utorak, 04.12.2007.
NO ANSWER, NO KING: 76ers fire GM Billy King, ex-Nets GM Stefanski takes over...
FORWARD WITH FUTURE MIX by PATRYS15: Sean Williams, New Jersey Nets...
ON THE FIRE BRIGADE...
Early Season Studs
These players have impressed early on, performing much better than their average draft positions. If you own several of them, then your team is probably at or near the top of your league's standings. Hopefully you checked out my Rankings Comparison before the season started, because I suggested that Jefferson, Terry, Kirilenko, and Ginobili were all being underrated.
#1. Richard Jefferson
38.3 min, 26.1 points, 5.6 rebounds, 2.5 assists, 1.1 steals, .5 blocks, .9 threes, 47.4% FG, 93.7% FT
R-Jeff is back! After a disappointing '06-07 season that was hampered by injuries to both his ankles, Jefferson is healthy and dominating early on. His +12.3 Roland Rating is tops on the Nets. He's been very aggressive on offense, getting to the line 10 times per game and shooting a remarkable 97.1%. However, considering his career mark is just 77.7% FT, that number will surely fall. His 26.9 points and 1.29 steals per game are also well above his career-highs. Those numbers may slide a little, but R-Jeff has room to improve both his rebounds (5.6) and assists (2.4). In '05-06 he averaged 6.8 boards and 3.8 dimes per game, a good sign that he'll improve on his current numbers. The recent injury to Vince Carter will only help his cause. Jefferson is looking like he'll be a top 20 fantasy player all season long.
#2. Ronnie Brewer
29.7 min, 14.7 points, 2.6 rebounds, 1.8 assists, 2.8 steals, .2 blocks, .4 threes, 54.0% FG, 85.0% FT
Brewer has been phenomenal in his 2nd NBA season. On offense, he's scoring 14.7 points per game on 54% FG shooting and 85% FT shooting. With Deron and Boozer commanding most of the attention, Brewer gets a lot of quality shots, so he should be able to keep his FG% above 50%. Of course, most of his fantasy value comes from his defense. He's currently 4th in the league with 2.78 steals per game. This is not a fluke, as he averaged 2.59 thefts per game in college. Even if he starts to struggle with his shot, Brewer will continue to get the majority of minutes at shooting guard because his defense is vastly superior to Giricek's. If he can average 14 ppg on 52% FG shooting and 80% FT shooting to go along with 2.5+ steals, he'll continue to be a top 50 fantasy player.
#3. Rudy Gay
32.9 min, 20.6 points, 3.7 rebounds, .7 assists, 1.0 steals, 1.1 blocks, 1.6 threes, 51.4% FG, 78.1% FT
Rudy Gay has also emerged in his sophomore season. His points (20.6) and threes (1.57) are about double what he averaged last season, and his shooting %'s are way up. After shooting just 42.2% from the field and 72.7% from the line last year, he's shooting 51.9% and 78.1% respectively early on. Gay's length and athleticism allow him to get a steal and a block per game no problem. Even if his shooting starts to decline, Gay can sustain his current fantasy value by improving his boards (3.7) and assists (.7). He averaged 4.5 boards and 1.3 dimes as a rookie, so his current numbers will surely improve. Gay's ceiling is very high, and if he continues to improve he'll be a 3rd round pick next year.
#4. Hedo Turkoglu
34.7 min, 18.4 points, 5.8 rebounds, 3.7 assists, 1.2 steals, .2 blocks, 2.0 threes, 43.8% FG, 70.0% FT
What a resurgence for Hedo: he's currently averaging career-highs in points, rebounds, assists, steals, and threes per game! He has really benefited from the departure of Grant Hill and the loss of Tony Battie to injury (which forced Lewis to play more PF). Oh yeah, I'm sure playing with the Man-Beast helps a little bit as well. Can Hedo continue putting up these stellar stats? Well, judging by his current shooting %'s (43.8% FG, 70% FT), I'd say the answer is yes. In '05-06 he shot 45.4% from the field and 86.1% from the line, well above his current numbers. I understand if you want to sell high on Hedo, but he's going to be putting up solid fantasy lines all season long.
TOP 10 PLAYS 04-12-2007
#5. Jamal Crawford
40.3 min, 18.7 points, 2.6 rebounds, 5.4 assists, 1.6 steals, .6 blocks, 1.4 threes, 41.7% FG, 86.1% FT
Crawford is off to a sweet start this season, averaging career-highs in points, assists, steals, blocks, and FT%. There's a good chance his steals and blocks will decline, but Crawford can easily maintain his other numbers. In fact, his 1.4 threes per game are nothing compared to the 2.2 per game he averaged after the All-Star break last season. Considering that Isiah is having issues (to say the least) with Marbury but is giving Crawford all the minutes he can handle, Jamal should continue to put up big numbers.
#6. Kevin Martin
40.0 min, 26.4 points, 3.5 rebounds, 2.3 assists, 1.8 steals, .3 blocks, 2.0 threes, 44.7% FG, 85.6% FT
Kev-Mart has been a top 20 fantasy player early on. He's currently 4th in scoring (behind Kobe, LeBron, and T-Mac) and is getting to the line more than ANYONE else in the league (11.3 FTA/ game). Martin has had to shoulder the scoring load with Artest and Bibby out, but don't expect his points to decline that much. The dude can flat out score. I think the return of Artest is actually going to help out Martin's FG% (which was a solid 47.3% last year). And while his steals are sure to fall, his boards should go up a little bit. Kev-Mart is one of the best young scorers in the game, and he'll keep that title all season long.
#7. Al Harrington
32.8 min, 20.0 points, 7.2 rebounds, 2.2 assists, 1.0 steals, .2 blocks, 2.5 threes, 53.4% FG, 64.7% FT
Harrington has been a stud for the Warriors thus far. He's averaging 20 ppg thanks to a stellar 53.4% FG. Rebounding has been a weakness for Harrington in the past, but he's focused on improving that and is pulling down a career-high 7.2 boards per game. The 2.5 threes per game that he's making as a center-eligible player is what makes Al so special. Harrington is deadly from 3-point range and he's expanded his offensive repertoire by adding super quick spin moves in the paint. His FT% is currently an ugly 64.7%, so there is definitely room for improvement there. The points, threes, and FG% may slide a bit, but Al is clearly an improved player this season.
#8. Jason Terry
32.7 min, 22.3 points, 2.7 rebounds, 4.1 assists, 1.0 steals, .6 blocks, 2.6 threes, 54.9% FG, 89.7% FT
After starting for most of his 8 year career, fantasy owners wondered how Terry would respond coming off the bench this season. Well, it clearly hasn't bothered him, as he's averaging career-highs in points, blocks, threes, FG%, and FT%. The blocks are an anomaly, but his stellar shooting %'s are not. Since arriving in Dallas 3 years ago, Terry has shot 47% or better from the field, 40% or better from 3-point land, and 80% or better from the line every single season. So his current shooting numbers may slide a bit, but they're not going to fall far. The Jet is one of the most underrated fantasy guards in the league.
#9. Andrei Kirilenko
35.3 min, 11.0 points, 7.4 rebounds, 7.1 assists, 1.8 steals, 2.3 blocks, .1 threes, 45.3% FG, 76.9% FT
AK Freakin' 47! One of last year's biggest busts has turned it around big time. He still doesn't score a lot of points or make many threes, but it doesn't matter when he's doing everything else. Over his last 4 games, he's averaged 9.8 assists, 9.3 boards, 3.3 steals, and 2.5 blocks per game, which tells you everything you need to know. The hustle stats (boards, steals, and blocks) are no surprise, but his 7.1 dimes are well above his career-high of 4.3 per game. As an AK owner, if he finishes the season with 75 games played and 5 assists per game I'll be stoked. He remains an injury risk, but there's a decent chance of that happening.
#10. Marvin Williams
35.3 min, 17.7 points, 6.1 rebounds, 2.3 assists, .4 steals, .4 blocks, .1 threes, 56.6% FG, 78.4% FT
The former UNC star has really blossomed in his 3rd year. His +15.2 Roland Rating is far and away the best figure on the Hawks (J-Smoov is 2nd at +4.1). His FG% has jumped from 43.3% in '06-07 to a stellar 56.6% this season, resulting in a nice ppg jump as well. His boards and assists are also up, which is nice to see. Williams won't be able to shoot over 55% from the field all season long, but he'll make up for it with more steals and blocks. Last year he averaged .81 steals and .47 blocks per game, so averages of .9 and .6 aren't out of question.
Eric Wong a.k.a. Roto Evil
82 GAMES
