Getting Ready For Your Draft

I have my first experts draft of the season tomorrow night, so I thought I would do a quick take on prepping for your draft.

1. Find yourself a comfortable place that is free from distractions: The guy on the left just took Elton Brand 9th overall because he got distracted by his co-workers and blanked when time ran out. Don't run the risk of that happening. Find someplace quiet where you can focus. Get yourself a comfortable spot, as some drafts can take upwards of 3 hours. Just be careful it's not too comfortable. I had one draft where I fell asleep during the draft (it had been a very late night before and it was an early morning draft). I woke up just in time to see my autodraft take Antoine Walker in the 4th round. Needless to say I learned my lesson.

2. Have all your lists printed out: You don't want to be minimizing or looking for files on your computer while the draft is on. Just leave the draft applet up. Have all your cheat sheets on hard copy in front of you. You should also have a pen and a highlighter so you can keep track of trends as the draft goes along. NBA.com has a pretty decent cheat sheet HERE. Just make sure you factor your league settings into their predictions (ie: Dwight Howard might drop down a bit in roto, up in a H2H league).

3. Don't panic: If time is running out on your pick, just go with your gut reaction. Who is the guy that you initially thought of when you saw who was left for your pick? Make your decision and be confident about it.

4. Set Your Pre Draft Rankings!- Hey, you never know what is going to happen. There may be a power outage, a problem at your internet service provider, or an act of God that prevents you from drafting live. You may not wind up with the exact team you want, but if you set your pre-draft rankings you will at least end up with a decent team talent wise and then can trade to gain balance. If you don't do it, well, you are asking for a disaster.

I will be reporting back here to let you know how my first draft goes. Wish me luck!

-unpossibl1
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