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Rotisserie By The Numbers: Leaders in Special Categories

By Craig Rondinone
SportsTicker

JERSEY CITY, New Jersey (Ticker) -- Does your fantasy basketball league have steals-to-fouls ratio as a category? What about two-point percentage? Or the granddaddy of all categories, minutes played? Well, then you are missing out on some stupendous fun.

Any fantasy owner can look like a genius when points, steals, assists, rebounds and blocks are the categories, and do not think you are in an "expert" league just because you have free throw percentage as a category, either, you Jerry West wannabe.

Your league should mix things up like Charles Oakley does down in the paint. Make things a little more interesting.

Here are four categories that 95 percent of fantasy hoops leagues do not use and the players currently leading them. See if any of them could be used in your league next season.

Fouls: Kurt Thomas, Knicks - Fouls are fun. They are to fantasy basketball what penalty minutes are to fantasy hockey. You need them. They even everything out. And just like a switch hitter, they swing both ways. You have the choice of making fouls a negative category or a positive category. How great is it that you could be overjoyed at watching one of your players foul out or get called for charging?

Thomas is a monster on the boards, and he does not care who he hacks and how much he hacks them. He hacks more than Jason from the "Friday the 13th" movies. He leads the NBA with an average of 4.7 fouls per game, but fouling is far from his only good attribute. He is also pouring in 15.4 points and grabbing 8.6 rebounds per game.

Field Goal
Efficiency: Yao Ming, Rockets - What is field goal efficiency? Good question, and my answer is a little on the vague side, but it seems as if it is a formula involving combining field-goal percentage and three-point shooting percentage that only algebra experts would be able to decipher.

Although the league leaders are dominated but long-range sharpshooters because of the three-point factor, "Ming the Merciless" leads the pack in the category. His .615 field goal efficiency equals his .615 field-goal percentage (he has taken no three-pointers this season) and has undoubtedly helped fantasy owners in more ways than one. The man makes the most of his shots from in close, and no one can guard him when he is close to the basket.

Double-Doubles: Kevin Garnett, Timberwolves - This category is as easy to understand as the triangle offense is difficult to understand. Double-doubles happen when a player reaches double figures in two different statistical categories in the same game, like finishing a contest with 25 points and 10 assists. If you check box scores every night before you go to bed they are simple to find. Trust me.

K.G. leads the NBA in double-doubles with 19 of these bad boys. He started the season with nine in a row, then slacked for two games, finishing one rebound short and two rebounds short of dub-dubs in those outings, and has now proceeded to record double-doubles in his past 10 games and counting. His boardwork has been the difference as Garnett is second in the league in rebounding with 13.8 per game, which would set a new career-high for him if he keeps up the pace.

Assist-to-Turnover Ratio: Kevin Ollie, Bucks - Assists should figure in your fantasy fortunes in one way or another, so instead of just giving all the love to the unselfish souls who pass 100 times more than they shoot, throw a wrinkle into the assist category by punishing point guards when they commit grievous errors with the basketball.

Is Ollie the next Oscar Robertson? Far, far from it, although the numbers he is putting up as the Bucks' backup point guard would suggest he is the second-most accurate passer in the United States behind Chad Pennington. Ollie is blowing away the competition with a 6.17 assist-to-turnover ratio. The next closest guy is Gary Payton at a trivial 4.29. Get this guy some more minutes, George Karl!

Week Seven Preview: Boston, Cleveland, Denver, Detroit, Memphis, Milwaukee, New Jersey, New Orleans, Orlando, Phoenix, Portland, Seattle and the Los Angeles Clippers play four times this week. The Sonics play all of their games on the road, which is good news for Gary Payton, Rashard Lewis and Desmond Mason owners because all three score more away from home, especially Mr. Lewis.

San Antonio and Utah only play twice this week, although at least both teams get to play their games in the friendly confines of their own homes. The rest of the league is scheduled for three contests.

Three players whose fantasy owners have to be smiling: Jason Collins, Nets: Dikembe Mutombo missing the next four months means Collins will play twice the minutes in the middle for New Jersey.

Dajuan Wagner, Cavaliers: "The Messiah" is averaging 25.8 points in his last five games, proving that training camp is really an overrated endeavor.

Carlos Boozer, Cavaliers: "Don't Call Me Emerson" has been a much bigger force on the blocks than Chris Mihm and DeSagana Diop ever have as Boozer is averaging 15.2 points and 8.2 rebounds per contests in his last five games.

Three players whose fantasy owners have to be crying: Dikembe Mutombo, Nets: He could be out up to four months because of a torn ligament in his wrist. There goes your chances of dominating your fantasy league in blocked shots if you have him.

Ruben Patterson, Trail Blazers: Personal problems and brushes with the law do not normally serve your fantasy value well.

Brad Miller, Pacers: He is shooting and scoring a lot less now that the other Miller, Reggie, is back in the fold in Indiana.

12-10-02 09:43 ET