2) Pau Gasol, Los Angeles Lakers
Pau Gasol’s game really exploded once he hit Los Angeles. He was ranked highly going into the season and showed glimpses of reaching his very high potential. In coming seasons, Gasol will be a fantasy basketball force.

3) Yao Ming, Houston Rockets
If it wasn’t for injury, Yao Ming would have finished as a top-two center in fantasy basketball. His numbers weren’t as impressive as past years but Yao was very solid. However, in coming seasons, fantasy owners will be worried about whether or not he’ll ever be able to remain healthy.

4) Chris Kaman, Los Angeles Clippers
Of the centers this season, Chris Kaman was the surprise of the season. He produced at a high rate for a large portion of the year. With Elton Brand sidelined for much of the campaign, Kaman filled in nicely and produced comparable numbers.

5) Tim Duncan, San Antonio Spurs
While Tim Duncan isn’t a great fantasy player, he was a solid force this season. He doesn’t’ play a huge amount of minutes, so his days of being a dominant fantasy player is over. In real life, though, Duncan is among the best who ever played.

Tim Duncan Mix …

Post from: Expert Fantasy

Sean Williams, New Jersey Nets
Although Sean Williams had off court issues clouding his draft stock, he has shown to be a very good basketball player on the court. He’s extremely athletic and has very good timing. If he can stay on the straight and narrow, he looks to be a great find for New Jersey.

Joakim Noah, Chicago Bulls
If the Bulls continue to slip down the Eastern Conference standings, expect Joakim Noah to become a big part of their rotation in the second half of the season. He has shown good potential and there’s no reason to believe that he won’t become a solid starter in the league.

Spencer Hawes, Sacramento Kings
Although he hasn’t shown much to date, Spencer Hawes has had a few flashes of brilliance. While those flashes have been few and far between, he’s a legitimate center prospect. If something were to happen to Brad Miller, Hawes is the next in line for big minutes.

Post from: Expert Fantasy

Stromile Swift, New Jersey Nets
Always one of the most athletic players in the league, Stromile Swift is now in the perfect situation with the Nets. With Jason Kidd around to let Swift fully utilize his athleticism, there’s no excuse for Swift not to finally blossom. Kidd will allow Swift to finish alleyoops and easy dunks in the line. If Swift starts, he could put up relatively big numbers before too long.

Nenad Krstic, New Jersey Nets
Nenad Krstic is another player who has come back slowly from a knee injury. He played a bit earlier this season but he was horrible. The Nets shut him down and have brought him back slowly. Now that he’s getting playing time again, Krstic has a chance to live up to the potential he showed in his first couple seasons in the league.

Joakim Noah, Chicago Bulls
The Bulls are a disaster right now and Joakim Noah has been a part of the problem. His excitable personality has gotten him into some hot water this season. That said, he’s arguably the best bigman on the Bulls already. He should see a lot of minutes down the stretch run of the season, especially if the Bulls fall out of playoff contention.

Shaquille O’Neal, Phoenix Suns
Yes, the Big Diesel is somewhat of a sleeper in the fantasy basketball world. Most everyone runs away from the idea of picking up O’Neal. His strengths this season have been negated by his weaknesses. But if he’s available on your league’s waiver wire, you may want to think about picking him up. Shaq will be motivated to bring Phoenix a ring and his level of play should improve greatly playing next to Steve Nash.

Post from: Expert Fantasy

Amare shows off his restaurant in downtown Phoenix on NBA Life …

2) Marcus Camby, Denver Nuggets
Camby is having a dominating fantasy season. If you have him on your team, you’ve watched as he’s single-handedly carried you at times this year. While he doesn’t get much publicity, Camby is a certified star right now in the NBA. And in the fantasy world, he’s even better.

3) Yao Ming, Houston Rockets
Tracy McGrady is back and that seems to have actually helped Yao a bit. He’s getting some space to operate in the low block. This year, the biggest change in his game has been his aggression level. Now that the Rockets are actually winning games, expect Yao’s numbers to become more consistent.

4) Zydrunas Ilgauskas, Cleveland Cavaliers
Speaking of inconsistent, Ilgauskas has been all over the board this season. However, as of late he’s been on fire. He’s providing LeBron James with a perfect sidekick who can score and pass out of the post. The big Lithuanian is a streaky fantasy player but overall he’s very solid.

5) Andris Biedrins, Golden State Warriors
As long as Biedrins gets minutes, he produces very nicely. Sometimes his minutes can be erratic playing under Don Nelson but overall Nelson does a nice job of playing Biedrins. When Nelson uses a super small ball lineup, he’ll take Biedrins out – but that’s occurring less and less often.

Post from: Expert Fantasy

1) Amare Stoudemire, Phoenix Suns
Stoudemire was back to his old tricks last year with the Suns. After microfracture surgery stalled his 2005-06 campaign, he had a great bounce back performance last season. He’s only going to get better as he gets even healthier on that knee.

2) Tim Duncan, San Antonio Spurs
Duncan isn’t a great fantasy player but he can be the rock of your franchise. He’s a guy you can count on for 20 points and 10 rebounds night in and night out. While he struggles at the free throw line a bit, he can make up for it in other areas.

3) Pau Gasol, Memphis Grizzlies
After an injury plagued season last year, Gasol is healthy and ready to roll. Gasol is a still improving player who has a very good overall game. With some quality players added to the core of the Grizzlies and a coach who likes to run and gun, this could be a big year for Gasol.

4) Yao Ming, Houston Rockets
Yao would be higher on this list if it wasn’t for injury concerns. When healthy, he’s an amazingly asset to any fantasy team. He can score, rebound, block some shots and even hits his free throws. With new head coach Rick Adelman, you can expect his assist numbers to rise quite nicely.

5) Chris Bosh, Toronto Raptors
Bosh is on the cusp of becoming a superstar in the NBA. He’s an extremely talented player and he’s the piece that the Raptors are building around. There is no reason why he shouldn’t improve this season and up his numbers across the board.

6) Al Jefferson, Minnesota Timberwolves
A bit of a sleeper this year, Jefferson is going to be a boom or bust of a pick. With the Timberwolves trading away Garnett, Jefferson should see the ball as much as he wants it. Then again, he hasn’t been the most consistent player in his career as far as focus and dedication go.

7) Marcus Camby, Denver Nuggets
Camby is another player who would be higher if he didn’t miss so many games. With Camby, you know he’s going to get hurt — it’s just a matter of when. When he’s healthy, he’s a shotblocking machine with good scoring and rebounding numbers to boot.

8) Carlos Boozer, Utah Jazz
Boozer is an up-and-coming player for the Jazz. After seemingly being unable to shake the injury bug, he bounced back last season and played great at the end of the season and into the playoffs. If he can stay on the court, he’s a force in the middle for the Jazz.

9) Emeka Okafor, Charlotte Bobcats
Okafor is right on the edge of becoming a devastating player in the NBA. He has great natural skills when it comes to shotblocking and rebounding. His scoring isn’t far behind and if the Bobcats can take the next step, it’ll be Okafor leading the way.

10) Dwight Howard, Orlando Magic
While his turnovers and free throw percentage are bothersome, Howard is too much of a beast to fall out of the top ten. His low post game is getting better by the day and he’s going to pull down a boat load of rebounds. If you end up with Howard as your center, you shouldn’t be disappointed.

Post from: Expert Fantasy