(Well…mostly)

Happy New Year, all.  As I sit here on this wonderfully snowy Cleveland day, I thought it would be a good time to break down some positional rankings year-to-date.  You know, a little bit of “who did what” in 2007.  But only this half of 2007, not the one that ended in a sweep of my Cavaliers with entirely too many Eva Longoria shots.  But I digress.

Let’s dig into the each position, breaking down the first quarter* of the 2007-08 season. 

POINT GUARDS

Best Overall: Chris Paul, New Orleans Hornets
Has there been any arguing that Paul may be the best player overall this season, let alone at his loaded position?  This kid has been absolutely unbelievable, to the point where I’m still upset that he didn’t fall to me at 2.02 in my main money league.  Take a look at these numbers: 21 ppg, 3.8 rpg, 10 apg, 2.8 spg, 48 fg%, 88 ft%.  You can’t get much better than that after you couple in the fact that he’s also good for a three per night.  If you wrote off Paul after his injury-laden sophomore season, I’m sorry because you missed the boat.  Big time.

Biggest Surprise: Jason Terry, Dallas Mavericks
You’re looking at a guy who was drafted around the 60th overall selection in nearly every draft I took part in this season.  Though he has cooled off a bit since is lightning fast start, it all counts in this here award show, so his 16 points, three rebounds, four assists, and two threes a game are enough to loft his value up the charts.  Terry has always been a great addition for fantasy owners in need of percentage help, and this season has been no different.  If the team does something crazy like trading Dirk Nowitzki before the end of the year, Terry’s value will likely change.  But until then, he has been a welcomed surprise to those who took the shot.

Biggest Bust: Kirk Hinrich, Chicago Bulls
Is there any doubting this one?  Here’s a guy that I own personally, and used a late third round pick on expecting dual-eligibility to go with a ton of stats.  Well, at least I have the dual-eligibiltiy part.  At 11 points, four rebounds and six assists per game thus far, it doesn’t look as bad as it really has been.  The good news is that Hinrich has drastically turned up his play since Scott Skiles was shown the door, so if you have held on to him through this disaster of a start, stay strong as it should be getting better from here.  It can’t get much worse.

SHOOTING GUARDS

Best Overall: Kobe Bryant, Los Angeles Lakers
I mean, you weren’t really surprised, were you?  While he hasn’t exactly been putting up 50-point games, KB24 has lived up to those that had selected him with one of the top three picks overall this season.  At 27 points, six rebounds and five assists per game, you have a solid core with which to build your entire team around.  Factor in two steals and nearly two threes a game, and there really isn’t much that he doesn’t do.  The Lakers are winning games, and this is quietly a great thing for fantasy owners as a happy Kobe is a producing Kobe.  There isn’t much more that I can say to justify this selection - he’s just that good.

Biggest Surprise: Ronnie Brewer, Utah Jazz
I could have went with John Salmons here, but Brewer has been doing his thing all year long where Salmons has been up and down for the most part - only turning it on when injuries have occurred.  Brewer is only averaging 13 points per game, but when you couple this with decent percentages, three rebounds, two assists and two steals per game and you have yourself one heck of a last round draft selection - or even waiver wire addition.  Yes, the addition of Kyle Korver in Utah may not help matters much, but once Jerry Sloan sees Kover’s defense, you’ll see Brewer back on the floor faster than you can say “Hey, isn’t that Andrei Kirilenko’s wife?”

Biggest Bust: Ben Gordon, Chicago Bulls
Assuming you didn’t do something crazy like waste a mid-round pick on someone like J.R. Smith or Larry Hughes, Ben Gordon has to be frustrating the heck out of owners to this point.  Thankfully, we have a “what have you done for me lately” mentaility with fantasy sports, and Gordon’s move to the bench has actually been a good one as dude has been lighting up the scoring table ever since Scott Skiles left town.  The down side to Gordon is that he doesn’t do much aside from scoring and three-pointers.  He’s currently listed at 106 on GMTR’s player rater, and I’m willing to bet that he was selected well before players like Carlos Delfino, Keith Bogans and Jamal Crawford - with all three being above Gordon to this point.

SMALL FORWARDS

Best Overall: LeBron James, Cleveland Cavaliers
No, this isn’t a homer selection.  I have Shawn Marion listed as a power forward, and Caron Butler is right on James’ heals.  With a league-leading 29.3 points per game to go with seven rebounds and nearly eight assists, there is no denying James’ impact on the hardwood as well as the fantasy basketball box score.  Yes, his free throw percentage isn’t up there with the Steve Nash’s of the world, but at 71 percent, it could be a lot worse.  If King James is going to continue to add two steals and a block per game, while carrying the potential to go for 40 points on any given night, he’s the number one option.  Butler has been amazing, but will he be able to keep it up when Gilbert Arenas returns?  We’ll see.

Biggest Surprise: Tie: Grant Hill, Phoenix Suns; Mike Dunleavy Jr., Indiana Pacers
This may have been the toughest decision to make thus far, just look at their stats.  Dunleavy has the nod on points, boards and threes made per game.  Hill has the slight advantage in percentages, assists, and steals with a lower turnover total.  Hill was likely drafted a bit later (if at all), but I couldn’t ignore the former Blue Devil who simply couldn’t get things going in Don Nelson’s system.  A ton of small forwards were drafted between LeBron James and these two guys, but fewer have been biggers surprises.  Feel free to argue this one in the comments.

Biggest Bust: Walter Herrmann, Charlotte Bobcats/Detroit Pistons
Last year, he was drafted in my main money league due to his player photo on Yahoo!.  He was obviously dropped later on, only to blow up at the end of the season.  Many owners were hoping for this production to continue into this year, but it obviously hasn’t been the case.  Not even close, actually.  The addition of Jason Richardson didn’t help, but maybe the trade of Herrmann to Detroit will?  It can’t hurt as he wasn’t getting much playing time as it was.  While he was likely a mid-to-late round draft pick, Walter has produced next to nothing this season.

POWER FORWARDS

Best Overall: Shawn Marion, Phoenix Suns
As good as Kevin Garnett has been, and as much as we all want to believe that Shawn Marion cannot consistently be a top producer every season, he is currently right above Garnett at the position.  Maybe we can blame it on all of the blowout wins that the Celtics have had, but Marion has the edge on threes, rebounds, offensive rebounds, steals and blocks with less turnovers.  The Big Ticket has been no slouch, and with 19 points and 10 rebounds per game, you can’t miss starting him each night out.  But those that didn’t get to select within the top three can take pride in the fact that the haven’t missed out on much - assuming they went with The Matrix at four.

Biggest Surprise: Kenyon Martin, Denver Nuggets
Feel free to add my name to the list of “experts” that thought K-Mart’s season was D-U-N, done.  At 10 points and six rebounds per game, Martin has been one of the better stories of the season thus far.  For fantasy owners, it has been even better with 1.5 steals and 1.5 blocked-shots per game.  I mean, we’re talking about a guy who has had more knee problems than Lieutenant Dan and is back on the court for another season.  He’s been a better play thus far that guys like Troy Murphy, Chris Wilcox and even Lamar Odom.  Whether or not he can keep it up is a different story, but thus far, you can’t discuss surprises without mentioning Martin.

Biggest Bust: Zach Randolph, New York Knicks
While many thought this move was great for New York simply due to Randolph’s numbers last year, those of us that play fantasy hoops knew better.  Randolph was consistently drafted in the middle rounds after his career year in Portland, and has rewarded owners with 18 points and 10 rebounds per game…and nothing else.  I take that back, he has given us less than one steal, 0.2 blocks, and three turnovers per night.  Now talk about production.  Anderson Varejao has arguably helped owners more this season and he has only played in eight games.  At least the Knicks provide humor to the league!

CENTERS

Best Overall: Marcus Camby, Denver Nuggets
Yao Ming has been excellent, but turns the ball over nearly four times per game.  Same for Dwight Howard.  Amare Stoudemire has been right there, but hey…I’m a sucker for hustle stats.  Not only does Camby deserve an award for suiting up in 26 games thus far, he has been a beast for his owners through the end of 2007, recording nine points, 14 rebounds, one steal and over three blocked shots per night.  If you had Camby in your lineup last week and didn’t win rebounds and blocks, something is wrong.  Obviously, you’ll need to address the scoring elsewhere, but there are few players that can singlehandedly win you categories - and Camby is one of them. (Editors Note: I love Howard just as much as the next guy, but with the free throw shooting and turnovers, I just couldn’t bring myself to list him here)

Biggest Surprise: Chris Kaman, Los Angeles Clippers
One could aruge that Kaman has been the best overall on the basis of hustle stats, while he provides scoring as well.  Many had Kaman written off after an awful season last year, but the absence of Elton Brand has allowed the former MAC standout to have a career resurgence.  With nearly 19 points per game to go with a bevy of rebounds (14), blocks (2.8) and solid percentages, Kaman has given owners top production from a C2 draft slot.  If you have Camby and Kaman on the same team, congratulations.

Biggest Bust: Pau Gasol, Memphis Grizzlies
While I really wanted to go with Ben Wallace here, I know people that were avoiding him like the plague from day one. Gasol was likely taken within the top 10 in your league and has struggled to keep his value in the top-50 this season.  I expected a lot more from the Spanish standout than 17 points, eight rebounds and one block per game.  Heck, Zydrunas Ilgauskas owners are almost getting that production, and Andrew Bynum owners are!  I expect Gasol to pick his game up from here out, but the trade rumors coupled with the fact that Memphis is a complete mess will not help matters much.

As I mentioned within, feel free to nominate, argue or tell me how much of a moron I am below.  Have a safe New Year’s Day.  I hope it isn’t snowing as much wherever you may be reading this…



*Yea, it is a little more than a quarter.  Its alright.