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Yao Ming
Similar to the NBA game, if you have top-notch options at the five spot, you have a strong chance for success in fantasy play. Gone are the days of Patrick Ewing, Hakeem Olajuwan and David Robinson dominating fantasy leagues by their extraordinary play. Here and now, the center position has to call in reinforcements from the power forward spot to boost its profile. Make sure you look out for forwards who might acquire center eligibility during the season; having that happen to one of your players might be like holding a winning lottery ticket.

The four staff members at Dropping Dimes were asked to rank the top 25 at each position. The top player received one “point,” the second player received two points, etc. Players who were not in the top 25, but thought to be able to crack the top 25 at some point in the season were given a value of 30. Players not on the radar were given a value of 40. The average ranking is listed in parentheses after the player’s team name.

Click to continue reading Dropping Dimes’ Position Rankings: Centers


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Lebron James
Good fantasy teams ask this from their small forwards. 1) Be a main scorer for the team. 2) Shoot enough threes, dish the rock and grab those steals to help out the guards on the team. 3) Hit the boards and block some shots to support the big men on the roster. 4) Everything else being equal, shoot good percentages from anywhere on the court.

It seems like a tall order, and only the superstars are able to do all of the above. That is why several players from this position will be drafted in the first two rounds despite the large number of viable options. In reality this position is even deeper than listed below, but some players were put at shooting guard and others at power forward.

The four staff members at Dropping Dimes were asked to rank the top 25 at each position. The top player received one “point,” the second player received two points, etc. Players who were not in the top 25, but thought to be able to crack the top 25 at some point in the season were given a value of 30. Players not on the radar were given a value of 40. The average ranking is listed in parentheses after the player’s team name.

Click to continue reading Dropping Dimes’ Position Rankings: Small Forwards


Tony Parker

His social life has been getting more press than his game. Before you start questioning his sanity, consider that he might know what things look like behind the scenes. Warning to those who do not care what the gossip hounds are spitting and wish to just keep the focus on hoops; there is not anything vulgar waiting for you if you click the link, but it certainly is only very peripherally hoops-related. Let us get back to business.

Round 6, Pick 5: Tony Parker, PG, San Antonio Spurs

Click to continue reading Dropping Dimes Draft Blog: Round 6, Pick 5


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The NBA Draft of 2003 is commonly known as the Lebron James/Carmelo Anthony/Dwyane Wade draft. Great talents like Chris Bosh, Kirk Hinrich, Chris Kaman were also drafted in the same class of 2003. It was the best draft in recent years. Do you remember the last player chosen in the first round in 2003?  If you guessed Josh Howard, you are correct. Like the fat kid getting chosen last for the dodgeball team in gym class, Josh Howard was the underdog. Fast-forward 3 years and Josh Howard is now an integral part of the Dallas Mavericks.

Round 6, Pick 4: Josh Howard, SG/SF, Dallas Mavericks

Click to continue reading Dropping Dimes Draft Blog: Round 6, Pick 4


Gilbert ArenasThough seemingly very deep, this year’s fantasy drafts could easily see four point guards go off the board within the first 12 selections.  The top tier of this season’s point guard class is obviously one that not only drops dimes at will, but also dominates in another category or two (whether they be scoring buckets, swiping rocks, or draining three-balls).  This breakdown should not only give an idea as to what to expect from the top point men this season, but also to show that if you aren’t lucky enough to land one of the top five, your team will be sufficiently staffed with any of the top 25 mentioned here.  We’re also starting to see an emergence of a “Point Guard by Committee” on a few teams, which may hurt the value of a few guys. 

Without further ado, your 2006 fantasy basketball point guards.

(Note: DroppingDimes.com’s overall rank in parenthesis)

Click to continue reading DroppingDimes’ Position Rankings: Point Guards


Manu GinobiliRound 5, Pick 10: Manu Ginobili, SG, San Antonio Spurs

Fantasy offseasons are all about pegging breakout players from year-to-year.  After a stellar campaign two seasons ago, Manu Ginobili was seen going in the second and early third rounds last season.  This level of draft position left many owners disappointed after there was an unexpected drop in Ginobili’s minutes, to less than 30 a game (27.9).  This decrease in minutes attributed to a decrease across the board in nearly all fantasy categories… for the regular season.

Now, as we look at how Ginobili was used in the postseason, we saw an increase to 35 minutes a game against the Mavericks, including a foul-plagued 27 minute contest.  And how did he respond when given the floor time?

Click to continue reading Dropping Dimes Draft Blog: Round 5, Pick 10


Jason Terry Round 4, Pick 9: Jason Terry, PG, Dallas Mavericks

With the forward positions taken care of in a very nice fashion (Garnett and Lewis), along with a solid all-around center in Rasheed Wallace, I decided that it was time to tackle one of the guard positions.  Jason Terry may not lead the league in any categories, might not have a shoe you’ll recognize from the sidewalk, or even make an appearance on MTV’s Cribs… but you know what he does have? 

Three words:  Nationally.  Televised.  Games. 

You’re probably saying, “Sarge, what the HECK are you talking about?”

Well, allow me to share my thoughts…

Click to continue reading Dropping Dimes Draft Blog: Round 4, Pick 9


Peja Stojakovic
Round 4, Pick 5 Peja Stojakovic, SF, New Orleans Hornets

Thanks Al for the write up on Stephon Marbury! Just wanted to give you another outlet to express your man-crush. Now it is my turn to write about my fiancée’s crush on Peja Stojakovic for Al’s team. Just proves to show that chicks dig the long ball.

Peja Stojakovic is one of the best shooters in the NBA. It is no fluke that he is the two-time All Star 3-Point Shooting Contest winner (’02-’03).  He sports a mean 5 o’clock shadow that is reminiscent of the cowboys in the old spaghetti westerns, so imagine Peja with a cowboy hat, cowboy boots with spurs, poncho, rifle, and a six shooter, and you know he could totally pull it off. In the off-season, Peja the gunslinger for hire was signed to 5-year $64 million contract with the Hornets to ride shotgun with Chris Paul. Peja and Chris can be the modern day Butch Cassidy and Sundance Kid with Peja playing Butch and Chris playing the Sundance Kid…wait hang on. Chris Paul is not white. (Check out Sarge‘s color blind article) ;o)

Click to continue reading Dropping Dimes Draft Blog: Round 4, Pick 5


Gerald Wallace with the flush!Okay, so we all pretty much know which NBA ballers will be going in the first two rounds of our fantasy basketball drafts – the Marions, the Jameses, the Garnetts, and Nashes.  The first two rounds should pretty much be a walk in the park, other than wondering about a few players coming off of injuries – Tracy McGrady, Andrei Kirilenko, and Yao Ming.  But, these players have so much upside and are so established as difference makers, there’s no question they’ll go in the first two rounds in most leagues, except in our DD Draft Blog: Round OneRound Two.  Sorry, Tracy.  But, you know what?  We were probably thinking too much.

In any case, what about those unheralded players that are on the cusp of studhood?  Players that will come off the draft board starting in the third round and probably no later than the fourth and maybe fifth round?  Who are those players going to be? 

Don’t worry, I got you with this.  I can’t give away all of my secrets, but check out the following seven players.  All things considered, such as position eligibility and upside I think these players could potentially put up first and second round value, or at the very least a round ahead of where they’d probably be drafted.

NOTE: Since we’re still in the middle of our DD draft, I won’t be going into great detail here since I don’t know how the draft will unfold and I may end up getting one of these guys, in which case I’d just copy and paste what I wrote and that would be just plain lazy on my part.  Worse yet, I may plant a seed in my DD brothers-in-blogging to draft one of the following players because I made a compelling argument.

Click to continue reading The Psuedo Studs of Fantasy Basketball


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Round 3, Pick 2: Tracy McGrady, SG/SF, Houston Rockets

What image do you remember the most of Tracy McGrady? Do you have the image of T-Mac as the slasher and ferocious dunker like the picture of him dunking on Shawn Bradley or do you remember the image of him being wheeled out on a stretcher? Fantasy owners of T-Mac last year were crippled by the 35 games missed due to back spasms.

How can you replace 24.4 points, 6.5 boards and 4.8 assists per game?

It should not be a surprise this year to see T-Mac drop into the 2nd round or, in the Dropping Dimes Draft Blog, the 3rd round because of the injury risk factor. Is drafting T-Mac a smart gamble or is it going to hurt like a Jackass prank? Should you take a safer player available like Mike Bibby? Let’s take out the calculators and do some risk analysis! 

Click to continue reading Dropping Dimes Draft Blog: Round 3, Pick 2


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