(Photo by Doug Benc/Getty Images)
By Tom Lorenzo and Jeff Andriesse
From Damn Lies and Statistics
The center position is, on one hand, the most important position in fantasy basketball, but on the other, it's the most boring. You can understand why we would get excited about anyone who offers something other than the standard PTS-REB-BLK-FG% stat line and nothing else. Like Andrea Bargnani, or Mehmet Okur, or Sidney Crosby for example. I don't necessarily buy that the center position is thin, because most leagues allow for hybrids like Tim Duncan, Al Jefferson and even Al Harrington to be eligible at center. You can get decent centers in the middle rounds, as long as you secure at least one stud early on. Tom and I like Dwight Howard, but then again we are confident in our ability to draft a good team around him. If you lack that confidence, go ahead and pass on Superman (like how I just challenged you there?). Howard is probably the fourth overall pick in head-to-head leagues, and could be taken anywhere after eighth in roto leagues. As always, check your league's positional eligibility list before making your own cheat sheets. For this exercise, format is based on standard eight-category rotisserie style (FG%, FT%, PTS, REB, AST, STL, BLK, 3FG).
2009-10 Center Rankings
| Tom's Top 25 | Jeff's Top 25 |
| 1. Dwight Howard | 1. Dwight Howard |
| 2. Amar'e Stoudemire | 2. Amar'e Stoudemire |
| 3. Pau Gasol | 3. Al Jefferson |
| 4. Al Jefferson | 4. Pau Gasol |
| 5. Brook Lopez | 5. Tim Duncan |
| 6. David Lee | 6. Brook Lopez |
| 7. Tim Duncan | 7. David Lee |
| 8. Andris Biedrins | 8. Al Horford |
| 9. Al Horford | 9. Andris Biedrins |
| 10. Andrea Bargnani | 10. Mehmet Okur |
| 11. Emeka Okafor | 11. Nene |
| 12. Nene | 12. Marcus Camby |
| 13. Mehmet Okur | 13. Emeka Okafor |
| 14. Luis Scola | 14. Spencer Hawes |
| 15. Andrew Bynum | 15. Andrew Bogut |
| 16. Marcus Camby | 16. Andrea Bargnani |
| 17. Spencer Hawes | 17. Luis Scola |
| 18. Andrew Bogut | 18. Joakim Noah |
| 19. Marc Gasol | 19. Chris Andersen |
| 20. Joakim Noah | 20. Andrew Bynum |
| 21. Greg Oden | 21. Sam Dalembert |
| 22. Kendrick Perkins | 22. Kendrick Perkins |
| 23. Chris Andersen | 23. Marc Gasol |
| 24. Tyson Chandler | 24. Jermaine O'Neal |
| 25. Brad Miller | 25. Brad Miller |
BREAKING DOWN THE CENTER POSITION
Three Questions for Tom
Jeff: Going by your rankings, you are liking Andrea Bargnani this year. Is he taking that next step?
Tom: I like the step he took last season. The best thing about Bargnani is that as a center he has the ability this year to block 1.5 shots and knock down 1.5 threes per game. He's not the best scorer or rebounder on his team, but with that combo of blocks and threes you can live with 15 and 6. The other thing I like from Bargnani is that he is an efficient shooter. Last season he shot 45 percent from the floor and 83.1 percent from the free throw line. It's tough to find an 80+ percent free throw shooter at the center position anymore! I look at him as the Troy Murphy of 2009-10, in terms of value this season.
Jeff: We both rank Dwight Howard first, which might make veteran fantasy players cringe. Are we just really confident in our abilities to draft a solid team around him (more likely!) or are the worry-warts right about his free throw percentage being too much of a cross to bear?
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