thewizwit.com Presents...Your Fantasy Basketball Big Board

The NBA season will be in full swing in less than a week, and we have compiled a Top 50 list of players to help you get through the first 5 rounds of your fantasy draft.  If you pay attention and do as we say, you should end up with a pretty solid core of players to build upon later in the draft.  Don't be the dope who reaches 3 rounds too high for a guy or passes up a potential stud because you think you know more than you actually do.  So without further ado, here it is - thewizwit.com's 2009-2010 Fantasy Basketball Big Board.

Live by it.  Draft by it.  Win by it.

Fantasy Basketball Top 50
Rank	Player	Notes
1	Chris Paul, NO	Interchangeable with LeBron at this spot, really depends how you want to construct the rest of your team
2	LeBron James, CLE	If you need me to tell you something about him, you should probably pick another sport
3	Dwyane Wade, MIA	Proved he can stay healthy for a full year and can absolutely carry your squad
4	Kevin Durant, OKC	Up and coming star in the league, he may have stretches where he struggles with his FG %, but the rewards outweigh any risk
5	Danny Granger, IND	Another great, young up and coming star who is only getting better; his ability to block shots is a huge plus too
6	Kobe Bryant, LAL	Probably the safest #6 pick ever
7	Dirk Nowitzki, DAL	He may fall further than here in your draft, if he does it’s a nice steal; he’s not flashy or ‘fun’ but still a huge producer
8	Derron Williams, UTA	Can't get a better consolation prize as your starting PG, he'll post huge numbers
9	Dwight Howard, ORL	Bump him way down if you're in a ROTO league, you can even reach a spot or two higher than this if you're in a H2H league
10	Amare Stoudemire, PHX	With Shaq gone this team should go back to their run-and-gun ways; he does come with some injury concerns though
11	Brandon Roy, POR	Only getting better and someone I’m personally high on; would consider taking him even higher than this
12	Pau Gasol, LAL	Bump him up if you're in a ROTO league; can't get a center that provides solid numbers to the assist category
13	Chris Bosh, TOR	Hard to find a category he won’t help you in
14	Al Jefferson, MIN	Was a 20-10 machine before he went down last year, word is that he's healthy and will be ready for the start of the season
15	Andre Iguodala, PHI	The offense runs through Iggy and he helps in almost every category; he’s fringe 1st round fantasy talent
16	Chauncey Billups, DEN	Effective in all areas of the fantasy game, look to draft him as your #1 PG in the third round
17	Jose Calderon, TOR	Great %’s with few weaknesses; the addition of Turkoglu should help as well
18	Carmelo Anthony, DEN	Don’t confuse him with some of the guys in the top 10 – he can’t carry your fantasy team but get him as your second (or third if he falls) and you’ll be sitting real pretty
19	Antawn Jamison, WAS	With Arenas back his production may fall a bit, but still a great producer
20	Joe Johnson, ATL	Will complement your first few picks nicely as he contributes in multiple categories; don’t let the presence of Crawford steer you away
21	Devin Harris, NJ	The main guy on a bad team and a star in the making; lots of free throws made too
22	Steve Nash, PHX	Starting to slow down a bit, but still great source for assists and %’s
23	Caron Butler,  WAS	Helps you in every category and at this spot is a steal
24	Tim Duncan, SA	Risky because he’ll undoubtedly sit every now and then for rest – only target him in Roto leagues
25	Gerald Wallace, CHA	Injury prone, but produces when he’s able to make it on the court
26	Kevin Garnett, BOS	With a great supporting cast, his age and injury history, he’s not leaned on as much as he used to be.  Don’t live in 2006 or you’ll overpay
27	Kevin Martin, SAC	Primary scorer on a bad team means lots of offense; not much help in way of rebounds and assists though
28	Brook Lopez, NJ	You’ll probably need to take him on a reach since top centers are hard to come by but he should get even better
29	Troy Murphy, IND	Very doubtful he matches last year’s totals, but he’s center eligible and good source of 3’s and boards
30	Jason Kidd, DAL	Honestly probably wouldn’t take him here, I’m not much of fan – this is out of respect more than anything else
31	Vince Carter, ORL	Lots of mouths to feed in Orlando this year, let someone else draft him
32	Paul Pierce, BOS	Should do just about what he does every year – you know what you’re getting here
33	LaMarcus Aldridge, POR	Has improved every year and plays a ton of minutes
34	David West, NO	Chalk up 20pts, 9 rebounds, and block per game
35	Gilbert Arenas, WAS	If healthy, he could pick up right where he left off in 2007 (28ppg) and be a steal – but injury concerns will always be there
36	Rashard Lewis, ORL	Numbers should stay about what they were last year, but 20ppg or higher is unlikely with Carter eating up shots now
37	Josh Smith, ATL	Potential fantasy stud if he could get his head in the right place
38	Derrick Rose, CHI	Great young player who will only get better but my hunch is someone in your league will jump the gun on him
39	Shawn Marion, DAL	All stats have digressed the past few years; J-Kidd dishing passes could help but he’s far removed from being a first round talent
40	Ben Gordon, DET	He’ll do plenty of scoring and banging down 3’s just as he did in Chicago
41	Rajon Rondo, BOS	Think of young Jason Kidd; he will probably out-produce him in this spot so try to steal him
42	David Lee, NY	Stats probably won't get better than last year, but he's playing for a big contract in 2010
43	Andrea Bargnani, TOR	Played out of his mind after the All Star break last year; no telling which guy you’re drafting
44	Andris Biedrins, GS	Great rebounder but will kill your FT %
45	Mehmet Okur, UTA	Luxury of 3’s from your Center spot, just make sure you draft a PF who will help you in blocks b/c you’re not getting them from Okur
46	Monta Ellis, GS	Will average over 20ppgand help in the steals category
47	Jason Richardson, PHO	Overall numbers should increase over last year; played better once Terry Porter  got canned
48	Baron Davis, LAC	Risk out-weigh rewards, but if he has a bounce back you’ll be very happy
49	Carlos Boozer, UTA	Injury prone guy who seems to always miss significant time but double-double threat otherwise
50	Elton Brand, PHI	Buyer beware – another injury prone guy, very high risk/high reward

There you have it - hopefully this will help you out in your draft this year.  As I said earlier, if you used this Top 50 as a guide, you should end with a solid core of 5 players. 

Need help finding some diamonds in the rough during the later rounds?  Don't want to reach on player that might end up being a bust?  Well you're in luck. Wetz will be around later to help you out with that.

Happy drafting!