Small forward holds the two top players in fantasy basketball. It also holds some good young talent like Nicolas Batum and Ersal Ilyasova. Add to it some other up and comers and you have an interesting mix of guys for keeper leagues.
Here is my top 25 breakdown:
- Kevin Durant – Oklahoma City Thunder
- LeBron James – Miami Heat
- Carmelo Anthony – New York Knicks
- Rudy Gay – Memphis Grizzlies
- Danny Granger – Indiana Pacers
- Nicolas Batum – Portland Trail Blazers
- Paul Pierce – Boston Celtics
- Andre Iguodala – Philadelphia 76ers
- Paul George – Indiana Pacers
- Ersan Ilyasova – Milwaukee Bucks
- Gerald Wallace – New Jersey Nets
- Luol Deng – Chicago Bulls
- Danilo Gallinari – Denver Nuggets
- Derrick Williams – Minnesota Timberwolves
- Gordon Hayward – Utah Jazz
- Kawhi Leonard – San Antonio Spurs
- Wesley Matthews – Portland Trail Blazers
- Dorell Wright – Golden State Warriors
- Jared Dudley – Phoenix Suns
- Gerald Henderson – Charlotte Bobcats
- Wilson Chandler – Denver Nuggets
- James Johnson – Toronto Raptors
- Chandler Parsons – Houston Rockets
- Trevor Ariza – New Orleans Hornets
- Alonzo Gee – Cleveland Cavaliers
- My midseason rankings had LeBron James at number one, and in a one year league I would still be considering that. But in this format Kevin Durant takes the nod, ever so slightly. James gets a sizable edge in assists, Durant gets a sizable edge in threes. They are pretty equal everywhere else. Durant gets the nod because I don’t think he has hit his ceiling as of yet and James has.
- I’m just as surprised as anyone else to see Nicolas Batum this high up the list. But he has been solid this season and he’s only 23 years old with a whole lot of room to grow still. We are talking about a guy here who I can see averaging 17 pts, 6 rebs, 1.5 stls, 1.5. blks and 1.5 3’s. Batum is the real deal guys and he is only going to get better.
- Since the all-star break Ersan Ilyasova has put up the following numbers, 16 pts, 8.9 rebs, 0.7 stls, 0.9 blks and 1.1 3’s. Ilyasova is only 24 years old as well. It is highly frustrating to own anyone who plays under Scott Skiles cause the guy is a loose cannon when it comes to handing out minutes. But Ilyasova is as good of a bet for strong minutes as anyone and he has proven himself to be a reliable and consistent performer.
- I may be too high on Derrick Williams, and I may change my mind, but I have to think the Timberwolves are going to take the kid gloves off of Williams next season. Williams had a lot of ups and downs this season, but you won’t convince me that he doesn’t deserve some of those excessive minutes that Wesley Johnson and Martell Webster were getting at small forward. I think Williams takes a pretty sharp increase in production and fantasy value next season.
- The Spurs have a pretty good rookie of their own in Kawhi Leonard. It’ll be interesting to see just what Leonard can grow into, but there is a lot of upside here. Leonard is a strong rebounder for his size and has quick hands to rack up steals. What remains to be seen is if he can get to the next level as a scorer. The Spurs are getting old and more of the scoring load is going to be passed off onto guys like Leonard if they can handle it. I think Leonard will be up for the job .
- Yeah I know Dorell Wright was a huge disappointment this season, and I assumed I’d be leaving him off this list. But he’s still young, he’s still an elite shooter and small forward is still not a very deep position. I doubt he gets back to 16 points per game, but if he can get to 12 – 13 per game with a couple threes per game, he’s still got value.
