2011-12 Fantasy Basketball Round Table: NBA Sleeper Edition

We are bringing back the fantasy basketball round table this year between three different fantasy basketball blogs. Every week, one member of the round table will propose a question to the writers on all three sites and all those who choose to will answer.

Hopefully this will lead to lots of good discussion, and hopefully a healthy amount of friendly disagreement as well. And maybe, just maybe, you’ll even learn something by reading what we all think.

To kick things off for our first fantasy round table, the question was posed by Will from RotoProfessorBasketball. Here is the question and the collection of answers that was received this week:

Who will be the guy this year that comes out of nowhere and ends up being a top 50 fantasy player?
Think this year’s Dorell Wright, who did this last season.

Ryan from Lester’s Legends

The player who I think will come out of nowhere to earn a spot in starting fantasy lineups and join the mid-to-upper echelon of fantasy players is Jeff Teague.

He had modest improvements across the board:

2009-10: 3.2 ppg, 1.0 rpg, 1.7 apg, 0.2 bpg, 0.5 spg
2010-11: 5.2 ppg, 1.5 rpb, 2.0 apg, 0.4 bpg, 0.6 spg

His biggest improvement came in two areas. First, his field-goal percentage improved from a ghastly .396 to a usable .438.

Second, his three-pointers per game increased from 0.6 to 1.1 (along with a percentage improvement from .219 to .375).

The only area he dipped in was free-throw percentage (.837 to .794), but that is still a respectable number, and he didn’t shoot enough free throws to make or break you in that category, anyway.

We got a glimpse of what he could do in last year’s playoffs. Teague upped his averages to 11.8 ppg, 2.1 rpg, 3.5 ppg, 0.4 bpg, and 0.8 spg.

Despite more than doubling his playing time, his turnovers stayed a solid 1.0 per game. His shooting got even better at .514 and his free throw shooting improved to .826. The only place he dipped was three-point shooting (.143).

With Jamal Crawford in Portland and Kirk Hinrich (shoulder) on the shelf to start the year, Teague has a chance to get a firm hold on the starting point guard position for the Hawks.

Erik from Give Me the Rock

I would say Jared Dudley.

He’ll bring on the threes at good percentages, and he'll have a low turnover average. He should crack the Top 50 on sheer efficiency.

Even though he’s been projected as a sleeper, not too many have jumped on his bandwagon.

Nels from Give Me the Rock

I think Jordan Crawford could make the jump this year. The Wizards have Nick Young as their starting SG, and while Young may get the playing time there, I think Crawford is more deserving of it and has the potential to eclipse Young’s numbers if given the chance.

Unless he gets 30-plus minutes per game, he’s not going to make the Top 50, but he’s a better passer than Young and if he can improve his FG efficiency, he could easily become a better scorer.

I think Crawford is a nice late pick with the ability to get some extra minutes backing up John Wall and Young at both Guard positions.

Edwin from RotoProfessor

Paul George. Have you ever known a 21-year-old swing man to grow two inches from one year to the next?

He was 6-8 and is now listed at 6-10. He’s now longer, stronger and more athletic than he was
last year, and he put on 10 lbs of muscle. He played Derrick Rose about as well as anyone can play him defensively in the postseason.

He shot 45 percent from the field last year. If he develops more of an outside shot, there is no doubt he will be a borderline All-Star.

He was already contributing one steal per game, about one three-pointer per game and 3.7 boards per game. I think he is ready to make the leap to a top 50 fantasy player.

Realistically, if he starts for the Pacers, he can easily contribute anywhere between 15-20 points a game, one or two three-pointers, 1.5 steals, and more than five boards a game. He might also be able to contribute in shot-blocking with his length and size.

Will from RotoProfessor

There are a few guys I think could make this jump, and that’s one of the things that makes this season so highly anticipated for me.

I’m going to go with Ed Davis here, though. He has just the right combination of opportunity and talent to make the leap, in my opinion. I’ve heard the concerns about playing time, and while it looks like Amir Johnson is going to start at center, Davis will back up both the power forward and center spots and get 30 minutes, because he has the most talent on that frontcourt.

Davis showed off his skills in the second half last season once he got playing time, and I think if he can get 25-30 minutes coming off the bench, he’ll come close to averaging a double-double. He also
contributes more than a block per game and should get a steal per game.

That’s four categories he contributes in, and he shoots a high percentage. Because he contributes across the board, Davis could approach that top 50 level without blowing out one particular category.

There’s everyone’s opinion on the question. Now it’s your turn to chime in and agree, disagree or give your own answer.

Make sure to check out each of these blogs for more fantasy basketball goodness, and we’ll be back next week with another round table.