NBA Underbelly

The NBA season is upon us and if you are in a fantasy league, you know that these next crucial weeks are when those few ‘diamonds in the rough’ will be luckily snagged from the free agent list.  Do not have another year where you end up saying “Why didn’t I grab that guy when I could have? Did I really think dropping Tyronn Lue would hurt me that much?”.  One of the best quotes you will ever hear comes from the poker legend, Doyle Brunson, “Fortune favours the bold.” However, I feel the need to supplement that with a quote I have come up with on my own, “Failure haunts the utterly stupid”.  Keep both quotes in mind.

That being said, I am following my last article up with a small list of some more players that have a solid chance at being great sleeper picks.  You may or may not notice that these sleepers tend to be guys that are very young or had yet to earn substantial playing time before this season. 

The number one priority you should have when picking a player up is not how good or talented he is.  The main focus should be on his playing time.  This is not to say that every pylon in the league who plays 25 minutes a game deserves a roster spot, it just means that you should only look at the players who will be given lots of playing time and then evaluate which among them are the most talented. 

There is no point in having guys like Paul Millsap and Jason Maxiell if they are only going to play 12 minutes a game.  However, if Carlos Boozer and Rasheed Wallace were to get themselves into an Ironman Death Match resulting in some lengthy injuries, well Millsap and Maxiell would then become studs.  

Lets take a look at some guys who should see solid minutes and have the opportunity to  break out:

Brendan Haywood

While he is a well known player, he is still available in many leagues and Haywood is a prime example of what more playing time can do for individual fantasy production.  With Etan Thomas no longer healthy enough to cut into his floor time, Haywood is putting up the kind of numbers you want from your centre position (10ppg, 14rebs, 3blks).  I don’t care how many games the Wizards lose, if Haywood’s minutes stay where they are, he is a steal of a pickup. 

Kyle Lowry

This 1st rounder out of Villanova has been overlooked by many during their fantasy drafts, but if you consider the fact that he is putting up solid numbers (13ppg, 4reb, 5ass) while Damon Stoudamire is still healthy, it is hard to imagine him being available in many leagues for any extended period of time.  Mighty Mouse will be hurt at some point this year (see: every other season) and when that happens, Lowry’s value skyrockets.  Get him while you can.

Ike Diogu

This young horse is playing 20+ minutes a game so far and he seems to be settling in very nicely in Indiana.  He plays a physical game and shoots a high percentage (13ppg, 5rebs, 57%fg) which warrants a bench spot.  Toss in the fact that he is playing behind shaky knees Jermaine O’Neal, and it seems that he is one very feasible injury away from being a significant fantasy contributor.

Grant Hill

A move to Phoenix caused some GM’s to think Hill might be eased into that cheerleader role Jalen Rose seemed to have locked up in 2006.  However, this guy continues to fight through injuries and produce when he plays.  After the first few games, Hill is averaging over 30 minutes a game and is a solid all around fantasy performer (11 ppg, 4rebs, 2ass, 1stl).  Pick him up now because his body could explode at any moment.

Buy Low, Sell High

Every week I will be posting a few players you should be trying to acquire or dump via the trade.  NBA Underbelly’s very first Buy-Low player is…… drumroll……

 Gerald Wallace. 

Rationale: 

The assumption is that when a team adds another scorer, whoever was doing the damage for them before will naturally take a fantasy hit because he has to share the ball.  In the case of the Bobcats, this assumption is DEAD WRONG (Marv Levy voice). 

Wallace is a guy that can contribute across the board and while his PPG may take a small hit, the acquisition of Richardson will allow for less double teams, more 3s, more assists and a better FG%.  Wallace was not able to stay healthy last year and is off to a slow start this year, but as some chemistry develops with J-Rich, watch out for this guy to creep into the top 15.