Chris Paul leads all guards at the halfway point of the season.
Philadelphia, PA (Sports Network) -
Most NBA teams have played just over 40 games making this the unofficial halfway point of the 2008-09 basketball season. So let's take a look at how our fantasy players have done in comparison to how we expected them to perform back in the preseason.
Guards
Kobe Bryant, Chris Paul and Dwayne Wade have been everything expected of them, but Steve Nash, Deron Williams, Allen Iverson and Baron Davis have disappointed owners.
At least Williams and Davis can use injuries as an excuse, but former league MVPs Nash (14.4 ppg, 9.0 apg, 3.3 rpg, 0.7 spg) and Iverson (18.0 ppg, 5.4 apg, 3.3 rpg, 1.6 spg) can't use that reasoning. All the minutes and physical play appears to have taken its toll on Nash and I don't expect him to return to "MVP" form. You can still probably get fair market value for Nash and I'd pull the trigger on a trade as soon as possible.
Iverson too, has taken a lot of hits over the years and his numbers can only go down. There is also talk that either Iverson or Richard Hamilton may be about to lose their starting spot and that could further erode Iverson's value if true. You probably can't get a fair price for him at this point, at least not equal to where you drafted him.
Forwards
Lebron James is truly the "King" and is only No.2 overall because his Cleveland Cavaliers have been so dominant that he sits much of the fourth quarter. Check his minutes played - he's down from 40.4 last season to 37.2 minutes this year. That has left him slightly down in points, rebounds and assists despite playing at an "MVP" level.
Elton Brand's change of scenery and then shoulder injury have him a huge disappointment for his owners, but that situation will eventually get better.
The same can't be said for Shawn Marion. He has had injuries, but he's just been mediocre in Miami. It seems like he can't find his niche. Management apparently agrees as they have been trying to trade him for a while now. Rumors have Marion headed for Toronto where playing with a "pure" point guard like Jose Calderon might get him back to his Phoenix production levels.
Centers
Most owners expected Dwight Howard's offensive game to continue to improve and see his scoring average climb as it has over the last four years (from 12.0- to-15.8-to-17.6-to-20.7), but his ppg seems to have leveled off this year. He could easily increase that scoring average if he would improve his free throw shooting percentage which hovers just under 60%. That's lower than Shaquille O'Neal's FT shooting average. Howard also gives you little or no help in assists, steals or three-point shooting.
Do Portland fans and management now wish they had picked Kevin Durant (24.1 ppg, 6.2 rpg, 2.5 apg) instead of Greg Oden? Oden is averaging 22.7 minutes a game and posting pedestrian statistics - 8.8 ppg, 7.0 rpg, 0.7 apg, 1.1 bpg. Those fantasy owners who drafted Oden as high as they did this season (57.9 ADP) are stuck with him for the entire season since he currently has very little trade value.
