This guys made the all-star team last year. In the fantasy dome, he still has that upside people love to talk about. Agent Zero will drop mucho buckets for this team, but in J-Smoove and Crash, we have two fantasy studs who have not yet shown they can be 20 ppg scorers. And thus I passed on the remaining big men available to be taken around this point in the draft.

Round 4, Pick 7: Josh Howard, SG/SF, Dallas Mavericks

Here is last year’s entry on Howard. He is going two rounds earlier this year.

Here are J5’s stats from last year:

70 GP, 35:06 Min, 45.9 FG%, 82.7 FT%, 1.3 3pg, 18.9 ppg, 6.8 rpg, 1.8 apg, 1.2 spg, 0.8 bpg, 1.8 topg

Double counting guys like Paul Pierce, who is eligible at SG and SF like Josh, there were 14 players eligible at SG and 8 players eligible at SF taken before Josh. Way back in the summer, I alluded to crunching numbers on a spreadsheet using three forwards, three guards, and two centers from each team. Players were picked solely on having the most playing time i.e. having the opportunity for fantasy relevance. The players were then compared to everyone else at their position using a roto-style scoring system. The “top ten” guards using this selection process yield the following statistical averages.

45.2 FG%, 83.9 FT%, 22.7 ppg, 4.4 rpg, 5.7 apg, 1.5 spg, 0.4 bpg, 2.8 topg

The “top ten” forwards average out like this:

48.4 FG%, 79.5 FT%, 20.8 ppg, 8.2 rpg, 2.9 apg, 1.3 spg, 0.9 bpg, 2.1 topg

This is the 43rd pick in our draft. Somewhere between 15-20 guards and forwards each have already been taken. Yet we are able to land a guy whose point production hovers just a little below the best, whose rebounding gives you an advantage in a guard roster spot, whose assists don’t hurt you as much in a forward roster spot, and whose FT% is pretty clutch, period. His hustle stats are not game-changing in head-to-head battles but are consistent enough to add to a winning team totals. And these numbers are pretty efficient in that he does not pile on the turnovers.

Now I must utter the P-word. Potential. This guys’s star can still rise higher. He has been compared to Scottie Pippen. To reach that level, he would have to be a better distributor of the rock and drop 20 a game on the opposing team. Nevertheless, except in threes, you can match the guy who picked Rashard Lewis in the second round by waiting until the early middle rounds to grab J5.

With this stable of versatile SG/SF-eligible players who can rebound, this team can afford to add players that provide more of the guard categories (assists and treys) before drafting a lower tier center.

Peace.

Other Players on this Fantasy Team:

1.6 Gilbert Arenas, PG, Washington Wizards
2.7 Josh Smith, SG/SF, Atlanta Hawks
3.6 Gerald Wallace, SG/SF, Charlotte Bobcats

Previous Picks This Round:

1. Joe Johnson, PG/SG, Atlanta Hawks
2. Kevin Martin, SG, Sacramento Kings
3. Brandon Roy, PG/SG, Portland Trailblazers
4. Jason Richardson, SG, Charlotte Bobcats
5. Mike Bibby, PG, Sacramento Kings
6. Ron Artest, SF, Sacramento Kings

Previous Round Selections

Round One Recap
Round Two Recap
Round Three Recap