When we start off in a traditional punt points build the easiest path to end up is also punting 3s – even when we try not to. We have to worry about assists which can get away from us quickly and we might neglect 3s, thinking we can stock up later. The problem is 3 point specialists late tend to be incredibly one dimensional, offering points (which we are punting) and small volume of FT% (not of much use) as consolation.
Therefore when we punt points we may find it easiest to also punt 3s. Assists tend to be easier to find when we ignore 3s and some players others look past can be found. CP3 can be drafted with less worry about his declining 3pt volume for example. Draymond Green looms as the key of the draft, nabbing him in R5 becomes extra important in this strategy.
Points and 3s correlate heavily with Assists and Steals. Getting high A/TO point guards is the key even though big men will have the most to gain from the build. This is because any big men we draft will gain a lot from the build, high A/TO PGs are much harder to find.
Keys to the build
In Punt Points & 3s we need to dominate the A/TO market, going early if need be. Steals will be another key category to go for early and often. Therefore we focus on:
- Assists vs Turnovers – the hardest trade-off, this takes active management to pull off but there are plenty of players throughout the draft that can provide assists without killing you in turnovers. This is made a lot easier when able to disregard 3-point shooting.
- FG% vs FT% – it is also important that your early-round picks bring these in large volume to anchor both percentages to a high mark.
- Steals – Points and 3s have strong synergy with steals so high A/TO players with great steals are going to be our focus.
The extra punted category here makes for a much easier strategy in the draft. You don’t need to juggle all 3 of the hardest tradeoffs but just 2 which is easier but still enough to be conscious of.
You’ll notice below there are a lot of bigs late that fit this build but a lot less smalls. The Punt 3s mix enhanced bigs even more than punt assists. Target smalls that fit early and round out your bigs later.
Players to target
Round 1:
- Nikola Jokic – Elite FG%, Good A/TO Ratio and above average FT% with elite rebounds – the dream start in any build.
- James Harden – Elite source of assists and FT% with a handful of 3s and out-of-position rebounds.
- Kevin Durant – Yes he could lead the league in scoring, but he does so with elite FG% and FT% on big volume.
Round 2
- Tyrese Haliburton – the dream in the second round or late first. Elite %s, A/TO and Steals
- Jimmy Butler – Same story, reason he’s so low in draft guide is health. Less of a concern in punt points.
- Anthony Davis – out-of-position assists, boards and good percentages. Prefer efficient guards as a lot of bigs in the middle rounds. A top 3 player in this build.
- Kawhi Leonard – With the biggest loss when early rounders miss games being scoring, we negate that in punt points.
- Kyrie Irving – Elite %s on volume, 3s and assists on low turnovers – tick tick tick
- Bam Adebayo – Out of position assists boost our stocks here on good %s. I love assisting big men in this build.
Round 3
- Myles Turner – Another player to move up your board. Elite block specialist with 3s and clean %s.
- Chris Paul – a stalwart of this build. Best in class A/TO ratio with elite %s
- Domantas Sabonis – a great source of out-of-position assists – a good get if you miss out on other options.
- Deandre Ayton – Great FG Impact on good volume, great boards
- DeMar Derozan – Slipping in some drafts, a hand-in-glove fit for this build.
Round 4 – 6
- Nikola Vucevic – clean %s on good volume, great boards with bonus assists and 3s
- Alperen Sengun – Out of position Assists is the dream here. Harden into Bam into Sab into Sengun might be my favourite start to this build.
- Jrue Holiday – great FG% with elite steals and solid A/TO ratio
- Dejounte Murray – Becomes very viable for us in this situation. Good assists and steals production are the keys categories here.
- Draymond Green – from R5 Green is a must-draft player in this build. Can probably get in R6. Top 20 in this build.
- John Collins – clean big man with 3s and blocks.
Round 7 – 9
- Mitch Robinson – Has Rob Williams upside but can be taken in R6 or 7.
- Robert Williams – a top 5 player in this build. Injury is a concern but this build hides injuries better than most.
- Jarred Vanderbilt – potentially a top 40 player in this build, Draymond without assists. Boards and steals with a block. Need good FT shooters early.
- Al Horford – a 9 cat gem of a big man, the type of player to draft around 80 regardless of your needs.
- Ivica Zubac – I love his upside this year. A monster source of FG% without FT% headaches.
- Jusuf Nurkic – the out-of-position assists will help, especially if he drops in drafts. Key is whether he can stay healthy.
- Keegan Murray – a little bit of everything post-80 seems like a no-brainer.
- Brandon Clarke – should feast with JJJ out. Useful source of big man stats and FG%.
- Tre Jones – we really want to close out with assists before we get too deep into the 100s. Tre offers elite A/TO and a much bigger role this year.
- Markelle Fultz – similar to jones if you need assists I love doubling down and taking Jones and Fultz just around 100.
- Kyle Anderson – A great all-around player who can probably be taken in the 10th or later.
Late Rounders
- Onyeka Okongwu – Reb / Blk
- Nic Claxton – Reb / Blk
- Daniel Gafford – Reb / Blk
- Isaiah Jackson – Reb / Blk
- Bobby Portis – Rebs
- Pat Beverley – Ast / Stl / Blk
- Robert Covington – Reb / Stl / Blk
- Matisse Thybulle – Stl / Blk
- Nerlens Noel – Reb / Stl / Blk
- Isaiah Hartenstein – Reb / Ast / Blk
- Javale McGee – Reb / Blk
- Walker Kessler – Reb / Blk
- Delon Wright – Ast / Stl
- Bruce Brown – Reb / Ast / Stl
- TJ Mcconnell – Ast / Stl
