Rookie Fantasy All-Star Team

With All-Star games commercials in full run, balloting updates, and mid-season reports popping up everywhere, today we'll display our Rookie Fantasy All-Star team. The starting 5 of rookies that are having the most productive first half rookie campaigns for fantasy owners. (and yes, we cheated a little bit on the positions, but hey, its an all-star team):



PG - Mike Conley, Memphis Grizzlies (11.0 Fantasy ppg (Fppg), 8.9 ppg, 5.0 apg, 44.4% FG)

The number 4 overall pick has finally started to produce like a top 5 pick after starting the season, laboring through a hurt shoulder. Now that the shoulder is apparently fully healed, Conley is a player who should already be rostered in most 12-team leagues. He's only so low on the player rater because of all the time he missed due to a bum shoulder. Conley is smart enough not to take too many bad shots and totally ruin your field goal percentage, and is outstanding at getting others involved. And he does so while keeping turnovers to a minimum. If you're in a league in which assist-to-turnover ratio is a category, he's a great option going forward, possibly as good as any rookie not named Kevin Durant.

SG- Juan Carlos Navarro, Memphis Grizzlies (14.0 Fppg, 15.8 ppg, 3.4 rpg, 2.8 apg, 50.9% FG)


Navarro has had pockets of fantasy greatness this season, especially when called upon to start. In 11 starts, he's averaging 16.5 points, 3.4 assists and 3.0 3-pointers per game. He's worth having on the roster for the 3s alone, whether he's starting or not, but what also makes him pleasant to own are his friendly shooting percentages which, combined with his 3-point prowess, have him ranked higher than players like Josh Childress and Carlos Delfino on the player rater.


SG/SF - Kevin Durant, Seattle Supersonics (13.8 Fppg, 19.5 ppg, 4.2 rpg, 40.5% FG)

Yes, i know there is a previous article on this site about Durant's disappointing NBA start, but that is only in relation to all the decoration and build up coming out of Texas. Durant's 40 percent mark from the field does almost twice the damage to his overall rating that his 86 percent from the charity stripe does to help him. His scoring and shot-blocking will help keep him in the top 75 all season, but he'll have to shoot much better or start rebounding like he's back in Austin to become a top-50 threat anytime soon.

PF - Al Horford, Atlanta Hawks (15.4 Fppg, 8.9 ppg, 9.7 rpg, 1.1 bpg, 45.6% FG)

The number three pick has been playing like it all season. Averaging 31 mpg in starting 33 of the Hawks 37 games, he leads the team in rebounds. Ranked in the fantasy top 20 for PF Horford is a more then solid fantasy rookie. But his lack of 3s and assists are what keep him down on the rater. What you see from the former Florida Gator is what you get. He should be expected to continue to produce at the same rate the rest of the way, unless he hits the dreaded rookie wall, of course.

C- Sean Williams, New Jersey Nets (11.7 Fppg, 7.6 ppg, 5.4 rpg, 35% FG)

Yes, he is listed as a PF, but at 6-10 235 pounds, the rookie out of Boston College can start at the 5 on this rookie team. Averaging 7.6 ppg, 5.4 rpg and 2 blocks in 21 minutes a night, Williams has usually been solid when seeing action. Taking in the mid first round, he has been just as productive, and perhaps more consistently, then lottery selections Spencer Hawes of the Kings, and Yi Jianlian of the Bucks. With equal numbers, and at a lower value (for FastBreak GMs) Williams is our selection to round the front court of this rookie fantasy all-star team.

Mid Season Stock Watch

As teams reach the halfway point of their schedules this week, here is just a quick look a how a handful of NBA superstars stock as changed over the first half of the NBA season:

Pau Gasol, C, Memphis
Prior to the season we told you Gasol would be the No. 2 Fantasy center this year behind Orlando's Dwight Howard. Following a slow start, Gasol is finally living up to the hype. Over the past 14 days Gasol is averaging 23.4 points and 11.4 rebounds, a span of eight games. He has also recorded four double-doubles in his past five outings. If this type of production continues, Gasol will finish as one of the most dominant centers in the league.

Dwyane Wade, G, Miami
Wade put many Fantasy owners at ease when he recently said he has no plans to shut it down this season -- at least any time soon. With the Heat last in the Eastern Conference and with Wade still not 100 percent following offseason knee and shoulder surgeries, there was some talk about the guard taking time off this year to be at full strength next season. But Wade said, "To say shut it down right now is a joke." That means Fantasy owners can count on Wade, who is averaging 24.1 points, 6.8 assists and 4.1 rebounds, to finish out the year strong, as evident by his 42 point performance on MLK night against the Eastern Champs Cavs.

Nate Robinson, G, New York
With Stephon Marbury (ankle) possibly shutting it down for the season, Robinson could see a tremendous boost in value. And he's playing well recently with Marbury in and out of the lineup. Through eight games in January, Robinson is averaging 16.5 points and 3.9 assists in 30.5 minutes per game. He has scored in double figures in 12 of his past 13 games. He is worth using as a No. 3 Fantasy guard at this time, and you might consider trading Robinson to any Marbury owners if his season is over.

Andrew Bogut, C, Milwaukee
Bogut's play has been inconsistent at times this season, but he's playing well recently. Through the first five games in January, Bogut is averaging 15.6 points and 9.4 rebounds with two double-doubles. Part of his boost in production is Bucks guard Michael Redd (thigh) has missed four of those games. You should definitely be starting Bogut in all Fantasy leagues, but it might be a good idea to try and trade Bogut now while he's hot. Once Redd returns, Bogut's production could tapper off.

Emeka Okafor, C, Charlotte
His season averages (12.7 points, 10.2 rebounds) are down below career lows. He's in a slump right now, so hopefully he will snap out of it. He's also losing time and production to newly acquired center Nazr Mohammed, and when the Bobcats made the trade to get Mohammed is when Okafor's slump started.


Vince Carter, G, New Jersey
Carter's scoring (21.1) and rebounding (5.2) is already down from last season, when he averaged 25.2 points and 6.0 rebounds. Now he's in a funk, at least for Carter, he will likely come around in the second half as he is known to do, and start scoring at a higher rate, but right now his value has taken a hit with his recent play.


Ray Allen, G, Boston
Allen is already having his worst season since 1998, when he averaged 17.1 points with Milwaukee. He is at 17.6 points now and is struggling recently while dealing with a pinched nerve in his neck. We knew Allen's point production would decrease with the move to Boston, but hopefully he can rebound from his recent slump and finish the season strong.

Durant No Fantasy Stud......Yet...

NBA Rookie sensation, Seattle Supersonics F Kevin Durant, has been tough to own in fantasy this season. Most rookies wrestle with inconsistency, but the 2007 consensus national player of the year and the first freshman to ever win the Naismith and Wooden awards was expected to be a more productive then he in his inaugural season.

Yes, he is on a team loaded with young talent, the centerpiece of an offense, but which also makes him the centerpiece of opposing team's nightly defense strategy. But the most worrying fact is that he has essentially failed to utilize one of his greatest assets to help him get on track when his perimeter shot isn't falling (which has been quite often): attacking the basket with his 7-foot-4 wingspan.

In 17 of 36 games this season, Durant has shot 35 percent or worse from the field. Some blame that on the fact that he's playing shooting guard, but that's a poor excuse. There are plenty of 2s in the NBA that utilize their strength, length, or both, in the post because it gives them their best chance for a high-percentage shot.

Even if his lack of strength is getting him pushed off the block, there is no one that guards him, that should ever get a piece of one of his turnaround jumpers, jump hooks in the lane or fadeaways along the baseline. His game is more diverse than he's shown thus far, which is what has been the biggest disappointment.

Even more disappointing, and even embarassing, Durant grabbed fewer than six rebounds just once during his one season in Austin, which spanned 35 games. In his first NBA season, he's grabbing only 4.2 boards per night in 33.3 minutes. Even more emabarssing, New York Knicks' 5-foot-9 guard Nate Robinson, has OUT rebounded Durant on the offensive glass this, 26-22, in 459 fewer minutes!

There's no question Durant will get better, as he better understands how teams are defending him and makes the proper adjustments. But until then, he is a player who can hurt your team more than he helps it.

I AM KING

I am the King of Fantasy. Welcome to my blog: The Fantasy King, where I will aim to bring you insightful knowledge, facts, trends, projections and logical opinion in the world of Fantasy Sports (specializing in NFL, and NBA).