Tyrese Haliburton, Desmond Bane highlight first-half ADP All-Stars

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When scheduling my week, I budget an amount of personal bandwith for “sports” time.

This week, I have some unexpected extra “sports” time and this year’s ADP All-Star column is the direct beneficiary.

It’s all thanks to a timeout. Chargers head coach Brandon Staley called it in the waning moments of Sunday night’s Chargers-Raiders instant classic.

I am investing a tremendous amount of “sports” time and money, turning my son into a Los Angeles Chargers fan. There have been countless teachable moments on the importance of balancing logic with emotional intelligence this season. With 40 seconds to go on Sunday, Ye Sports Gods had decided Chargers-Raiders would end in a tie. It would be the picture-perfect ending to one of the best games of the last ten years. Reinforced by the Raiders’ “look, Chargers… let’s play it safe, and both go to Wild Card Weekend” body language.

But thanks to that feel-devoid, “I’m staying on-brand” timeout? I had some extra time this week. So I can proudly present my first-half 2021-22 ADP All-Star Team — the players best outperforming their average draft position — but with a newly added angle.

For your analytic enjoyment, I offer two All-Star squads for the first time: The Roto All-Stars vs. The Points All-Stars.

POINT GUARD

Team Roto: Tyrese Haliburton, Sacramento Kings
Team Points: Dejounte Murray, San Antonio Spurs

One important consideration: I am going off of total value, not per-game value. With all the trips to the protocol list? Total value is the most suitable way to judge fantasy performance to date.

Haliburton (ADP 71, PR 27) technically plays shooting guard alongside De’Aaron Fox. But he’s been keying Sacramento’s offense since Thanksgiving. And as of late, Haliburton is putting together consistent strings of elite-PG box scores (last week: 19.0 PPG, 6.3 APG, 3.3 3PG, 2.0 SPG, 54.2 3PT%, 69.3 TS%).

Here’s a clear sign of growth: the split between Haliburton’s value in roto versus points. That 27 PR ranking is more of his points valuation. In roto, he’s top-15… for the season. And as Fox sheds PER, Haliburton continues to gain roto traction…a sign that he’s gathering both efficiency and consistency. And here’s a sign of untapped upside: his Usage Rate has yet to crack the 20.0 mark.

The roto/points split between Spurs backcourt mates Murray (ADP 28.1 /PR 23) and Derrick White is near as pronounced (except both players outperform expectations). Murray presents one of the most polarizing points/roto splits in all of fantasy. His ADP/PR gap only grades as All-Star caliber in the points format… where he’s more of a top-15 player.

How polarizing a split? Here’s a Murray comp that will wake you up: Russell Westbrook. As in 2022 Russell Westbrook. A near triple-double per game (18.4 PPG, 8.9 APG, 8.2 RPG)… but a night- sweats-generating 49.9 TS%.

Team Roto Reserves: Derrick White, San Antonio Spurs (ADP 87/PR 29) Darius Garland, Cleveland Cavaliers (ADP 85/PR 25)
Team Points Reserves: Jalen Brunson, Dallas Mavericks (ADP 136/PR 68) Ricky Rubio, Cleveland Cavaliers (ADP 146/PR 70)

SHOOTING GUARD

Roto: Desmond Bane, Memphis Grizzlies (ADP 133/PR 24)
Points: Anthony Edwards, Minnesota Timberwolves (ADP 47/PR 31)

I’ll be honest; the roto/points split for Edwards and Bane is razor-thin. Edwards gains a little more value in Points, so I split the players accordingly. I wonder if I’d rather have Bane in a Points league or Edwards in a Roto league for the rest of the season. Bane’s production is tied to the relative health of Memphis’ backcourt, but in a vacuum Bane’s efficiency at an inefficient position might give him a little more scarcity per format.

Roto Reserves: Buddy Hield, Sacramento Kings (ADP 82/PR 56) Jordan Poole, Golden State Warriors (ADP 140/PR 47)
Points Reserves: Gary Trent Jr., Toronto Raptors ADP 137/PR 67) Tyler Herro, Miami Heat ADP 112/PR 79)

SMALL FORWARD

Roto: Gordon Hayward, Charlotte Hornets ADP 109/PR 33)
Points: Miles Bridges, Charlotte Hornets (ADP 89/PR 16)

I tried hard to get cute and make a case for nudging out Hayward or Miles Bridges (who has slipped as of late.) Franz Wagner‘s underappreciated season tempted me to put both Bridges on Team Roto’s bench.

But Hayward and Miles Bridges, you can’t mess with the aggregate result; both have been difference-making, championship-worthy producers, irrespective of format. Their seven-round ADP/PR splits are the types one regularly sees on fantasy title teams.

Roto Reserves: Mikal Bridges, Phoenix Suns (ADP 104/PR 51) Franz Wagner, Orlando Magic (ADP 132/PR 43)
Points Reserves: Harrison Barnes, Sacramento Kings (ADP 139/PR 67) Will Barton, Denver Nuggets ADP 140/PR 91)

POWER FORWARD

Roto: Jaren Jackson Jr., Memphis Grizzlies (ADP 89/PR 25)
Points: Kelly Oubre Jr., Charlotte Hornets (ADP 128/PR 81)

Two sentimental favorites get the starting nod. All of Fantasyland has waited on Jackson Jr. to deliver on his annual sleeper status. For once, Jackson Jr.’s health has cooperated… ironically, in this most unpredictable of campaigns.

Oubre Jr. has always possessed a little peak-Trevor Ariza upside. In fantasy, this has been the season he’s finally made the jump from streamer to roster-worthy. Both players here have another factor in their favor: Charlotte and Memphis are fantasy hotbeds. Pitch-perfect blends of young upside, not-too-much depth, and smaller media markets make both rosters ADP-All-Star pipelines.

Roto Reserves: Bobby Portis, Milwaukee Bucks ADP 124/PR 64) Bojan Bogdanovic, Utah Jazz (ADP 130/PR 50)
Points Reserves: Evan Mobley, Cleveland Cavaliers (ADP 118/PR54) Scottie Barnes, Toronto Raptors (ADP 105/PR 83)

CENTER

Roto: Jonas Valanciunas, New Orleans Hornets (ADP 81/PR 11)
Points: Myles Turner, Indiana Pacers (ADP 86/PR 8)

Two of fantasy’s most underappreciated players of recent years are both getting their due. Their roto/points splits are interchangeable. I just thought Team Points needed a few more blocks.

Both players’ fantasy ascension speaks to another underreported scarcity trend: the power of elite rebounding. The shortage of high-performance rebounders gives Valanciunas and Turner a decided roto edge. At the same time, rostering a high-volume, low-variance stat like elite rebounding has become an under-the-radar point league superpower.

Roto Reserves: Wendell Carter Jr., Orlando Magic (ADP 108/PR 53) Daniel Gafford, Washington Wizards ADP (138/PR 48)
Points Reserves: Jarrett Allen, Cleveland Cavaliers (ADP 71/PR 22) Robert Williams III, Boston Celtics (ADP 44/PR 43)



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