David Kay’s fantasy basketball rankings are now complete. There are several wild cards among the NBA centers as injuries make at least a handful of players have tremendous risk/reward. Check David’s Point Guard, Shooting Guard, Small Forward, and Power Forward Rankings.
1. Dwight Howard, Magic
Howard saw a dip in his scoring last season due to a drop in touches (blame Vince Carter.) Still, he is one of the best big men fantasy-wise as his rebounds, blocks, and field goal percentage are always among the league leaders. He does turn it over a lot for a big and is a terrible free throw shooter which probably drops him to an early second round pick.
Projected 2010-11 Fantasy Basketball Stats: 19.5 ppg, 13.5 rpg, 2.0 apg, 1.0 spg, 3.0 bpg, 59.5 FG%, 60.5 FT%
2. David Lee, Warriors
Lee moves from one up-tempo team to another. There are more scorers in Golden State than there were in New York, but Lee will still . He is one of the best rebounders in the league, his shooting percentages are great, and he will get you an above average amount of steal and assists for a center. I wouldn’t use a first round pick on him, but would feel very safe snagging him in the second round.
Projected 2010-11 Fantasy Basketball Stats: 19.0 ppg, 11.5 rpg, 3.0 apg, 1.0 spg, .5 bpg, 54.0 FG%, 81.0 FT%
3. Brook Lopez, Nets
Lopez averaged nearly 19 and 9 in his second season on a terrible Nets team. Imagine what he can do on a halfway decent team. It is likely Troy Murphy and Derrick Favors could take away some of his touches, but they will also make defenses account for them which will leave Lopez in more 1-on-1 situations.
Projected 2010-11 Fantasy Basketball Stats: 18.0 ppg, 9.5 rpg, 2.5 apg, .75 spg, 1.75 bpg, 52.0 FG%, 81.5 FT%
4. Tim Duncan, Spurs
I will repeat what I wrote last year, “Is this the year Duncan finally starts to break down?” He did not show his age last season by averaging almost 18 and 10 per game, but will probably see a slight dip in numbers since the Spurs frontcourt has a lot of depth and the team will want to keep Duncan healthy and fresh for the post-season.
Projected 2010-11 Fantasy Basketball Stats: 16.5 ppg, 9.0 rpg, 2.5 apg, .5 spg, 1.5 bpg, 53.0 FG%, 73.0 FT%
5. Al Horford, Hawks
Horford has always been a solid rebounder, but is really starting to make strides as a scorer which adds to his fantasy value. His shooting percentages drastically improved and he also helps you with blocks and steals.
Projected 2010-11 Fantasy Basketball Stats: 15.0 ppg, 10.0 rpg, 2.5 apg, .75 spg, 1.25 bpg, 54.0 FG%, 77.5 FT%
Check out David’s complete Fantasy Center Rankings.
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