The 2013-14 NBA season is upon us and with it brings the excitement and disappointment that is Fantasy Draft Day. For those who struggled last year and likely endured ridicule and shame from their co-general managers, this is your time for revenge. Forget last season, embrace your previous failures and learn from them. This is a new season and with it brings new opportunity.
We have already brought you some fantastic sleeper picks coming out of the Atlantic Division and we now shift focus to the competitive Central Division. As I’ve stated before I’m not going to give you the run of the mill picks here so if you are hoping for a piece about Andre Drummond or Dion Waiters then read on as you will learn a few things.
The class of the division are the Chicago Bulls and even with the return of Derrick Rose to the lineup there are plenty of fantasy points to go around. I definitely like Jimmy Butler this season as he figures to see plenty of action at the two-guard spot. In the absence of Nate Robinson coming off the bench, Butler will be the first scoring option to see the court.
Chicago still has a wealth of talent in the backcourt; however, Butler has the most upside to the bunch as Luol Deng has been logging heavy minutes and he remains subject of trade rumours. Should Deng get shipped out or hit the sidelines due to injury, Butler will be the man at shooting-guard for the Bulls.
The team in closest competition to the Bulls for the division title are the Indiana Pacers. The Pacers have certainly made some roster upgrades to remain competitive and one of those acquisitions will make his mark. The newly acquired Chris Copeland figures to be the sleeper pick laying in wait on the deep Pacers squad.
In just over 15 minutes per game last season in New York, Copeland still managed to average over 8.7 ppg and 2.1 rpg. Now boast those minutes to a healthy 20-24 per game and those averages figure to see a healthy boost. Copeland would be a fantastic mid to late round pickup in any draft format.
From Indiana we move over to Detroit where the Pistons added numerous new faces to their roster this season. They are definitely front-court heavy with Josh Smith, Greg Monroe and Andre Drummond; however, the backcourt is where the intrigue lies.
To say that the Pistons backcourt is crowded would be an understatement as guys are practically sharing lockers there in Motown. The log jam is mostly centralized to the point-guard position; however, with all the point-guards on the roster the might go with two-guard sets at times. The player that emerges here is Kyle Singler who is a true shooting-guard with solid range and a quick release. Singler likely won’t see a lot of shots per game; however, he has a knack of making due with what he gets and he is capable of getting hot on any given night.
The worst team in the division is the Milwaukee Bucks and with pending failure a mere 80 games away the Bucks will offer fans little in terms of excitement or optimism. A fantasy hoops source of optimism on the Bucks squad is the versatile and raw 6’9” shooting-guard Giannis Antetokounmpo. G-Po is as raw as they come, but his skill level clear and his ceiling is high. The Bucks really only have O.J. Mayo at the two-guard spot and if Antetokounmpo can continue his maturation process he will see some moderate court time and fantasy owners can expect some moderate production.