Sports Blog

Fresh off of fantasy baseball and right in the middle of fantasy football, the start of the fantasy basketball season could not come at a more hectic time. Yet, here we are in week one of the NBA schedule with a few days of games already under our belts.

An NBA season is a grueling, 82 game marathon. And while most fantasy drafts have already been completed, fantasy basketball, perhaps more so than any other fantasy sport, is all about picking up free agents early in the season. During the early parts of a season head coaches are experimenting with different lineups and figuring out how to best utilize new players. As a result, you will see certain players surprise you with great production and others disappoint you with poor production.

The key to winning in fantasy basketball is determining early on which players off to a hot start are for real and which ones are imposters. Conversely, it is just as important to figure out which players off to slow starts are most likely to turn it around. This week we will take a look at players off to a hot start that should continue to make a positive impact on your fantasy team.

As always, the players recommended here are available in a majority of leagues because you do not need me to tell you that Lebron James is going to have a good fantasy season.

PG Randy Foye, Washington Wizards (Owned in 27.4 percent of ESPN leagues): Foye is technically a combo guard, but he is eligible to start in fantasy at both guard positions. A good sign for Foye is that in the Wizards’ first game of the season — a game in which Foye came off the bench — he logged more minutes (30) than starting shooting guard Mike Miller (22). Although he isn’t quite the three-point threat that Miller is, the fact that he can take over point guard duty for Gilbert Arenas makes me believe that he will continue to log more minutes than Miller this year. Plus, with Arenas’ laundry list of injuries, it is not absurd to assume that Foye will find himself as the starting point guard sometime this season.

SG Stephen Curry, Golden State Warriors (Owned in 64.8 percent of ESPN leagues): Yes, I am well aware of head coach Don Nelson’s propensity for switching lineups more often than he does underwear, but Stephen Curry is too good to keep off of the floor. The rookie has a deadly outside shot and is somehow already more dependable than teammates Monta Ellis and Stephen Jackson, the latter of which is being actively shopped around the league.

SF Shane Battier, Houston Rockets (Owned in 54 percent of ESPN leagues): The fact that Battier is not owned in all but the shallowest of leagues is mind boggling. The Rockets are without their two biggest scoring threats (Yao Ming and Tracy McGrady), playing with a relatively inexperienced point guard (Aaron Brooks), and an offensively irrelevant center (Chuck Hayes). Someone has to put up fantasy points and they won’t all be coming from new teammate Trevor Ariza.

PF Yi Jianlian, New Jersey Nets (Owned in 5.3 percent of ESPN leagues): I’ll admit that he has been a mild disappointment thus far in his career, but let me remind you that he is only 22 years old and still learning the nuances of the NBA. He opened with a very strong game against the Minnesota Timberwolves (17 points, 12 rebounds, 2 blocks), and while it may be unrealistic to expect that level of production all season, I see him as a legit fantasy contributor in 12-team fantasy leagues.

C Marc Gasol, Memphis Grizzlies (Owned in 16.3 percent of ESPN leagues): The center position is arguably the toughest to fill in fantasy basketball, and this is especially true for leagues that require you start two of them. Gasol may not be as good of a scorer as Al Horford or the dominant shot blocker that Dwight Howard is, but he his above average in both and also grabs a lot of rebounds. The Grizzlies also have a lot of players that like to jack up a lot of bad shots early in the shot clock (Rudy Gay, O.J. Mayo, Allen Iverson, Zach Randolph), so if your fantasy league counts offensive rebounds as a category Gasol is even more valuable.

With the 2009 NBA Draft over and done with, it’s time to see witch rookies will have any fantasy impact for their new teams.

Blake Griffin, F Clippers:
This guy should be a star in the NBA right from the start.  Yes the Clippers do currently have a crowded frontcourt with Marcus Camby, Zach Randolph, and Chris Kaman, but Blake has the body and athleticism to contribute right away.  There is no way the organization is just going to sit him on the bench.  He’ll get to play plenty and I could see them dealing one of their other big men to create more playing time.  As for his fantasy impact, I could see him averaging 25-30 minutes and a double-double in points and rebounds a game.  That’s very good for a rookie!  His only problem will be free throws, as he was never good at them in college.  Other than that he has the athleticism to be a good defender and average a block and steal per game.  That’s if he commits to playing defense of course.  With NBA rookies you never know.

Fantasy Value: High

Stephen Curry, G Warriors:
Curry was one pick away from landing in a dream situation for both him and the Knicks fans.  He would have been perfect for the Knicks up-tempo style.  With that being said he did probably end up in the next best thing.  The Warriors also play a up-tempo style and because they have a point guard he could be a good scorer from the shooting guard position.  He shouldn’t have a problem earning ample minutes as a rookie for head coach Don Nelson.  He’s a great shooter and scorer so I wouldn’t be surprised if he had Eric Gordon type numbers from the very start.  That’s averaging about 15 points, 2 3-pointers and a steal a game.

Fantasy Value: High

Hasheem Thabeet, C Grizzlies:
Fantasy owners are already salivating at the shot-blocking and rebounding potential that Thabeet could offer as a rookie. Though it looks like he will offer just about nothing on the offensive end as a rookie. The Grizzlies are pretty thin in the frontcourt aside from Marc Gasol, so the minutes should be there from day one. Some experts have question whether he will ever get a real offensive game, but you should just value him for his shot blocking and rebounding, which there is no doubt NBA ready. I see him being near the league lead in shot blocks and averaging around 10 rebounds per game. That’s good for a center. Thabeet’s presence hurts Marc Gasol’s fantasy stock a bit,, but I could see Gasol sliding over to power forward so both can be on the floor at once.
Fantasy Value: Medium

James Harden, G Thunder:
I believe Harden was one of the most under rated players in the draft by experts.  Watching him in college many times his play reminds me a lot of Brandon Roy.  He is just a solid all around player that can help fantasy owners in many categories.  In fact he’s my pick for rookie of the year.  He’s going to a good young team where he can step into the 2-guard position right away and get plenty of minutes.  The Thunder will actually be fun to watch next season with all their young talent.  Look for Harden to average around 30 minutes a game scoring plenty and averaging above average for 2-guards in rebounds and assists.  He’s D is not bad either so steals will come also.

Fantasy Value: High

Terrence Williams, G-F Nets:
After trading Vince Carter to the Magic there was no doubt that the Nets were targeting T-Will at #11.  Well, they got their man and he should be the starter at small forward from day one.  Like Harden, T-Will has a very versatile game that should help fantasy owners in many categories.  If he improves his shooting he could also be right there in the discussion for rookie of the year.  Even if he doesn’t improve shooting he still has the all around game to be fantasy relevant.

Fantasy Value: Medium

Tyreke Evans, G Kings:
Evans like most rookies needs to work on his shot and shot selection, but he is a player with a lot of up-side.  I don’t know how many minutes he will get from the start, but I believe by the end of the season he will be playing plenty.  He’s a player you want to keep an eye on has a big contributor in the second half of the season if the Kings are out of contention.  Just keep watch for him.

Fantasy Value: Sleeper

Image Source: Getty