2009 - C Sleepers
And finally, let's take a gander at three sets of big man sleepers.
SURFACE SLEEPERS
Chris Anderson (DEN): Oh come on, every fantasy basketball squad needs a tatted-up, mohawked white guy who is all arms and legs and blocks at least a pair of shots every night out! The guy won't average anything over 9-10 points per game, but why limit yourself to guys that just score? With the few shots that he does take, though, he'll make over 50% of them, and actually shoots decent from the line and is going to get you a good number of boards, too.
Jermaine O'Neal (MIA): This is one of those calls that could make or break your team. If you're lucky, and cut bait early enough (assuming O'Neal is not himself), it may not break you too badly. But if he IS back to form - or even 75% back to form - he'll be a late-round steal. O'Neal was once a dominant fantasy force; scoring, rebounding and blocking shots. If his knees hold up, he will not only provide those blocks, but could potentially score 15-17 points and take down 7-9 boards.
Antonio McDyess (SA): Slated to start for the Spurs, McDyess will provide some in-the-key relief for Tim Duncan. He won't be a scoring machine, not by any stretch, but he'll rebound effectively and he should shoot well from the field. As a backup fantasy center, he's more than serviceable, and actually has some upside with Duncan's penchant for injury.
REGULAR SLEEPERS
Darko Milicic (NYK): It's now or never for the big guy. He can certainly block some shots, but he'll need to add another dominant category (will probably be rebounds, although David Lee will limit that potential). Mike D'Antoni's system may work in Milicic's favor, so pay careful attention to his early season minutes and pounce if he's in the 10-12 point, 6-7 rebound range from the outset.
Hasheem Thabeet (MEM): You can probably copy and paste the info on Milicic here with Thabeet. We know he'll block shots and will likely shoot well from the field, but what else will he do in the NBA?
Erick Dampier (DAL): If you have 2 or 3 20+ ppg scorers on your fantasy squad and can afford the hit with Damp's 6-9 points per game, he may help you in other categories. Damp will block a shot per game, pull down a good handful of boards and will shoot well from the field (assuming he actually shoots the ball). Think of him as a super-cheap source of boards and blocks that you'll plug in your lineup a couple times a week.
DEEP SLEEPERS
DeAndre Jordan (LAC): There's some serious talent around Jordan, and there will have to be a significant injury for Jordan to matter (like last season). But with regular playing time, Jordan was a stat-gobbler, namely blocks and boards. Now, if both Chris Kaman and Marcus Camby would to go down, Jordan's stock would be through the roof. If nothing else, Kaman and Camby owners should have an itchy trigger finger with Jordan.
Eddy Curry (NYK): This guy is Mariana Trench deep (you might need to Google that one). But hey, if Curry gets shipped out of the Big Apple, he'll provide some team with 13-16 points and good FG%. He won't do much else, of course.
Zaza Pachulia (ATL): Al Horford is really the only big man - other than Pachulia - worth a darn on the Hawk roster, so Pachulia's a shoo-in for at least 15-20 minutes per game, which could translate into decent fantasy stats for a backup center in deeper leagues. His FT% is good for a big guy, and while he won't board or block shots particularly well, he can score a bit and would be far more valuable if Horford were to miss extended spells.
SURFACE SLEEPERS
Chris Anderson (DEN): Oh come on, every fantasy basketball squad needs a tatted-up, mohawked white guy who is all arms and legs and blocks at least a pair of shots every night out! The guy won't average anything over 9-10 points per game, but why limit yourself to guys that just score? With the few shots that he does take, though, he'll make over 50% of them, and actually shoots decent from the line and is going to get you a good number of boards, too.
Jermaine O'Neal (MIA): This is one of those calls that could make or break your team. If you're lucky, and cut bait early enough (assuming O'Neal is not himself), it may not break you too badly. But if he IS back to form - or even 75% back to form - he'll be a late-round steal. O'Neal was once a dominant fantasy force; scoring, rebounding and blocking shots. If his knees hold up, he will not only provide those blocks, but could potentially score 15-17 points and take down 7-9 boards.
Antonio McDyess (SA): Slated to start for the Spurs, McDyess will provide some in-the-key relief for Tim Duncan. He won't be a scoring machine, not by any stretch, but he'll rebound effectively and he should shoot well from the field. As a backup fantasy center, he's more than serviceable, and actually has some upside with Duncan's penchant for injury.
REGULAR SLEEPERS
Darko Milicic (NYK): It's now or never for the big guy. He can certainly block some shots, but he'll need to add another dominant category (will probably be rebounds, although David Lee will limit that potential). Mike D'Antoni's system may work in Milicic's favor, so pay careful attention to his early season minutes and pounce if he's in the 10-12 point, 6-7 rebound range from the outset.
Hasheem Thabeet (MEM): You can probably copy and paste the info on Milicic here with Thabeet. We know he'll block shots and will likely shoot well from the field, but what else will he do in the NBA?
Erick Dampier (DAL): If you have 2 or 3 20+ ppg scorers on your fantasy squad and can afford the hit with Damp's 6-9 points per game, he may help you in other categories. Damp will block a shot per game, pull down a good handful of boards and will shoot well from the field (assuming he actually shoots the ball). Think of him as a super-cheap source of boards and blocks that you'll plug in your lineup a couple times a week.
DEEP SLEEPERS
DeAndre Jordan (LAC): There's some serious talent around Jordan, and there will have to be a significant injury for Jordan to matter (like last season). But with regular playing time, Jordan was a stat-gobbler, namely blocks and boards. Now, if both Chris Kaman and Marcus Camby would to go down, Jordan's stock would be through the roof. If nothing else, Kaman and Camby owners should have an itchy trigger finger with Jordan.
Eddy Curry (NYK): This guy is Mariana Trench deep (you might need to Google that one). But hey, if Curry gets shipped out of the Big Apple, he'll provide some team with 13-16 points and good FG%. He won't do much else, of course.
Zaza Pachulia (ATL): Al Horford is really the only big man - other than Pachulia - worth a darn on the Hawk roster, so Pachulia's a shoo-in for at least 15-20 minutes per game, which could translate into decent fantasy stats for a backup center in deeper leagues. His FT% is good for a big guy, and while he won't board or block shots particularly well, he can score a bit and would be far more valuable if Horford were to miss extended spells.
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