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No Ceilings NBA Fantasy: October roundtable part 2
Scottie Barnes of the Toronto Raptors has the chance to be an All-NBA player and fantasy basketball star this season.

No Ceilings fantasy basketball? That’s right, folks.

The NBA, paired with the good people at Yahoo Sports, asked us if we’d be interested in participating in a Fantasy Basketball league. Obviously, the answer was an easy yes.

Our whole entire No Ceilings family got together to participate in a 12-team NBA fantasy basketball league. Some teams feature multiple GMs who are teaming up to see if they can take home the championship.

Our league is public, which means the fans can take a look at everyone’s roster and follow along (here) to see who can take home some serious bragging rights this season.

Below, our entire No Ceilings family decided to partake in a fantasy basketball roundtable in order to give our teams a little grading, as well as talk about the other teams in the league.

Which player did you draft with your heart more than your head?

Rucker: Aday Mara. It’s not that I don’t like the pick, but I needed to find another center to pair with Rudy Gobert and the pickings were getting a little slim. I thought that Mara could eventually turn into getting some consistent good minutes as the year progressed, so if I grabbed him slightly early…patience could pay off. Looking back, taking some value still on the board could have built out my depth a little more, but I like the upside a bit.

Nathan: Cedric Coward. I may have bet a season early on him as a breakout fantasy performer, but I just love his game on the court. He’s a two-way wing who can actually guard multiple positions, play passing lanes and support in help situations at the rim, and he’s consistently grown as a scorer on the other end of the floor. His spot-up three needs to be his most consistent weapon for him to help me in a major way, but the leap for Coward is coming. He can still develop and produce like a top-three player on a really good NBA team.

Albert: This is easy; I grabbed Mikal Bridges and Josh Hart because they have the heart of champions. Unfortunately, none of that means anything in fantasy. Do I regret my decision? Absolutely. Would I do it again? No question, I know what I am.

Metcalf: Jrue Holiday. I love how he plays so much. I grabbed him with the last pick of the draft because it just felt wrong to have him go undrafted. Probably could’ve done better though.

Nick: Putting Keegan Murray aside because I answered him for a different question: I’ve always been a big believer in Day’Ron Sharpe. Drafting him in the seventh round might have been a bit aggressive, but I really think it’ll work out. Plus, I needed another big man there anyway.

Corey: I may have nabbed James Harden a round early. Maybe I’m remembering him from his previous stints, and this is the year his production tapers off a bit. Or maybe he just keeps stepping back into enough threes that it leads me to a trophy!

Paige/Izzy: Autodrafted Zach LaVine, which I mean, alright, former Bull, what’s up? We could have nabbed another big or point guard, but we’re not mad at it.

Jacob/Finn (Finn): After getting Ryan Rollins, we had to get a Celtic on the team for Jacob. Drafting Hugo González in the last round was a low-risk swing, but still a swing that might not pay off. The sophomore is raw and is one of several young wings in Boston poised to make a jump this year. There’s a world where he’s awesome this season, but there’s also a world where he’s a non-factor from a fantasy perspective and his tangible leap comes down the line.

Jam/Stephen (Stephen): Not to be boring, but I don’t know if I did. Co-GMing really prevents this, I think. I can tell you that moves were made that Jam and I probably would have done differently separately. But that’s not really a “heart-over-head” dilemma.

Jam/Stephen (Jam): Stephen summed it up perfectly. No “heart-over-head” drafting here, but I’m sure there were a few different moves and perhaps a different drafting philosophy if we GM’d separate teams.

Owen/Quinn (Owen): There is probably a fair argument for Tyrese Haliburton being this pick. Maybe you could say drafting the guy we haven’t seen play serious basketball in well over a year in the first round was a bit too ambitious, but the way I see it, you have to swing with your heart sometimes. I love Hali. I know he can get back to who he once was, so I took the chance and bet on him in the first round.

Ignacio/Latif: Jabari Smith Jr. is a player Latif has been high on since he was drafted. Although he hasn’t entirely lived up to his billing as a No. 3 pick, there are always those glimpses of what he could be in this league. Just look at his stat line in the season-opener.

Rowan/Parker: In some ways, Darius Acuff Jr. was one for us. He had a stellar year at Arkansas and should have the ball in his hands a ton for the Kings, but their roster has little infrastructure to support him having efficient and consistent performances.

Which player on your roster will surprise the most people this season?

Rucker: Yaxel Lendeborg. There have been plenty of rookies that have been talked about in potential Rookie of the Year chases. But I think Lendeborg is going to have a legit case to make a run at the award. He landed with a perfect team that is going to allow him to “be Yaxel.” That’s a very charismatic wildman on the basketball court who isn’t afraid to go toe-to-toe with anyone (hello Luka Dončić). Golden State is suddenly depleted of depth. That means that they could be giving Lendeborg as much as he can handle early on, even as a rookie.

Nathan: Kyshawn George. He came to my team in the 12th round, and I value him far more as a player than getting selected near the tail end in fantasy. A 6-foot-9 wing who can actually dribble, pass, shoot and rebound? Like I’ve preached here: versatility matters to me. If a player’s shot isn’t falling, how else can they produce and put fantasy points on the board? George has answers to those questions, and he’s already started to contribute nicely this season with the Washington Wizards.

Albert: Brayden Burries will be pretty quiet early in the season, but once we get to the second half, the Bucks could give him plenty of opportunities to go out there and try stuff. That could lead to some incredible scoring nights where he’s in absolute control of the offense. Burries is a dynamic driver to the rim with a blossoming outside jumper and passing ability. Drafting him may have been a head-scratcher for some, but I see the vision.

Metcalf: Scottie Barnes has had awesome years before, so this is probably cheating. However, I think he could have a legitimate All-NBA-level season this year. He just steadily gets better and better every year.

Nick: I was surprised by how low Egor Dëmin was in some of the consensus rankings; Ajay Mitchell aside, I thought he was the biggest steal of the draft for me. I’m fully expecting a breakout for Dëmin this season that will lead to him being much higher than a tenth round fantasy selection next year.

Corey: Alperen Sengun is in line for an All-NBA caliber season. He is a nightly triple-double threat and is the closest thing we have in the league to a dude who can approximate the stylings of Nikola Jokić. He’s kind of like a Jokić cover band, but who doesn’t love a good cover band?

Paige/Izzy: Even though Ayo Dosunmu showed out last season, especially after being traded from the Bulls to the Timberwolves, this season could be a huge one for him. He’s got a great supporting cast with him on the Timberwolves’ roster, which we believe could amplify his skill set even more. He’s definitely one to watch.

Jacob/Finn (Jacob): I am so ready for the Collin Murray-Boyles breakout. After a productive rookie campaign, CMB is set to play a significant role off the bench for the Raptors. He’s already proven to be a talented defender, impressive playmaker and beast on the glass. His scoring should take a bump as well with Kawhi Leonard’s gravity coming into play.

Jam/Stephen (Stephen): I could see it being Jalen Duren. This was a player I wouldn’t have taken on my own—but I’ll credit Jam here. I was iffy considering the offseason between Duren and the Pistons, but he looked good in the preseason—and he’s been good early. I’m shocked based on my own expectations, so I think others could be as well.

Jam/Stephen (Jam): Jeremiah Fears: a young, ultra-talented and creative guard who can score on multiple levels and make plays for his teammates. He’s commanding high usage and has the runway from New Orleans to grow through mistakes. I’m excited about him taking that sophomore leap.

Owen/Quinn (Quinn): I’m pretty excited to see what Dylan Harper can do with a larger role this season. He is already playing 10 more minutes per game than last season and has outscored and taken more field goals than De’Aaron Fox in each of the first three games. If he can continue proving himself as a starter, there is no telling what his ceiling can be this year.

Ignacio/Latif: We feel like we have an experienced roster, so none of these guys should really surprise people. However, we don’t think people expect how important a role Walker Kessler is going to play for the Lakers this year, or how his production and efficiency should increase playing alongside Dončić. Obviously, injuries played a factor here, but I was surprised to see him available with our 35th pick.

Rowan/Parker: Joan Beringer could really surprise people. He’s going to play minutes for the Timberwolves as their lone backup center. It wouldn’t be shocking to see them play the long game with Rudy Gobert in terms of his minutes with their eyes toward May and June. Because of his size and athleticism, he’s going to crash the glass and be an easy lob target for LaMelo Ball and the rest of the Timberwolves perimeter players.

Which content creator had the best draft other than yourself?

Rucker: I thought Nick had a really good middle of the draft that got some serious potential stat fillers in a big way. Those middle rounds can really shift the direction of your team in a hurry, and I thought there were some big-time value selections on his roster with those picks.

Albert: I know no one liked my draft, so I don’t like anyone else’s either. This is a competition. I’m not here to make friends. I’d prefer not to even look at their rosters, and they better not look at mine. When the golden trophy is attached to my name at the season, then they can look. I have winning in my DNA.

Metcalf: I think Jam and Stephen nailed their first five or six picks. They grabbed versatile focal points of the offense who all put up big numbers. I think they tried to swing a little too much on potential after that, but the first half of their draft I thought was really strong.

Nick: This is maybe the toughest question for me to answer, because I thought there were some really awesome drafts from the crew. I think I’ll go with Team Jacob/Finn here–and not just because they got Moussa Diabaté. Trae Young felt like a steal late in the fourth round, and Dyson Daniels and Ryan Rollins will rack up the defensive stats for them every week.

Corey: Tyler Rucker not only has one of the best team names but also one of the best rosters. It pains me to say it, but Jalen Brunson, Jayson Tatum and Kevin Durant is a loaded trio. There’s high-end depth with Darius Garland and Lauri Markkanen. Then there are the young wildcards in Yaxel Lendeborg, Aday Mara and Reed Sheppard that can pay off big time. Tough squad. He’s going down, of course, but he’ll get to enjoy the ride at least.

Paige/Izzy (Izzy): Metcalf, sheesh. I am not intimidated, nor am I feeling like our team can’t measure up, but I am, in fact, giving a round of applause. There’s lots of depth and different skill sets from the guys he chose. Even though these guys aren’t all the stars of their respective teams, those are honestly the players who I see having more upside than what people may have initially believed about them. But everyone in the NC crew cooked honestly; bunch of ball-knowers here in our squad!

Jacob/Finn (Jacob): I’m a fan of what Metcalf did. Scottie Barnes, Cameron Boozer, LaMelo Ball and Pascal Siakam make a great core, while the rest of the roster is full of players with bankable skills who should produce night in and night out. Zach Edey and Nickeil Alexander Walker were awesome sixth/seventh-round picks. Norman Powell should put up scoring numbers on a lackluster Bulls squad.

Jam/Stephen (Stephen): Probably Jam. Kidding. Truthfully, I like Jacob and Finn’s team—as well as Ignacio and Latif’s. Both have good balance in abilities and positionally.

Jam/Stephen (Jam): NOBODY.

Owen/Quinn (Quinn): I’m personally a fan of Corey’s team; he has great depth and a very balanced roster of pure scorers, defensive guys and elite stat sheet stuffers. I think he really killed the middle of the draft too; Julius Randle, Tyler Herro and Myles Turner are great pickups.

Ignacio/Latif: I think Jam and Stephen killed it. They took Dončić early but solidified their draft in the fourth through sixth rounds, adding a ton of upside with AJ Dybantsa and Zion Williamson, along with Domantas Sabonis, who will put up a lot of stats for the Kings. They would be my pick to win it all.

Rowan/Parker: The more we look at Team Jam/Stephen, the more envious we get. They grabbed a ton of productive stars at the top, and then let the board fall to them in a savvy way to get a mix of boom-or-bust vets like Zion Williamson or young fliers like Jeremiah Fears.

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