. It seems like a minor problem except for it has a cascading effect in that it means that Clarke has to play SF instead of SG... and he is simply not that valuable there which is why he is not starting much. So I essentially wasted both a 5th round pick and an 11th round pick. Those are the kinds of things you can't afford to do in Savage. Probably enough to kill the top five streak.

Posted by jhsukow on 5/2/2023 12:32:00 PM (view original):
This is WAY too much Shane Battier.

I have some work to do...

Pick
1	Giannis	134
2	Gary Payton	204
3	Kobe Bryant	159
4	Mitchell Robinson	78
5	Willis Reed	147
6	Deandre Ayton	103
7	Moon	26
8	Josh Hart	55
9	Josh Smith	60
10	Grant Hill	37
11	Mark Eaton	42
12	Shane Battier	155

Pick - Player - Total Min
2 - Artis Gilmore - 212
1 - Karl Malone - 193
7 - Mookie Blaylock - 146
3 - Manu Ginobili - 128
4 - Chauncey Billups - 107
5 - Kenneth Faried - 107
10 - Terrell Brandon - 97
6 - Chris Andersen - 86
8 - JaMychal Green - 57
11 - Bismack Biyombo - 49
9 - Kyle Korver - 15
12 - Michael Beasley - 3

My method (you are all welcome to try it) is to write down everyone’s name on a slip of paper, put them all in a paper bag, and when it’s my turn to make a pick I give the bag a shake, then reach in and make my selection. Easy pick, no second guessing.

Posted by jhsukow on 5/3/2023 11:44:00 AM (view original):

Posted by jhsukow on 5/2/2023 12:32:00 PM (view original):
This is WAY too much Shane Battier.

I have some work to do...

Pick
1	Giannis	134
2	Gary Payton	204
3	Kobe Bryant	159
4	Mitchell Robinson	78
5	Willis Reed	147
6	Deandre Ayton	103
7	Moon	26
8	Josh Hart	55
9	Josh Smith	60
10	Grant Hill	37
11	Mark Eaton	42
12	Shane Battier	155

I love your D

okay wait there has to be a better way to say that.

I like your team, especially the defense, but I’m curious how you’re using Kobe. Is he playing PG platooning with GP? Or does he have a low usage backup (Battier/Hart/etc)?

Posted by dBKC on 5/3/2023 1:30:00 PM (view original):

Posted by jhsukow on 5/3/2023 11:44:00 AM (view original):

Posted by jhsukow on 5/2/2023 12:32:00 PM (view original):
This is WAY too much Shane Battier.

I have some work to do...

Pick
1	Giannis	134
2	Gary Payton	204
3	Kobe Bryant	159
4	Mitchell Robinson	78
5	Willis Reed	147
6	Deandre Ayton	103
7	Moon	26
8	Josh Hart	55
9	Josh Smith	60
10	Grant Hill	37
11	Mark Eaton	42
12	Shane Battier	155

I love your D

okay wait there has to be a better way to say that.

I like your team, especially the defense, but I’m curious how you’re using Kobe. Is he playing PG platooning with GP? Or does he have a low usage backup (Battier/Hart/etc)?

He is Payton's backup in all worlds and three worlds for Giannis. In the world where he plays SG, Josh Smith spends some time there too.
I got Battier's total minutes down to 107 and found more minutes for Josh Smith overall.

My Viagra team actually increased to 95.55 weighted D. Pretty girthy.

Moses Malone (5) 196 minutes
James Harden (5) 172 minutes
Horace Grant (5) 164 minutes
Nic Batum (5) 130 minutes
Gerald Wallace (5) 121 minutes
Robert Covington (3) 87 minutes
Paul Westphal (5) 85 minutes
Khris Middleton (4) 78 minutes
Enes Kanter (5) 75 minutes
Dana Barros (2) 43 minutes
Charlie Ward (2) 36 minutes
Wes Unseld (2) 13 minutes

There are so many interchangeable parts on this team, if I were one of you maximum lineup gurus, I would love my chances. As it stands, I probably have them in as counter productive form as possible.

Draft Breakdown


Round 1 - Steph

I barley had any time to dream about getting Embiid in the 3rd before robusk came calling for the 23rd overall. I wanted to stay at 23 but getting a chance to use Steph was too good to pass up so I traded it for #3. I didn't want to use Wilt, Kareem, or Shaq again so if Curry went 2 I was either going to trade back or take MJ. Giannis is the only player I would consider at 3 but I didn't want to draft in the shadow of robusk/Giannis championship from last season. Luckily Wilt went 2nd and I get my chance at Steph.

Round 2 - Oscar

I've long thought that Frazier was the perfect pairing with Steph in Savage. He covers his two biggest weaknesses(D and low mins for a 1st rounder) beautifully and provides the perfect amount of ast% so you don't need to worry about it in the frontcourt. I saw what shaky backcourt D can lead to with last seasons debacle and I wasn't taking any chances this time. I didn't want to have to reach for a Moncrief or bleh offense foul monsters like Alvin or Pressey. I also didn't really want a low usg player next to Steph. I wanted someone who could make the weaker backcourt defender pay. Frazier was my guy. I did NOT expect Oscar to be there. He doesn't have the defense of Frazier, but is a better scorer, passer. rebounder, and plays more mins. This was a pretty easy pick. I know, I know...Embiid was available! Sure, I'd love to be the first one to test drive his MVP 22-23 in Savage. I'm also on a awful Savage cold streak and the time for fun gambles is over. I didn't want a lower min player who has more usg than Steph. Oscar sets me up nicely for the rest of the draft and I was thrilled to get him. With his defensive boost(77-90 d now) Oscar should be an early 2nd round staple and getting him at the end of the 2nd is a steal imo.

Round 3 - Walton

This is a nice feeling. I'm not desperate to get any type of player. I can sit back and just take the best frontcourt player, regardless on mins. Camby and Buck kept getting closer and closer but went right before me. Bummer. I always thought Walton was a guy I would never have on my team. He's overrated as a 3rd round pick and never lasts to the 4th where I would want to take him. But when you get a mins monster like Oscar in the 2nd, the concerns about using a valuable 3rd on a guy with only 2(partial) starting seasons don't matter as much. In hindsight, I wish I had grabbed Ibaka when I had the chance. I would have picked him in the 4th but I didn't prioritize him at the 3/4 turn, thinking it would be easy to fill in SF later.

Round 4 - Parish

This was a tough one - literally cost me sleep. I was sending a proxy out for round 4 before going to bed and got stuck after putting Ibaka as the first choice. Parish, Lucas, Valanciunas, and Mitchell Robinson were the choices. I just couldn't decide and ended up sending my proxy waaaay later then I should have and paid for it the next morning. Robinson added that 22-23 season, giving him the most bang for his buck in the group. Just an awesome oreb/efg combo with good defense. Lucas has the most minutes and is the cleanest of the bunch. Valanciunas is easily the best scorer and rebounder. He would be a 2nd round pick but you know...that defense...yuck. I ended up choosing Parish in the end due to his versatility. I kinda wish I had went with Jonas, especially after getting Tree in the 7th.

Round 5 - Michael Porter

Ok. Now we can have some fun. I ate my vegetables with the Parish pick and now it's time for some low mins/high efg SFs that always go a round earlier than I like. Specifically Brandon Clarke, Richaun Holmes, Chris Boucher, and Porter. After robusk took Clarke in the early 5th, I knew I probably wasn't getting any of them. I did some more SF research and...woah...I forgot about Bo! With a high usg backcourt and decent usg from Parish/Walton at the 4/5, he could slide right into that SF spot and provide a ton of low usg, high defense mins. I also fell in love with adding those two really good Willis Reed seasons to the 4/5 rotation. steelers crushed me with his Bo pick, and jh followed it up by taking Reed right in front of me. At least Porter made it to me. The defense sucks but I'm happy to add his sweet shooting 2.5 seasons to the SF rotation.

Round 6 - JaVale McGee

I was a bit on tilt with this one. Talked myself out Bobby Portis due to fear of not being good enough defensively. Probably the right call? I dunno. Same thing with Bynum. Thought about a backup to Curry, but decided to push it one more round. McGee is a fine pick here but I felt like the 5/6 turn was gonna be my home run picks that gave me and edge on a few teams. McGee doesn't really have any starting seasons that could push a team over the top. His center only seasons also muddled things after Tree fell to me.

Round 7 - Tree

So close to my top choice, Kermit. I had no plans to take Tree here. I had too many C only seasons from Parish and McGee already and I really didn't want to add all those fouls. But I'm not passing up that defense in the late 7th. That's why I took the mins from Oscar in the 2nd, and the flexibility from Parish in the 4th. He has 5 seasons I'm comfortable using and the low usg helped balance out some of the usg heavy lineups nicely. Tree also really came in handy on the two teams that used the lower def Parish seasons. Loved this pick.

Round 8 - Kemba

No more waiting for a Steph backup. I(correctly) assumed the run on high usg guards was coming. I already lost out on my top choice(Beal) to take Tree. I had some really good options but Kemba had the 3 things I was looking for most. I needed 5 seasons I could use to play about 20mpg since I figured I would need the final 4 roster spots on SF. I also wanted a ton of 3s and with as low a tov% as possible. Very happy to get Kemba here.

Round 9 - Hot Rod

At this point I only have Porter's mins at SF. I'm not panicking yet but this could turn ugly fast if I can't find a few higher min starting seasons. Spoonman immediately comes to mind with his awesome 00-01 season. But he didn't get drafted last season and I think I can get him in the 11th. Ol' reliable Terry Tyler got snatched up by ben or he would have been the pick. Hot Rod might have been a round too early but I know ash likes to use him so I didn't want to wait. He's got 2 starting seasons and plenty of mins to use if needed. Luckily I didn't and only needed 5 mins from those other 3 seasons.

Round 10 - Okongwu

I was eyeing his 22-23 season up as early as the 6th round. Thrilled to get him here. It was risky not taking mins here but this was my last chance to get a guy with efg% that high who rebounds with decent defense. I'm using every single minute of his 3 seasons. 22-23 was initially set to backup Porter on my best team but got pulled to start on a different team.

Round 11 - Odom

I wonder if ash would have picked Hot Rod in round 11 had I took Spoon in round 9 instead. Crushed. I wish I had spent more time thinking about this one. I hadn't put together 3.5 of my teams yet and was worried I would need mins. I wanted Charlie Edge and Terrence Jones but they only have 1.5 seasons each so Odom was the pick. Hes playing 26/13/11/2 mins and I feel like I could have made it work with Edge here instead.

Round 12 - Terrence Jones

Picked him over Edge. I love that clean 67d 56%efg 13-14 season. It'll be a starting season for one of the teams. He's got a really nice 11 mpg season as well.



I'm feeling pretty good. This should be a much better showing than last season. I have 5 mins from Hot Rod and 20 mins from the 74d Kemba(49.5) as my only seasons being used that are under 50% efg. Good amount of paint scoring to balance out the Steph 3s. Defense and rebounds are solid. Lots of blocks. However I think I'm gonna get crushed in the turnover and foul battle. I've got a ton of fouls in the frontcourt and Oscar is really my only guy who gets to the line a lot. I need to win the shooting battle consistently or it could be a long season.

I loaded up most of my best seasons on one team but honestly, I like the look of some of the other teams more. That team is a efg monster but probably has the shakiest defense(20-21 porter, 88-89 parish). I'm very happy with how I was able to spread the seasons around. No wasted mins at all and every team should have a shot to make the playoffs if this build is any good.

Team names are Black Keys songs off Rubber Factory.

bad harden tonight

kinda wish they would have waited until game 3 to bring joel back...celtics were never losing this game

I loved the Okongwu pick dh and he had been on my radar for a while.