We all knew Kevin Love could grab boards and score a bit, but I do not think people realize how good he’s going to be this year in games that matter. In 7 preseason games so far this year, he’s averaging 19.1 points 11.4 rebounds 1.7 assists 0.1 steal 0.6 blocks 1.7 TOs 1.9 threes per game while shooting 53 FG% and 86 FT%. What amazes me is that he is putting up these numbers in 26.1 minutes per game. I understand why some of you guys would hate on him due to his inability to get steals and blocks, but as I assure you that it will come with 32+ minutes that he will be playing in the regular season. Last season, he averaged 0.7 steals and 0.4 blocks in 28.6 minutes per game. It is not amazing, but it is not horrible. Let’s say Rambis is forced to play him at least 32-35 minutes per game (this will happen for sure…Twolves have no legit backup at PF or C), Love will definitely get close to 1 steal and 0.5 blocks per game. He is not Lebron so he is prone to having an off game. At times, he will get into an early foul trouble and might end up only playing 25 minutes or less. But in 3rd round of your draft, can you really pass on a potential 19.7 points 12.9 rebounds 2.5 assists 0.9 steal 0.5 blocks 1.6 threes 47.5 FG% 84.9 FT% power forward/center? I would rather have Love over other bigs such as Al Horford, David West, Carlos Boozer, Troy Murphy, Joakim Noah, and Lamarcus Aldridge this year.
Sleepers / Players who will outperform their ADP & O-Ranks
hey guys..I can’t seem to fall asleep right now..so I’m going to write down the list of sleepers and players who will outperform their ADP & O-Ranks. In order for me to make the playoffs year after year, I always try to draft sleepers in middle to later rounds of the draft. Sleepers help you win fantasy leagues because they have potential to improve from let say 6 points 4 rebounds 1.6 blocks to 12 points 7 rebounds 2 blocks (This would be Javale Mcgee’s projection for this upcoming season). I will randomly list sleepers now.
Sleepers
1) Dorell Wright (GSW – SG/SF) – He has been under many fantasy owners radar, but it seems like not everyone is sold on him. Well, I am and so is he. He recently said in an article that he cannot wait to finally showcase his skills to the world. He has managed to start 56 games in his career with the Miami Heat and he put 9.1 points 6 rebounds 0.8 steals 1.0 blocks 47.6 FG% 80.6 FT%. Although he only made 0.1 threes (30.4%), he only attempted 0.4 threes in those games. But something changed last season. Last year, he shot 38.9% from 3s last year while averaging 0.9 threes in 20 minutes per game. If given 30+ minutes, he is capable of putting up 1.0+ 3s per game while averaging around 1 steal/block this year. Warriors love Wright’s potential as a defensive minded SF who can knock down 3s. Please do not worry about Reggie Williams because he is nowhere near Dorell Wright in regards to quickness/athleticism. In his first preseason game this year against the Clippers, Wright put up 16 points 6 rebounds 4 assists 1 steal 1 block and 2 threes w/ decent percentages. He has the ability to average those numbers minus 2 assists and 1 rebound if he stays healthy. However, he is prone to off games as well. He put up 11 points 2 rebounds 2 assists 1 steal 1 block in his last game while going 0 for 3 from the long distance. I could live with my 10-12th rounder putting up 11-2-2-1-1 on his bad nights. He has been injured a couple of times past few years but there’s something different about this year. In his tenure w/ Miami Heat, they never declared him as a starting SF before the season started. He always had to earn his minutes and he didn’t work out well because of his injuries and inconsistency. Now that he can shoot 3s and is 100%, he has been twitting that this is the year for him. If I were you, I would take my chances with him in 11th-14th round of the fantasy drafts.
10-11 Projection 13.3 points 4.7 rebounds 2.1 assists 1.2 steals 0.8 blocks 1.5 threes 44.9 FG% 80.5 FT% 1.6 turnovers
2) Linas Kleiza (Tor – SG/SF) – He is simply the best shooter/scorer option besides Bargnani. Problem with Bargnani is that he is not really a no.1 option. I believe that Derozan and Kleiza will handle most of the scoring loads while Bargnani struggles. Kleiza has become a solid 3 point shooter as we all know he averaged close to 19-9 for the Lithuania during the FIBA Championship. In his 36 games that he started in the NBA before he left, he averaged 12.3 points 4.8 rebounds 0.6 steals 1.3 threes. It is nothing fantastic but good enough for a fill-in starter. In 13 games that he started during 2007 season, he put up 17.1 points 4.7 rebounds 1.2 steals 1.5 threes 47.8 FG% 77.3 FT%. Can you see his potential? Raptors are going to be one of the worst teams this season and they will heavily rely on Kleiza to score and bring a veteran presence to a young team. In his first preseason game against the Suns, he put up 20 points and 4 threes in less than 25 minutes. Sleepers are all about potential and if you want a potential deadly 3 point shooter with 4+ rebounds, I would roll the dice with Kleiza in later rounds of the draft. Would you rather waste your 6th-8th round pick on Jeff Green, Trevor Ariza, Vince Carter, Rashard Lewis, or wait until 12-13th rounds and get a value pick? You could win big by get Blake Griffin, Chris Kaman, or Roy Hibbert in round 6th and settle for Kleiza in round 12.
10-11 Projection 15.1 points 4.8 rebounds 1.8 assists 0.8 steals 0.2 blocks 1.6 threes 46 FG% 79 FT%
3) Javale McGee (Was – PF/C) – He is going to be a fun player to own this year. His athleticism is off the chart and he will also be playing with dynamic PG in John Wall. Great point guards know how to find dish to his big man and McGee will get many easy buckets as a result of Wall’s court vision. In 8 april games that McGee put up 13.3 points 8.5 rebounds 0.8 steals 2.9 blocks in 23 minutes per game. What do you think will happen if Flip Saunders just lets him play 30+ minutes? Yes we do know that he put up those numbers without John Wall and Gilbert Arenas. But the fact is that McGee will only benefit from these two players because they will create more easy looks for him. McGee mostly scores from layups, midrange jumpers, dunks, and garbage buckets so his FG% might rise even more. His FT% hovers around 60-65% but he will not attempt enough to hurt your team. Also, McGee had two more things going for him this summer. Not only did he dominate the NBA summer league by putting up 19 points and 9 rebounds, he practiced with the Team USA squad. Lamar Odom was impressed. Odom did address that McGee still needs to put it all together but he did admit that sky’s the limit for McGee. In h2h leagues, I would strongly consider drafting McGee in 9th-10th rounds if he is available. Think of him as a poor man’s Joakim Noah/Marcus Camby. He has the potential to block 2-6 blocks on a any given night while putting up 10-10. Yi Jianlian is a threat but he is more of a PF/SF than a center and please do not mention Hilton Armstrong….because he is Hilton Armstrong.
10-11 Projection 11.9 points 7.5 rebounds 0.9 steals 2.1 block
4) J.J Hickson (Cle – PF/C) – I think this one is simple. He will get minutes because Cavs are in a rebuilding mode and Antawn Jamison is getting old. I would hate to admit it if I was a Cavs fan but Hickson is their future. I think he will average at least 14 points and 7 rebounds but his value will depend on his defensive stats steals/blocks. He hasn’t proven to anyone that he can get hustle stats. If somehow he is able to average over 1 steal/block, he will be a steal in later rounds of most drafts. Hickson will have a solid season but he will struggle from the foul line all year-long.
10-11 Projection 14.9 points 7.2 rebounds 0.9 steals 0.8 blocks 47 FG% 65 FT%
Other sleepers that you should consider in later rounds of your draft..meaning 10-15th rounds
5) Jarrett Jack
6) DJ Augustin
7) Jeff Teague (I would recommend not drafting him because you might end up dropping him if he doesn’t perform right away. Don’t draft him but once he takes over games and starts at PG, pick him up ASAP)
8) Marvin Williams
9) Austin Daye – go check out his youtube highlights and what he did last season as a starter. This guy can flat out shoot 3s. He is also capable of getting 1 steal/1block. Can we say next potential player to join the 1/1/1 (3s,steals,blocks) club? He might have to compete for minutes with Greg Monroe and Charlie Villanueva but it seems like Kuester simply is not a big fan of Charlie V and Daye just took 21 shots in 37 minutes in today’s preseason game. 21 shots in 37 minutes…if Daye’s take 21 shots and coach’s letting him play…we have to believe that the coach is giving him the greenlight to shoot the ball.
10) Anderson Varejao – he will be a double double machine..dont sleep on him
11) Ben Gordon – He will score and hit 3s as long as he is healthy. It doesn’t matter if he’s starting or coming off the bench, he will get it done if he’s healthy and it seems like he is healthy this year.
12) Josh McRoberts/Tyler Hansbrough – McRoberts has more potential fantasy wise because he has the ability to hit 3s, get steals, and block shots….while Tyler is mostly points and rebounds. This is really tough one but I have a gut feeling that McRoberts will be very useful at least first 3-4 weeks. But once Tyler gets in-game shape, I think this position battle will result in an even timeshare. Use/draft/pickup McRoberts at your own risk and don’t expect too much out of him. I would expect him to get you 1+ steal 1+ block but don’t expect him to score more than 6-8 points in most games.
Players you may have to reach for in round 5 or early 6th
13) Jrue Holiday – Breakout candidate…if you are an above average NBA fan, you probably know what Jrue is capable of. He will run the show all-year for the Sixers and they are in a rebuilding mode right now. I expect at least 12 points 4 rebounds 7 assists 1.5+ steals 1.0+ threes from Jrue this year. He has potential to easily average 15-5-7 though if he figures it out sooner.
14) Roy Hibbert – This year’s Brook Lopez. He will have games where he shoots 4 for 14 and grab 3-4 rebounds but he will also give you 27-16-5 in some nights. Pacers offense will run through Hibbert. Centers usuall take 1-2 years to breakout and this is his 3rd season as a pro. Troy Murphy stole a lot of rebounds from him last year but Murphy is gone. He will only have to fight McRoberts and Tyler Hansbrough for rebounds. I expect at least 16 points 8.1 rebounds 2.2 assists 1.8 blocks from Hibbert this year w/ decent FG and FT%.
Hello fantasy world!
Welcome to HSL Fastbreak. I will be writing about h2h fantasy basketball throughout the year. I hope you guys enjoy my posts and I will make sure to help you guys win your h2h basketball leagues. I have been playing fantasy basketball for over 8 years and my fantasy insights will definitely help any players who need some help.
