C Andrea Bargnani, Toronto Raptors
Many supposed fantasy experts are touting Andrea Bargnani as a sleeper. I simply don’t agree. He’s a streaky player and with more offensive options in Toronto, I think his slice of the pie will shrink. Look at his stats last year as his ceiling for this season.

PF Kevin Garnett, Boston Celtics
Since joining the Celtics, Garnett’s stats have suffered while his winning has improved. This year, expect his stats to take another hit. Boston knows he has to be healthy in the playoffs for the team to have a shot, so that means a light regular season load for Garnett.

SF Ron Artest, Los Angeles Lakers
Ron Artest is one of the most talked about players in the NBA these days. But don’t let that fool you. He’s going to only be an average fantasy basketball player this season. His minutes will be lowered and the Lakers don’t need him to shoulder much of the burden on either end of the court.

SG Allen Iverson, Memphis Grizzlies
How many red flags do you need before you avoid Allen Iverson? He has a hamstring injury that could linger. He’s coming off of a bad year in Detroit. He’s on a young team with a lot of scorers. Let Iverson be someone else’s headache.

PG Andre Miller, Portland Trail Blazers
If you haven’t been paying attention, there’s a good chance that Andre Miller may come off the bench for the Blazers. His stats should still be good in that scenario but it definitely hurts his fantasy basketball potential in the 2009-10 NBA season.

Don't Draft Allen Iverson (Image: Zuma Press)

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If the Clippers are willing to give him that contract, Iverson could very well end up in Los Angeles. How would he fit with fantasy basketball in mind?

For Iverson, it’ll likely be as good of a fit as possible. The Clippers don’t care too much about winning and will likely allow Iverson to touch the ball early and often. He won’t have a great season but putting up 20 points per game is entirely possible.

For everyone else on the Clippers, Iverson signing on would be bad news. Iverson needs the ball to be effective and that will take shots away from others. That means that the fantasy basketball values of players like Baron Davis, Eric Gordon and Blake Griffin would have to lowered.

Allen Iverson Clippers (Image: Zuma Press)

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Even when he’s ready to play again, Iverson will be coming off the bench. The Pistons have struggled mightily since doing the Iverson for Chauncey Billups swap. The team’s trademark chemistry is missing and the selflessness of the past years is nowhere to be found.

It can’t really be a coincidence that Iverson has missed the last two games and Detroit has won both games. Especially considering that coming into those two contests, the team had lost eight straight games.

In the past, Iverson has said he doesn’t welcome the idea of coming off the bench. If he wants to protest the move, he may try to prolong the time he’s going to miss due to this back injury.

Any way you slice it, Iverson’s fantasy value has plummeted. At best, he could return in a few games and play 30-35 minutes of the bench. At worst, he becomes disgruntled and he doesn’t play for the rest of the season. Fantasy basketball owners beware.

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The new starting lineup for the Pistons will feature Rodney Stuckey at point guard, Allen Iverson at shooting guard, Richard Hamilton at small forward, Tayshaun Prince at power forward and Rasheed Wallace at center. The player who got bumped of the starting lineup was center Kwame Brown, while Stuckey is the new addition.

At first glance, obviously this new lineup is rather small. Interior defense and rebounding could very well be a problem. However, fantasy-wise this lineup should make each player a slightly more productive rebounder. In fact, Prince may see a significant rise in rebounds.

On the offensive end, this lineup change should be good for everyone. The Iverson at point guard experiment failed, as he was unable to create shots for others. Stuckey should be able to create shots and play much more like a true point guard. If Stuckey is given big minutes to go along with this promotion, he automatically becomes a fantasy relevant player. 12 points and five assists per night with some good complementary stats makes him a solid bench guard for your fantasy unit.

The other big winner is Iverson. He no longer has to worry about point guard duties and can instead go back to concentrating on scoring the basketball. Prince too may be able to hit a few more three-pointers now that he will have a bigman defending him.

If this lineup doesn’t create wins for Detroit, the next move would be re-inserting a bigman into the starting lineup and benching one of Iverson, Hamilton or Prince. Keep a close eye on the Pistons over the coming weeks to see which players are getting minutes and how their fantasy production changes.

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First of all for the Nuggets, they finally have a star point guard to build around. Every since trading away Andre Miller, Denver has struggled to find a floor general. Although Billups isn’t as good as he was a couple seasons ago, he’s still an elite point guard. Expect his fantasy basketball numbers to remain relatively the same in Denver.

The biggest winner on the Nuggets roster is Carmelo Anthony. He’ll get a lot more shots now that he doesn’t have to share with Iverson. Anthony should once again challenge for the league lead in points per game. His percentages should also improve now that he has a player to set him up. The other big winner on the Nuggets is JR Smith. He should see way more time at shooting guard and could blossom into a big time scorer who could lead the league in three-pointers made. The big loser on the Nuggets is obviously Anthony Carter, who will go from starter to limited bench player.

For the Pistons, things aren’t nearly as cut and dry. Iverson likely will first begin as the team’s point guard. But throughout his career, Iverson has struggled running the show. With so many different pieces to feed, it’s questionable whether he’ll be able to be a full-time point guard. If he can’t survive at point guard, that opens the door for Rodney Stuckey to play even more. There’s even a chance that the Pistons could opt to start Stuckey and Iverson in the backcourt and then bring Richard Hamilton off the bench. Another option is for Tayshaun Prince to become a pseudo point guard and let Iverson play off the ball.

Amir Johnson and Jason Maxiell should also see the fantasy stocks rise due to taking up more of McDyess’ minutes. However, rumor has it that McDyess may return to Detroit after a buyout – a la Brent Barry and the San Antonio Spurs last season.

Photo credit: Newscom

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Allen Iverson, Denver Nuggets
Like Bryant, Allen Iverson doesn’t score as much as he used to. That said, he might be an even better fantasy basketball player. His field goal percentage is high and so are his assist numbers. If you drafted Iverson this year, you should be happy with your investment.

Manu Ginobili, San Antonio Spurs
Manu Ginobili has always been a player who was better in the NBA than he was in fantasy basketball. But this season, Ginobili’s greatness translated to his stats as he was able to play more minutes and shoot the ball more. He was a fantasy stud this season.

Jason Richardson, Charlotte Bobcats
Fantasy owners didn’t know what to think of Jason Richardson after he was traded to the Bobcats in the offseason. Richardson did a good job of playing better than expected and was a top five fantasy basketball shooting guard in 2008.

Kevin Martin, Sacramento Kings
Although he struggled with various injuries, Kevin Martin was very good when he was healthy. He scores the ball easily, shoots great from the line and doesn’t turn the ball over much. In the coming seasons, Martin will be a really nice fantasy player – as long as he can remain healthy.

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10) Andrew Bynum, Los Angeles Lakers
Bynum has been a stud for the Lakers. He’s quickly becoming the second best player on the team and is showing huge potential. His fantasy numbers have been great as of late.

9) Kobe Bryant, Los Angeles Lakers
The Lakers’ superstar is getting it done, as well. Bryant’s scoring numbers aren’t as spectacular as they have been in the past, but he’s arguably a much better player now.

8) Jason Richardson, Charlotte Bobcats
Richardson has been a great addition to the Bobcats. He’s a quality scorer and he also brings some passing and rebounding to the game, as well.

7) Dirk Nowitzki, Dallas Mavericks
Nowitzki got off to a relatively slow start but he’s playing very well now. His fantasy numbers are once again elite.

6) Amare Stoudemire, Phoenix Suns
Stoudemire might be whining to the press too much but that’s not affecting his fantasy stats. The scary thing is he still has room to improve this season.

5) Shawn Marion, Phoenix Suns
Marion is another player who probably isn’t completely happy to be on the Suns but he’s playing well. His slow start to the season is now forgotten.

4) Caron Butler, Washington Wizards
Butler has picked up the slack from the injured Gilbert Arenas – and then some. He’s quickly developing into an NBA superstar.

3) Allen Iverson, Denver Nuggets
Iverson’s overall stats are as good as ever and he has the Nuggets winning games. Iverson has developed into the number one option in Denver, surpassing even Carmelo Anthony.

2) Marcus Camby, Denver Nuggets
Camby is healthy and extremely active. He has been a shotblocking machine over the last month, while also providing very good rebounding a good scoring.

1) Chris Paul, New Orleans Hornets
Is there really any question? Paul is doing it all and doing it extremely efficiently. In the fantasy world, Paul is having an unbelievable season that has him ranked far and away the best player in the NBA.

Chris Paul Dunk Mix

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2) Steve Nash, Phoenix Suns
As Nash ages, he seemingly just gets better. He’s getting to the age where a lot of players start to decline, but that decline hasn’t hit yet. Instead, he’s playing as good as or better than ever. His shooting is fantastic and all his other stats are very good.

3) Baron Davis, Golden State Warriors
Davis had his coming out party last year against the Dallas Mavericks in the first round of the playoffs. This year, he has continued to play at that level. Since Stephen Jackson has returned to the starting lineup, the Warriors have played much better and are now one of the hottest teams in the league.

4) Allen Iverson, Denver Nuggets
Any worries about Iverson getting old were ended earlier this week when he went for 51 points. Although the Nuggets rarely need him to score a huge amount of points, he’s still capable when asked to do so. The bad news is he’s seeing less and less time at point guard and more time at shooting guard, which could limit his assists.

5) Jason Terry, Dallas Mavericks
Terry has moved back to the starting lineup with Eddie Jones out injured. He was playing really well off the bench and has continued to stellar play as a starter. He’s not going to give you a huge amount of assists, but he can score, shoot for good percentages and he doesn’t turn the ball over.

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1) Chris Paul, New Orleans Hornets
Paul was regarded highly in the preseason – but not this highly. He’s easily been the best point guard in fantasy basketball and it hasn’t even been close. The only thing that has slowed him down recently was an injury. As long as Paul remains healthy, he’s a stud.

2) Chauncey Billups, Detroit Pistons
Compared to last year, Billups is playing much better. His points and assists are up, as are his field goal percentage, three-point percentage and free throw percentage. Just as importantly, his turnovers are down and his steals are up. Billups has been great so far this season.

3) Steve Nash, Phoenix Suns
Nash has been very good so far this season. The only thing that keeps him from being in the top two are his turnovers (four per game). Other than that, he’s been flawless. All his shooting percentages are up (he hasn’t missed a free throw yet this season). Nash is about as solid as it gets.

4) Baron Davis, Golden State Warriors
Davis was great last year in the playoffs when the Warriors took down the 67-win Dallas Mavericks. This year, he’s built on that performance and is having a career best year. Davis is averaging a career-high in points and rebounds, while he’s getting more assists than he averaged last year.

5) Allen Iverson, Philadelphia 76ers
With Steve Blake lost to free agency and Chucky Atkins injured, Iverson has played a lot of time at point guard this season. He’s responded by putting up very solid numbers. While his turnovers are a little high, the rest of his numbers are very solid.

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1) Kevin Garnett
If you have Garnett on your team, you have to be happy with his production. He’s giving you production in every category except three-pointers. There’s a great chance he finishes in the top three this season.

2) Shawn Marion
Although Marion had a tumultuous summer, his fantasy game is as good as ever. Even though his free throw percentage is down a bit, he’s still near the top like usual. Once his free throw percentage improves, he could very well move into the top spot.

3) Chris Paul
Paul was projected to be really good but he’s been amazing so far. Other than blocked shots, Paul gives you everything you could want. His free throw percentage is great, he’s hitting three-pointers now and he’s an assist machine.

4) Jason Terry
Terry comes off the bench for the Mavs but he looks amazingly comfortable in that role. He’s giving you a bit of everything, while at the same time he’s not turning the ball over. Don’t expect him to remain a top five player, but he could finish in the top 25.

5) Kobe Bryant
Bryant’s scoring is down a tad and his turnovers are rather high, but other than that he’s doing a great job in the fantasy world. Obviously a trade could have a huge impact but as of now, expect Bryant to remain around this area in the rankings.

6) Manu Ginobili
Ginobili is giving a bit of everything this year. He’s bound to cool off sooner or later but so far this season, he’s been a huge steal. It’s extra amazing to consider he’s ranked this high while not only coming off the bench, but also not even playing that many minutes.

7) Allen Iverson
Since his field goal percentage is high and his turnovers aren’t as bad as we’ve seen out of him in the past, Iverson is playing at a top ten level right now. He’s streaky so his field goal percentage should dip but so far, so good for Iverson owners.

8) Kevin Martin
Martin is having a fantastic season. He improved greatly last year and seems to be taking yet another step this year. He’s a talented scorer that is a dark horse to lead the league in scoring this year. He’s definitely a fantasy player to have on your side right now.

9) LeBron James
James is putting up sick numbers across the board. The only reason why his ranking is lower than expected is his free throw percentage is a bit low and his turnovers are a bit high. If he can correct that, he could surge up the rankings with the way he’s playing.

10) Rashard Lewis
Orlando’s big offseason acquisition is paying off so far. He’s shooting the ball really well and is producing well in most every category. It’ll be hard for him to live up to the contract he got from the Magic, but this is a good start.

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