Jeremy Lin Will Be an Undervalued Fantasy Performer in 2013-14
Linsanity may be long gone, but Houston Rockets point guard Jeremy Lin has finally settled in and can now focus on playing up to his potential. As a result, Lin will flourish into an undervalued fantasy performer.
The versatile floor general gained invaluable experience as a starter last season and showed notable improvement as a three-point shooter. His ability to set up teammates and lock down defensively also contributed to solid fantasy numbers.
This season, Lin will have an All-Star center in Dwight Howard to feed the ball to down low. Plus, Howard's defensive presence at the rim will allow Lin to gamble more often on the perimeter defensively.
Lin ranked 14th in the league (eighth among point guards) last season in most steals per game, averaging 1.6 per night. That's more than defensive aces like Tony Allen and Corey Brewer.
The former Harvard star was also an underrated rebounder last season. He ranked 15th among qualified point guards, averaging three per game. That mark was higher than players like Mike Conley, Darren Collison and Mario Chalmers.
ESPN's fantasy basketball rankings have Lin rated as the 24th-best point guard available this fall and the 77th-best player overall. Assuming nearly two dozen point guards are selected before him in most fantasy drafts, those who are able to land Lin on their roster will have acquired an excellent value pick.
After all, the 13th-ranked point guard and 33rd-ranked player overall in ESPN's fantasy basketball rankings, Memphis' Mike Conley, barely out-performed Lin in 2012-13.
| Jeremy Lin | 32.2 | 13.4 | 6.1 | 3.0 | 1.6 | 44.1 | 33.9 | 78.5 |
| Mike Conley | 34.5 | 14.6 | 6.1 | 2.8 | 2.2 | 44.0 | 36.1 | 83.0 |
While drafting Lin ahead of point guards like Tony Parker or Ty Lawson would be downright silly, selecting the Rockets star a few picks before he's projected to come off the board is sure to pay off for fantasy owners.
Houston is set to pay Lin $20 million over the next two seasons, and will make sure that he plays a significant roll for the Rockets this year regardless of whether Patrick Beverley overtakes him for a starting role in the backcourt.
Beverley came on strong in the postseason last spring but still appears to be the David to Lin's Goliath in the hunt for the starting role.
Lin has started in two of Houston's four preseason games thus far and played significant minutes in his lone appearance off the bench. As a result, all indications are that for a second straight year, Lin will play a major role for the Houston Rockets, and that equates to great value for fantasy basketball owners.
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