By Court E. Mann
Associate Editor
October 30, 2005 7:00 PM ET
As you set your weekly lineup for the first time, it's not as easy as simply putting your top draft picks in your first weekly lineup. Take early-round draft picks like Tracy McGrady, Yao Ming, Ray Allen, and Kirk Hinrich, for example, who will only suit up twice this week. On the flip side, lower-valued but capable contributors like Andre Iguodala, Kyle Korver, James Jones, and Kurt Thomas get twice as many opportunities on the floor. The following rankings examine this week's schedule and help you set your lineup for the period beginning Tuesday, November 1 and ending Sunday, November 6.
Games Played
Four games: 76ers, Nuggets, Suns
Three games: Hawks, Celtics, Bobcats, Cavaliers, Pistons, Pacers, Heat, Bucks, Nets, Knicks, Magic, Raptors, Wizards, Mavericks, Warriors, Clippers, Lakers, Grizzlies, Hornets, Trail Blazers, Kings, Spurs, Jazz
Two games: Bulls, Rockets, Sonics
Guards
1. Allen Iverson, 76ers (4): The Answer made the right call by shutting it down for the preseason.
2. LeBron James, Cavs (3): Does the King have another level to his royalty?
3. Kobe Bryant, Lakers (3): Expect Kobe to be the ultimate good solider early.
4. Steve Nash, Suns (4): One extra game means you win assists this week.
5. Dwyane Wade, Heat (3): How will Wade be affected by the newcomers?
6. Jason Kidd, Nets (3): Quietly put up huge numbers to close out last season.
7. Gilbert Arenas, Wizards (3): It's Gilbert's team now, look out.
8. Vince Carter, Nets (3): Carter's healthy and motivated, for now.
9. Paul Pierce, Celtics (3): Pierce shot a gaudy 55 percent in the preseason.
10. Steve Francis, Magic (3): Franchise and new coach Brian Hill should have a honeymoon period.
11. Baron Davis, Warriors (3): Eight assists and 1.7 steals per night in limited exhibition action.
12. Mike Bibby, Kings (3): Bibby isn't far behind the rest of these elite distributors.
13. Joe Johnson, Hawks (3): The onus will be on JJ to score and distribute.
14. Andre Miller, Nuggets (4): Dre's lackluster scoring will add up with the extra tilt.
15. Stephon Marbury, Knicks (3): Let the great Brown-Marbury experiment begin.
16. Richard Jefferson, Nets (3): R-Jeff was on the cusp of stardom before last year's injury.
17. Jason Richardson, Warriors (3): J-Rich was a top-10 guard before Davis arrived in the Bay.
18. Andre Iguodala, 76ers (4): You won't care about 10 points per game when everything else is multiplied by four.
19. Chauncey Billups, Pistons (3): If Brown keeps point guards down, doesn't it follow…
20. Tracy McGrady, Rockets (2): Two games and a knee injury? Bench material.
Forwards
1. Shawn Marion, Suns (4): With Amare out, Marion will need to step up.
2. Kevin Garnett, Wolves (3): Still an absolute fantasy beast.
3. Dirk Nowizki, Mavs (3): The Mavs are becoming more and more Dirk's squad.
4. Andrei Kirilenko, Jazz (3): Welcome back, AK47. Let the steals and blocks ensue.
5. Elton Brand, Clippers (3): Ho hum. 20, 10, and 2.5 swats. So boring.
6. Ron Artest, Pacers (3): Artest has multi-cat monster written all over him.
7. Jermaine O'Neal, Pacers (3): We hear it won't be long til J.O. is leading our center rankings.
8. Dwight Howard, Magic (3): D-How is poised to take a huge step forward.
9. Carmelo Anthony, Nuggets (4): 20 points per night will be tough to contend with in four games.
10. Chris Webber, 76ers (4): We certainly like the 21 and 12 he put up on Thursday.
11. Lamar Odom, Lakers (3): The triangle offense could benefit Odom more than anyone else.
12. Pau Gasol, Grizzlies (3): Forgive us for wanting more than 17 and 7.
13. Carlos Boozer, Jazz (3): Boozer says he'll be ready. We'd prefer not to take his word for it.
14. Corey Maggette, Clippers (3): We'd be a lot more confident were Maggette not already banged up.
15. Kyle Korver, 76ers (4): Four times Korver gives you the win in triples.
16. Peja Stojakovic, Kings (3): 39 percent in the preseason? Yuck.
17. Bobby Simmons, Bucks (3): Mason's departure gives Simmons a shot to duplicate last year.
18. Antawn Jamison, Wizards (3): Jamison posted 24 and 9 in November last year.
19. James Jones, Suns (4): Think Q-Rich without the brick; Jones went 26-62 (42 percent) from three in eight exhibition games.
20. Zach Randolph, Trail Blazers (3): Zach is already in the doghouse? Sweet.
Centers
1. Tim Duncan, Spurs (3): No. 1 for the season, No. 1 for opening week.
2. Shaquille O'Neal, Heat (3): Get in while the Big Fella's feeling good.
3. Marcus Camby, Nuggets (4): He should be atop the rankings in week one with four games, but he's already hurting.
4. Kurt Thomas, Suns (4): The extra game has K.T. climbing this week.
5. Brad Miller, Kings (3): Check out the career log; he gets better with age.
6. Chris Bosh, Raptors (3): Go ahead, Mr. Bosh, your table is set in Toronto.
7. Ben Wallace, Pistons (3): He'd be even higher in straight five-cat rankings.
8. Emeka Okafor, Bobcats (3): We're looking forward to improvement on the 45 percent shooting.
9. Zydrunas Ilgauskas, Cavs (3): Gets the nod over Yao because of an extra game.
10. Joel Przybilla, Blazers (3): The Gorilla only needed 22 preseason minutes nightly to log 8.4 boards and two blocks.