The Fig Cap: “WOO HOO!  Patrick is writing about ME!”

GUEST BLOGGER: Patrick Madden from Give Me The Rock

“I don’t get no respect!! That’s the story of my life, no respect, ya know?”

Antawn Jamison: Olympics bronze medal winner, NBA Sixth Man of the Year, one time NBA All-Star. 

It’s the perfect byline for a team’s second banana. Jamison is the Jackie Chan to Gilbert Arenas’ Chris Tucker. He’s Danny Glover’s Roger Murtaugh to Mel Gibson’s Martin Riggs. If the Wizards were the Jackson Five, Jamison would be Jermaine Jackson. If they were an 80’s television show, Jamison would be Ricardo Tubbs. 

You get the idea, I hope. Agent Zero gets the accolades, the media attention, the awards, the swag, the NBA 08 Live video game cover, the million dollar birthday parties, the blog, the professional Halo team, and the Hibachi. Even Jamison’s catch phrase seems like the boy wonder version of Arenas’. According to the Washington Post, Jamison calls out “Fiji” after every jump shot he makes. Ah, you might want to stop that immediately Antawn.

Round 5, Pick 1: Antawn Jamison, SF/PF, Washington Wizards

While Arenas is lavished with attention for his role on and off the court, by all accounts it’s the talented but under-the-radar Jamison who is just as integral to the Wizards’ recent success. As Jamison demonstrated in the playoffs, he has the ability to single handedly take over games. With both Arenas and Caron Butler sidelined, he averaged 32 points, 10 rebounds, and over two threes in four playoff games against Cleveland.*

Here are Jamison’s stats over the last three years:

2004-05: 68 G; 38:17 Min; 43.7 FG%; 1.0 3PTM; 76.0 FT%; 7.6 RPG; 2.3 APG; 1.7 TO; 0.8 SPG; 0.2 BPG; 19.6 PPG
2005-06: 82 G; 40:06 Min; 44.2 FG%; 1.8 3PTM; 73.1 FT%; 9.3 RPG; 1.9 APG; 1.7 TO; 1.1 SPG; 0.2 BPG; 20.5 PPG
2006-07: 70 G; 38:00 Min; 45.0 FG%; 2.0 3PTM; 73.6 FT%; 8.0 RPG; 1.9 APG; 1.5 TO; 1.1 SPG; 0.5 BPG; 19.8 PPG

What will Jamison give you? Well, he’s fairly durable for starters. The three-year spread above doesn’t do him justice. Since 2000, he’s averaged exactly 78.28571 games a year (you know it’s exact because of all the decimal places). On the downside, he did miss 12 games a year ago because of a sprained left knee and, at 31, he is approaching the point where everyone is required to call him “old.” 

Offensively, Jamison can score from both the post and perimeter. He has turned himself into a pretty big three-point threat (2.0 threes a game last year was a career high) and he has ability to beat larger defenders off the dribble, which spreads the floor and creates open shots for the rest of the team. He also has a great vertical which helps him on the glass. A guy who can get you 20 and 8 with two threes a game? In the fifth round? Sign me up. 

But there is a reason why he’s being drafted in the fifth round instead of the second. First, Jamison is not a great passer. For one of the team’s main offensive weapons to average 1.9 assists a game is weak. Quickly, here are some other players I found who averaged 1.9 assists a game last year: Sean May, Keith McLeod, Jordan Farmar, and Damien Wilkins. For an All-Star, it’s not exactly a group you want to be associated with. Also, Jamison is the Wizards’ least effective player defensively because he’s really not that aggressive on the floor. His steals are decent but his lack of aggressiveness puts him on the lower end of power forwards in terms of blocks, especially considering how well he rebounds. When you look at what he did in the playoffs, it seems like he’s not always playing up to his maximum ability.

So, how does Jamison fit on this team?

I love Team 1 because they are set up exactly the same way I play fantasy basketball. With the addition of Jamison, the team is giving a big FU to the roto gods and trying to annihilate the other teams in a few categories. They are gunning for the top spot in points, rebounds, and threes. Plus, their steals and field goal percentage are going to be decent. You can’t have it all, though, and in order to rank up the counting stats, Team 1 clearly is tanking in free throw percentage. They don’t have a single player who finished last season above 80% from the line and James and Boozer both had percentages under 70%. Also, LeBron is currently the top shot blocker on the team (at 0.7 blocks a game), so the addition of a shot blocker or two will have to be addressed later in the draft. 

* Please ignore the fact that the Wizards were swept out of the playoffs, it does nothing to support my case.

Other Players on this Fantasy Team:
1.1. LeBron James, SF, Cleveland Cavaliers
2.12. Carlos Boozer, PF/C, Utah Jazz
3.1. Paul Pierce, SG/SF, Boston Celtics
4.12. Mehmet Okur, PF/C, Utah Jazz

Previous Round Selections
Round One Recap
Round Two Recap
Round Three Recap
Round Four Recap