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Sports Grumblings -
http://www.sportsgrumblings.com/basketball/articles
From Way Downtown -- December 3, 2007
http://www.sportsgrumblings.com/basketball/articles/articles/245/1/From-Way-Downtown----December-3-2007/Page1.html
Jake Gantz
 Jake Gantz has been playing fantasy sports for several seasons. He claims he discovered Marshall Faulk as the best fantasy player ever and has owned him several times. He loves all sports and is a big horse racing enthusiast. His writing has been featured on other websites concerning the NBA, the NFL and the MLB. By Jake Gantz
Published on 12/3/2007 |
There is plenty to like about Dwight Howard, but Jake has another reason to do so.
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Inexperienced fantasy basketball players all make the same mistake: they overlook some of the most important stat categories.
In most fantasy leagues, leading in points, rebounds, and assists is worth the same as leading in field-goal percentage, free-throw percentage, and blocks.
Tony Parker (20.5 PPG, 3.7 RPG, 6.9 APG) is a very solid performer, but did you know he is shooting 51-percent from the field this year? That makes his 20 per even better.
Or, how about Jason Kidd (11.5 PPG, 8.9 RPG, 10.5 APG)? The Nets' guard is very nearly is averaging a triple-double this season, but he is shooting just 36-percent, not to mention his 4.3 turnovers per game – a fantasy killer.
Here are the top three fantasy studs that are keeping some of your overlooked categories afloat:
1. Marcus Camby (9.7 PPG, 14.4 RPG, 3.1 APG) – his big-three stats are not bad at all, but having Camby as your center adds three – count 'em, three – blocks per game to you stat list. Actually, it is 3.5. That ranks him second in the league to only Josh Smith who smacks 3.8 per game. This, according to official nicknames, qualifies him as a "force in the paint".
2. The Answer does more than score. Allen Iverson (23.6 PPG, 3.2 RPG, 7.2 APG) is ripping 2.6 steals per contest, ranking him second in the league behind sudden fantasy-stud Chris Paul. Maybe he was not going to practice in Philly, but it would appear that George Karl has got him out on the street working on his pickpocket skills.
3. Tony Parker is not the only one who can shoot. Dwight Howard (23.5 PPG, 14.5 RPG, 1.5 APG) is a beast. No, he is a monster. While putting up a robust 23 per, Howard is shooting at a 61-percent clip. Now I know what you are thinking: he is a center, all he does is dunk, so his percentage should be that high. Au contraire, mademoiselle. Chris Kaman, who is having a monster year, is only shooting 48 percent; Yao Ming is shooting 50 percent; Amare Stoudemire – 52 percent. Now you see…
Here are the big performers of the week:
Caron Butler (22.8 PPG, 7.0 RPG, 3.3 APG) had a monster week. In the absence of injured-teammate Gilbert Arenas, Butler knew he was going to have to take on a larger portion of the scoring load, and he is making it happen. This week he averaged 26.0 points, 7.5 rebounds, and 5.8 assists. Unfortunately, he still turned it over more than three times per game, but who is keeping score at home anyway? Oh yeah, he averaged three three-pointers also.
Carlos Boozer (25.4 PPG, 11.2 RPG, 2.8 APG) had himself a week. The man averaged more than 27 points and 3.5 assists but the real kicker was his field-goal percentage – a lofty 67-percent for the week! Did you hear that? He made two out of every three shots. That's production, Holmes.
5.3 – that is the number of blocks that Josh Smith (16.9 PPG, 7.4 RPG, 3.7 APG) averaged for the week. Normally he gets a pedestrian 3.8 (see above). But 5.3? That is more points than the New York Knickerbockers average per quarter!
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