Comments on: Fantasy Basketball Player Tiers â€“ Centers

By: Daniel

Daniel — Wed, 22 Oct 2008 00:12:02 +0000

Let’s giter on with the reader league draft already. I’m hungry.

By: Patrick

Patrick — Tue, 21 Oct 2008 01:03:28 +0000

Thanks for the suggestions everyone. Noah most likely would have been my first choice as well (Collison was off the board fairly quickly), and in fact, he was the next center to go. Mike Yam of ESPN picked him with the 10th pick in the 5th round (130 overall), 6 spots before my turn. I was still in need of a starting SF in addition to a center, so I rolled with Shane Battier at pick #136 today. Gasol, Foster, Ben Wallace, Dampier, Diop, Mohammed, Hibbert, Sean Williams, Brook Lopez (and Darko!) are all still available. Mikki Moore does not qualify at center in CBS leagues, although Anderson Varejao does, which could be an intriguing choice. And I may have one especially crazy trick up my sleeve, if I decide to go all in for the win. Stay tuned.

@Max, you are correct in saying the Bogutâ€™s game has improved every year, which may be why some people are taking a shot at him so high in drafts. And I was being lazy by calling his 1.7 blocked shots per game last season â€œnot strongâ€ when he was actually one of the better shot blockers in the league. His assists and steals have basically been flat since he came into the league, so I wouldnâ€™t expect much more from him there and his FT% is downright atrocious. I personally wouldnâ€™t put him into tier 4, but I guess if youâ€™re someone who is expecting his big improvements to continue this season, youâ€™d probably bump him up into the higher tier based on that upside.

By: Dowjones

Dowjones — Mon, 20 Oct 2008 20:04:54 +0000

sean williams will give you blocks aglore so if it’s h2h and you need some blocks….

Noah, Gasol, dampier and big ben should all be able to give you some rebs and blks, i think noah’ll give you the most balanced and consistent production (8 rebs, 1 stl, 1 blk, 2 ast) while Gasol, i think has the most potential.

Another “safe” choice would be mikki moore since i really don’t think JT or Hawes are odl enough yet to do much. Also keep an eye on diop, if he get mins he’ll give you rebs and blks and no TOs!!

By: Upstate Underdog

Upstate Underdog — Mon, 20 Oct 2008 14:23:17 +0000

I had Foster and Dampier fill in for my team last year whn I wasn’t playing Wilcox or Al Jefferson

By: Max

Max — Mon, 20 Oct 2008 13:38:34 +0000

The rest of Bogut’s game isn’t exactly strong? Bogut is improving every year, and along with his 10 rebounds per game, he gives 14.4 ppg, 51.1 FG%, almost 3 assists, and almost 2 blocks and 1 steal. His glaring weakness is FT% at 58.7, but you don’t draft bigs for that. I’m not hesitating to take Bogut ahead of anyone in your tier 5 of centers, and a lot of your tier 4 guys also.

By: Nick

Nick — Mon, 20 Oct 2008 04:35:27 +0000

First of all, totally agree with Nels and Brendan and Terrance in terms of what you should do in the CBS league. I really like Noah this year, esp. the 1-steal-1-block action you’re likely to see.

I also had to say that I am in love with your punting FT% theory. Actually, if you punt both FT% and TOs – which is, admittedly, some seriously ballsy puntage – Howard projects to a top-3 pick this year. Food for the mind.

By: terrance

terrance — Sun, 19 Oct 2008 19:41:31 +0000

id take noah and gasol in that order. The minutes are there for both so no worries on playing time.

By: Daniel

Daniel — Sun, 19 Oct 2008 17:02:14 +0000

Roy Hibbert? A monster playing behind two greasy white guys with little upside on a rebuilding Pacers team?

By: The DL

The DL — Sun, 19 Oct 2008 15:35:25 +0000

I would be fine with having Noah, Gasol, Rasho or Foster (in that order) on my team in a huge league. Williams too if you’ve got some guys who can block shots (in H2H) or no matter what in roto (he will pull you to the middle of the pile in blocks if he plays even a little).

By: Brendan K.

Brendan K. — Sun, 19 Oct 2008 01:22:02 +0000

In order, I’d say

1) Noah – Seems likely to average 7 boards with a block and a steal. He’s got the starter’s job to start the year, and only really Aaron Gray to give him competition. As long as he doesn’t out-right SUCK I like his chances at producing those modest stats at least consistently.

2) Marc Gasol – I’ve been on record as saying he could average something close to Al Horford’s rookie numbers. 7ish blocks with more upside in blocks than Noah, but there’s a bit more uncertainty of whether or not he’ll get real minutes for the whole season.

3) Foster ain’t pretty, but if you only need boards from your center, he’ll do right?

So I guess Nick Collison is already off the board?