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 Russell Westbrook, James Harden, Kevin Durant, Anthony Davis, and Andre Drummond who averaged a combined: 26.8 Points, 10.9 Rebounds, 5.7 Assists, 1.2 Steals, and 1.5 Blocks.

I selected Damian Lillard, James Harden, Lebron James, Kevin Durant, and Andre Drummond who averaged a combined: 26.7 Points, 9.2 Rebounds, 6 Assists, 0.8 Steals, and 0.9 Blocks.

Maleopold won four out of the five statistical categories, so he won week eighteen/nineteen.

Me-5, Maleopold-8

Point Guard

ST: Russell Westbrook

He’s just a triple-double machine. I love his passion for the game and how he has taken control of the Thunder. So long as he keeps up this pace, he can see a permanent spot in my lineup.

Shooting Guard

ST: James Harden

Small Forward

ST: Paul George

Me: Lebron James

Lebron James is a changed player following the series of trades made by the Cavs prior to the trade deadline. Following picking up the all-star game win and MVP, Lebron (like Curry and the Warriors) should be locked in for the rest of the year. The new young group of players around him is now permanent, and his play should only be on the way up from here on out.

Power Forward

ST: Anthony Davis

Unless I start to drop LeBron James to the PF slot, Davis doesn’t have too much competition besides Giannis Antetokounmpo. The latter has been exceptional without Cousins, so I’m sticking with him.

Center

ST: Karl-Anthony Towns

With Jimmy Butler going down with a knee injury, it’s time for the next-man-up in Minnesota. That man is KAT. He already has impressive numbers around the rim on both sides of the ball, and I expect him to try to put the Twolves on his back down the stretch.

Me: Andre Drummond

Anytime you want to lock in a win in rebounds in fantasy, just start Andre Drummond. While averaging nearly 16 rebounds per game this season, Blake Griffin has only elevated his game. Drummond should be a very common name at center for the rest of the year.