Draft Analysis : Round 5

Round 5
Pick	Team	Player	Elapsed Time	Pts
1		Granger, Danny SF IND	46 sec	0/0
2		Wall, John PG WAS	34 sec	0/0
3		Lopez, Brook C BKN	24 sec	0/25
4		Nowitzki, Dirk PF DAL	4 sec	0/0
5		Wallace, Gerald SF BKN	31 sec	0/26.2759
6		Davis, Anthony C NO	0 sec	0/0
7		Felton, Raymond PG NY	15 sec	0/0
8		Lillard, Damian PG POR	1 min 9 sec	0/0
9		Scola, Luis PF PHO	34 sec	0/0
10		Collison, Darren PG DAL	55 sec	0/0
11		Beasley, Michael PF PHO	58 sec	0/0
12		Stoudemire, Amar'e PF NY	3

To kick off round #5, Danny Granger was selected with the #49 overall pick. This falls right in line with his ADP on CBS and I have no problem drafting Granger here. His numbers were down last year which explains why he has fallen into the fifth round but I wouldn't be shocked if we see a bounce back year from him.

John Wall is injured again, and will start the year on the sidelines. Wall should miss the first month of the season but when healthy should be considering a quality start at the point guard position.

Brook Lopez is in line for a big year. As I have mentioned previously, quality big men are really at a premium in the association. Lopez provides good value in the fifth round, who I think has a third round ceiling.

Dirk has opted for surgery on his knee and is not expected back until late November. Dirk would not be a guy that I would not be targeting in my draft, but if he falls far enough you will have to consider it. He certainly cannot be relied upon as your # 1 forward, but once he gets healthy, he will be a solid option once again.

I think Gerald Wallace was over drafted here. Crash's style may finally be catching up to him as his scoring has been down the past two years. I would target Wallace in the sixth round if he were still on the board.

Anthony Davis, the first overall pick in the NBA draft was taken with the #54th pick. Its typically feast or famine when it comes to a rookies fantasy value. Davis should make an immediate impact with the Hornets and could average close to a double double right away. He was able to gain valuable experience playing with team USA this summer in London. Solid pick in the fifth round.

With the #55 pick, Raymond Felton was selected. I simply cannot endorse this pick. People probably remember how big a fantasy stud Felton was in his last stint with the knicks, however its a lot different this time around. Point gaurd friendly Mike D'Antoni is no longer at the helm (remember Linsanity), along with the fact that Knicks went ahead and signed Jason Kidd to "back Felton up".  Look for Kidd to get the majority of the minutes in late game "big spots" and eat away at Feltons value. Target Felton in the seventh.

The second rookie to be selected in this draft was Damien Lillard. I'm expecting a big year from Lillard who has been handed the keys to the car in Portland. Although I would prefer to take Lillard in the 6th round, I have no problem with someone reaching to secure him in the 5th. Solid pick.

In what was probably the least sexy of all my picks, I selected Luis Scola with the 57th overall pick. He has signed with PHX after spending the last few seasons in Houston. Look for the pick n roll combo of Scola and Goran Dragic to work very well in PHX. Scola's numbers are never going to jump off the page at you, but you know what you are going to get with him.

Darren Collison is a player who I have targeted as a breakout candidate this season. He will be running the point in Dallas. Solid pick in the fifth round.

I am looking for Beasley to have his most successful season yet. He is actually being encouraged to shoot more this season, and we all know he has no problem looking for more shots. Still a little early to take in the 5th round but its a gamble that could certainly pay off.

Although I had STAT pegged for a bounce back season a few weeks ago , his knees are acting up on him already. The start of the regular season is in  doubt for STAT. Pass on STAT in the mid rounds. Let one of you fellow owners deal with his injury headaches all year.