HOOPSKLYCE FANTASY ALL-STARS May 29, 1999 Time for the post-season Hoops Klyce Fantasy Awards which will be presented in a series of articles. This first article will acknowledge the Hoops Klyce Fantasy All-Stars. When compiling these teams I considered an 8 category Rotisserie scoring system as the criteria to judge from although these players will probably be fantasy all-stars no matter what system is used. FIRST TEAM C - Alonzo Mourning: Posted career highs in rebounding and shot blocking and tied career lows in fouls and turnovers. Zo blocked 3.9 shots per game compared to only 1.7 blocks per game for Shaq. Those who thought Shaq had a better season watched way too much TV where the Lakers were on every week. Clearly Zo is the fantasy MVP. C - Shaquille O'Neal: This season he had career lows in minutes played, rebounds, blocks, and steals and his scoring was below his career average. Much of this had to do with other players around him such as Rodman, Rice, and Kobe who had to get their stats too. Despite all of this Shaq remains one of the elite fantasy players in the league. F - Tim Duncan: Averaged 22 pts and 11 rebs and played all 50 games. He improved his free throw shooting from 66% to 69%something Shaq has not been able to accomplish. A legitimate #1 overall fantasy draft pick (again) next season. F - Antonio McDyess: Most likely performed well above the level he was drafted at in fantasy leagues this past season as his playing time and importance increased dramatically in Denver. Established career highs in points, assists, rebounds, steals, and blocks. F - Karl Malone: Old Reliable Malone delivered again, but they key word here is 'old'. Karl is still a first team fantasy all-star but his stats have begun to slightly decline. His field goal percentage and scoring dropped significantly this past season. I don't anticipate Malone will be a first teamer again next year. F - Kevin Garnett: Garnett's points and rebounds have increased in each of his first four years. Garnett ranks up as one of the best in contributing points, assists, rebounds, steals, and blocks. G - Gary Payton: He had career highs in points, assists, and rebounds but the career high in minutes played took a toll on Payton towards the end of the season as he ended with a career low in field goal percentage. G - Allen Iverson: Led the league in scoring but still registered 4.6 assists per game. Iverson also gives significant contributions in the steal category. G - Jason Kidd: When his shot goes in Kidd can come up with some very impressive box scores since he always delivers the assists and rebounds (for a guard). This past season Kidd had a career high in field goal percentage and points (17 ppg). G - Stephon Marbury: He had a dramatic improvement in his offensive output after his trade to the Nets. Marbury averaged 23 ppg with the Nets and his three point shooting improved from 21% with the Wolves to 37% with the Nets. SECOND TEAM C - Hakeem Olajuwan: He played in all 50 games (first time he played all games since 92-93 season) and seemed to gain strength as the season went on. His numbers were off his career highs but were still very good considering what other centers were doing throughout the league. C - David Robinson: His scoring was off this season but Robinson was able to give decent numbers for rebounds and blocks. Once again, not much competition at the center position in the league. F - Chris Webber: He played only 42 games otherwise he would have made the first team. Had a huge rebounding season and gave his customary strong numbers in all of the other categories except free throw percentage where he shot a woeful 45%. F - Shareef Abdur-Rahim: He still doesn't get much publicity playing in Vancouver, but he has become a fantasy standout. He posted career highs in point, assists, rebounds, steals, blocks, and free throw percentage (84%). F - Grant Hill: Still just an outside jump shot (the trey) away from making the first team. Over the past few years his numbers have been very good and consistent - but that also means they have not been improving. F - Scottie Pippen: Struggled to find his offensive game as a member of the Rockets but still capable of filling out the stat sheet. Despite a career high in minutes played per game he scored only 14.5 ppg which is his lowest since his second year in the league. G - Eddie Jones: Has a shot at making the fantasy first team next year as a member of the Hornets where he should see the ball a little more. Despite a modest increase in playing time going from LA to Charlotte his numbers improved dramatically. Of particular note are Eddie's steal which improved from 1.8 per game with the Lakers to 3.0 per game with the Hornets. G - Tim Hardaway: Came up lame in the playoffs but turned in another solid regular season as a member of the Heat. He averaged 17 ppg, 7 apg, and over 2 treys per game but he had a career low 40% from the field. G - Kobe Bryant: Averaged 19.9 ppg last season which should be his last sub-twenty point average for at least 10 years. As a guard Kobe averaged 6 rpg and 1 block per game and he is probably still growing! G - Darryl Armstrong: All those who drafted him must have been delighted with the season turned in as Armstrong doubled his usual output in the points and assists categories. He also gets you over 2 steals per game and rarely misses a foul shot. Who will be the first and second team all-stars next season? Sign up for The HoopsKlyce Customized Preseason Player Rating Report and find out!   Previous Article Next Article Copyright © Hoops Klyce 2000 - All Rights Reserved Website Designed by Lelnet Failed to execute script '../cgi-local/ax.cgi': Win32 Error Code = 2