By Larry Yocum
May 8, 2008 2:56pm CDT

Continuing our look at how Eastern Conference teams performed for fantasy owners, this week we will look at the Indiana Pacers and the Atlanta Hawks.

Indiana Pacers, (36-46), 9th place
The Pacers had a disappointing campaign in 2007-2008 as they suffered through an injury riddled year and failed to make the playoffs for the second consecutive season. Changes are in order and it starts at the top, as it was announced on Wednesday that David Morway will take over the general manager duties for the club. He has his work cut out for him as the Pacers enter the summer in need of a major roster overhaul and must decide when and if they should move Jermaine O'Neal, and at what price. As the Pacers ponder their future, let's look back on the past and what they did for fantasy owners this season.

GUARDS
The point guard position is really an area of need for the Pacers, as Jamal Tinsley continued with his reputation of being an injury prone player and was only able to play in 39 games this season. When he is in the lineup, he is worthy of being on fantasy rosters as a solid source of assists and steals. In his brief campaign, he averaged 11.9 points, 3.6 rebounds, 8.4 assists, and 1.7 steals on 38 percent shooting. The Pacers have said that Tinsley doesn't need knee surgery, but as always, he is a huge injury risk heading into next season. After Tinsley went down, they lacked a suitable backup and the duo of Travis Diener and Ronald Murray offered little fantasy value. Often starting at the shooting guard position and having a great campaign this season was the versatile Mike Dunleavy. He garnered a lot of discussion in the area of most improved player, as he posted career highs in points, assists, and three-pointers made with averages of 19.1, 3.5, and two per game, respectively. He also added 5.2 rebounds and 1.1 steals on 47.6 percent shooting and is one of the positives on the season. He was one of the true value picks or waiver wire additions for fantasy owners this year. Marquis Daniels and Kareem Rush filled out the guard rotation, but did not offer much from a fantasy perspective.

FORWARDS At the forward position is a young star in the making in Danny Granger. He can play both forward spots and was often asked to do just that when Troy Murphy moved to the center position and the Pacers went to a smaller, faster lineup. Granger was a great fantasy producer for owners, as he increased all of his numbers in his third NBA season. He led the team in scoring with 19.6 points and was a stat stuffer in other categories, as well, as he tallied 6.1 rebounds, 2.1 assists, 1.2 steals, 1.1 blocks, and 2.1 three-pointers per game this year while shooting 44.6 percent from the floor. With that type of production in multiple categories, he was gold in rotisserie leagues and will be an expensive investment next season that should be well worth the high draft pick. Granger was joined in the starting lineup by Troy Murphy at the power forward position. Murphy put together a solid season and was a serviceable forward-center option for fantasy owners as he averaged 12.2 points, 7.2 rebounds, and 2.2 assists on 45.5 percent shooting.

CENTERS
Jeff Foster just keeps doing the dirty work that is needed on a nightly basis for the Pacers. He wasn't the starter at the beginning of the season as the Pacers opted for a smaller, faster lineup with Troy Murphy at center, but due to the absence of Jermaine O'Neal for an extended portion of the season, the Pacers needed Foster in there at center on a nightly basis for his size and rebounding ability. He was a great source of rebounds for fantasy teams, as well, but offered little else as he averaged 6.4 points, 1.7 assists, 0.7 blocks, and 8.7 rebounds on 55 percent shooting. O'Neal did manage to play in 42 games this season, but was largely ineffective and was clearly not playing at his usual high level. His numbers tumbled to 13.6 points per game and 6.7 rebounds on 43.9 percent shooting. He was a costly investment for fantasy owners who may have derailed many a season for owners willing to invest an early round pick on the talented, but injury plagued O'Neal.

Fantasy Co- MVPs: Danny Granger and Mike Dunleavy
Fantasy FLOP: Jermaine O'Neal


Atlanta Hawks, (37-45), 8th place
The Hawks surprised everyone by pushing the mighty Celtics to seven games in the first round. This author stated that the Celtics would hand out blindfolds and grant last requests in the first round, but it looks like the Hawks took the blindfolds off and requested that everyone pay attention, as they almost pulled off one of the biggest upsets in the history of the sport. They are a team that has a lot of young talent, but have failed to put it all together. Perhaps this series will be a turning point. Other than their exciting playoff series, let's take a look at what they did for fantasy owners over this past season.

GUARDS
The Hawks were floundering at the point guard position early in the season as they tried a rotation of Anthony Johnson, Tyronn Lue, and even threw rookie Acie Law out there in the starting lineup, until it became apparent that something had to be done. That something was the acquisition of Mike Bibby from the Kings. Bibby posted averages of 14.1 points, 6.5 assists, 3.2 rebounds, and 2.1 threes on 41.4 percent shooting with the Hawks. Bibby's biggest contribution may not have been his own numbers, but the impact that his addition had on fellow guard Joe Johnson. With Bibby in the lineup, Johnson saw a dramatic increase in his numbers as a lot of pressure was taken off of him to bring the ball up, and he could focus more on scoring. In the second half, after Bibby's addition, Johnson's shooting percentage rose from 40.5 percent in his first 50 games to 47.5 percent over his final 32. He also increased his scoring from 20.7 over that span to 23.2 with Bibby in the lineup. Fantasy owners that owned Joe Johnson were relieved that Bibby's addition could help his numbers increase across the board. Oddly enough, his assists even increased from 5.3 to 6.6. This is a situation that fantasy owners should pay attention to heading into next season. A full season with Mike Bibby could be very beneficial for Joe Johnson owners. Johnson's final line was very impressive at 21.7 points, 4.5 rebounds, 5.8 assists, and 2.1 threes on 43.2 percent shooting, making him worth the draft investment.

FORWARDS
The Hawks feature a trio of young forwards, headed up by the dynamic and exciting Josh Smith. Smith is the Swiss Army Knife of fantasy basketball players, as he gives you a little bit of everything and is an absolute stat stuffer. His scoring improved for the fourth consecutive season as he averaged 17.2 points on 45.7 percent shooting. He also offers block and board numbers that rival most centers with an 8.2 rebound average and a 2.8 block per game average that placed him second in the NBA this season behind only Marcus Camby. He also offered up a career best 3.4 assists and 1.5 steals per game. He is going to be expensive for fantasy owners next season and will be very expensive for the Hawks, as well, considering that he is a restricted free agent and teams will be willing to throw a lot of money at the 22-year-old. The other restricted free agent problem that will confront the Hawks this offseason involves another one of their talented young forwards in Josh Childress. Childress had a decent season, but certainly did not give fantasy owners what they were expecting, as he was crunched for time with Marvin Williams and never really got into a groove. His numbers declined from his previous season, as he averaged 11.8 points, 4.9 rebounds, and 1.5 assists on 57.1 percent shooting. His shooting percentage alone is a suggestion that he didn't get enough touches during the season. Part of his decline could be in large part because of the emergence of Marvin Williams. Williams put together a solid campaign, as his numbers increased in almost every category. He finished with an average of 14.8 points, 5.7 rebounds, 1.7 assists, and one steal per game while shooting 46.2 percent from the floor.

CENTERS
The future is bright at the center position for the Hawks as first round pick Al Horford put together a solid rookie campaign that many, including his own head coach, thought was worthy of the Rookie of the Year vote. Considering that he came much cheaper in fantasy drafts than Kevin Durant, there are many fantasy owners that would agree. He was steady all season and averaged a near double-double per game with a 10.1 point scoring average and grabbed 9.7 boards while shooting 49.9 percent. He continued his strong rookie season into the playoffs, where he was a solid presence in the middle for the Hawks as he gave the Celtics fits and managed to score 12.7 points per game and grab 10.4 rebounds with 3.6 assists while blocking a shot per game. He is definitely one to keep an eye on next season as a solid center option that should continue to grow as he learns the game.

Fantasy MVP: Josh Smith Fantasy FLOP: Josh Childress