Give Me The Rock
this is fantasy basketball
Welcome to the first edition of what I hope will be a weekly feature – a look at weekly (or two weeks, in this case) player trends – where I’ll quote some actual numbers so that you can be fairly certain that I’m not feeding you total bullshit. The numbers come directly from the GMTR Player Rater. This week I’ll compare current player ratings to their pre-season rankings (taken from Yahoo). There are a lot of surprises to begin the season, on to some of the trends over the first couple of weeks into the season.
Trending Up
Yao Ming
Pre-season Rank: 13
Current Rank: 2
It only took 4 years, but it looks like Ming has arrived.
Zach Randolph
Pre-season Rank: 80
Current Rank: 4
Bill Simmons has good things to say about Randolph. Was it really three years ago when Randolph looked like he was going to become one of the best in the league?
Antawn Jamison
Pre-season Rank: 41
Current Rank: 9
Unfortunately for all the Jamison owners out there, this bump appears to be temporary. He’s currently shooting 55% from the field, which based upon his career stats is not going to last.
Kevin Martin
Pre-season Rank: 157
Current Rank: 12
Wow wow wee waa. Martin was a sleeper coming into the year, but I don’t think many people predicted this type of breakout. He’s averaging 38 minutes a game after only 26 last season, shooting 56% from the floor, and averaging over 23 points a game. The percentages might drop a little as the season progresses, but the scoring should stay high.
Leandro Barbosa
Pre-season Rank: 144
Current Rank: 22
Barbosa is making the most of his opportunity with Raja Bell out as he currently leads the Suns in scoring. Yes, I had to double check that one. I don’t think he’ll keep up that pace, especially once Bell comes back, but he’ll end up being a nice points/threes/assist combo over the course of the year.
Kyle Korver
Pre-season Rank: 101
Current Rank: 34
Instead of relying solely on the three, it appears that Korver is starting to take more two-pointers. The result is that his field goal percentage is up and his scoring is up. The defense stats are still pretty weak, though.
Jarrett Jack
Pre-season Rank: Not Ranked (NR)
Current Rank: 36
Jack took the starting point-guard job and hit the ground running. The Celtics look pretty stupid right now. Well, even more than usual.
Quentin Richardson
Pre-season Rank: 165
Current Rank: 42
It might be time to buy on Richardson, at least until Jeffries returns. Someone’s got to score for the Knicks as it doesn’t appear that Marbury is going to be that guy.
Luke Walton
Pre-season Rank: NR
Current Rank: 44
Walton’s always had the talent to be a solid player, but so far this year he’s getting the minutes too, thanks to a Vlad Rad hand injury. And everyone feels good about that development. The roster is going to get tighter when Mihm and Brown get back, but the Lakers are better when Walton and Odom are on the floor.
Grant Hill
Pre-season Rank: NR
Current Rank: 56
Look quickly, it’s a Grant Hill sighting. Quickly before it goes away for good!
J.R. Smith
Pre-season Rank: NR
Current Rank: 61
It’s all about the minutes for Smith. He’s averaging about 25 this season, compared to 18 with the Hornets last season. At 25+ minutes a game, he’ll be a solid fantasy player or better.
Trending Down
Lebron James
Pre-season Rank: 1
Current Rank: 17
I’m fairly certain that this is the only time you’ll see Lebron on this part of the list. His low ranking (relatively speaking of course), is solely due to one category, free-throw percentage, which is bound to go up. Once it does, you’ll see him on the Trending Up section.
Elton Brand
Pre-season Rank: 8
Current Rank: 51
Like James, Brand is another guy who should bounce back after a few more games. Everything is there for him already except for the points, resulting from both taking less shots and shooting for a worse percentage. It might be worth throwing out an offer to Brand’s owner in your league to see if he’s starting to worry.
Boris Diaw
Pre-season Rank: 26
Current Rank: 152
From what I’ve read, it sounds like Diaw decided to work himself into playing shape during the season. I guess you can do that after you sign a five-year contact extension.
Amare Stoudemire
Pre-season Rank: 17
Current Rank: 129
Be worried if you spent a second or third round pick on Amare. His Nov. 11 game was the first nice one of the year (25/12), however it was against Memphis (and Jake Tsakalidis? Stromile Swift?). He’s still only averaging 19 minutes a game and the knees are a constant worry.
Tracy McGrady
Pre-season Rank: 23
Current Rank: 78
I was ready to write that McGrady is still searching for his shot, but 39% is pretty much a normal McGrady year.
Chris Kaman
Pre-season Rank: 53
Current Rank: 165
It’s cheap to say something like this now, but there was always something about Kaman that struck me the wrong way. And that’s just not an easy shot about the way he looks. I don’t like his game. He’ll turn it around once he starts to get more consistent minutes, I see him more like a 75-80ish ranked player rater than a top 50 player.
Gerald Wallace
Pre-season Rank: 34
Current Rank: 123
An injury during the Bobcats first game may have slowed him down to start the season. On the plus side, he hasn’t missed any time… yet.
Zydrunas Ilgauskas
Pre-season Rank: 50
Current Rank: 152
“The big guys start up at the free-throw line,” Ilgauskas said of the Cavs’ current offense. “And then you set a screen and then you go down and set more screens. It’s constant movement.” But when you’re moving around with 10 (seven in the left; three in the right) screws holding your feet together (the result of five surgeries), quickly setting pick after pick isn’t a fluid operation. Consequently, Ilgauskas is on pace to average a career-low 25 minutes a game this season.
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