While there are the "sleepers" who everyone seems to be keyed into at the beginning of August (such as LaMarcus Aldridge last season, and David Lee to a lesser extent this year), a few guys always slip through the cracks... and getting these difference makers for free will change the course of your season.
Below is a list of my favorite break out candidates, guys who may be extremely valuable for the first few weeks of the season before injury situations resolve, and position battles that will hopefully play out and settle in the first couple of weeks this season. They are all available in the majority of Yahoo! leagues, but obviously this will vary depending on your personal situation.
The point of this article though, is to watch games and box scores like a hawk for the first week or so. I hate to call this a "veteran tactic", because it seems obvious, but you will be kicking yourself if you miss out on an 03-04 Flip Murray, 04-05 Bobby Simmons, or 05-06 Boris Diaw.
(while the list is roughly in the order of "most likely to succeed/most potential for long term value" to "least likely/least value over the course of the season", I recommend prioritizing by the needs of your team. These players were considered under a 12 team, H2H, standard 9 cat (FG%, FT%, 3ptm, pts, reb, ast, stl, blk, to) format)
Kelenna Azuibuke (SG/SF - Golden State)
I liked Azuibuke before I heard about the possibility of Stephen Jackson starting at PG for the Warriors. I am holding out hope that he improved his FT shooting in the offseason, but even if he didn’t… you are essentially getting a JR Smith who will get
Quentin Richardson (SG/SF - New York)/NY rotation
Mike D’Antoni likes a short rotation and as of right now the only guys who really seem set in
He STUNK in the preseason, but Larry Brown loves big guys who can work the mid-range game. It should be apparent very early whether or not May at PF will fulfill LB’s expectations, and if he does he should be a nice source of points and boards at a position that is deceivingly shallow.
Marquis Daniels (SG/SF - Indianapolis)
Mike Dunleavy is hurt, and there is no consensus on how bad it is (but he has been confirmed as out for their opener). Marquis has the potential to produce across the board if given heavy PT. He lacks in 3ptm and FT% compared to most guards, but his silky smooth matrix handle essentially guarantees access to the lane whenever he wants it. If he takes the bulk of Dunleavy’s vacated PT, you should grab him. If you are in a competitive league… you should probably grab him if he starts, and then just hope things shake out well. He will essentially be worthless once Dunleavy returns, but in the mean time he has the potential to be a serious difference maker in an up-tempo system.
Roger Mason (PG - San Antonio)/Manu’s minutes
With Ginobili out Mason should theoretically have plenty of opportunity to distinguish himself. Michael Finley is old, and Ime Udoka doesn’t offer much other than hustle and birth marks. Enter Roger Mason. He won’t receive the freedom that Ginobili does inside of the Spurs’ system, but he can knock down shots like it isn’t even a thing, so if you are into guys who score in bunches, pile up 3ptm on low TO's, and put up high FT% on regrettably low attempt numbers, Roger Mason is your guy!
Johan Petro (C - Oklahoma City)
Chris Wilcox will probably get hurt next week, and Nick Collison… is Nick Collison. The Thunder’s frontcourt is BEGGING for someone to take command of it. I would have never tagged Petro as that guy, given his questionable role not only on this team, but in the league, over the past few seasons. But he had a nice preseason, so who knows! Keep on eye on him is all I’m saying.
Delonte West (PG/SG - Cleveland)
Hopefully West will get the starting job so he can be on the court with Mo Williams and LeBron, because Sasha Pavlovic won’t show up in box scores regardless of what his role on the team is. Delonte won’t blow you away with anything, but if he starts he should be given the opportunity to do what he does best (ie spot up shooting), and avoid the weaker parts of his game (ie playmaking), all the while providing the defensive goodies that have kept him on roto league rosters for most of his time in the league.
Someone has to get minutes. A month ago I was really pulling for Sean Williams, but now it looks as though Brook Lopez and Yi are going to win out; which is not bad. Bobby Simmons could do some interesting things as well if he gets heavy minutes (35+mpg), but anything lower and his production will be inconsistent at best. Barring the effects of foul trouble etc. I would definitely recommend grabbing a
Nick Young (SG/SF - Washington)
He is a little banged up, but the Wizards are so depleted that he should get an opportunity to be a difference maker anyway. I can’t say anything beyond wait and see, as most of my exposure to Nick Young has been through youtubes of his sick dunks. But the Wizards play fast, and Young can fill it up, ergo if he gets consistent PT he could be worth owning.
The problem with this situation is that the players involved (Amir, Jason Maxiell, McDyess) will most likely kill each other’s value. However, if Amir or Maxiell manage to win a bulk of the minutes they will be worth owning (I exclude Antonio from this situation because he can’t block shots at the rate these two whippersnappers clean up).
Luis Scola (PF/C - Houston)
Much like the
He had a nice pre-season, and if Baron doesn’t play he could put up some nice classic SG lines for a week or two. Definitely not going to be a long term solution, but an early season streamer for sure!
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