The best way to gauge what a player is going to give you this year is to look at a player’s previous season. There are a few things which can significantly change what a player will give you in the following season, so you should be aware of those.

Things which allow a marked increase in stats include being relatively injury-free after an injury-free year (which I would never bet on), moving into a starting lineup, or moving to a worse team where they may be a first or second option rather than a fourth or fifth option.

Things that can seriously reduce a player’s output including moving to a stacked team from a bad team, an injury after an injury-free year (which are hard to predict), or moving from a starting role to a lesser or reserve role.

Watch for these type of changes.

I will be addressing a category a day until I run out of categories that are normally found in a rotisserie basketball league. Hopefully I get through them all before most of you start your NBA drafts. And remember, make sure you draft players that played in a lot of games last year.

And now, without further ado, let me give you the leaders from last year in points scored…

Points Scored:

1. Kobe Bryant – 2832 (Finally, no significant injuries in a year, and WOW! Look at those points.)
2. Lebron James – 2478
3. Allen Iverson – 2377
4. Gilbert Arenas – 2346
5. Dirk Nowitzki – 2151
6. Carmelo Anthony – 2122
7. Paul Pierce – 2116
8. Dwyane Wade – 2040
9. Michael Redd – 2028
10. Ray Allen – 1955
11. Elton Brand – 1953
12. Vince Carter – 1911

If you pick up any of the above players, you should do well in points. You could also pick up a couple from the following list, and do equally well. Some of these players have changed teams, or, because of acquisitions, may not be the first or second options on their teams any more. Do your research.

1. Shawn Marion, Jason Richardson, Mike Bibby – 1700s
2. Antawn Jamison, Kevin Garnett, Joe Johnson, Pau Gasol, Richard Hamilton, Mike James – 1600s
3. Chris Bosh, Rashard Lewis, Richard Jefferson, Chris Webber, Ricky Davis, Tony Parker, Chauncey Billups, Steve Nash, Mehmet Okur – 1500s (or slightly below)

If you don’t pick up anybody from the above list or at least two from the group of 1500+ point scorers, you won’t stand a chance in points.