With the NBA season right around the corner it’s time to look at one of the most important positions in fantasy basketball the center. Centers are usually a total hit or miss as they are prone to injuries and there really isn’t that many elite centers in this age of basketball.
5. Rudy Gobert:
Gordon Hayward departing in free agency hurt and helped Rudy Gobert’s draft stock. On one hand Gobert doesn’t have the elite passer and playmaker that Hayward provided to get him open for easy buckets. On the other, now that he’s gone, Gobert is option one, two and three.
The Utah Jazz have literally none besides Gobert they signed Ricky Rubio and Jonas Jerebko so yeahh…. But needless to say Rudy will see plenty of touches this year in Utah.
4. Hassan Whiteside:
After a solid season last year averaging 14 boards and 17 points I think Whiteside will be able to improve his offense and average around 15 rebounds and 20 points a game.
With another year to build chemistry with Goran Dragić and Justice Winslow, I think the Heat and Whiteside will both show improvement and be easily make the playoffs in the sad Eastern Conference.
Don’t spend a first round pick on Miami’s big guy but look for him in the late second to early third rounds.
3.Nikola Jokic:
The big guy from Serbia improved in literally every single stat from his rookie season averaging 16.7 points and 9.8 rebounds. Nikola has always excelled on the free throw line where many other centers struggle which nets him an extra five or six points a game.
He was actually fifth out of the entire NBA in 2-pt field goal percentage (.628), sixth in overall field goal percentage and eighth in basketball-reference’s player efficiency rating.
With Denver signing Paul Millsap, trading for Mason Plumlee and keeping Kenneth Faried the Nuggets have a lot of size. This should take some boards away from Jokic but his offense ability will most surely make up for it
2. DeMarcus Cousins
Cousins has always been a dominate fantasy commodity every year he has been in the league. I have always been a huge fan of Boogie and except him to shatter expectations this year and make the Pelicans a force to be reckoned with.
His average draft position according to basketballrefrence.com is 14.29. This is spot on if your considering a drop in rebounds and points being with Anthony Davis for the full year.
Overall I may have Cousins a little high but still think he can be a top 15 fantasy player this year.
1. Karl-Anthony Towns:
For the number one pick in fantasy basketball there is only three people that are in the conversation and Karl-Anthony Towns is certainly in that discussion.
It’s basically between Russell Westbrook, Karl-Anthony Towns and James Harden for best overall fantasy player. With the addition of Jimmy Butler the T-Wolves are in prime position for a playoff run and expect Towns to be extra motivated this year.
One great thing about Towns is that he has not missed a game in his career and was second in the NBA in minutes played last season. So you know your getting someone who is hungry to compete every single night.
Last year I had the number one pick in my fantasy league and chose Rusell Westbrook but now its actually up for debate who deserves the #1 pick this year.
Featured Photo by Denverstiffs.com
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