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.
When you turn on Sportscenter late at night, the highlights will be clogged with the guys who scored 30 points. If someone gets 40 or more, they might dedicate the show to him.
But at what cost are these 30-to-40-point nights coming?
For example, would you rather have your guy score 40 on 15-for-35 shooting, or have your man knock down 24 on 10-for-14 shooting?
Which one is better? Which player is more valuable?
I guess it depends on your team's needs. But in general, you can bet that a few less points recorded at a much higher shooting percentage will help your fantasy team more in the long run than a fairly-accurate chucker.
So here are some guys that, while they might not score top figures, are getting it done efficiently each night:
It's sad to say, but the No. 1 guy for this list is Andew Bynum (13.1 PPG, 10.2 RPG, 1.7 APG). The young center will be out at least eight weeks after tearing apart his kneecap recently, but until his injury, the man was getting it done. He was shooting a solid 63-percent from the floor - and still putting in 13 per game. The truth is that he was scoring more, cause his season average reflects the time he spent on the bench behind the awful, waste-of-space that is Kwame Brown.
I'd like to not just use down-low players here (since they rarely shoot from anywhere outside the paint), but how could I make this list definitive without Dwight Howard (22.4 PPG, 15.2 RPG, 1.5 APG) on it? The man is putting up monster number on his way to an all-star season. He has officially taken Shaq's place as the Shaq of the league. He may not venture out of the painted area, who wants him to when he's dropping them in at a 60-percent clip. Add in his 2.5 blocks per game and you have the Eastern Conference's starting center.
Say what you want about Duke University, but they turned out one fine power-forward in Carlos Boozer (22.9 PPG, 10.8 RPG, 2.8 APG). While a majority of his shots might come from within 6 feet of the bucket, his 55-percent from the field includes his range to step out and make a jumper, which is what makes him so lethal and a match up nightmare for opposing teams.
And then there is Shawn Marion (16.1 PPG, 10.5 RPG, 2.2 APG). The man runs all over the court for the entire game and still finds the time to knock down 52-percent of his shots. Marion shoots from all over including hitting 1.2 three-pointers per game all while collecting more than 10 boards and nearly grabbing two steals.
And then there are those guys who I eluded to earlier who might put up big point numbers night in-night out, but need half f their teams shots to do so. Here is that list:
I didn't want to have to put Kobe Bryant (27.7 PPG, 5.8 RPG, 4.9 APG) on this list, but he is the poster boy for taking too many shots. Yes, Kobe scores a ton of points; yes, Kobe is the reason the Lakers are among the top teams in the league (it's true!); yes, Kobe is by far the best player. But he takes a lot of bad shots, highlighted by his very mediocre 44-percent shooting percentage. Honestly, a few less fade-away jumper and a couple more drives and Kobe might just belong in the top half of this piece.
Your parents probably taught you not to stomp on a man when he was down. Well mine didn't! Gilbert Arenas (22.4 PPG, 4.4 RPG, 5.9 APG) is making the list, period. When you are shooting 39-percent from the floor, it doesn't matter that you haven't played in well over a month. Let's be real, he only shot 42-percent al of last year. Too much blogging? Too much poker? His Wizards look incredible in his absence and it will be interesting to see how things shake up when he finally returns.
Run-and-shoot offense is great to watch and the Golden State Warriors do it really well. But Stephen Jackson (20.5 PPG, 4.6 RPG, 4.0 APG) does a little too much shooting. Maybe it's the immense amount of three-pointers he takes, but Jackson shoots just 40-percent from the field. And every time I see him, I can't help but think of him running into the stands to save poor Ron Artest from the unruly fans...
Here's a look at this week best performances:
Marcus Camby (9.1 PPG, 14.4 RPG, 3.1 APG) had a huge week scoring 10.0 points and grabbing more than 17 rebounds for his Nuggets. It's also his robust 5.3 blocks per game that make him a fantasy monster. Oh ya, almost two steals too. But while we're at it, might as well mention the 40-percent shooting for the week.
Welcome back Kevin Martin (25.2 PPG, 4.7 RPG, 2.0 APG). The Kings got their guy back this week and Martin was ready to go. He tossed in 28.7 PPG in his return week while shooting 73-percent! Those are tough numbers to keep up, but Martin is the real deal. Look out, this guy is one of the best young ball players in the league.
How about some Aussie love for Andrew Bogut (13.2 PPG, 9.0 RPG, 2.3 APG)? The man has recorded four straight double-doubles including three straight 20+ point performances. For the week he averaged 21.8 PPG, 10.8 RPG ad 3.3 APG, Let's just call that a boost in production and leave it at that.
High scorer of the week:LeBron James (29.7 PPG, 7.8 RPG, 7.5 APG) recorded 51 against the Grizzlies on Tuesday to lift the Cavs to the victory.
A question from the field... 'But the 51 was in overtime, does that still count?'
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. 