Every year, the NBA season comes and goes, and with it arrives the NBA Draft. College students and players from abroad declare their eligibility for the draft and NBA scouts and front offices set up their “war room” to rank the players on their own draft board. Here, I am going to rank the top 10 as I see them, leaving out their probable or possible NBA teams because until the May 19th Draft Lottery, we don’t know who is picking where.

1. Blake Griffin, PF, Oklahoma Sooners: When you look at which player in this draft is the most NBA ready, Griffin’s name has to be No. 1 on that list. You see, you have to take a closer look at his stats to truly appreciate how good this kid looks on paper: Griffin had the most in-the-paint baskets per game at 7.9, he shot 75.5 per cent on those short range attempts and he was fouled 18 per cent of the time when he touched the ball in the low post. Griffin is a strong and athletic PF that should go No. 1 overall regardless of who gets the pick.

2. Hasheem Thabeet, C, Connecticut: At 7’3”, this kid is a monster around the basket. He finished with 10.8 rebounds and 4.2 blocks per game last season, but the 13.6 PPG is a little disappointing considering his low-post presence. He compares to Dikembe Mutombo because of his rebounding/shot blocking and lack of offensive ability. Guys with his size and defensive abilities are hard to find, so going No. 2 is not a bad call.

3. Jordan Hill, PF, Arizona: Hill has developed nicely throughout his college career and his ideal size and wing span make him an interesting pick at No. 3. He has a very good jumping ability, which only enhances his athleticism. The problem with Hill is his substandard free-throw shooting (65.4 per cent), his 2.9 turnovers per game this past season and the way he seems to try to power his way to scoring as if he was Shaquille O’Neal instead of Jordan Hill.

4. James Harden, SG, Arizona State: When people talk about Harden, you would think you were listening to someone describe a point guard, but Harden plays the two-guard instead. His strengths are his ability to shoot, pass and handle the ball, but at just 6’5”, he is a bit small for an NBA SG. Harden also could be a liability on defense as he didn’t stand out in college and will be facing better competition once he reaches the pros. Look for more of a Manu Ginobili type of player…think sixth man.

5. Ricky Rubio, PG, DKV Joventut (Spain): Rubio is an 18-year-old PG out of El Masnou, Spain. The knock on him has been his inability to create his own shot, his accuracy when shooting and when he does manage to create contact he expects to get the “Jordan treatment” from the refs. The reason I rank him at No. 5 is because at his young age he is already playing against more mature and much better competition overseas and should be able to improve his skills with time in the NBA. I foresee another Darko Milicic, to be honest.

6. DeMar DeRozan, SG, USC: A lot of mocks have Brandon Jennings going here, but why? The kid went to Europe out of HS and managed just 19 minutes and 7.6 PPG, hardly worth getting excited over. DeRozan will be a project because he still needs to become more consistent in all facets of his game. His greatest attribute is his athletic ability which has been compared to that of Vince Carter.

7. Brandon Jennings, PG, Lottomatica Roma (Italy): Even though I said I wouldn’t rank players with their prospective team, Jennings is one that gets his rank because of the two teams most likely to pick here (Memphis and Golden State). Being that he played in Europe last season, teams will take a chance on him even though he shot just 38.7 per cent from the field and turned the ball over 1.2 times a night while playing under 20 minutes. Jennings is better suited for the And 1 tour than he is the NBA tour.

8. Tyreke Evans, SG, Memphis: Evans was hyped up quite a bit in high school and that causes many players to lose focus. The good thing about him is his natural basketball skills and ability to score almost at will. But, Evans is one of those people whose greatest attribute is also his downfall in that since basketball comes so easy to him, he seems to take a lazy attitude at times on the floor. He is a solid combo guard that can become a star if he works on improving his game and not relying on his athletic ability to overpower the competition.

9. Ty Lawson, PG, North Carolina: Lawson lead the Tar Heels to a national championship, which means someone is bound to take this quick PG in the top 10. He has amazing speed and quickness to go with his court vision, but standing just 6’0” tall will hamper him in the NBA. He can’t create his own shots and will have a problem defensively against bigger NBA players, but he can shoot the longball, averages 2.1 steals and doesn’t turn the ball over a lot for a PG.

10. Stephen Curry, SG/PG, Davidson: I don’t really care for Curry as a player (I am thinking he’s the next Steve Kerr), but his 28.6 PPG average will raise some eyebrows. He makes smart decisions and can find his own shot, but at 6’2”, he is as tall as a small PG and trying to play the SG role. He will be a problem on defense and will have trouble finding that shot that made him so fearless in college, so he better get used to coming off the bench and being a situational player. I would much rather see someone like Earl Clark or Gerald Henderson go here.

Others of Note

Earl Clark, SF, Louisville: Athletic and strong, but struggles with his jump shot.
James Johnson, PF, Wake Forest: Sophomore big man logged heavy minutes for the Demon Deacons.
Johnny Flynn, PG, Syracuse: He’s small, but man, can he fly.
Gerald Henderson, SG, Duke: Tremendous mid-range game, but is not a primary scoring option.
Eric Maynor, PG, VCU: Perhaps the best true PG in draft, but may get overlooked because he toiled in non power conference.

Well, the NBA season is headed down the home stretch and you may find yourself in a situation where you need to attack certain fantasy categories. For those rotisserie basketball guys, you may need to shore up in some cats and catch up in others. Blocks is a category that usually has more teams closer together due to the fact that this is just not as plentiful a commodity as other stats like points, rebounds, and assists. With that said, if you pick up a few regular ball swatters and give them some play, you may find yourself gaining faster in blocks than any other category. Here are a list of guys that may be available in your league that put up solid block numbers.

1. Chris Andersen, F, Denver Nuggets – They call him Birdman for a reason; white boy got hops. Andersen is a mad man on the court who specializes in the art of rejection. For the year, he is averaging 2.33 blocks per contest, but in the past two weeks — much of which has seen Nene out — he has been even better, averaging 3.75 a game. You can almost justify giving someone a starting gig in fantasy if they block nearly four shots a game. That is like having a gunner that drops 30 a night. Birdman also gives you boards and a nice shooting percentage.

2. Ronny Turiaf, C, Golden State Warriors – Turiaf started getting more playing time with Andris Biedrins out, and he produced. So now, even with Biedrins back, Turiaf is getting some clock. He’s averaged over two blocks a game for the year, and is certainly going to contribute with some scoring and boards when he gets his minutes.

3. DeAndre Jordan, C, Los Angeles Clippers – As long as Chris Kaman, Marcus Camby and Zach Randolph keep missing action for various reasons, Jordan will get you blocks and rebounds. The blocks, 11 in his last three games, is the real key to why he may hold value. Kaman is supposed to come back soon if his MRI goes well, so make sure to pay attention to that if you decide to go after Jordan.

4. Dominic McGuire, F, Washington Wizards – Although McGuire has recently cooled down in the blocks department, he is still averaging about 1.7 a game for the last three weeks. He is a young, energetic guy who the Wizards figure to use a lot as they participate in the Blake Griffin Tankfest of 2009.

5. Anthony Randolph, F, Golden State Warriors – If you have seen the Warriors play over the last two months, I am sure you have seen the raw ability of Randolph. In addition to being in good favour with coach Don Nelson right now (although he all know how that can change at any moment), he has at least one block in every game in March. Randolph can score and rebound in addition to blocking, so he is a prime late run pickup if you have a roster spot to spare.

6. Kendrick Perkins, C, Boston Celtics – With Kevin Garnett still out a few more games, Perkins will receive elevated minutes on the court. Perkins is a double-double threat every time he gets enough clock, and he’s also a capable shot blocker. If he is a free agent, he is a decent option at centre.

7. Roy Hibbert, C, Indiana Pacers – Hibbert can not seem to stay on the court more than 20 minutes a game because of his inability to stay out of foul trouble. This big stiff is assured of at least a block a game if he just puts his hands up. I am not in love with him as a fantasy option, but if you are in a deep league or are desperate, it could work.

8. Andray Blatche, F, Washington Wizards – Blatche has all the tools to be a stud, but he is still a bit lackadaisical on the floor. As discussed above, the Wizards will give young guys a lot of minutes as their season fades away into oblivion. Blatche, when he gets PT, is good for over a block a game.

9. Joel Pryzbilla, C, Portland Trail Blazers – As long as Greg Oden stays out, the Vanilla Gorilla will continue to swat shots in the Rose Garden. If you really need a centre, consider Przybilla, as he will rebound and block shots for you.

10. Brandon Bass, F, Dallas Mavericks – If you are so, so desperate, Bass has averaged a block a game in the past three weeks. He could do more if he got a chance, but he only sees 15-20 minutes a game, so it is hard to put up great numbers.

What the hell is wrong with the Los Angeles Clippers? Badly beaten up, and just plain beaten down, this team has nothing to look forward to except the lottery, yet suddenly – in the midst of a brutal seven-game road trip – they decide to go on a run. Saturday, the Clippers absolutely molested the Hawks, just one night after bitchslapping the Grizzlies. Are you trying to hurt your chance at Blake Griffin, people?

Don’t look now, but this two-game winning streak has vaulted the Clippers out of the Western Conference cellar and past the Kings. The Clips finish their road trip Tuesday in Charlotte against the struggling Bobcats before heading home for a date against the Knicks, who have cooled off tremendously. It’s not inconceivable that LA will run the table between now and the All-Star break. And if that’s the case, the Clippers will likely catch the 13th place Thunder, which is also playing decently lately.

Hell, this is a team that had dropped 11 straight games away from Staples Center before Friday. Now, it’s won two in a row without the need for home cooking, improving its road mark to 7-19. And it’s one thing to beat Memphis, but Atlanta? The Hawks haven’t exactly been tearing it up lately, but are still one of the best teams in the Eastern Conference. Get this: the last time the Clippers put together back-to-back wins was December 16 (26 freaking games ago). Break up the Clippers, baby!

One thing that has confused me about this winning streak: where the hell has this shooting been all season for the Clippers? We are talking about the NBA’s worst shooting team, yet they managed to drain 59 per cent against Memphis (a middling defensive team) and sink 49-of-86 (57 per cent) against Atlanta, which isn’t a bad defensive team either. Saturday, Marcus Camby drained 6-of-7 for the second time in three games; Al Thornton continued his recent hot streak by canning 13-of-22; Ricky Davis, who has also found his stroke the past couple of games, nailed 4-of-7 off the bench. Charlotte isn’t quite as good defensively as the Hawks, so maybe we’ll see more of this on Tuesday.

Could Davis be worth a pickup now? He scored a dozen points Saturday (thanks to four 3-pointers) while adding three assists, two rebounds and a steal. Buckets has been an awful disappointment this season, and a knee injury last month didn’t help matters, but he’s now reached double digits in scoring in back-to-back games, providing the Clipper second unit with a much-needed offensive kick in the ass. Davis is starting to see more PT, and if he is regularly receiving 25 minutes or more (and can shoot nearly as well as he has been lately), he can definitely provide a boost for your squad, especially if his outside game – a major bust so far this season – is coming around (and 10 treys in two games suggests it is). It’s worth noting that much of Davis’ production has come in the back-to-back blowout wins, and he might have gotten more burn than normal as a result, yet he’s done enough to deserve extra PT as the sixth man, so see if his minutes remain high in closer games.

Before we scoff at the Clippers’ sudden success, remember that they are almost finally back to full strength after a season-long battle with health issues. The only significant member of the rotation still missing is Chris Kaman, a thorn in my side, and I’m sure plenty of other fantasy owners. The latest report on Kaman still has him on track to return after the All-Star break, leaving us no choice but to be patient. If you’ve held him this long, what the hell else can you do? Pick up JaVale McGee off the wire? Oh wait, I already did that once I learned that Andrew Bogut’s back was conspiring against my team.

You think Zach Randolph is enjoying life back on the West Coast? In 80 games with the Knicks last season and this season, he never once scored 30 points in a game. Yet, despite his injuries, he’s done it five times in just 18 games as a Clipper. We’ll see what happens when (if) Kaman returns, but for now Z-Bo is a scoring machine.

Baron Davis has struggled offensively in recent games, but he’s still facilitating – dropping eight dimes for the second straight game.

Back when we recommended him as a wire pickup in November, we suggested that Eric Gordon would experience the normal rookie ups and downs. For the most part, he’s been quite steady, but the return of Randolph has definitely affected Gordon’s touches, as he’s taking an average of six shots less per game so far this month. Hope you sold high when you could. Don’t get me wrong. The kid is still valuable (especially if he keeps shooting as well as he has lately), but Gordon won’t be carrying the team offensively the way he did in January, when he put himself in the thick of the ROY race by averaging 21.9 PPG.

Three seasons ago, the Clippers won 47 games with an exciting young team that not only made the playoffs, but actually finished ahead of the Lakers. Suddenly, the Clips were no longer simply LA’s “other team.” However, that distinction has been seriously short-lived, especially with the Lakers back in championship contention over the past couple of years. Since then, the Clippers have slipped to 40 wins and then just 23 last year. This season, they will be extremely hard-pressed to even reach 20 wins, and a third straight season on the sidelines come playoff time is pretty well assured. Just two teams are scoring fewer points, and the defense – while slightly better this season – is still among the worst in the NBA. They’ve dropped two straight games (including a 25-point bitch slapping at the hands of Portland on Monday), and 16 of their past 18. Simply put, there’s not much hope here. But wait…with the underachieving and currently struggling badly Bulls (winners of just five road games) heading to town Wednesday night, LA has a pretty darned good chance to earn its 11th win of the season. Eight-place Dallas better start looking over its shoulder. Uh…maybe not.

Unfortunately, beating the Bulls at home hasn’t been easy for the Clips – they’ve dropped two of their past three games against Chicago at the Staples Center. Overall, LA has lost its past two games vs. Chicago.

LA actually had a decent chance to win on Monday against a powerful Trail Blazer team. It was down by only four points headed in the final stanza, but didn’t exactly start that fourth quarter like it meant it, with Portland opening up on a 15-3 run and outscoring the Clippers 36-15 for the quarter. Ugh. LA couldn’t defend a thing in that game, with Portland shooting 58 per cent from the field – the highest any opponent has scored against the Clips this season. That’s an area LA has actually been middling at this season, holding opponents to 45.44 per cent for the season, good for 15th in the NBA. If that component of the Clipper game starts to fold, things may get even uglier and they may soon find themselves having an even better chance in the Blake Griffin sweepstakes.

Coach Mike Dunleavy must be ready to pull his hair out. Oh, wait…never mind. Injuries have decimated this team – currently, Marcus Camby, Mardy Collins, Baron Davis, Chris Kaman, Zach Randolph and Mike Taylor are all out. Jason Hart just returned after missing five games with an elbow injury, and Brian Skinner lost a pair of tilts on the weekend because of the flu. But it’s not as if they were kicking ass when healthy. This team jumped out of the gates with an 0-6 record and only got worse from there.

Randolph has been out since late-December with a knee injury. He started the season with the Knicks and was scoring well (20.5 PPG) before a big trade sent him west. After joining the Clips, Z-Bo lost some of his aggressiveness (just 4.5 trips to the line per game), but he was scoring even more and had been playing seriously heavy minutes in the weeks leading up to his injury. Randolph was well on his way to justifying our pre-season pick as a top 15 forward, but the injury has robbed him of his value, and he’s barely in the top 75 now. Fortunately, he’s expected back within the week, so keep your fingers crossed that he’ll be able to bounce back.

Despite missing nine games this season – I guess it was insane to imagine he’d be able to match the career-high 79 games he played in last season – Camby has delivered on our projection as a top 10 centre. He’s been out the past week and half with an ankle injury, and the timing was awful, as Camby was getting more touches than usual with all the wounded Clippers. He’s expected to return some time during the upcoming road trip – great news because the Cambyman was in the midst of a career year, so his owners have to be praying he can avoid another serious injury for the rest of the season. We have our doubts – especially since there’s really nothing to play for this season.

Kaman’s foot injury is one that I have personally been affected by as he was helping to anchor my frontcourt until going down on November 26. You can’t replace a wild Mountain man, and I haven’t given up on him being able to help me bounce back towards a playoff spot, so I’ve hung on to him and sucked up a roster spot for the past two months. Fun! Of course, long-time Kaman owners know that injuries are nothing new. In fact, since playing all 82 as a rook, he’s been unable to avoid injury in the five subsequent seasons. In the early going, Kaman had not been building on his career performance from 2007-08, not a shock considering he had been seeing less action with Camby and Z-Bo in town. There had been plenty of talk that Kaman was on the block – something that would have helped all three players – but the injuries to the entire trio has nixed that for the time being.

Sophomore Al Thornton has been asked grow up real fast, and for the most part, he’s done well in this baptism by fire. His hot January continued on Monday with 23 points and three steals, the third time in the past four tries he’s reached 20 or better. Thornton’s numbers are up virtually across the board this year, and I’m most impressed by the fact he’s turned himself into a block per game man. There’s a chance in a shallower league that he’s available, so take a peek if you’re in one of those mini leagues.

Here’s a Clipper to put on your radar and possibly even scoop up if your league is deep enough: Steve Novak. We’ve always known he’s a tremendous shooter, but getting PT hasn’t been easy for him so far. However, he’s another one who has benefited from all the injuries, playing significant minutes lately, and responding with five straight double-digit scoring efforts. Novak canned five 3-pointers for 21 points in 29 minutes Monday, pitching in with two boards. Don’t look for anything beyond scoring and 3-pointers from this kid, but if that’s where you need help, I’d suggest Novak could be a useful short-term addition.