Hoops Habit
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Fantasy Basketball: Who To Draft, Who To Avoid

By Bryan Gibberman

Oct 15, 2014; Cincinnati, OH, USA; Cleveland Cavaliers forward LeBron James (23) reacts during the second half against the Indiana Pacers at the Cintas Center. The Cavaliers defeated the Pacers 98-93. Mandatory Credit: Frank Victores-USA TODAY Sports
Oct 15, 2014; Cincinnati, OH, USA; Cleveland Cavaliers forward LeBron James (23) reacts during the second half against the Indiana Pacers at the Cintas Center. The Cavaliers defeated the Pacers 98-93. Mandatory Credit: Frank Victores-USA TODAY Sports /
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Nov 30, 2012; Memphis, TN, USA; Memphis Grizzlies center Marc Gasol (33) drives against Detroit Pistons center Andre Drummond (1) at the FedEx Forum. Memphis defeated Detroit 90-78. Mandatory Credit: Nelson Chenault-USA TODAY Sports
Nov 30, 2012; Memphis, TN, USA; Memphis Grizzlies center Marc Gasol (33) drives against Detroit Pistons center Andre Drummond (1) at the FedEx Forum. Memphis defeated Detroit 90-78. Mandatory Credit: Nelson Chenault-USA TODAY Sports /

Third Round to Fourth Round

Target

  • Point Guards – Now I start looking at point guards. The top one’s on the lists for me are Mike Conley, Goran Dragic and Eric Bledsoe. The two Suns guard are falling because of the addition of Isaiah Thomas. Dragic was ridiculously good last year and Bledsoe might have more upside than any other players in this range. They will still get their 33 to 35 minutes a night. Conley bumped up his points per game last year to 17.2 while not seeing a dip in assists. He also gets you threes, steals and a solid shooting percentage for a PG.
  • Marc Gasol – I like Gasol because he’s a cheap source of assists at a position that doesn’t produce a lot of them. He’s averaged 3.1, 4.1 and 3.9 APG the last three years. The steal a game is a nice bonus and compliments the just under 2.0 blocks well. The high 70% from the line at center is also something I like and part of the reason I prefer him to someone like Andre Drummond or DeAndre Jordan.
  • Dwight Howard – Yes, I know I just got done talking about how I prefer Gasol to Drummond or Jordan because of free throws. Watching Dwight Howard this preseason coming off his playoff performance against the Blazers if you can snag him in third round it might be too good to pass up on. I’m expecting him to have a monster season now two years removed from his back issue. He’s typically going behind the other two poor free throw shooting centers mentioned above and there’s no doubt I’d rather have Howard. I like the idea of trying to stack Howard in the third and Bledsoe in the fourth if you can pull it off.

Avoid

  • Brook Lopez – This is fairly obvious. The risk is just too strong at this point with him already dealing with another foot injury. He’s an extremely solid fantasy player when healthy, but the reward isn’t strong enough for me to pick him with the other options that are on the board.
  • Dirk Nowitizki – The great Dirk is now on his age 36 season. The last two seasons head coach Rick Carlisle has dropped his minutes to an average of 32.2 and I wouldn’t be surprised if that dipped a little bit more. Dallas has Nowitzki under contract for another three seasons and will want to protect their investment. With Chandler Parsons and Monta Ellis around the Mavs offense should be able to function pretty decently when Nowitzki is off the court. His production when playing will be strong as always, but the minutes is a real concern for me.
  • Kenneth Faried — You can see a pattern in the type of players I like and don’t like. Even if Faried hits his peak he’s not someone I take this early. Despite his reputation as a high energy player Faried has never averaged more than one steal or block per game and his per 36 numbers don’t give those categories much hope. He has also never broke 10 RPG, the free throw shooting is a negative and there’s no threes — not enough here for him to be taken this early.