Your fantasy draft - and you've got pick #2

I've made my pick at #1 - Chris Paul. If you're coming after me, you've got your pick of everyone else, so enjoy. As Mr. Roarke said, "Smiles, everyone!" While not Numero Uno, still, #2 is pretty good. Unless you have your sights set on one and only one player and that guy is gone, you are sitting pretty sweet. (Corresponding Brady Bunch episode emotion: potato sack races in the backyard. Everybody is having a grand old time on the Astroturf, save one - Jan Brady; here you have the pick of the litter, save one, and I have just compared Chris Paul to Jan Brady. In the end, all nine in the cast are jumping in sacks at the end. That's how I like to think of my fantasy team, nine guys in potato sacks on Astroturf.)

Go ahead, pick Dan Gadzuric if you want. Might I suggest a slightly better option, for the man who likes beef:

Amare Stoudemire

Here are his '07-'08 numbers:

PPG - 25.2
3PG - 0.1
RPG - 9.1
APG - 1.5
SPG - 0.8
BPG - 2.1
TO - 2.2
FG% - 59.0%
FT% - 80.5%

Man, Amare was tight last year, especially after Phoenix was de-Matricized (28.8 ppg, 8.8 rpg). Pardon me for not noticing sooner, but when did STAT become a money free throw shooter? He's around the rim all game, so he's going to get to the line, roughly 9-10 times a game. Let's see how he does with Diesel all year. That engine is sure to break down over the course of the year. Expect pace to go down slightly next year without D'Antoni, but I don't see Terry Porter completely revamping the offensive system for a Van Gundy-like slowdown game.

Okay, you've got STAT, now it's time to see who will be there at 19 and 22 (assuming you're in a 10 team league). Well, you'll eventually need help with threes. You couldn't go too wrong with either Rashard Lewis (a hair too high, n'est pas?) or Kevin Martin (there's a lot of questions marks on the Kings). Paul Pierce is a possibility as well. If you're going big, one of these guys may be left - Brand, Duncan, Boozer, Camby. If I have Stoudemire, here is where I seriously give thought to the Camby/Josh Smith quinella. But is locking down blocks worth it when you will have to make up for points and percentages and assists somewhere else? I think you'll have to bank on 1 of a few players being available at 39 - Monta Ellis, Jose Calderon (now with 100% less TJ Ford), or in a bit of a reach, Tony Parker. Again, if Josh Smith somehow gets SG eligibility again on Yahoo, that can become a big help in those leagues.

Anyway, someone good is going to be available at 19 - the question is, do you want a complement to Amare, or a multiplier? I say, get the best big available at 19, especially if the person who picked #1 took Paul. You've got to assume that person is going big at least once at 20/21. A top notch guard will still be there at 22.