2016 Fantasy Basketball Top-100 Rankings: Part II

On Tuesday morning, I launched my fantasy basketball top-hundred, covering players ranked from 100 through 76. Today I will cover players 75 through 51. Let’s jump right in.

75. Ryan Anderson, Houston Rockets

The Rockets are going to score a ton of points this season, and Anderson is going to have plenty of open looks from beyond the arc. His 3P% has dipped a bit in the last two seasons, but much of that was a product of him being in a plodding offense - he’ll do much better in D’Antoni’s system.

74. D’Angelo Russell, Los Angeles Lakers

Russell’s rookie season was viewed by some as a disappointment, but much of that should be attributed to the Kobe Bryant Retirement Tour, as well as some awful coaching. He averaged 13.2 points, 3.4 rebounds, and 3.3 assists on decent percentages, and he’ll have the ball much more often this year.

73. Bradley Beal, Washington Wizards

We’re still waiting on a breakout season from Beal - or at least a year where he doesn’t miss double-digit games. He’ll help across the board when healthy, and would move up the list quite a bit if you could count on his health.

72. Luol Deng, Los Angeles Lakers

When Deng is shooting at a league-average clip from deep, he’s a valuable fantasy asset that helps everywhere (especially from the SF position). And he’s done so in each of the last two years.

71. Rajon Rondo, Chicago Bulls

Despite being several years removed from being a household name, Rondo had what may have been the best fantasy season of his career last year. He scored just under 12 PPG, and average 11.7 assists, 6 rebounds, and 2 steals on 45.4%/36.5%/58.0% shooting. If he can maintain that level of production, he may be an elite fantasy player (even with the ugly FT%).

70. Nikola Mirotic, Chicago Bulls

Mirotic is the only true 3-point threat on the Bulls, and should get plenty of good looks with Rondo dishing, and Dwyane Wade and Jimmy Butler slashing. He should be a better version of Ryan Anderson.

69. J.J. Redick, Los Angeles Clippers

Redick offers elite shooting from the shooting guard position, so much so that he can rank this high despite not offering much outside of said scoring. He isn’t a sink in any one category, but don’t expect much else from him.

68. Harrison Barnes, Dallas Mavericks

This is season going to be a turning point in Barnes’ career - he will either demonstrate that he is able to be the well-rounded fourth or fifth piece he was in Golden State as the second option on a team, or he will prove that he is little more than just that - a complementary player. I think he’s legit, and he’ll have a big year.

67. Brandon Knight, Phoenix Suns

Full disclosure: I have no idea how the Suns are going to handle their lineup this season. Knight and Eric Bledsoe are both best-suited as PG, and Devin Booker earned the chance to start at SG - but all three need the ball in their hands to thrive. Knight does everything well, so he’ll have value regardless, but there could be some ups and downs in his playing time.

66. Evan Fournier, Orlando Magic

Fournier is another player that may well be the only shooter in the lineup at a give time, and he thrived in that role last year. I see no reason to expect a backslide as he enters 2016-17 with a more clear-cut role.

65. Devin Booker, Phoenix Suns

Booker’s rookie season does not justify this ranking, but I think he’s going to get every opportunity to prove his worth this season (and the injury-prone nature of Knight and Bledsoe could help in that respect). He’s one of my breakout players this year.

64. Dennis Schroder, Atlanta Hawks

Schroder shot 41.5% from just inside the arc, and 32.2% behind it - his jumper is solid, he just needs to find consistency. He’ll have the keys to the Hawks offense this season, and all the benefits that entails; with a better 3P%, he could be a stud.

63. Rudy Gobert, Utah Jazz

Gobert lacks the eye-popping athleticism of Andre Drummond, but he has better shooting percentages, and comparable block and rebounding rates.

62. Tobias Harris, Detroit Pistons

Is Harris the player that has shot 32.5% from deep for his career? Or the guy that shot 37.5% with the Pistons in 27 games? It’s tough to say, as his career numbers have been all over the place. Even so, he is fairly efficient for a volume scorer, and chips in decent rebounding numbers for a SF.

61. Darren Collison, Sacramento Kings

Collison seems to be a bit underrated - and I may be underrating him here. He boasts strong shooting percentages, he averages a handful of assists and a steal, and he can be counted on for a dozen-plus points per game. That’s a solid PG. The caveat is that he may end up suspended for a portion of this year, pending an investigation regarding domestic violence allegations.

60. Zach LaVine, Minnesota Timberwolves

LaVine became a permanent starter for the Wolves on February 10, and from that point forward he averaged 16.3 points, 2.9 assists, 2.5 rebounds, and 1.2 steals on 47.4%/43.2%/76.8% shooting. He’s going to thrive with a fully defined role this year.

59. Greg Monroe, Milwaukee Bucks

Monroe may not be starting this season, and it remains to be seen how that might impact his value. That being said, his defensive issues have no bearing on his fantasy value, which is strong thanks to his box score stuffing abilities.

58. Dirk Nowitzki, Dallas Mavericks

The scoring is a bit less efficient, and the rebounds are down, but Nowitzki still has a great deal to offer in the real world and fantasy.

57. Jae Crowder, Boston Celtics

Prior to suffering a high ankle sprain in mid-March, Crowder was averaging the following - 14.5 points, 5.1 rebounds, 1.9 assists, 1.8 steals, 45.3%/35.4%/82.3%. It’s not too far off from his overall numbers, but that bump in efficiency helps quite a bit. And I think that’s the player he is going forward.

56. Ben Simmons, Philadelphia 76ers

I don’t know how to feel about what the 76ers are doing overall, but I suspect that Simmons will have a tremendous impact on the team’s offensive identity this season. And that’s a good thing.

55. Chandler Parsons, Memphis Grizzlies

A healthy Parsons can help a team in every category but blocks (though his FT% did drop-off substantially last year), and I suspect that he’ll play a large role for the aging Grizzlies this year.

54. DeAndre Jordan, Los Angeles Clippers

This is as high as I could rank someone that shoots 43% from the line on 8 attempts per game - that can kill a team in H2H or roto. His elite FG% (he has lead the NBA four seasons in a row), rebounding, and block totals make it much easier to stomach, though.

53. Dwyane Wade, Chicago Bulls

I moved Wade around on this list quite a bit, and I still don’t feel comfortable with it. He’s still a dynamic scorer, as well as a good rebounder and play-maker from the SG position. He is also playing on a team with a true PG now, he’s a zero from beyond the arc, and he needs regular rest as he approaches 35. Bid cautiously.

52. Marcin Gortat, Washington Wizards

Gortat is a legitimate fantasy asset, and he is fairly underrated in drafts. In five seasons as a starter, he has averaged right around 13 points, 9 rebounds, and 1.5 blocks on strong percentages (especially for a big man). And, perhaps more importantly, he is as reliable as they come.

51. Danilo Gallinari, Denver Nuggets

Call this a leap of faith. Gallinari was excellent last year, and has always had a great deal of game-changing talent. I may be overly optimistic, but I am expecting a huge season (which may well be what he did last year over 75 games).