FanPost

2010-11 Fantasy Basketball Week 0: Rebound + Block Guys

I'm going to try and shorten this one up compared to the assist + steals post. I am not trying to write books here, but it's just working out like that. I promise.

The basic idea of Rebounds + Block Guys for me, is that I want to draft 4 guys that get at least 7 rebounds/game, block at least 1 shot/game, and put up double digit points. I would especially like it if they shot above 48%, and if their FT% wasn't south of 70%.

Similar to the assist + steal guys, the number of guys that are able to do get to these marks is small. There were only 34 players that averaged 7 or more rebounds/game last year. If you continue to filter for blocks, points, etc., you get about 20 guys that are ideal, with another 4-5 that have the potential to get there.

I do think it is important to get guys who can block shots. You need to have guys that can do it consistently. Only 34 guys last year averaged a block or more per game (different set than the 34 that averaged 7 or more blocks). It would be nice to have 4-5 of them without screwing yourself over in other areas. That only leaves about 20-25 players... And I want 4 of them.

Below is my list of guys I'm looking at for this category, by round they are likely to be taken in. Again, these are just based off of what I think and where I think they might go. Within each round, I list the order of guys I would want, but that doesn't necessarily mean I want a 2nd round guy over a guy that's going in the 3rd round.... Some of that is personal perference.  Feel free to make your own projections and predictions, and your own list.

Round 1

Kevin Durant - Best fantasy player in the game
Dwight Howard - Terrible FT%. He overcomes it in my mind by averaging more than 2 blocks per game, having a FG% nearly 60%, scoring about 20, and grabbing about 12. He more than helps in the other categories, just makes sure you get good FT shooters.
Dirk Nowitski - Durable player. Won't help you with 3s like he did a few years ago, but we're not looking for that anyhow. He puts up solid numbers.

Round 2

Pau Gasol
Amare Stoudemire
Brook Lopez
Chris Bosh - Expect a downtick of all his stats.

Round 3

Josh Smith - In addition, can help you with steals. Good to get no matter what, but especially helpful if you get Nash in Round 1 or 2.
Gerald Wallace - I think he might be the most underrated fantasy player there is.
Al Jefferson
Tim Duncan
Al Horford
Joakim Noah

Round 4

Marc Gasol - Good value here.

Round 5

Blake Griffin - If he stays healthy, he's an elite option. He's putting up 17 points, 12 rebounds, 1.2 blocks, and 1.8 steals in the preseason. A lot of potential and hopefully enough fantasy owners that I'm playing with are not noticing, ha ha!

Round 6

Andray Blatche - Averaged more than 1 steal/game in addition
Nene - Provides additional assistance with steals
Chris Kaman
Kevin Garnett - It wasn't all that long ago, I was drafting this guy with the #1 overall pick.... It's hard to admit, but my man KG is getting old.
Andrew Bogut

Round 7

Paul Millsap
DeMarcus Cousins - Bad FT shooter, but if you need guys, its better to take him than not, I think.
Anthony Randolph - Just missed out on 7 boards, and shoots a lower than I'd like FT%, he blocks shots at a good clip (1.6 per game last year)

Round 8

Emeka Okafor
Bynum - Injured, but one of the best fantasy players when healthy. Won't be ready until December.

Round 9: None

Round 10:

Tyrus Thomas - Great value, and can help with steals.

Rounds 11-13:

Greg Oden - Injured. Won't be back until January

Not counting the injured guys, that's 25 guys for the most part. You can probably add more to the list. Just find guys that put up 8-9 points and 6-6.5 rebounds and project upside (if you believe it is there).

Next post, I will talk about the 2 other spots on your starting roster. I call these "fill-in" guys. I think the name can be deceptive, because these aren't necessarily guys that you are waiting until the last couple of rounds to get. These are guys that are just going to help you out in the couple of categories they excel at; they just don't contribute a high amount across several categories.

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Post #3: Assist + Steal Guys

Post #2: Putting A Team Together

Post #1: An Overview