The Drubbing

As week one has come to a close, I’m back to report a few shockers in the rankings for the Lary Bird Fantasy Basketball League. The NBA has had a few surprise performances, and a lot of disappointments for fantasy owners so far. The Basketball Jesus Rankings have had a few of our own.

The first surprise is obviously the leader, Chris Bosh. It’s not a big surprise to see him on the list, but I certainly wouldn’t have expected to see him at the top. Especially with the addition of Jermaine O’Neal, likely taking away some points and rebounds from the All-Star center.

The next surprise has to be Michael Redd. Known strictly as a sharp-shooter, he outscored everyone else on the list to edge his way into the top ten. But don’t be disillusioned to think he can keep this up for too long.

The big omissions from the list in Week 1 have to be Allen Iverson and Carmelo Anthony. AI will most likely make his way into the rankings at some point in the season, but for now he’s making news elsewhere. Carmelo on the other hand spent most of Week 1 in street clothes but he’ll undoubtedly make his way back onto the list.

The last player I’ll highlight is not necessarily a surprise, but one that was probably overlooked before the season, Elton Brand. Just by starting the season healthy this year, Brand has put up big numbers out of the gate and I expect to see him in the ranking for the remainder of the season.

1. Chris Bosh [119]
2. Chris Paul [117]
3. Dwight Howard [111]
4. LeBron James [110]
5. Kobe Bryant [106]
6. Yao Ming [106]
7. Amare Stoudemire [105]
8. Dwyane Wade [104]
9. Elton Brand [103]
10. Michael Redd [102]
11. Stephen Jackson [101]
12. Richard Jefferson [101]
13. Al Jefferson [96]
14. Steve Nash [95]
15. David West [95]

Note: Point, rebound and assist total listed next to the player.