NBA Review – Surprising Teams, Fantasy Studs & More Nov 12th, 2009
We’re now a little more than 2 weeks into the NBA season – most teams have played about 8-9 games to-date. As such, we now have a little bit of an idea of what we might expect to see over the course of the season. In today’s post, I’ll be covering the teams who have jumped out of the gates quickly (some surprisingly, others expected), some of the bigger stories so far and highlight the Top 5 Fantasy Basketball players in their respective position(s).
One thing is clear right now – the “Haves” and the “Have not” teams are pretty evident. Barring injuries to their star players, these NBA teams are poised to outperform during the 2009-1010 season.
- Boston Celtics
- Cleveland Cavaliers
- Phoenix Suns
- Los Angeles Lakers
- Orlando Magic
- Atlanta Hawks
- Denver Nuggets
- Portland Trail Blazers
- Dallas Mavericks
The Have not teams are pretty much everyone else, led by the Kings, Grizzlies, Timberwolves, Pacers, Nets & Knicks (DOH!).
Teams are nothing w/out players, so let’s review some of the surprises early on this season:
- Carmelo Anthony looks like a man possessed. After getting a taste of the playoffs last year, ‘Melo looks incredible to start the season. He is arguably the most versatile offensive threat in the league right now.
- Dwight Howard‘s foul trouble could cost the Magic down the road. Shaquille O’Neal and the Cavs proved last night that Orlando is vulnerable w/out Superman in the lineup. Side note: Howard also appears to be getting the Shaq treatment in terms of opposing player fouls – the refs are not calling anything when Howard is getting hacked & held.
- The Run ‘N Gun is back & we love it! The Phoenix Suns have gone back to the break-neck pace of the D’Antoni years and so far it is working great. Led by Steve Nash, the Suns have put together a great open to the season, including a road win over the Celtics.
- The Golden State Warriors put the funk in dysfunctional. Don Nelson just lets these guys run rampant on the court – all offense, no defense.
- Aside from Chris Paul, the Hornets are dreadful. This is a team on the downswing (since Chandler trade rumors started), which is unfortunate, because they were so good early last season. Emeka Okafor is a solid replacement for Chandler (better actually IMHO), but the team needs a change (e.g. firing the coach – Breaking News – former Coach of the Year winner Byron Scott was fired today by the Hornets).
While the players above are important to know about, the following list of fantasy basketball leaders through 11/11/09 indicate who is standing out so far (Yahoo! Sports – Default scoring). Listing note – the players are ONLY listed in their most natural position (some play multiple & would rank several times). Pre-season ranks are included in parenthesis.
Top 5 Fantasy Point Guards
- Chris Paul (1)
- Chauncey Billups (15)
- Rajon Rondo (55)
- Steve Nash (17)
- Baron Davis (41)
Top 5 Fantasy Shooting Guards
- Kobe Bryant (4)
- Ben Gordon (62)
- Brandon Roy (11)
- Dwyane Wade (3)
- Kevin Martin (30)
Top 5 Fantasy Small Forwards
- Paul Pierce (28)
- Carmelo Anthony (34)
- LeBron James (2)
- Kevin Durant (7)
- Danilo Gallinari (166)
Top 5 Fantasy Power Forwards
- Dirk Nowitzki (5)
- Chris Bosh (10)
- Josh Smith (38)
- Marcus Camby (47)
- Kevin Garnett (12)
Top 5 Fantasy Centers
- Marc Gasol (134)
- Andrea Bargnani (59)
- Channing Frye (187)
- Al Horford (60)
- Chris Kaman (88)
Lots of surprises here, especially at the Center position. I don’t agree totally w/ Yahoo’s scoring system all the time – like how does Gallinari rank above the next highest SF, Rudy Gay? It is what it is though… still love playing it.
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