| RotoFreak.com: Denver Nuggets Fantasy Preview Authored by Craig Huffman - October 22, 2006 - 5:45 pm
| Current Featured Columns | | Breaking Down The 2nd Round After a somewhat surprising first round of the 2008 NBA playoffs, we find ourselves with even better match-ups in the Round of Eight.
Prospect Report: Brook Lopez Of StanfordFor a team looking for a well-developed offensive game at center, Brook Lopez is the 2008 Drafts best option.
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Marcus Camby Marcus only needs 30 mpg to reach the top 15 in fantasyland, and he can thank those tremendous rebound, steal and block totals for that. Unfortunately, not even his 9-cat ways or center eligibility can make him that desirable come draft time... one only needs to look at his games played totals over the course of his career to realize the risk involved. And he's turning 33 this spring. So, good ole Cotton Camby can never be relied upon; however, he can give your defensive stats a shot in the arm in roto leagues, and if he can stay healthy for that fantasy playoff run, he'll be money in h2h play. The latter certainly carries quite a bit of risk, especially if the Nuggets have locked up a playoff spot in that weak NorthWest division; so, we took his h2h value down a notch. He's still worth a pick in the 35 to 45 range in drafts, though. Just cross your fingers and say a small prayer to the Fantasy God's after drafting him.
Andre Miller He's a terrific passer and Karl will be yelling at him to push the ball even more this year; so, that bodes well for Andre's assists. His steal numbers have declined for three consecutive years, he's out of shape coming into training camp, his FT% dropped by 10 percent last year, and he has no outside shot. So, he's not a mid-round sleeper by any means. The assists, decent point totals, solid defensive stats and guaranteed minutes do give him top 65'ish value, though. And he gets a slight boost in h2h leagues because of that playoff schedule. So, that's the range that we're looking at him. If he can get his FT% back on track, he might give you a little extra value. A consistent and reliable option at the point, nonetheless.
Kenyon Martin His day-to-day status all of last year was enough to sever any and all fantasy basketball relationships. His postseason blowup with Karl over a lack of minutes and even more big men surrounding him this year doesn't help his hype coming into this season either. The top-30 status left when he bolted Jersey, and microfracture surgery and mpg concerns make the top-70 stuff he showed in 04-05 unlikely as well. But he spent the entire offseason resting his knees, and his relationship with Karl is apparently mended. We don't necessarily believe all of that; however, KMart is the subject of trade talks, he's surrounded by injury prone big men, and his knee is getting stronger. So, we're ranking him around the 105th pick, which is about 20 spots lower than he's being drafted in most leagues. Obviously, a risky pick and a sure sell-high candidate if he comes out of the gates strong, but there could be decent return on investment here if the cards fall right.
Nene Hilario Nene had one of the most spectacular NBA seasons known to man last year, lasting a whole 2.6 minutes into the season before tearing up his knee. We haven't seen enough of him to realize his fantasy upside. We do know that his steal totals are tremendous for a big man, and that his percentages are decent. There are questions surrounding his turnover and block totals, though... and he's still not over that torn ACL. So, the injury risk is still high, the mpg potential doesn't appear to be there considering Denver's depth down low, and his fantasy NBA potential is questionable. We've got him in at a 120th ranking; however, we suggest letting him falling 10 to 20 spots below that in your draft. Since he might not even be available to start the season, if you really want him, you likely acquire him cheap via trade.
JR Smith He's the frontrunner for the starting SG spot because of that 3pt shot (which draws some attention away from Melo); but, Kleiza, DerMarr and Diawara are still in the mix. Basically, his mpg will be decided by what he shows on the defensive end. Not exactly a prime break-out situation for the high-flying 20-year-old, but he has top-100 potential if the minutes stick. Since it's an uphill battle for minutes in the best of times and a trade could send him into fantasy oblivion, we're playing it cautious this year (ranking him around the 140th pick).
Earl Boykins He relies on his speed and, at 30 years old, that won't last too much longer. His size will always make him a liability on the defensive end too. So, the mpg are limited and he appears to be on the fantasy decline. If Miller goes down, we'll jump on his bandwagon, but as of now, he's not worth much more than the 150th pick.
Reggie Evans He's insurance down low and isn't good for anything outside of rebounds. At this point, he'll be lucky to be drafted in 20-team leagues; so, unless serious injuries occur at the 4/5 in Denver, he won't be on our radar.
Joe Smith His jumper is reliable; so, if nobody provides that consistent perimeter threat at the 2, we might see some spot minutes from Joe. He's stuck searching for minutes alongside Reggie, Najera and Kleiza, though... so, he should go undrafted.
Linas Kleiza He's been getting some starts at the 2 in the preseason; however, he's too big to effectively guard the position. We'll keep a distant eye on him, just in case. But we don't see much potential at this moment.
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