Draft Analysis: Round 1

Here are the results and a little analysis of the first round of a CBS head to head draft that I participated in; Draft Results
Round 1
Pick	Team	Player		Pts
1		James, LeBron SF MIA		0/0
2		Durant, Kevin SF OKC		0/0
3		Paul, Chris PG LAC		0/0
4		Westbrook, Russell PG OKC		0/0
5		Bryant, Kobe SG LAL		0/0
6		Smith, Josh PF ATL		0/0
7		Rondo, Rajon PG BOS		0/0
8		Williams, Deron PG BKN		0/39.4
9		Love, Kevin PF MIN		0/0
10		Howard, Dwight C LAL		0/0
11		Lawson, Ty PG DEN		0/0
12		Griffin, Blake PF LAC		0/0
So pick #1 is a no brainier  the only reason to not go Lebron first overall is if you just truly hate him as a player/person, and even if that is the case, you should still be selecting King James with that pick.  Durant at #2 is pretty standard as well, cant go wrong there. CP3 at #3 is a solid pick, however you always have to worry about his durability. CP3 was able to remain healthy for the majority of the season last year so we shouldn't expect anything different this year. He is solid at #3.  Russell Westbrook has emerged as one of the top talents at G, and with no Derrick Rose in the first round of this years draft, I have no issues with him being the second guard off the board.  I do take issue with Kobe at #5 overall, although he finished second in scoring last year, age will begin to catch up with him, as will new additions of Steve Nash and Dwight Howard, who will both command offensive touches. I would feel more comfortable with Kobe early in the second round.  Josh Smith at #6 is a great value. The guy fills up the score sheet. Expect a big season from him.  Rondo at #7 may seem like a bit of a reach here, however this leagues scoring system does not take into account field goal percentage or free throw percentage. Rondo is a stud in this league, solid pick at #7. Deron at #8 is another pick I love. He has more talent around him this year which should provide a nice bump to his assist numbers, and we all know he can score at will.  Kevin Love at #9 (my pick) is worth discussing. Before K Love broke his hand doing knuckle push ups  he was the consensus #3 pick in the draft. Naturally this news allowed him to fall six spots to me. The injury seems to be less severe than initially suspected and should only keep him out the first few weeks of the season. I have the utmost confidence that i will be able to out manage the rest of the owners in this league until I get my stud back in a few weeks. If you feel you are a sophisticated owner capable of weathering this storm for a few weeks, and find K Love falling through the first round, take a shot on him. There is very good value there.  Dwight Howard seems to be getting healthy and when he is right, he is the top C in the game, good pick at #10.  Ty Lawson was chosen at #11, and although I really like his upside this year, is a bit of a reach in the first round, mid to late second round is where the right value is for Lawson.  Rounding out the first round was Blake Griffin at #12, durability issues have plagued him throughout his career but he certainly has first round upside if he remains healthy all year.