Empty the Bench

They’re finally here: the fantasy basketball experts at Empty the Bench present our preseason NBA fantasy centers rankings for the upcoming 2007/08 season. Please note that not all players with C eligibility are ranked here; for example, Kevin Garnett may earn C status when the season begins. Players not listed will appear in our PF rankings.

**ETB is currently looking for writers and bloggers to participate in the 2007-08 ETB Fantasy Basketball Extravaganza. The draft is set for Tuesday, October 23, at 8:15pm EDT. If interested, please contact us at andrew@emptythebench.com.**

1. Amare Stoudemire, Phoenix Suns: The minor knee scope earlier this week gives us some pause, but remember he underwent a similar procedure last year and it didn’t seem to affect him in the least. Pre-microfracture surgery, Stoudemire was one of the Association’s most exciting above-the-rim players; he returned last year with almost as much hops and a much more polished overall game. In this uptempo offense that averaged 110 points in 06/07, Stoudemire gets all kinds of easy fast-break gimmes and open jumpers in and around the key. Amare’s mid-range game has also come along over the last year. Our top two centers are both injury risks, but like everyone else we’re suckers for his stats: 20.4 points, 9.6 boards, 57% FG, 1 assist, 1 steal, and 1 block per.

2. Yao Ming, Houston Rockets: It’s a common theme on this list, but Yao’s health is the only major concern with his game. Last season he only played in 48 games and the season before he participated in just 57. If we thought he was a lock to play 75+ games he would be the top center on this list. In both seasons the injuries appeared to be freak occurrences and in the preceding three seasons Ming only missed two games, so don’t let the injury history scare you. There simply isn’t another player in the NBA who can make as big of a difference for you in the percentages– in 2006 Yao shot 51.7% on 17.1 FGs and 86.2% on 8.6 FTs. That, combined with 25 points, nearly 10 rebounds, 2 assists and 2 blocks and his C eligibility make him a top-5 player when he’s healthy. And his game appears to still have some room to grow as well, so don’t shy away from Yao late in the first round.

3. Chris Bosh, Toronto Raptors: We’re both big Bosh fans here at ETB, but the plantar fasciitis has us a little concerned. Foot problems with big men tend to linger as we’ve seen with guys like Bill Walton, Rik Smits and Zydrunas Ilgauskas. Still, we can’t deny the upside of this emerging superstar. And Bosh recently said, “I’m staying on top of it, I’m treating it with respect, and making sure I can prevent it from happening again.”

He’s incredibly polished for a big man his age and already possesses an above average mid-range jumper. Although we’d like to see a few more blocks from our starting center (1.3 per), he has no real holes in his roto game: 22.6 points, 10.7 boards, 2.5 assists and 49.6% FGs and 78.5% FTs. The 23-year-old should continue to elevate his game playing on a very solid team that has great distributors in TJ Ford and Jose Calderon and an emerging perimeter threat in Andrea Bargnani.

4. Tim Duncan, San Antonio Spurs: For the last two years, we’ve thought The Big Fundamental was due for a slip in production, but he’s proven us dead wrong and we’re not going to make the same mistake this year. He’s not a favorite of ours and his game kind of puts us to sleep, but at least we’ll sleep well with a C1 who averaged 20 points, 10.6 boards, 55% FG, 2.4 blocks, and 3.4 assists last season. Duncan is a lot like the NFL’s Marvin Harrison in that he’s quietly been the class of his league at his position for a decade.

5. Pau Gasol, Memphis Grizzlies: It should be a treat watching two of the NBA’s biggest whiners, Gasol and Darko Milicic, donning the same jerseys this year. If Milicic can stop talking about why he deserves 30+ minutes a game and just go out and prove it, he could pair with Gasol to form one of the more athletic starting frontcourts in the NBA along with Rudy Gay. Gasol was one unhappy camper last season, but hopefully he’s gotten over it and starts acting like the leader franchise players are supposed to be. If his head stays in it, look for him to at least maintain last year’s career-best averages of 21 points, 10 boards, 54% FG, and 2 blocks per.

6. Al Jefferson, Minnesota Timberwolves: Kevin Garnett is an impossible act to follow, but Baby Al is no slouch. He has a completely different game from KG, preferring to work in the low post and grind out points with a series solid moves and good footwork. Jefferson is going to be the primary option in Minnesota on a very young squad that may not win many games, and he showed what he’s capable of in that situation last season in Boston. The 16 points, 11 boards, 1.5 blocks and 51.4% FGs on the season were impressive, but get a load of what the guy did after the All-Star break: 19.8 points, 11.5 boards, 1.7 blocks, 1.1 steals and 55.4% on 14.8 FG attempts. He’s still only 22-years old, and so it’s not unreasonable to think he could improve on those numbers this season.

7. Carlos Boozer, Utah Jazz: After a couple of decent years in Cleveland, Boozer signed a big deal with Utah and promptly broke down, playing in only 51 and 33 games his first two years in Salt Lake City. Then something clicked last season, and he finally managed to play in 74 games while posting career highs in nearly every statistical category. He’s a major liability at the foul line (5.0 attempts at 68.6%) and his block totals are poor (0.3 per game), but few players in the NBA can help you like Booz in FG% (15.6 attempts, 56.1%). His 20.9 points and 11.7 boards are also extremely solid, and the 3.0 assists and 1.0 steals are icing on the cake. He still slips a few notches because he’s never played in a full season though.

8. Dwight Howard, Orlando Magic: He didn’t get much burn during Team USA’s games in this summer’s FIBA tournament, but we can only hope he used his practice time to work on one or two post moves he can turn to other than the dunk (which he led the league in by far last season). Once this hulking manchild improves his back-to-the-basket game, or develops a consistent jump shot from outside the key, or both, he just might be unstoppable. His low free-throw percentage is a major drawback (58.6% on a whopping 8.1 attempts) and he nearly led the NBA in turnovers (3.9). The massive upside is there though: he hasn’t missed a game in three seasons, averaged double digits in points (17.6) and boards (12.3, 3rd in the NBA), and threw in almost 2 assists, 2 blocks, and 1 steal a night in 06/07.

9. Emeka Okafor, Charlotte Bobcats: If he could just stay healthy, the 2005 NBA Rookie of the Year is fully capable of establishing himself as an elite fantasy center. As it is, the 6-10 Okafor is a double-double machine who’s becoming increasingly difficult to deal with on the block. The league’s weaker, more lithe centers just have no chance of stopping him once he gets close to the basket. He only sat out 15 games last year, but did miss 2/3 of the 05/06 season with an ankle problem. We love Okafor’s potential and are big fans of his game–the kid blocked 10 shots against the Knicks on January 12–and think his improved conditioning and supporting cast will add up to his best overall season yet.

10. Marcus Camby, Denver Nuggets: The reigning NBA Defensive Player of the Year finished the 2006/07 season tied for fourth overall in rebounds (11.7) and first in blocked shots (3.3) per game. He also suited up in 70 contests, the second most of any season in his 11-year NBA career. You’re going to see him ranked higher on other sites, but we just don’t feel like he’ll match last year’s stats or suit up in that many games, and the Denver frontcourt is starting to look crowded; there’s no upside here. Camby is always high on our injury concern list, and we generally prefer to not deal with it, period, if at all possible.

11. Rasheed Wallace, Detroit Pistons: ‘Sheed lost his C-eligibility last season and his fantasy value took a big hit because of it. He hasn’t regained it just yet, but early word out of Pistons training camp is that Flip Saunders is toying with the idea of starting him at center and inserting Antonio McDyess (or Jason Maxiell) as the starting power forward. That’s what having Nazr Mohammed as the only other viable option at C will do. Just like on the court, ‘Sheed is a fantasy enigma, equally capable of posting big games and completely disappearing. The keys here are his three-pointers, steals, and blocks contributions; only he and Shawn Marion averaged at least one of each per game in 06/07. He seems to have ironed out his differences with Saunders and has reportedly lost about 20 pounds or so, which are both good signs.

12. Mehmet Okur, Utah Jazz: Memo isn’t going to provide your squad much in the way of traditional center stats. That may be just fine if you’re in a head-to-head league, or if you simply need a center who can make a positive contribution in general. Like his teammate Boozer, Okur averages less than a block a game (0.5), but unlike Booz he only grabbed 7.2 boards, scored 17.6 points and shot 46.2% on 13.3 FTs. What he did do, however, is average 1.6 three-pointers a contest. That’s a major asset for a team in need of perimeter production.

13. LaMarcus Aldridge, Portland Trail Blazers: While we hated to see Greg Oden go down before he’s even had a chance to show what he can do, we’re psyched to see Aldridge get even more floor time in his second full season. Last year’s second-overall pick was coming on strong in the latter stages of the 06/07 season before being sidelined with an irregular heartbeat. All seems well now, and if he simply maintains the production of his monster month of March (14.7 points, 7.8 boards, 1.6 blocks, 48.7% FG) you’ll have a very solid C2 on your hands. Given his situation, attitude, athleticism and polish we fully expect him to at least equal those averages.

14. Ben Wallace, Chicago Bulls: Big Ben has experienced an overall statistical decline each year since the 03/04 season, but it’s hard to argue with the well-known intangibles he still brings to the fantasy table. His free-throw percentage can absolutely kill you–especially when opposing teams spinelessly resort to the Hack-a-Ben–and you can’t expect many points, but he makes up for it with above-average production for a center in blocks (2), steals (1.4), boards (10.7), and assists (2.4). He’s a glue player for fantasy squads with superstars who are hustle-stat-challenged.

15. Tyson Chandler, New Orleans Hornets: The Hornets fleeced the Bulls last year when they acquired the 7-1 Chandler for J.R. Smith and P.J. Brown (the Bulls subsequently released Smith). He still hasn’t developed much of an offensive game–and likely never will–but Chandler brings a certain intensity to the court that the Hornets were sorely lacking before his arrival. He’s the anti-Okur. He finished second in the league behind KG in rebounds per last season (12.4) and second in FG% amongst eligible centers by going 62.4%. We’d like to see him add a few more blocks to his resume this year and push his per-game average over two.

16. Jermaine O’Neal, Indiana Pacers: We thought O’Neal might finally be moved during the offseason, but Larry Bird and the Lakers’ Mitch Kupchak couldn’t see eye to eye on a potential deal and the 29-year-old O’Neal is still a Pacer… for now. He says his knee is fully healed and he’s saying all the right things, and if both are true we love his value as a guy who averaged almost 20 points and 10 boards in 69 games last season. O’Neal’s bonus value is an elite shot-blocker, denying 2 per game over his 11-year career. He falls this far because we have major doubts about his health and motivation and we’re not fans of the 2.9 TOs or 70.3 career FT%.

17. Andris Biedrins, Golden State Warriors: ETB regulars know just how highly we think of the 6-11 Latvian, especially when it comes to fantasy basketball. Still only 21 years of age, Biedrins was averaging close to a double-double for better than half the season until he hit a wall and Don Nelson shifted towards a faster, more athletic frontcourt with Al Harrington logging significant minutes at center. It seemed like a matter of conditioning and lack of experience logging such heavy minutes rather than anything wrong with his game though. We’re still high on Biedrins and think he’ll at least equal his 9.6 points, 9.3 boards, 1.7 blocks, and 60% FG of last season. We’re also hoping he’s figured out something to do with that ugly, ugly free-throw shot of his.

18. Samuel Dalembert, Philadelphia 76ers: As the undisputed King of the Goaltend, the 2001 first-round pick is coming off his best season, one where he was on the court over 30 minutes a night in averaging 10.7 points, 8.9 boards, and nearly 2 blocks. Dalembert broke his foot during the offseason, and just had the protective boot removed last Monday. Apparently he’s already at about 80%, but we’re always a little leery of injuries like this and their lingering side effects. The 76ers shipped Steven Hunter out to Denver though, and if fully healed Dalembert should again set a career-high in minutes.

19. Andrew Bogut, Milwaukee Bucks: He’s a stiff on defense, averaging just 0.5 blocks a game as a starting, 7-0 center, but in his third year we think Bogut will make significant strides in his overall game and end up averaging a double-double for the first time. Bogut also has very good court vision for a big man (3.0 assists) and the 55.3% on field goals is a nice bonus, even if his 57.7% FTs stunk. He’s likely to slide in your draft and will be an excellent value pick in the mid- to later rounds.

20. Zydrunas Ilgauskas, Cleveland Cavaliers: There’s absolutely nothing exciting about the Big Z, but sometimes fantasy basketball isn’t about flash, but about consistent, reliable production. That’s exactly what the lumbering ten-year vet excels at, though we have a nagging hunch that Ilgauskas could succumb to a semi-significant injury at some point this season. His scoring average has been on a steady decline, but his high free-throw percentage is a big bonus at the C spot, as well as his modest contributions in just about every category.

21. Nene Hilario, Denver Nuggets
22. Brad Miller, Sacramento Kings
23. Eddy Curry, New York Knicks
24. Chris Kaman, Los Angeles Clippers
25. Boris Diaw, Phoenix Suns
26. Al Harrington, Golden State Warriors
27. Nenad Krstic, New Jersey Nets
28. Channing Frye, Portlant Trailblazers
29. Darko Milicic, Memphis Grizzlies
30. Andrew Bynum, Los Angeles Lakers

All ETB Fantasy Hoops Rankings:

Top 150 Overall (Coming Soon)

Point Guards (Coming Soon)

Shooting Guards

Small Forwards

Power Forwards

Centers