But first, one last big man.

Round 4, Pick 9:

Oct 20, 2012; Milwaukee, WI, USA; Milwaukee Bucks forward Ersan Ilyasova (7) shoots a jumper against Washington Wizards forward Trevor Booker (35) at the Bradley Center. Mandatory Credit: Benny Sieu-US PRESSWIRE

Ersan Ilyasova, PF, Milwaukee.  Ilyasova is going to have a monster breakout season, and is one of several breakout candidates at power forward this season (others include second year men Kenneth Faried and Tristan Thompson).

Ilyasova posted 16.1 points per game and 9.1 rebounds per game in the last two months of the 2011-12 season, and is primed to post even bigger numbers this year with Andrew Bogut completely removed from the front court to clear the path for the Turkish big man.

Ilyasova has been playing at a high level for many years, and showed up big for Turkey in the World Championships in 2010 in his home country.  Since that time, he’s only matured as a player.  Andrew Morton of Rant Sports (@WideReceiving) even goes as far as to suggest he is actually a better NBA power forward than Blake Griffin, and when the game is looked at holistically, it’s hard to disagree with that notion.

Round 5, Pick 2:

Kyle Lowry, PG, Toronto Raptors.  Up until January 24th, in 9-cat Yahoo! leagues last season, Lowry posted the 6th highest value of all players, putting up better numbers at the point position than Derrick Rose, Chris Paul, Deron Williams, Steve Nash, Russell Westbrook, Rajon Rondo, Stephen Curry, Brandon Jennings and Ricky Rubio.

Oct 17, 2012; Toronto, ON, Canada; Toronto Raptors guard Kyle Lowry (3) shoots a free throw against the Washington Wizards at the Air Canada Centre. The Raptors beat the Wizards 104-101. Mandatory Credit: Tom Szczerbowski-US PRESSWIRE

Lowry was the man.  And yet, because his Houston Rockets team was so mediocre, he was left off the coaches’ picks for the reserves.  His averages as of late January were 16.5 points per game, 8.7 assists per game, and 6.9 rebounds per game.

That line is an all-around triple-double producing statistical performance.  At that time, I wrote that Lowry would “undoubtedly” be an All-Star, and yet when the team was selected a month later, his performance had leveled off, and his team was struggling.

I’m ignoring all of that.  Lowry is on a new team, and that team is more talented.  Lowry will facilitate things for big men Andrea Bargnani (who basically camps out for threes) and the athletic Jonas Valanciunas inside.

In addition to the front court, he also has DeMar DeRozan, Terrence Ross, Landry Fields and backup point guard Jose Caldedon, to help him work the open spots on the perimeter.

Lowry is the key to a very powerful engine, and should put up 15.5 points per game, 8 assists per game, and 5.5 rebounds per game this season.  That’s great value for the fifth round.

Round 6, Pick 9:  

October 24, 2012; New Orleans, LA, USA; Houston Rockets point guard Jeremy Lin (7) drives past New Orleans Hornets point guard Greivis Vasquez (21) during the second quarter of a preseason game at the New Orleans Arena. Mandatory Credit: Derick E. Hingle-US PRESSWIRE

Jeremy Lin, PG, Houston Rockets

I am already regretting this pick after checking his preseason performances more.  In fact, I wish I had it to do over.  I don’t really want to go into why Lin is struggling, because it only further makes me think he was a flash in the pan.  It’s highly possible that he went off for a short tear of games and never comes anywhere near eclipsing that production—ever again.

In fact, I fear rookie Scott Machado will steal more than his fair share of minutes, in light of how the heralded Brazilian has performed so far this preseason.  Lin, avoid him.  This isn’t even good value, though most of the other guards on the board by pick 69 were of low quality.  At least I still have Lowry.

Credit: Gary Finkler. 7thinningsketch.com

Our good friend Gary Finkler from www.7thinningsketch.com brings to us our featured picture of the week.

In a matter of a week, former Harvard standout Jeremy Lin has taken over the Knicks and the basketball universe.

It’s insane to think about how quickly in the NBA one can go from the bottom of the depth chart to the top of the league.

Lin may not average 30 points a game for the rest of the season, but he is sure making for one heck of a five-game stretch. Either way, no matter how much Celtics fans want to disagree, basketball is just better if the Knicks are playing well.

The Celtics host the Knicks on March 4th and I for one am looking forward to Rondo and Lin running up and down the court like maniacs.