Draft Picks... Part 2

Once again, players are ranked by their Yahoo O-Rank. Here we go...

52) Michael Redd - Last year rank 197. Early reports say Redd's finally healthy. But like lots of other players, Redd just seems to keep getting injured. Sure, it's always a different body part so it's not a chronic condition, but injury prone is injury prone. And even when healthy, he doesn't contribute much besides pts and 3s. At 30 years old and with the same team/system, I don't see how he can improve from his healthy numbers. Pass.

55) Rajon Rondo - Last year rank 51. Rondo absolutely exploded during the playoffs last year, averaging almost a triple double 16.9/9.7/9.8 through the playoffs. He won't rebound anywhere near that during the season, but he's improved every year of his career so far. I see no reason why he won't bump his points and assists a bit from last year's 12/8. Celtics got more help up front with the addition of Rasheed but still no legit backup PG so the minutes are all Rondo's. Solid pickup here.

58) Nene - Last year rank 22. Really wish his rebounds were higher (7.8 rpg) but he'll contribute in stls, blks, and fg%. And doesn't really hurt you anywhere else. Hopefully last year WASN'T a fluke in terms of health (77 games played). Don't read too much in to that 22 rank from last year and don't reach too far... but imho Nene's a solid pick anywhere in the 50s.

61) Charlie Villanueva - Last year rank 61. Charlie put up his stats last year with just 26 MPG. Now he's on the Pistons who basically have no other legit bigs (Kwame? Old Ben? Wilcox?). I can totally see his minutes climb into the higher 30s... which *should* mean he can only improve upon last year. Maybe not in points (14+ FGA will be hard to top with his trigger happy guards), but at least rebounds if not asts/stls/blocks as well.

63) Mo Williams - Last year rank 24. Another good pick up if you can nab him near here. Lots of pts, 3s, and solid percentages. With Shaq drawing double teams and semi-backup Delonte West in legal troubles... if anything, Mo should improve on his 2.3 3PG and 4.1 apg from last year. Even if you'd had to reach up in the 50s for Mo, he's still a great pick imho.

66) Andre Miller - Last year rank 34. First word out of Portland is that Miller will be coming off the bench. Ignore that 34 rank from last year... Miller might not have lost a step, but minutes will be hard to come by with Portland's depth. You need playtime to rack up the stats... pass on Miller.

68) Andrew Bynum - Last year rank 143. Laker bias aside, I still don't like Bynum. Sure, he'll have the occasional WOW game, but he's gonna disappoint more often than not. On top of injury risks (50 and 35 games played the last 2 seasons), the Lakers are just loaded. He's gonna be fighting Odom for minutes and sometimes they might even roll Artest out there as a four. Pass on this one.

72) Anthony Randolph - Last year rank 185. Randolph showed glimpse of his potential towards the end of the last year when he averaged an impressive 15/10 wiith 1.5 stls and 1 blks over the last 8 games of the season when given starter's minutes. He continued the trend by dominating this year's summer league. Anything can happen when Nellie's the coach, but Randolph *should* be the starter and given 30+ minutes this year. If that happens, I expect this to be an extremely good pick as Randolph can really do a bit of everything, kind of like a G-Wallace type.

73) Paul Millsap - Last year rank 56. That rank is a bit deceiving since Millsap as the starter in Utah is a top 35-40 player. However as a backup to Boozer is a top 80-90 player. So which one are you going to get? Boozer is still on the Jazz roster. The Jazz don't really want Boozer for the future, but they're not gonna just sit Boozer (that will tank his value). But waiting for a trade can wreck your team... what if a deal doesn't go down until the trade deadline? Over half the season would be gone. Avoid this mess and pass Millsap. Draft him next year.

76) Rasheed Wallace - Last year rank 53. 'Sheed's gonna be a backup in Boston this year. KG and Perkins are gonna be the starters and 'Sheed will still have Big Baby competing in minutes. Sure, 'Sheed will be the one in the game in the 4th and if KG goes down, he can get a good boost... but overall, I think it'll be hard for him to crack 28 minutes. Pass.

81) Jason Terry - Last year rank 20. On the one hand, you can think Terry's 19.6 ppg and 2.3 3PG were flukes last year (both career highs). But on the other hand... Terry has always been a SG in a PG's body and last year was the first year he played almost exclusively in the SG role (playing off PG Jason Kidd). I think Terry's points might dip a bit this year... but even 17 ppg with two 3s is fantastic value at this point of the draft. Especially considering his decent %s and low TOs. FWIW, I got him in the 8th round of my first draft his year (overall 90th pick). That was straight robbery and I consider that my best steal of the draft.

83) JR Smith - Last year rank 70. JR Smith was certainly hot at times last year and his 3pt barrages can straight win you games some weeks. Still he's suspended for the first 7 games of the season. That's 2 weeks. He ain't Rashard Lewis... you don't need or want to wait for him. Odds are, he'll get drafted but dropped for some new hotness in the first week or so, so if you really want him, you can pick him off waivers for free if you're quick about it. Pass for now.

88) Chris Kaman - Last year rank 250. Avoid, avoid, avoid. Only 31 and 56 games played in the past two seasons. And he's really only had one awesome season in his 6 year career (that 56 game 07-08 season where he avg. 15.7/12.7). With youngins Blake and DeAndre Jordan waiting on the bench... Kaman's upside is minimal and the downside is downright catastrophic. Let someone else take this gamble. Pass.

90) Wilson Chandler - Last year rank 61. The D'Antoni system is great for players and Chandler is no exception. He averaged 14.4/5.4 with a 3, steal, and a block per game last year. This will just be his 3rd year in the league so there's even more room for improvement. He's like a Marion-lite that plays the 2-3 instead of the 3-4. Even modest bumps in his stats will push him into a top 50 fantasy player. You'll probably have to reach earlier for Chandler, but he'll be worth it.

92) Luis Scola - Last year rank 64. With Yao out for the season, Scola will be expected to carry the bulk of the load upfront for the Rockets. He already averaged 12.7/8.8 last year. I think 14/10 will be an easy target for Scola and even 15/11 doesn't seem outrageous. That's damn good value this late in the draft, especially for a F/C. And he's been durable too... 82 games each the past two seasons. Again, you'll probably have to reach for him, so don't actually wait until the 90s.

95) Andrew Bogut - Last year rank 221. The rank mostly has to do with him only playing 36 games last year. He also only played 66 games in 06-07. But he did play 82 and 78 games in his other two years in the league... so I dunno if it's fair to call him injury prone yet. Still, I just can't shake that iffy feeling with Bogut. And even when healthy, he's a low double-double guy (12-10, 1 blk). That's about on par for an 80ish player... so is it really worth the injury risks with the minimal upside? I'd only draft him if you're short on Cs. If not, pass.

97) Trever Ariza - Last year rank 74. Ariza was a 24 minute role player with the Lakers but with the injury depleted Rockets, he's gonna be a 30+ minute starter and the #2-3 option on the team. Minute projects are hardly accurate, BUT just for kicks... his per 36 minutes from last year projects to 13 pts, 6 rebs, 2.5 steals and a 3. That seems pretty reasonable. And those steals will be almost enough to carry you some weeks. I say draft him.