The Dime Fantasy Basketball Preview
Stat will be a fantasy basketball beast this season
I wrote this for the new issue of Dime that is about to drop everywhere. For those who haven’t had their draft yet, I wanted to post my top 101. Tomorrow I’ll hit you with my sleepers.
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DRAFT STRATEGY
My strategy on draft day is always the same. I want solid players who won’t kill me in any category. I don’t care if I like the player or enjoy watching him play, I just care that he puts up the stats in the categories I need. I also like drafting players who are guaranteed to give me certain numbers night in and night out. Of course I also like projecting stats and picking sleepers as much as anyone, but there is a time and place for that and it isn’t with your first group of picks. Get your core guys early (first 3-4 rounds), start taking educated risks in Round 5, and then wait on the sleepers. You can get a steal in the early rounds – like Caron Butler or Chris Kaman last season – but attempting to snag a sleeper that you believe in just because, well, you believe it, rarely works. So here we go. Below is a list of the top 101 fantasy players in order. Take the best player available and hope that he doesn’t get hurt. that, Here are my top 101 fantasy players for your draft.
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TOP 101 (in order – You get a 1 player bonus)
1. L. James
2. C. Paul
3. K. Bryant (watch out for the knee injury first – more news on the injury are expected later today)
4. A. Stoudemire (after Amare, the drop off begins)
5. K. Garnett
6. D. Nowitzki
7. D. Wade
8. D. Williams (I’m not worried about the injury. I don’t own him though either!)
9. S. Marion
10. E. Brand
11. C. Butler
12. S. Nash
13. T. Duncan
14. Y. Ming
15. B. Davis
16. M. Camby
17. A. Jefferson
18. Josh Smith
19. C. Boozer
20. C. Bosh
21. R. Gay
22. C. Anthony
23. R. Lewis
24. D. Granger (Big fan)
25. A. Iguodala
26. A. Iverson
27. D. Howard (free throw percentage? Really the NEW Shaq)
28. J. Johnson
29. P. Gasol
30. J. Kidd
31. Kevin Martin
32. P. Pierce
33. C. Billups
34. J. Calderon
35. J. Richardson
36. A. Jamison
37. D. West
38. G. Wallace
39. B. Roy
40. K. Durant
41. Josh Howard
42. V. Carter
43. S. Jackson
44. R. Jefferson
45. M. Redd
46. T. McGrady (own at your own risk)
47. R. Artest
48. C. Maggette
49. J. O’Neal
50. R. Allen
51. M. Dunleavy
52. H. Turkoglu
53. L. Odom
54. T. Chandler
55. A. Bynum
56. D. Harris
57. Mo Williams
58. S. Dalembert
59. A. Biedrins
60. A. Miller
61. G. Oden
62. A. Horford
63. M. Okur
64. A. Kirilenko
65. M. Beasley (keeper league special)
66. C. Kaman
67. R. Wallace
68. L. Aldridge
69. E. Okafor
70. M. Ginobili (hey, at least he’s running. He’s also on my list of players I just don’t like. That list is coming Friday.)
71. Marvin Williams
72. P. Stojakovic
73. L. Deng
74. R. Felton (let someone else do it)
75. G. Arenas (out until Jan.)
76. Z. Ilgauskas
77. T. Parker
78. M. Ellis (out at least until mid-Dec.)
79. M. Bibby
80. R. Rondo
81. B. Miller
82. Z. Randolph (don’t hate him nearly as much as I used to)
83. M. Miller
84. A. Harrington
85. B. Gordon
86. J. Crawford (he’ll be fine)
87. R. Hamilton
88. D. Lee
89. A. Thornton (another favorite sleeper)
90. J. Nelson
91. L. Barbosa
92. R. Alston
93. B. Udrih (Been going too late)
94. R. Fernandez
95. J. Terry (used to be such a good fantasy player)
96. R. Foye (prove me wrong)
97. M. Barnes (my, and others, favorite sleeper )
98. OJ Mayo
99. D. Rose
100. R. Stuckey
101. C. Duhon
We apologize to all of those who didn’t make the top 100 cut. That doesn’t mean we won’t draft you.
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October 22nd, 2008 at 4:49 pm
fallinup says:
Welcome back, Fantasy Doctor. I’ve been awaiting your return.
October 22nd, 2008 at 4:54 pm
fallinup says:
I’ve seen Granger ranked and picked higher than 13. And I can’t argue with that because Indy stinks even more now and this could be his big time stud year.
And also, Ellis has been sliding to the final rounds…so if you want to try to steal him for cheap, you’re safe waiting until the last 3 rounds to grab him up. Don’t waste a higher pick.
October 22nd, 2008 at 4:54 pm
D.H. says:
Who is the Fantasy Doc?
October 22nd, 2008 at 5:23 pm
Drink the Haterade (KB24 Chip 09) says:
check this out: Stupid…
http://withleather.uproxx.com/?p=10897
October 22nd, 2008 at 6:12 pm
Three Stacks says:
My list of “never-draft” players:
1) Al Harrington
2) Raymond Felton
3) Ben Gordon
And how can you have Chandler and Bynum right next to each other? They’ll probably have almost the same stats, except Bynum’s FT% will be 15 points higher.
Sleepers:
1) John Salmons (top 40 player last year when Artest was out)
2) Jeff Green
3) Brandon Bass
October 22nd, 2008 at 6:17 pm
mrcanadian says:
the fantasy doctor must have been spending time with dr. dre. what a generic list. thanks for the lack of insight and any useful information. what are your credentials doc? that you once won nba jam tournament edition without big head code?
October 22nd, 2008 at 7:14 pm
The Fantasy Doctor says:
I love a hater. Stay with me throughout the season and still if you’re still hating.
And as much as I hate Chandler’s free throw percentage and his surprisingly low block numbers last year, I think he’s definitely proven himself to be a pretty safe bet. Safer than Bynum at this point. I’m not saying Bynum isn’t a more exciting pick with a whole lot more upside, but I also think there is a risk that Phil could limit his minutes and get in the kid’s head.
October 22nd, 2008 at 7:33 pm
MoxWestCoastRep says:
I’m down w the Fant doc like OPP!
@3 stacks I feel you on Harrington.
On that note Al Jefferson is going to be an all star and all around beast.
I’m worried about my laker boys for fant purposes tho cause LO Gasol and Bynum are gonna steal buckets and boards from each other….
October 22nd, 2008 at 8:56 pm
fallinup says:
Yo….we should hook up a fantasy squad or two? I’m down to kickin some ass.
October 22nd, 2008 at 9:42 pm
big man says:
why is joe johnson so low…i think he should be higher…he’s a poor man’s kobe…
October 22nd, 2008 at 9:48 pm
Claw says:
For somebody that doesn’t like risk having Yao and Camby so high doesn’t make sense. Also Marion hasn’t been the same Marion since leaving PHX and adding Beasley to that team doesn’t help his cause. Nash’s PT will be going down this year and even last year he wasn’t a top 20 player.
Cmon JJ at #28, that’s a crime. Minny KG at #5, Celtic KG in the 20s. Smokey at #41? I’m hatin also.
You want sleepers, Nate Robinson – DA loves him and he’ll thrive in that system (not even in your top 100).
Maggette (Really #48) is going to blow up at GS, mostly with Monta out.
Al Thorton you got that one, but he is definitely top 50 not #89.
October 22nd, 2008 at 11:48 pm
Jay says:
Guys ranked too high:
Nash – expect significant dropoff, he’ll be 35 soon
Duncan – continued dropoff, Spurs always rest til playoffs
Yao – gets hurt every year, way too unreliable
Camby – same as above
Melo – overrated fantasy-wise every year
Guys ranked too low:
Brand – 20/10 monster finally with legit PG
Al Jefferson – Miller outside will keep defenses honest
GRANGER – big fan but underrate him so? THE MAN in Indy
Billups – #10 last year and #33 this year? keep overlooking them Pistons
KMartII – free reign in Sactown, killing it in preseason
DWest – quiet but effective, playing with CP3 helps
Thornton – Maggette 2.0, with more defensive numbers
Stuckey – said to get 30 mpg, will produce
Otherwise nice list.
October 23rd, 2008 at 12:15 am
Jay says:
^^^ Meant to say Billups was #10 overall fantasy player last season
October 23rd, 2008 at 12:15 am
QuEsT??? says:
i think iverson is ranked a lil bit low, i think his assists will be higher this year, also i try to add players who play more that one position, that way they give me more flexibility on fridays and saturdays(usually the busiest nights of basketball games).
October 23rd, 2008 at 12:19 am
Lomo says:
what kind of #s can we expect from stuckey this year? does he shoot the 3? i’m trying to decide if he can give my squad more firepower than say mccants or bell. these two guys would give me pts and 3s and in bells case not hurt with me to’s. my other pg’s are calderon, mo, rafer and barbosa…
October 23rd, 2008 at 12:39 am
akash says:
rose or udrih this year?
October 23rd, 2008 at 2:47 am
David Brandon says:
@fallinup,
man, great idea. i’m in. lets do it. you dont want it….lol
@akash,
d rose man. d. rose.
October 23rd, 2008 at 3:57 am
Three Stacks says:
Count me in for making a squad. Maybe the Fantasy Doctor will play, too. Cause if y’all are fantasy doctors, I’m the Chief of Medicine, and we’re gonna turn this shit into a teaching hospital.
October 23rd, 2008 at 7:47 am
auntiehonda says:
how can you list last years finals mvp #32?
October 23rd, 2008 at 8:27 am
Mike says:
I had my draft this past weekend. I thought it turned out decent for me. Here’s my line-up:
PG/SG – Joe Johnson
SG – S-Jack
G – Mo Williams
SF – Al Thornton
PF – Dirk Nowitski
F – Tim Duncan
C – Greg Oden
C – Zydrunas Ilgauskas
Utility – Derrick Rose
Utility2 – Rudy Fernandez
Utility3 – James Posey
I also have about 5 people on the bench, but I can’t remember them all.
October 23rd, 2008 at 8:52 am
Hi, Jurg from Denmark says:
Mr Fantasy Doctor, this is Jurg from Denmark. Did you think Mr Andris Biedrins was down too low somehow. He is just some fantastic player and would be good to see him play for 36 minutes in a game. Every time.
This has been Jurgy from Chunnapin Denmark – thank you, Hi.
October 23rd, 2008 at 9:45 am
aussie says:
Come on man where is Bogut hes got to be at least as high as Z
October 23rd, 2008 at 9:55 am
Jonny Drama says:
I don’t agree with Deron Williams that high. He does do certain things really well, like getting you Assists, Points with a great FG%, but he’s also one of the top in turnovers (though the other PGs do that too), he doesn’t shoot a lot of 3′s, and the big killer is that he doesn’t get many steals compared to CP3/AI/Davis. Nothing wrong with having Deron as your PG but I would drop him to the 2nd round at least.
October 23rd, 2008 at 10:08 am
bliz289 says:
Doc, most of your list is on point. a few things…
Rudy Gay could end up being Top 10. i really believe that.
and T-Mac over Artest? what’s the reason for that?
October 23rd, 2008 at 11:32 am
David Brandon says:
ok so we need….what, 8-10 more guys? lets get the league going! i know a lot of us think we can win it all, so lets see who really does. get in on this, GEE! lol you can get it too while you rep h-town…
October 23rd, 2008 at 12:01 pm
Danny says:
I agree with the “wow, what a generic list” comment.
I’m in for a league…
And I’ve got a great site for fantasy hoops: hoops.sports.ws The scoring system is an efficiency-based system similar to PER, and it gives you a full box score where each position gets 48 mins. I hate categories, and this site is the absolute shit. We’ve had a keeper league for 6 or 7 years and love it.