With recent injuries to key players and other players returning from injury, you may still be able to find some players who can help you, especially if you find that you are a little low in certain categories.

Let’s take a look at what we have…

Three Pointers

Galinari, Frye, Brooks, and Jennings are probably already gone.

Ryan Anderson is just returning from an ankle injury. If he returns to the starting lineup, he should be good for 2.6 three pointers per game. You also get 14.6 points and 4.7 rebounds to go along with that.

Anthony Morrow has started the last four games, and with Stephen Jackson gone to Charlotte, look for Morrow to take advantage. He is currently averaging 2.0 three pointers per game, but I have to think that will improve. His points ought to increase as well.

Mike Miller is also likely available in your league, especially if he was dropped after his recent injury. His numbers are currently rather pedestrian, but I have to think those will improve if he can remain healthy this season for the Wizards, especially with Antawn Jamison, Gilbert Arenas, and Caron Butler demanding so much attention. That would include over 2 three pointers per game.

Tyreke Evans and his 17.1 ppg might be available. In the last 5 games, he has average 23 ppg. If you lack scoring, snatch him up quickly. He also gets you 4.4 rebounds, 4.3 assists, and 1.5 steals per game.

A more likely candidate to help you in scoring would be Dahntay Jones and his 16.5 ppg.

Also coming on strong is Chris Douglas-Roberts who is really taking advantage of Vince Carter’s defection to the Orlando Magic in the offseason. His 15.8 ppg are sure to improve as he seems to be getting more and more comfortable as one of the primary scorers for the Nets.

Carl Landry and the already mentioned Ryan Anderson are also worth a look.

Rebounds

Joakim Noah and Marc Gasol are most likely taken.

You have a couple of good choices available in Brendan Haywood (10.6 RPG, 2.4 BPG) or Roy Hibbert (12.6 PPG, 9.6 RPG, and 2.5 BPG). Of the two, Roy Hibbert is probably the better choice. He is more likely to remain healthy, and he is more likely to improve over the season (and he already has improved over the first few games).

Assists

There are a few choices, but none of them will get you anything but assists, and not that many assists at that.

Louis Williams is the only one good one who is possibly available, but that probably isn’t too likely in your league.

The already mentioned Tyreke Evans might also be a decent choice, but mostly for his other categories.

I thought that the replacement for Chris Paul might also be a decent choice for the next month, but the fact that two young guys are splitting time at the position doesn’t make that too likely unless one of them begins to dominate the available minutes.

Steals

Corey Brewer, Courtney Lee, and Larry Hughes will all get you over 2 steals per game. Thabo Sefolosha, Mario Chalmers, and Rudy Fernandez would also be decent choices with nearly 2 steals per game. Of those choices, though, only the oft-injured Larry Hughes and the erratic Mario Chalmers are actually worth a serious look because they get you something else besides steals.

Blocks

I already mentioned Roy Hibbert and Brendan Haywood under rebounds. Those are really the only two high blocks players that get anything besides blocks and are likely available in your Fantasy Basketball league.

Andray Blatche and Erick Dampier are the only other players with decent blocks and with other good stats that are currently available in most leagues. Dampier is now injured. Blatche just gave the starting spot back to the newly returned Antawn Jamison.

That means two things to me.

1. College Football is starting up.

2. It’s time to sign up for Fantasy Basketball and start doing the research to pick the best Fantasy Basketball team that we can.

For my first blog of the Fantasy Basketball season, I’m going to look over the candidates for the first two rounds of the Fantasy Draft. The first two rounds are extremely important because if you don’t have the right top echelon players on your team, you’re in real trouble. A bunch of good players later on aren’t going to make up for missing out in the top two rounds.

So here are my observations about the top 30 or so players who could be available when you pick in the first couple of rounds and why you should or shouldn’t consider them.

The Top 2 Picks

Chris Paul – If you have the first pick, you really have to go for Paul. His turnovers are a little high and his three point shooting is a bit lacking, but other than that he has no faults. He regularly leads the league in assists and steals and the rest of his stats are fantastic as well.

LeBron James – If you have the second pick in your fantasy draft, you really can’t go for anyone else besides King James. Fantastic three pointers, points, rebounds, assists, and steals. And good blocks as well. His free throw percentage was much improved last year. And he is in a contract year.

Now this is where it starts getting tricky

First Round

Dwyane Wade – This is probably the consensus pick, especially considering that he is in a contract year, but I still have the terrible memory of his string of injury-prone seasons in the not too distant past. In fact, he managed to get on my “don’t pick him whatever you do” list for a few years running. He managed to play almost all of the year last year, so perhaps his injuries are behind him. I think this is a bit of a risky pick at 3, but it is also the highest reward of the players left. Do be aware that his turnover numbers are always extremely high.

Kobe Bryant – Kobe is still fantastic, but I’m not so sure that I don’t pick Pau Gasol over Kobe Bryant if the two Lakers were both available where I was picking. Kobe gets you free throw percentage, points, rebounds, assists, and steals, but Pau can fill your center spot. Kobe has played so many minutes up to this point and his supporting cast is so good, that I can’t see his stats not start falling off a bit over previous years.

Dirk Nowitzki – Dirk’s points continued to be stellar last year, and his turnovers are still extremely low for a top player. His rebounds continued to drop, as they have over the last few years. I don’t expect too much different from Dirk this year, and you always know that he’s going to be playing at least 75 games. A very safe pick, but one that will require good picks for assists, steals, and blocks later on.

Danny Granger – Another safe pick (a la Dirk Nowitzki). I don’t think he can really get you as much as Dirk can, so I really don’t think you pick him higher than Nowitzki. Still, he does belong in this group.

Kevin Durant – If you wanted to really cause a stir, pick Durant with the third pick in the draft. Elite players third seasons tend to be their breakout seasons, so this could be shaping up to be a fantastic year for Durant, especially for points. I think he is a safer pick than Dwayne Wade, but I also don’t think his stats will quite match up to Wade if Wade can remain healthy.

Pau Gasol – Gasol is the top center in the league, fantasy-wise. Period. He is good at everything, and he continues to improve year after year. He won’t get you the monsterous rebound and block numbers of Dwight Howard, but he also won’t kill you on free throw percentage and turnovers.

Amar’e Stoudemire – Injury after injury leave most fantasy owners jaded about taking Stoudemire. If he can put together a rather injury-free season, Stoudemire could have another monster year. With Shaq leaving town, the run-and-gun offense can return, and Stoudemire’s numbers should return to a high level.

Chris Bosh – Another top player in his contract year. I don’t see Bosh’s numbers improving too much over last year’s, though, so if you are looking for a top 5 sleeper, Bosh won’t be that.

Brandon Roy – If any player could improve enough to sneak into the top 5 this year, Brandon Roy is probably the most likely player. He has Andre Miller passing to him now, and he has continued to show steady improvement in his game year after year. He might even have more upside than Durant considering the fact that his game is much more well-rounded than Durant’s. Aside from CP3 and LBJ, I don’t know that there are any other players that you could guarantee would be better then Roy for the upcoming year.

Borderline First-Second Round

Kevin Garnett – I think Garnett is on his way down. His body finally showed the wear-and-tear that we had been expecting over the last few years but never happened. I don’t know if I’d pick him in the first two rounds at all, which is quite a drop from being a guaranteed first rounder for the last decade.

Chauncey Billups – Billups is getting old, but I don’t think it showed much after he was traded to Denver. I’d much rather have Billups over many of the players list above him — just for his three throws and assists alone. I’m a huge Chauncey Billups fan, so I don’t really have any good reasons for not picking him as long as it is in the late first round or second round.

Al Jefferson – All of us know that he could be this high, but given his history of injury, I don’t think any self-respecting fantasy owner would dare pick Jefferson in the first two rounds.

Second Round

Deron Williams – Williams might be a solid second rounder with his great assist numbers and good shooting, but he is never going to get into the first round until he can improve his steals and rebounds. Despite his size, I don’t think Deron will ever be a great rebounder. If you went for Nowitzki, Durant, Gasol or one of the other low assist players in the first round, you might consider Deron in the second round, but I don’t even know that I’d pick Williams over Chauncey Billups.

Steve Nash – His stats last year were more worthy of a third round pick then a pick in the first two rounds. With Shaq gone and Stoudemire healthy, he might well be worth a late first round pick. His high percentages, assists, and three pointers are certainly worth a look. If you are looking for a sleeper, though, I don’t think Steve’s stats this year are going to sneak up on anybody.

Tim Duncan – Duncan’s numbers were still good last year and his free throw percentage continues to be an issue, especially with the number of times Duncan gets to the line. There was significant drop of 4% between 07-08 and 08-09, though he was still much higher that he was in 05-06 and 06-07. He’s probably worth a pick in the late second round, especially if he has center eligibility in your league, though you might have to counter it with some good free throw shooting by your other players.

Antawn Jamison – He played 81 games last year. He had great three pointers, points, rebounds, and steals and his turnovers were phenomenally low (about 1.5 per game). He is well worth a look in the second round, especially above some of the more risky picks that we have been talking about in this same group. Definitely a safe pick, assuming the Wizard’s famous injury bug doesn’t nab him this year.

Jose Calderon – Calderon could be a legitimate second rounder if he continues to improve and he doesn’t get hit with injuries. He only played 68 games last year. His stats are fairly safe, but his points are a extremely low for consideration in the second round, especially with the first two rounds being the ones where you are almost required to pick high scoring players. If your other pick was LeBron, D-Wade, Kobe, Dirk, Durant, or Roy, you might be able to ride out his low scoring output. Otherwise, I think you should really wait until the third round.

Jason Kidd – Never stellar at points or field goal shooting, Kidd continues to be great at rebounds, assists, and steals. You’d really have to have a good strategy for points to pick him up in the first or second rounds (see Jose Calderon to see what I’m talking about).

David West – Great numbers and percentages again last year. I don’t see why he would be worth a good look in the late second round.

Borderline Second Rounders

Caron Butler – Despite the fact that Caron Butler isn’t really a superstar on the same caliber as the other players on this list, his stats (particularly his steals) have always put him in the same fantasy echelon. His recent history of injuries, however, should force you to wait until the third round or later to pick him up, at which point he will likely be gone to a team willing to take risks.

Rashard Lewis – One of the top three point shooters in the league, Lewis continues to impress. I’m not sure how Vince Carter affects his statistics, though. The Vince Carter factor will surely affect whether he gets picked up in the second or third round by Fantasy owners.

Gerald Wallace – Statistically, the ultimate in safe picks. Wallace gets you some of everything and his field goal and free throw percentages are good as are his low turnover numbers. Personally I don’t like him for a second round pick simply because of his injury history. His points are a bit low for a second rounder, though, so I’d think twice before taking him with a second round pick unless I had picked Kobe, LeBron, or Wade with my first pick.

Andre Iguodala – I don’t see why Andre is considered a first or second round pick, personally. None of his stats are bad (with the possible exceptions of free throw shooting and turnovers), but none of them really blow you away either. I’d consider him more of a fourth rounder personally, though I don’t think he’d fall that low in a real fantasy draft.

Devin Harris – Not sure he’s worth a second round pick, but some people think his upside is high enough that they are willing to stretch. Without Vince Carter on the team, what are his stats likely to look like? More points, lower field goal percentage, lower assists. I think there are better picks to be had in the second round.

Joe Johnson – If I had to pick between Devin Harris and Joe Johnson, I think Johnson is the safer pick. Johnson gets twice as many three pointers and higher points and rebounds and lower turnovers. Devin Harris is one of the better players in the league for steals. I think we know what we’re going to get from Johnson, so some people might pick Harris from upside alone. Plus with Vince Carter off the team, Harris’s points might well match those of Joe Johnson.

Vince Carter – Carter always seems to get his. We’ll have to see how he fits in with a stacked Orlando Magic roster, though. I think I might wait until the early third round to pick him up, though his numbers last year mark him as a mid to late second rounder.

Paul Pierce – Pierce still seems to be playing at peak level. If you were debating between Carter and Pierce here, I think Pierce is the safer pick. Carter’s numbers were a bit better at New Jersey, but with his move to a new team, Pierce is the safer pick here.

Brook Lopez – With Carter leaving, I’m not sure where that puts Lopez. His point numbers weren’t nearly high enough for second round consideration last year, but this year they might be. If I wanted to make sure I got my center early this year, I’d consider him late second round.

Possible Second Round Sleepers

These are players who played well enough last year to deserve second round consideration, but nobody is giving them serious consideration this year in spite of what they proved on the court last year.

Ray Allen – Strong: FG%, FT%, 3PT, PTS, TO
Troy Murphy – Strong: FG%, FT%, 3PT, RB, TO
David Lee – Strong: FG%, PTS, RB, TO
Jason Terry – Strong: FT%, 3PT, PTS, TO
Nene Hilario – Strong: FG%, RB, BLK, TO
Mo Williams – Strong: FT%, 3PT, PTS

Don’t pick him in the Second Round, even though you really want to

Dwight Howard – Great points, phenomenal rebounds, blocks, and field goal percentage. Horrible free throw shooting. If he could eke that up close to 70% I could recommend picking him up. At sub-60%, you will be throwing away one of your categories. I’d love to hear of someone win a fantasy league with the guy playing on their roster, but I really don’t think it’s possible without collusion among the other owners in the league. Howard’s turnovers are also excessive and obviously three-pointers and assists are not really part of his game either.

The unstoppable Cleveland juggernaut was stopped.

The surging Denver Nuggets likewise.

Poor free throw shooting has not yet been the Achilles Heel that it always has been in the past. I’ve got to think that Don Nelson could have coached a team to a victory over the Magic, if he had had the opportunity. I don’t know that the coaches opposing Orlando were savvy enough to take advantage of Orlando’s weaknesses.

The Lakers, on the other hand, have faced very good and experienced coaches and have struggled somewhat, but have still come out on top. Sloan, Adelman, and Karl have all been there before and know how to run a team, and the Lakers still managed to come out on top.

Orlando defeated one of the top players in the world in LeBron James, but they are about to face one of the other ones – Kobe Bryant. In my book, they are probably equally capable of putting the team on their shoulders and winning, so I don’t think it’ll be any easier for the Magic in this series than it was in the last one.

So here we come to the prediction…

Orlando Magic at Los Angeles Lakers – The Lakers have the home-court advantage. The Lakers have a very experienced coach in Phil Jackson who might be able to mix and match lineups and mismatches better than the coaches of other Magic opponents have thus far been able to do. That being said, though, I don’t think Orlando will be easy to beat. None of their weaknesses have really come out yet, even against quality opponents like Boston and Cleveland. Who is to say that Los Angeles can really find the chinks. As a fan, I really hope Dwight Howard and his clan will figure out a way of pulling it off — after all, they have been underestimated by just about everyone from the get go. Unfortunately for Laker haters (myself included), I think Phil and Kobe will figure out a way of bringing another championship back to Los Angeles. Prediction: Lakers in 7

Western Conference Finals

Denver Nuggets (2) at Los Angeles Lakers (1) – A month before the end of the season, I would have said that nobody had a chance of taking out the Lakers. Since then, the Nuggets have gone on a rampage, smashing team after team. Most teams can keep up with them for a time, but a quick spurt always manages to put the Nuggets up by 20 sometime through the game and allowing them to coast to victory. Of course, the Hornets and the Mavericks are nowhere close to the talent level of the Los Angeles Lakers. Look for this to be a very good series, with both teams having opportunities of beating the other team on their own court. The Denver Nuggets could win this one. One thing is for certain — this is going to be a long series. The Nuggets are well rested. The Los Angeles Lakers went 7 with a pesky Houston Rockets team that ended up finishing without its star center, Yao Ming. I’m going to go out on a limb and say Nuggets in 7.

Eastern Conference Finals

Orlando Magic (3) at Cleveland Cavaliers (1) – The Orlando Magic are doing better than I expected, even with the disadvantage of their top player being a poor free throw shooter. The Cleveland Cavaliers looked dominant against the Pistons and the Hawks. The Magic are much better than any competition that they have faced thus far, but don’t look for the Magic to be able to stop this juggernaut. LeBron James and his posse are on a roll, beating opponents by over 10 points per game in the playoffs and winning just about every game in the regular season at home. The Orlando Magic will have a very tough task. The Cavaliers are rested. The Magic went the distance with the defending champion Boston Celtics. I think the Magic will be able to take a couple from them though. Cleveland might start out a little rusty, and the Magic are young enough that the length of the previous series will likely do little to slow them down. Cleveland in 6

Atlanta Hawks (4) at Cleveland Cavaliers (1) – Cleveland was dominant in the first round, just as everyone predicted. Atlanta just barely knocked off the Miami Heat. Atlanta is good enough at home to win at least one game. I’m not sure they can win all of their home games, though — or any of their games in Cleveland. I really, really like Atlanta. I want them to make it a series. They are so talented that they definitely have the potential to steal a few games. But I really don’t they will actually do it. Prediction: Cavaliers in 5

Orlando Magic (3) at Boston Celtics (2) – Can I pick against both of these teams? No? Orlando’s free throw shooting is going to end up being their Achilles Heel. You’ve just got to believe that. But the Boston Celtics giving it just barely enough to win isn’t necessarily very inspiring either. We know that Boston can give away games at home. They’ve already done it. They’re bound to do it some more. I’ve got to think, though, that they aren’t going to lose the seventh and deciding game against the worst free throw shooting team in the league, are they? Prediction: Celtics in 7