Lots of names, but not a lot of fantasy help. So it’s been in Memphis for the past few years, and it doesn’t seem like things will be much different this year. While the cast has changed, the story remains the same, with very few players that you can plug into your lineup on a consistent basis. That said, let’s see if we can find a few gems:

The stud: Pau Gasol, F
After bursting onto the fantasy scene as a rookie, Gasol has spent the last three years disappointing his owners by failing to live up to the statistical standards he set for himself in his first season. Sure, the problem is the minutes, not the player, but nonetheless you have to assume that he won’t hit 2 blocks or 8 boards until the strategy changes. He’s going to be a nice pick around the 4th round, but no sooner.

The support: Damon Stoudamire, PG
OK, I’ll admit, this is pretty much a total guess. Between Stoudamire and Bobby Jackson, it’s hard to say for sure that Stoudamire will get enough minutes to really be a worthwhile fantasy player. Nonetheless, he hits a lot of three pointers, so he will certainly find his way onto plenty of fantasy teams this year as a second PG.

The supporting support: Mike Miller, G/F
Players like Mike Miller can be extremely frustrating to own, but you’re not going to find them on the waiver wire too often. Sure he won’t help much in boards, assists, or defensive categories, but he shot over 50% last year and managed 1.8 3’s per game.

The sleeper: Shane Battier, SF
Battier isn’t really a sleeper, as I don’t expect him to blow up this year, or even really improve on his numbers at all. But I think that a lot of FBB players overlook Battier simply because he doesn’t excel in any one category. But he averages around 10 ppg, 6 boards, a block, a steal, and a three, with good percentages. He won’t hurt you anywhere – and that’s more than you can say for a lot of players on fantasy rosters.

The slacker – Eddie Jones, SG
The end may be nigh for Eddie Jones as a viable fantasy option. Last year, he was in pretty much the perfect situation for himself – as a spot-up third option behind Shaq and Dwayne Wade. But his scoring dropped by 5 points, and he didn’t really look all that great. Now he’s in a crowded Memphis backcourt, and I can’t see him getting anywhere near the 35.5 mpg he got last year. Look for Jones to be bouncing on and off the waiver wire all year long.

The time is now for the Houston Rockets. They’ve got one of the best playmakers in the game, a top center, and now a very healthy group of veterans and role players surrounding them. They’re my sleeper pick for NBA Champs this year, but what about for fantasy purposes? Let’s take a look:

The stud: Tracy McGrady, G/F
T-Mac is one of the safest picks to make in the early/middle first round, and has the full FBB seal of approval. Over the last four years, he’s put up at least 25/6/5.3 with 1.4 3’s, 1.4 steals, and 0.6 blocks every year. For a guy who takes over 20 shots a game, his FG% is respectable, hovering around 44% most of the time. While Yao may have the biggest fan base, make no mistake – this is McGrady’s team.

The support – Yao Ming, C
Is Yao Ming a first round pick this year? It’s a tough call. While his 18.3 ppg ranks third among centers, his 8.4 boards ranks 7th, and his 2.0 blocks is 8th. Yao is certainly a top fantasy center, but he didn’t really make the leap many were expecting from him last year. He’s going to have to really push up the boards and blocks this year if he wants to remain a top pick in fantasy drafts.

The supporting support – Bob Sura, G
I’m not sure who this guy really is, but it’s certainly not the Bob Sura that I remember. He was trudging around the league the first 8 years of his career, not making much of an impact anywhere, and then all of a sudden, in 27 games with Atlanta and the end of ’03 he put up ridiculous stats, including a couple of triple-doubles. Last year in Houston he didn’t score too much, but averaged over 5 boards and 5 assists while helping in 3’s and steals as well. Sura is nice roster filler and should be drafted this year.

The sleeper – Stromile Swift, F/C
Oh, boy. If there’s one guy that you’ll hear me gush about way too often, it’s Stromile Swift. Here’s a guy that qualifies at C, and puts up great numbers every time he gets minutes. For example, last year in games where he played over 25 minutes, he put up 15/6.5 with 2.3 blocks and a steal. Now that he’s out of fantasy hell in Memphis, we’re hoping that Swift gets about 30 mpg so he can put up numbers like that.

The slacker – Juwan Howard, F
It may finally be time to say goodbye to Juwan Howard as a viable fantasy player. Last year he failed to put up 10 ppg for the first time in his career, and there’s not much reason to think he’ll turn things around now.

All in all, it’s been a relatively quiet offseason for Mark Cuban and co. down in Dallas. Sure, they made a little noise replacing one useless seven footer (Shawn Bradley) with another (DaSagana Diop), and signed a reality TV show to play shooting guard (The Christies), but no massive contracts have been signed this year, and there were no draft picks to be made. In fact, the biggest number being tossed around was the up to 51.8 million dollars that Cuban saved by releasing aging fan favorite Michael Finley. So for the first time in awhile, we have a decent idea of what we can expect from the Mavs.

The stud: Dirk Nowitzki, PF
Nowitzki recovered from a slightly off year in 2003 and responded to the departure of best buddy Steve Nash by posting a career-high in points in 2004. He has stepped up as the leader of this team and is a top-5 pick in any and all fantasy drafts. He’s even stepped up his defensive numbers, blocking a very respectable 1.5 shots per game last year. He was good last year, and he’ll be good again this year.

The support: Jason Terry, PG
It took him a little while to settle in, but once Terry started to mesh with his team he put up averages of about 14 points and 6 assists. He’s certainly not going to put up the numbers that he did in Atlanta, but he showed flashes of his scoring ability in the playoffs, scoring 31 points in game 7 against Houston and 36 in game 6 against Phoenix. He might be slightly overvalued because of those performances, but he’ll be a solid 2nd-tier point guard.

The supporting support: Jerry Stackhouse, G/F
Stack served his role as a scorer off the bench surprisingly well last year – so well that he should serve the same role again this year. While that’s good for the Mavs, it always hurts to have a guy on your team who scores 15 points a game and helps almost nowhere else. He’s the team’s second-leading returning scorer, but it’s going to be tough to convince yourself to draft him.

The sleeper: Marquis Daniels, G
Daniels generated a lot of hype as an undrafted rookie in 2003, but last year injuries got him off to a slow start and he never really recovered. This year he’s got a pretty crowded roster to deal with, but with a couple injuries to the right injury-prone people (i.e. Jerry Stackhouse), he could be ready to step up again.

The slacker: Keith Van Horn, F
Now on the 5th team of his career, this may be the first year that Van Horn goes undrafted in fantasy leagues. KVH needs 30-35 mpg to really be an effective fantasy starter at this point in his career, and he’s simply not going to get those kind of minutes competing with Josh Howard (another potential sleeper), Stackhouse, and Daniels.

So, here at FBB, we obviously haven’t been posting as regularly as you guys would like. But that’s about to change! We’re at about 2 months and counting for the start of the NBA season, so here’s the plan. We’re going to do Offseason Overviews of all the teams so that you can be sure you didn’t miss anything important, and then we’ll get in to player rankings, draft strategy, etc.