Andre Miller is not flashy.  At all.  He averages a whopping 14.1 points over his career.  He’s probably never dunked a ball.  There is nothing exciting about the man at all.  So why do fantasy owners love him?  His 7.6 career assists.

He’s the perfect compliment to a team who doesn’t have an All-Star point guard, or one that plans on going cheap at the position.  I mean come on, I’m getting all these assists halfway through the draft.  So what’s wrong with the guy?  Nothing, and that is why he’s a perfect pick at this stage.

So if you didn’t get Steve Nash or Gilbert Arenas or you want some security for injury-plagued Baron Davis or the declining Chauncey Billups, keep your eyes peeled for Miller.  You’ll like him more than Stephon Marbury or Jameer Nelson and their bad percentages later on, I promise you.

Round 6, Pick 5: Andre Miller, PG, Philadelphia 76ers

So, at this stage in the draft, this team only had Mike Bibby at the point, with no other assist heavy players.  There’s trade rumors, Bibby’s getting old, and all kinds of stuff, and I saw Miller sitting there with my chance to sew up assists early enough to where taking another PG at the very end of the draft would be fine for this team.  Sold.

As I said before the jump, he won’t wow you.  Don’t expect him to have ANY 30 point games this year.  He had five 20 point games last year and no 30 point games.  Get your points elsewhere.

But what you can expect is a boatload of assists.  Let’s take a look at his pre- and post-Denver numbers:
Denver: 13.0 PPG, 9.1 APG, 4.5 RPG, 1.6 SPG, 47.2% FG, 72.9% FT
Philly: 13.6 PPG, 7.3 APG, 4.4 RPG, 1.3 SPG, 46.4% FG, 80.8% FT

Yeah, yeah, his numbers went down.  Of course they did, he plays on a team that would lose to half the WNBA.  But keep in mind, even if he averages 7 APG again, he’s still averaging assists comparable to TJ Ford, who was taken six picks ago.  Plus, he isn’t as one-dimensional as Leandro Barbosa, or as flawed as Tony Parker, who are still out there.  In my mind, the best PG left when you need assists.

He’ll also balance out the bad FG% this team will suffer from with Rashard Lewis taking all the shots in Orlando, Tracy McGrady being Tracy McGrady, and Ricky Davis getting more looks on a crappy Minny team.  And those 4+ rebounds aren’t looking too bad either.

This sort of fits into my normal draft strategy, letting guys fall into my hands early without reaching for positions or needs, then sealing things up one by one as the draft unfolds.  I saw the opportunity to seal up assists and improve my FG%, which will allow this team to go with other positions until literally the last pick of the draft.

Other players on this fantasy team:
1.8 Amare Stoudemire, C, Phoenix Suns
2.5 Rashard Lewis, SF, Orlando Magic
3.8 Tracy McGrady, SG/SF, Houston Rockets
4.5 Mike Bibby, PG, Sacramento Kings
5.8 Ricky Davis, SG/SF, Minnesota Timberwolves

Previous Picks this Round
6.1. Jason Terry, PG/SG, Dallas Mavericks
6.2 David West, PF, New Orleans Hornets
6.3 Luol Deng, SG/SF, Chicago Bulls
6.4 Danny Granger, SF/PF, Indiana Pacers

Previous Round Selections
Round One Recap
Round Two Recap
Round Three Recap
Round Four Recap
Round Five Recap