Fantasy Basketball Nba Sleepers

Who's Got Next is a weekly look at some of the top players widely available on the waiver wires.

The injuries are starting to kick in, so now we have to start looking at players who are getting more burn in the absence of the fallen few. I wrote earlier about the injuries to Kevin Martin and Tyrus Thomas.

The obvious front-runner in Sacramento is Beno Udrih who is now the starting point guard for the Kings. Tyreke Evans will also see an uptick in value, but it's less likely that he's still available in your league.

In Chicago it'll be Taj Gibson's role to step in and replace Tyrus Thomas at the power forward. Gibson dones't have the upside or the dfensive powress that Thomas does, but he should make for a nice short-term add. Is he Paul Millsap? Probably not. But when the opportunities are there, you have to take advantage.

Let's take a look at a few other players widely available who can help you in the week ahead.

When searching for sleepers at the point guard position you are usually after two things: steals and assists. Sure, a healthy free-throw percentage helps and some three-pointers would be nice, but as Jason Kidd has shown it's not all about scoring.

In the first two rounds there are 10 eligible point guards who should fall off the board: Chris Paul, Dwyane Wade, Deron Williams, Brandon Roy, Steve Nash, Jason Kidd, Chauncey Billups, Jose Calderon, Devin Harris and Joe Johnson. If you are able to grab one of those top-tier point guards, congratulations. Now you just need to find a second point to bolster and fill out your categories and a third for, well, good measure. If not, I would suggest loading up on fourth- or fifth-tier point guards -- Rajon Rondo, Tony Parker, Russell Westbrook, etc. -- where you can find plenty of star power.

Using the average draft positions (ADPs) as reported by Mock Draft Central (MDC) and Yahoo! Sports (Y!), the following five point guards are all sleeper candidates as third, and in some cases second point guards.

The shooting guard position is where you load up on scorers with three-point shooting range and the defensive ability to pick up steals. Of the top 24 scorers in the league last season, 12 of them were eligible at the shooting guard position. Dwyane Wade was out in front, leading the league in scoring and finishing ranked third overall in standard scoring systems.

Many of the top shooting guards from last season were selected in the value rounds. Rookie O.J. Mayo, veteran Jason Terry, and youngsters like Wilson Chandler, J.R. Smith, John Salmons and Nate Robinson all returned Top 75 value in the 9th round or later. Then there's the case of Eric Gordon, who as a rookie went undrafted and yet finished the '08-09 season ranked 48th overall. Looking at the average draft positions (ADP) as reported by Mock Draft Central (MDC) and Yahoo! Sports (Y!), let's see if we can find any value/sleeper picks from the shooting guard position.

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In continuing with my sleepers theme, I'm going to give you the lowdown on five small forwards whose value exceeds their average draft position (ADP). The position itself houses three of the top five players in fantasy hoops -- LeBron James, Kevin Durant and Danny Granger. As you'd imagine it's a little top-heavy. That's not to say, however, there's no value to be had.

Many of these swingmen have dual eligibility at either shooting guard or power forward. For this exercise I am going to use the player's "true" position, which in this case is small forward. As a reference I used the ADP's from Mock Draft Central (MDC) and Yahoo! Sports (Y!).

As draft day nears it's important to know where to find the best value. Once you've built your foundation early on in the draft, your next step is to fill in categories and find players who complement your core guys. If your team is built around bigs with high field-goal percentages, rebound rates and shot-blocking abilities, you might want to exploit that by adding another value big man later in the draft. In head-to-head leagues your goal is to win each week, whether it be 5-3 or 6-3 or 8-0. Just win.

At the same right you don't want to leave the draft without depth at any position. Today I'm going to give you five late-round value sleepers at the power forward position who should outperform their average draft position. I used Mock Draft Central (MDC) and Yahoo! Sports (Y!) as a reference point.

There's always a fine line between unearthing a late-round sleeper and reaching on a hot name too soon, leaving proven talent left on the board. It happens every year, and in some cases can lead to an early stumble out of the gate. In other cases, however, taking a chance on a player with promise late in the draft might just improve your shot at winning your league. Just ask the guys who passed on Samuel Dalembert and Tyson Chandler and opted for Brook Lopez and Nene Hilario instead.

This is especially true when it comes to drafting centers, one of the thinner positions and one in which you are required to start two in most leagues. Based on the current average draft position (ADP), per Mock Draft Central (MDC) and Yahoo! (Y!), I will give you a list of five potential sleepers, or value picks.

The NBA FanHouse team is in the midst of previewing each squad prior to the start of the 2009-10 season. Tom Ziller spices things up a little by examining Yi Jianlian as a player to watch. In keeping with the theme I decided to highlight a New Jersey swingman who has more value than his current ADP would indicate.

Out with the old, in with the new. In order to free up some more cap space for the summer of 2010, the Nets shipped Vince Carter to Orlando in exchange for Courtney Lee and and a few other pieces (yes, Rafer Alston has officially become a "piece"). The new guard in New Jersey consists of two fantasy super-talents and a number of late-round value picks.

The NBA FanHouse team has been posting previews of all 30 teams prior to the start of the 2009-10 season. Along with each preview they examine a player to watch. In the case of the Golden State Warriors, Matt Moore examined Anthony Randolph. In keeping with the theme I decided to highlight a bench player on the Warriors who might turn into an impact fantasy player this season.

These are the kind of numbers that fantasy ballers just love to see: 108.2 points per game (2nd of 30) and a 98.2 Pace Factor (1st of 30). The Warriors ran wild last season, focusing solely on trying to outscore their opponents. Their defense, on the other hand, was one of the worst in the league. They allowed 112.3 points per game (30th of 30) and had a defensive rating of 113.3 (28th of 30) -- meaning they allowed 113.3 points per 100 possessions. The Warriors not only became a fantasy goldmine on offense, but they were one of a handful of teams that you circled on the schedule hoping to exploit the defensive matchup.

The NBA FanHouse team has been posting previews for all 30 teams prior to the start of the 2009-10 season. Along with each preview they examine a player to watch. In the case of the Los Angeles Clippers, Tom Ziller examined Eric Gordon. In keeping up with the theme, I decided to highlight a bench player on the Clippers who might turn into an impact fantasy player this season.

From a fantasy perspective the Clippers are an interesting team. On paper they have one of the more fantasy-friendly rotations with six players currently being drafted in the top 125 picks, according to Mock Draft Central -- Marcus Camby (ADP: 40.12), Baron Davis (ADP: 46.64), Eric Gordon (ADP: 79.41), Blake Griffin (ADP: 81.82), Chris Kaman (ADP: 97.18) and Al Thornton (ADP: 126.26).