Position Primer: Center
By Matt Buser, Yahoo! Sports Oct 8, 7:14 pm EDT
Position Primers: PG | SG | SF | PF | C
This is the last in a series of fantasy basketball position primers in preparation for the 2008-09 season. In the five primers, we will examine the statistical production fantasy owners should expect in general from players at each position, discuss a general draft strategy for each, and break down players by tiers.
Average Stats
Note: The stat averages listed below are the combined averages of the top 25 players at the position in season-ending “Rank” from each of the past three seasons.
| POS | FG% | FGA | FT% | FTA | 3PTM | PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TO | Rank |
| C | .509 | 824 | .720 | 331 | 0.24 | 14.6 | 9 | 1.9 | 0.75 | 1.45 | 1.95 | 57 |
This position no doubt falls in line right with your expectations – it has its big-man strengths (tops in FG%, REB, BLK) and big-man weaknesses (last in FT%, PTS, AST, STL).
Draft Strategy
Thanks in large part to FC-eligible players, C is a top-heavy position and you’ll need to use one of your first two picks to end up with one of the players in the top tiers. Things get a bit thinner after that but there isn’t exactly a shortage of talent when it comes to drafting a C2. One thing that you should keep in mind is the tendency for drafts to have at least a few runs at the position, and the talent at the end can look a whole lot different than the talent at the start. Much like the PG position, it makes sense to have at least three players on your roster with eligibility at C. Big men tend to miss more games on average, so it’s smart to have a reliable backup, but it can also give you an advantage in early trading, as you’ll always find a manager or two who is short at the position and may overpay to fill an early hole.
The rankings (below) are based on the nine Yahoo! default categories (FG%, FT%, 3PTM, PTS, REB, AST, STL, BLK, TO), with the general assumption that you are trying to win and/or be competitive in each of the nine categories.
| TIER 1 | 07-08 | Bias | Notes |
| Amare Stoudemire | 2 | Two-plus blocks put him in rare territory; impact is joined to Nash at the hip | |
| Elton Brand | 417 | Fully healthy, primed to make serious noise in the East; Rank of 6 in 06-07 | |
| TIER 2 | 07-08 | Bias | Notes |
| Chris Bosh | 31 | Two things we know: (1) he’s awesome and (2) he’s going to miss games | |
| Marcus Camby | 4 | Can’t help but expect a drop-off in new position (PF) and slower system | |
| Pau Gasol | 41 | Concerns about GP total, but none about Gasol/Bynum pairing here | |
| Carlos Boozer | 15 | 20/10 was a given, but spike in D stats (STL, BLK) buoyed his 07-08 | |
| Al Jefferson | 21 | Hard to not like him that much more now that he’s got some more help | |
| Yao Ming | 56 | Go ahead and draft him higher if you expect more than 60 games played | |
| Tim Duncan | 25 | h2h | Boost in FT% accounted for the spike in rank; rest of line largely unchanged |
| TIER 3 | 07-08 | Bias | Notes |
| Andrew Bynum | 154 | Healthy and in better shape than at this point last season; I’m a believer | |
| Dwight Howard | 73 | h2h | A top pick in h2h when you punt FT%, but tough to build around in roto |
| Chris Kaman | 75 | Camby is going to poach some stats, but Kaman will still get (most of) his | |
| Rasheed Wallace | 32 | roto | Will give way to team’s youngsters a bit, but still solid roto option |
| Andris Biedrins | 47 | Fantasy force despite never having averaged 30 mpg, which could change | |
| LaMarcus Aldridge | 58 | Wowing in early camp; Oden could help offense but poach defensive stats | |
| TIER 4 | 07-08 | Bias | Notes |
| Mehmet Okur | 67 | Hard to find balance between lackluster first half and massive second half | |
| Andrew Bogut | 79 | Continued incremental improvements would push him up another tier | |
| Jermaine O’Neal | 221 | Fit, healthy and out to prove the nay-sayers wrong; could be bargain pick | |
| Emeka Okafor | 87 | h2h | Strengths (FG%, REB, BLK) and weaknesses (FT%, AST:TO) are clear-cut |
| David Lee | 61 | Finally going to get the shot we’ve all been hoping for; double-double lock | |
| Samuel Dalembert | 44 | He’s at his ceiling and will have to defer some stats to Brand | |
| Brad Miller | 43 | roto | Bounced back big-time last season; 5-game suspension and injury risk |
| Greg Oden | - | Boom or bust pick based on titanic abilities and undeniable injury concerns | |
| TIER 5 | 07-08 | Bias | Notes |
| Troy Murphy | 81 | Will play his natural position (PF) in an offense he’s comfortable in | |
| Tyson Chandler | 71 | Category-specific skills limit upside, but he gets the job done where needed | |
| Al Horford | 83 | Should once again be very stable, if unspectacular, fantasy contributor | |
| Kevin Love | - | Hoops IQ/ability will make up for many presumed physical shortcomings | |
| Al Harrington | 66 | Team needs him to step up big-time; he should at least be back over 30 mpg | |
| Zydrunas Ilgauskas | 68 | Low-risk, low-upside pick here, but coming off very effective season | |
| TIER 6 | 07-08 | Bias | Notes |
| Nene Hilario | 377 | Team has paved the way for his breakout season, but health will dictate | |
| Joakim Noah | 156 | One of my favorite bargain FC; will help in more categories than he hurts | |
| Nick Collison | 92 | Solid option as a late-round FC; low-risk, medium reward contributions | |
| Shaquille O’Neal | 238 | h2h | Consider drafting here in h2h leagues; in roto, don’t consider him at all |
| TIER 7 | 07-08 | Bias | Notes |
| Brendan Haywood | 85 | Will be tough to match career-high minutes with Thomas back in the mix | |
| Luis Scola | 139 | One of a few picks at this point that bring PTS, REB and not much else | |
| Kendrick Perkins | 133 | Still recovering from shoulder surgery but expected to be ready for season | |
| Paul Millsap | 107 | Per-48 stats have him among ‘most likely to succeed’ in starting role | |
| Boris Diaw | 128 | Love his multi-cat abilities, but only an injury opens up significant PT | |
| Andrea Bargnani | 185 | Strange as it may sound, should be better in fantasy as team’s FC reserve | |
| TIER 8 | 07-08 | Bias | Notes |
| Brook Lopez | - | Has the talent to establish himself as starting C on crowded depth chart | |
| Spencer Hawes | 257 | Will start for the season’s first five games; temper expectations otherwise | |
| Jason Maxiell | 173 | Fall-back option if Amir is a bust, but only so much PT to go around | |
| Chris Wilcox | 176 | Best-case is that he gets back to 14/8, but no supporting stats either way | |
| Ronny Turiaf | 135 | Hustle specialist should carve out steady role in wide-open GSW system | |
| Jeff Foster | 106 | Boards like Howard on a per-48 basis, but likely part of a platoon (Rasho) | |
| Ben Wallace | 142 | h2h | Nearing the end of the line, but still producing defensive numbers |
| Anderson Varejao | 232 | Will once again see steady playing time behind a pair of aging bigs | |
| Josh Boone | 223 | Upside from here depending on how the NJ depth chart shakes out |
07-08: season-ending Yahoo! rank (default 9-cat cumulative value)
BIAS: Notes when a player’s 9-cat line is more favorable in roto or h2h leagues; if blank, the player’s overall impact is relatively even in both
