Give Me The Rock
this is fantasy basketball
I’ve already discussed centers, now it’s time to move on to some other very large men who spend a lot of time in the post – power forwards. Note that in the write-up about centers, I pretty much included everyone who qualified as a center in Yahoo leagues, like Paul Gasol, Carlos Boozer, and Boris Diaw. That plan worked fine for the centers, but since about half the league would qualify at the forward and shooting guard positions, I’m switching gears for these remaining posts. For the guard and forward posts, I’ve slotted everyone in to their “natural†positions – if such a thing exists. For example, Yahoo considers Andrei Kirilenko and Danny Granger as power forwards, but their more natural position is small forward. So, you won’t see them in this list.
Since so many players qualify at multiple positions (at least in Yahoo leagues – CBS Sports and NBA.com are much more stringent), I’ve updated the GMTR player tier spreadsheet to include all the positions that a player is eligible in for Yahoo leagues. So, even through Boris Diaw is listed under the power forward column, you can see in the spreadsheet that he also qualifies as a center.*
Tier 1
Kevin Garnett (F) – 3
Shawn Marion (F) – 3
Dirk Nowitzki (PF) – 5
You can’t go wrong with any of the three guys in tier one. I’m partial to Garnett myself, because I think he’s going to be rejuvenated on the Celtics and Marion’s future with the Suns is a little uncertain. But they’re all mid to top first round picks.
Tier 2
Chris Bosh (FC) – 13
Pau Gasol (FC) – 14
Tim Duncan (FC) – 16
Carlos Boozer (FC) – 27
Somehow, Tim Duncan qualifies as a center in Yahoo leagues, even though he only started in about2-3 games a center last season. That’s so unbelievable that I left him out of the center rankings. Bosh, Gasol, and Boozer also appear in the center tier post and they’re all pretty damn good.
Tier 3
Antawn Jamison (F) – 42
Lamar Odom (F) – 55
Rasheed Wallace (PF) – 57
David West (PF) – 58
Zach Randolph (PF) – 62
There’s a pretty big drop off between tier two and tier three. Tier two guys should all be gone by the early third round by the latest, while the first tier three guy shouldn’t go until the fourth/fifth. I think Jamison has been going a little early in mock drafts, he’s been missing a few more games every year since he joined the Wizards.
Tier 4
Andrea Bargnani (FC) – 77
Al Harrington (FC) – 81
David Lee (F) – 102
Paul Millsap (F) – 100
Boris Diaw (FC) – 109
Al Thornton (F) – 106
Al Horford (FC) – 106
There is a lot stuff to like in tier four. The rookie Al’s stock have been rising in the preseason. Thornton scored 23 points against the Suns on Saturday and Horford scored 22 against the Bobcats last Thursday. I usually try not to put much stock in the preseason, but for some reason those numbers make me feel good. David Lee was so good last season that he might be worth a pick simply to see if he can get the same amount of minutes he did last year. If Millsap can get the minutes (no guarantee behind Boozer), he could be a top 50 player.
Tier 5
Charlie Villanueva (F) – 114
Drew Gooden (PF) – 119
Chris Wilcox (FC) – 120
Nick Collison (FC) – 123
Jorge Garbajosa (FC) – 136
Hakim Warrick (F) – 135
Tim Thomas (F) – 144
If you’re in need of a back end power forward in a draft, any one of these guys should do. None have significant breakout potential like the guys in tier four, although Villanueva is a decent buy low who could bounce back this year and Gooden is young enough to keep improving for the Cavs.
Tier 6
Antonio McDyess (PF) – 118
Ryan Gomes (F) – 124
Udonis Haslem (PF) – 144
Channing Frye (FC) – 143
Yi Jianlian (PF) – 142
Kenyon Martin (PF) – 156
Sean May (PF) – 152
Anderson Varejao (FC) – ND
Juwan Howard (F) – ND
Chuck Hayes (F) – ND
Eduardo Najera (F) – ND
Like the centers, tier six power forwards should only be drafted in the deepest of leagues. As of this moment, McDyess should be starting for the Pistons, but he’s only been averaging 20-ish minutes a game for the past couple of years. Gomes is a solid player who could get some big minutes for the Wolves. Yi Jianlian has had a pretty good preseason, although I’m not ready to believe in him quite yet. I’m not a big Drew Gooden fan, so I like Anderson Varejao as a deep sleeper in roto leagues. For guy who was a top 50 fantasy player a couple years ago, Kenyon Martin hasn’t been getting a lot of respect.
*One reason why player positions are retarded in fantasy: Boris Diaw who basically plays every position for the Phoenix Suns, qualifies only at center and power forward in Yahoo leagues. Yet, the Yahoo depth chart has Diaw listed as a small forward on the Suns team page. So, which one is it Yahoo?
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