Angle Fantasy Basketball

Buy #1: David Roddy

Preseason Stats:

GP	MPG	FG%	FT%	3PM	PTS	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TO
5	22.6	55.6	80	1.4	10.2	4.8	1.8	0.8	0.4	2.4

Analysis: My top buy. David Roddy has the potential to be an awesome asset for any fantasy squad. That MPG he saw in preseason is well within reason, with the departure of Brooks, injuries to Steven Adams/Brandon Clarke, and the suspension of Ja Morant. Especially considering he averaged 18 MPG over 70 games his rookie season. 

He played legitimate playoff minutes for a mostly healthy Grizzlies team last year. They like him. I’d be even more high on him if it weren’t for the emergence of Ziaire Williams in the preseason, but he shouldn’t have a ton of competition for minutes, at least before Ja returns. (Has anybody heard from Jake LaRavia?)

On top of his stellar efficiency from the field, he shot 43.8% from 3 in the preseason, albeit not on crazy volume (only 3.2 attempts per game.) Regardless, although probably not sustainable, this shows significant improvement from his 30.7% on 3 attempts per game last season. 

Get him in your deep leagues, both redraft and dynasty. The upside isn’t massive, but he can definitely be a solid contributor. 

Projection:

MPG	FG%	FT%	3PM	PTS	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TO
24	46	74	1.5	10.7	5.1	2.1	0.9	0.5	1.7

Buy #2: Kris Dunn

Preseason Stats:

GP	MPG	FG%	FT%	3PM	PTS	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TO
5	15.2	85.7	40	0.4	8.0	2.2	2.8	1.6	0.4	1.2

Analysis: The hype train on Kris Dunn has been getting closer to leaving the station as the season gets started. 

Once labeled a bust, we now see what kind of player he’s capable of being and has revitalized his career and broken out at the age of 29. We all saw how great he was down the stretch for Utah last year and I think he plays a massive, massive role on a Jazz team that is still without a legitimate PG outside of Dunn. Sexton and/or THT cannot run the offense. Jordan Clarkson will have the ball in his hands a lot but the Utah coaching staff has shown that they have huge trust in Dunn to go out there and play big minutes. 

I am not worried about Keyonte George. 

He may be borderline free in leagues right now. Go get him if you can. 

Projection:

MPG	FG%	FT%	3PM	PTS	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TO
24	50	78	0.6	10.1	4.2	5.3	1.4	0.4	1.6

Buy #3: Vasilije Micic

Preseason Stats:

GP	MPG	FG%	FT%	3PM	PTS	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TO
4	18.5	30.8	50.0	0.5	5.5	2.3	6.0	0.8	0.0	2.5

Analysis: After years of toying with the idea of making the jump, the former EuroLeague MVP has finally arrived. He has said over and over for years that he would not be coming over without a significant role, and him signing this 3 year deal indicates to me they’ve promised him one. 

The lack of scoring can be attributed to his terrible efficiency over a small sample size, and his FT volume is low enough to where I wouldn’t be too concerned about his %. Not gonna get many points out of this guy but the real exciting part here is the dimes, which we all know how hard it is to find dimes on the waiver wire in category leagues. Many managers are likely unaware of Micic’s role on this Thunder team. Expect him to lead the bench unit with around 18-20 MPG, and I’m anticipating 4-5 APG. That’ll play, regardless of the peripherals. 

Dynasty leagues may have a tougher time grabbing him, as it’s likely whoever owns him is aware of what he can do. But it’s extremely likely he’s on the waiver wire in redrafts. At minimum, stick him on your watch list. 

Projection:

MPG	FG%	FT%	3PM	PTS	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TO
19	42	82	0.9	8.7	2.2	4.1	0.8	0.1	1.9

Buy #4: Dennis Smith Jr.

Preseason Stats:

He got a little banged up in his 2nd game and sat out the rest of the preseason, so not going to put much stock into his stats.

Analysis: After certainly earning himself more than a vet min after his stellar play for Charlotte last year in the absence of LaMelo Ball, we saw Dennis Smith Jr take a minimum anyways on a retooling Nets team. The main factor determining how much DSJ actually plays is Ben Simmons. Will he stay healthy? Will he play point guard? If we see Jacque Vaughn deploy Simmons strictly in a PG role, this will probably be bad news for Smith. However, if Simmons moves around the floor a bit, or if Vaughn finds a way to get both DSJ and Simmons on the floor together a bit, DSJ and his stellar steal rate should shine. 

Reports in the offseason are that he took the minimum with Brooklyn with the understanding that he would get to play a big role. Let’s see if they follow through with that. 

Projection:

MPG	FG%	FT%	3PM	PTS	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TO
20	41	70	0.4	6.9	2.7	3.9	1.3	0.5	1.2