Big shout out to maleopold15 over at Sports Thoughts for his help in the help of creating a new series. He reports on the NBA, MLB, and the NFL. We are each helping each other out on our new fantasy series, mine for the NBA, and his for the NFL. Go check out the full blog at Sports Thoughts.

This is a weekly series that will be published every Sunday, previewing who will be the best fantasy players of the next week. Maleopold15 and I will select our ideal fantasy starting fives heading into the week.

Last Week

Last week, Maleopold selected Stephen Curry, James Harden, Lebron James, Anthony Davis, and Joel Embiid, who averaged a combined: 26.4 Points, 8.3 Rebounds, 6.6 Assists, 1.4 Steals, and 1.1 Blocks.

I selected Damian Lillard, Devin Booker, Lebron James, Andre Drummond, and Demarcus Cousins, who averaged a combined: 22 Points, 8.8 Rebounds, 6.5 Assists, 1.3 Steals, and 1.1 Blocks.

Maleopold won four out of the five statistical categories, so he won week fifteen.

Me-4, Maleopold-6

Point Guard

ST: Russell Westbrook

Westbrook is playing with a fire underneath him similar to that of last season. He leads point guards in rebounds and assists, and is only second in points to Steph Curry. While it’s very hard to play on a team with someone who commands the ball like Westbrook, it’s great for fantasy owners.

Shooting Guard

ST: James Harden

Small Forward

ST: Kevin Durant

Me: Lebron James

Get ready for a wild prediction. Lebron James is about to have a career game in Detroit on Tuesday. With the Pistons losing eight games in a row and the Cavaliers finally beginning to turn it around, Lebron James should be fired up and ready to lead his team to his third straight win. This may sound wild, but look out for a 50-point triple double from Lebron this week.

Power Forward

ST: Giannis Antetokounmpo

I usually like Davis with this pick, but with Boogie sidelined for the rest of the season, Davis’ numbers could drop due to the extra defensive attention. Luckily, power forward is a surprisingly deep position this year, and  I know the Antetokounmpo can contribute in all 5 stat categories.

Center

ST: Joel Embiid

I was going back and forth between Embiid and KAT, but I decided to go with the All-Star starter and a man who’s on top of the world right now. The young phenom is carrying the 76ers out of their long drought at the bottom of the league and has a favorable schedule ahead of him.

Me: Anthony Davis

Anthony Davis could react to the Demarcus Cousins injury in one of two ways: MVP numbers, or a complete disaster. With maleopold expecting the worst, I’ll believe in Davis returning to his form. You have to remember that he has played the majority of his career without a dominant center, so I don’t see Cousins’ injury as a statistical setback at all.