Welcome to the Part Two of the Hidden Truth: FG Percentage, where today we take a look at FG percentage at the forward position. Thanks to some “helpful” advice, these rankings, unlike those for the guards, incorporate field goals percentage while examining how many shots a game the player takes. Shown in each ranking is field goal percentage, field goals attempted per game, and their scoring average per game. This is relevant because a guy who shoots more will have a greater effect on your team percentage.

Remember, FG percentage is no more important than any other Roto category, but it is something to look at while drafting, trading, and picking up free agents.

1. David Lee, New York Knicks (56.4%, 11.7 FGA, 16.4 PPG): Lee plays within five feet of the basket with great success.

2. Kevin Garnett, Boston Celtics (52.5%, 13.6 FGA, 16.4 PPG): KG, the heart and soul of the Celtics, is a consistent jump shooter, but can also throw it down in the paint.

3. Tim Duncan, San Antonio Spurs (52.2%, 15.6 FGA, 20.8 PPG): The Big Fundamental is always solid in this category and it’s very nice to see him bounce back after a somewhat down season in 2007-08 in which he shot under 50 per cent.

4. Chris Bosh, Toronto Raptors (49.6%, 15.9 FGA, 22.8 PPG): Bosh is a great fantasy player who helps in many categories, but let’s hope his knee is okay after taking two weeks off.

5. LeBron James, Cleveland Cavaliers (49.1%, 20.3 FGA, 28.5 PPG): King James takes over 20 shots a game and he is shooting nearly 50 per cent, which is obviously great news for your Roto squad.

6. LaMarcus Aldridge, Portland Trail Blazers (48.9%, 15.1 FGA, 17.6 PPG): The former Longhorn standout is having a very nice year. He takes about 15 shots a game and makes them at a 49 per cent clip, providing a nice scoring option.

7. Paul Millsap, Utah Jazz (54.8%, 10.6 FGA, 14 PPG): Millsap has been an excellent stopgap for Carlos Boozer, but his production may be headed downhill with Boozer supposedly very close to returning.

8. Luis Scola, Houston Rockets (52.7%, 9.5 FGA, 12.4 PPG): Scola is never flashy, but he plays hard and gets the job done.

9. Grant Hill, Phoenix Suns (52.5%, 8.3 FGA, 11.1 PPG): If he were still drinking Sprite, maybe he would shoot the ball more. Hill gets limited minutes but shoots at a solid percentage; in fact, he’s on pace for a career best in this category.

10. Kenyon Martin, Denver Nuggets (50.6%, 10.6 FGA, 12.9 PPG): K-Mart has been shopping for easy buckets all year long.

11. Josh Smith, Atlanta Hawks (48.6%, 12.6 FGA, 15.7 PPG): The athletic Hawk forward provides an explosive presence on the court. He is also not too bad on paper.

12. Dirk Nowitzki, Dallas Mavericks (47.4%, 20 FGA, 25.9 PPG): – For such a high volume jump shooter, his percentage is right where you want it.

13. Zach Randolph, Los Angeles Clippers (47.5%, 18.1 FGA, 22 PPG): Besides being a punkass, Randolph shoots well in the paint.

14. Boris Diaw, Charlotte Bobcats (49.4%, 10 FGA, 11.8 PPG): Diaw has a chance to establish his game in a new city, and so far, the results have been excellent.

15. Udonis Haslem, Miami Heat (51.4%, 8.8 FGA, 10.8 PPG): Not a go-to guy, but Haslem throws up nearly nine shots a game at over 50 per cent success rate.

16. Jason Thompson, Sacramento Kings (50%, 8.3 FGA, 10.4 PPG): The Kings rookie has been up and down all season, but has good numbers for a freshman.

17. Lamar Odom, Los Angeles Lakers (49.2%, 8.1 FGA, 10.3 PPG): Odom has been getting way more looks with Andrew Bynum going down for an extended period.

18. Shawn Marion, Toronto Raptors (48.2%, 10.6 FGA, 12 PPG): It will be interesting to see how he fits in Toronto playing next to Bosh, but don’t be surprised to see his skill reemerge now that he’s out of Miami.

Top 10 Clankers

1. Ron Artest, Houston Rockets (38.8%, 13.9 FGA, 15.8 PPG): Overrated. Overrated. Overrated. Yeah, I said it.

2. Stephen Jackson, Golden State Warriors (40.5%, 16.7 FGA, 20.5 PPG): S-Jax scores a lot, but he also misses quite a bit.

3. Hedo Turkoglu, Orlando Magic (40.1%, 13.9 FGA, 17 PPG) – His name on this list was a surprise to me, as anytime I see the Magic play, he seems to hit a lot of shots.

4. Al HarringtonNew York Knicks (42.3%, 17.5 FGA, 20.2 PPG): Maybe if the shoes he wore were not sold exclusively at K-Mart, he would shoot better.

5. Peja Stojakovic, New Orleans Hornets (41.1%, 12.4 FGA, 14.4 PPG): Stojakovic is a long range specialist who shoots two-pointers at an only slightly higher percentage as he does three-pointers.

6. Richard Jefferson, Milwaukee Bucks (43.2%, 13.8 FGA, 17.7 PPG): It has got to suck to be stuck in Milwaukee, especially given that half the team is hurt.

7. Wilson Chandler, New York Knicks (42.6%, 12.4 FGA, 13.7 PPG) – I am surprised that Chandler has gotten the ball enough to shoot over 12 times a game. I guess in Mike D’Antoni’s system, everyone gets looks.

8. Danny Granger, Indiana Pacers (43.5%, 19 FGA, 25.4 PPG): It is a shame he has bad knees, because Granger could be a special player. He may force it at times, but his team needs him to shoot the rock.

9. Andres Nocioni, Chicago Bulls (41.4%, 8.5 FGA, 10.4 PPG): This year has been a struggle for the native of Argentina.

10. Matt Barnes, Phoenix Suns (40.9%, 8.3 FGA, 9.3 PPG): Barnes was on plenty of sleeper lists heading into this season, but despite seeing more minutes than usual, his fantasy relevance has almost completely vanished, in no small part because his shooting continues to suffer.

On Friday, we will take a look at the big dudes and see how they stack up.

No one is going to try to tell you that the New Orleans Hornets aren’t a great team, one capable of challenging for the Western Conference title this spring. However, despite the team’s success – they have won five of their past six (and six of eight), have a chance to finish a perfect 3-0 on their current home stand with a win over the pathetic Warriors on Friday, and are likely headed for a second straight 55-win season – the Hornets are not nearly the powerhouse they were in 2007-08, at least offensively.

Last season, the team had a top 10 offense and top five defense, but can make only one of those claims this season. While the defense is even better this year – only Cleveland and Boston are giving up less points per game – the Hornet offense is now among the league’s worst with just over 96 PPG. While the addition of James Posey has helped, none of the team’s big four – Chris Paul, David West, Peja Stojakovic and Tyson Chandler – are doing better this season, and in the case of the latter two, are actually doing much worse offensively.

Despite the offensive struggles, the Hornets sit just one game out in the Southwest Division, with a huge game in San Antonio on Saturday for division supremacy.

We suggested considering Devin Brown back in November, for he had been promised extra minutes. Sure enough, he got them, averaging over 20 MPG in December, but Brown failed to impress and he’s barely played so far in 2009. In fact, he had taken three straight DNP-CDs before an injury to Morris Peterson in the first half Wednesday opened up a chance for Brown. And take advantage he did, to the tune of a season-high 18 points with three treys and a steal. Everything he heaved up was falling (6-for-7), so don’t expect that to happen very often. Brown hasn’t had the opportunities to earn starts and play significant minutes this season like he did last year with Cleveland, but that could change. Put him back on your watch list and see how things play out.

As for MoPete, his injury won’t exactly send any owners scurrying to the waiver wire. Jeez, has he ever fallen off the map — Peterson hasn’t even played as many as 10 minutes in over three weeks. While he’s getting into more games this month, he’s so low down in the rotation that it doesn’t matter at all. And the fact that Peterson hasn’t been as aggressive this season – and hence has not been able to take advantage of his solid FT shooting when he does play – has only helped exacerbate the fact that he’s never been more irrelevant.

The hallmark of any great team is its ability to dominate at home. Well, after a rough start (splitting its first six games), New Orleans has been virtually untouchable at the refreshingly corporate-name-free, yet-screaming-for-some-marketing-touch-to-its-moniker New Orleans Arena, winning 13 of 15 since, including the past four after taking out Denver Wednesday night.

How good has Paul been? Can you believe this dude has dropped at least 10 dimes in 30 of 40 games this year? Sick. Fantasy MVP? Me thinks so, despite King James’ exploits.

New Orleans can definitely thank the second unit for this latest win. While Denver’s starters were outscoring the Hornet front five by 14, the battle of the benches was a completely different story, as the Hornets won this by a whopping 29 points, 42-13. And that was despite the fact that sixth man Posey absolutely stunk the joint up (1-for-13, six points). Brown’s huge night and continued solid work from Sean Marks (six points, seven boards and a block) made the difference on this night.

The incredibly frustrating year continues for Chandler and his owners as he missed his fourth straight game Wednesday because of an ankle injury. We mentioned above that his offense had taken a beating this year, but if his fall were limited to scoring, it would be only half bad. Heading into the season, we had Chandler pegged a shade below top 10 centre status, but thanks to injuries and ineffectiveness, he’s barely in the top 50 now, and to wit, has been winding up on the waiver wire in smaller leagues. Chandler had been shooting well recently before getting hurt, but he gets so few touches per game, that it’s hardly noticeable. The bottom line here is that with his no-longer dominating rebounding totals, Chandler contributes in far too few categories. His FG percentage has dropped significantly this season, he’s never sunk a three-pointer in his entire career, he’s a lousy FT shooter who has gotten worse this year, he’s scoring three less points per game, and his assists have been cut in half. Damn, the only thing Chandler’s doing better this year is blocking shots. He’s swatting 1.4 per game, up from just 1.1 BPG last season, but still down from his career-best 1.8 BPG which he matched in his first season in The Big Easy. He’s supposed to be back before the All-Star Game, so no point in cutting him yet, but if I owned him, I’d wait for him to post a double-double or two, then I’d shop him like mad.

Also MIA for the Hornets lately is West, out the past five games because of back spasms. We ranked West as a top 20 forward this season, but he has not quite been able to build on his career year in 2007-08. The timing of West’s injury was particularly lousy, as he had been putting up his best numbers of the season in January, averaging almost 22 PPG. While West’s TOs have dropped this year, unfortunately so have all the rest of his numbers. At this point, he’s day-to-day, but despite his decreased output this season, West remains a must-own player.

Best sign of the night for the Hornets: they shot 48.6 per cent from the field even though Paul had a crappy 3-for-12 game. Despite their less than impressive offensive numbers, the Hornets haven’t been a bad shooting team (46.01 per cent, good for 11th in the NBA), but to have a night like this against a tough Denver defense (the Nuggets are fourth best in the NBA at limiting opponents’ FG shooting) when Paul struggled with his shot definitely bodes well.