October 13, 2017

Jake Finnen calls out the five point guards he's targeting as breakouts in fantasy basketball leagues

It’s been way too long. The NFL does not satisfy my taste for entertainment like it used to and this offseason has been painfully exhilarating. Luckily, we are in the waning stages of the NBA offseason and every team will have played their last preseason game by Friday. While the takes from preseason must be tempered, it’s been a dose of energy that we all very much needed in our dull non-NBA lives. It's also been a great time obsessing about our fantasy basketball drafts.

Here is the @HafCourtJester guide to fantasy basketball. Get it? Cause my Twitter accounnnnevermind. It’s not that funny. Anyway, to make things easy for you, I am going to outline players that are going to make or break your team this season, and are on my radar to have breakout fantasy seasons. Remember, you need to take EVERYTHING into account for fantasy basketball. Situation, role, schedule, opponent, everything. That may seem overwhelming but I'm here to help.

While my draft is October 15^th, it gives me the perfect opportunity to take you through my pre-draft process and what players I am targeting for early rounds and late-round steals. It’s much easier to go position by position, so I’ll start with the point guards and keep it fairly simple.

Point Guards - Draft Targets for Your Teams

Eric Bledsoe, Phoenix Suns

Not everyone has forgotten about Bledsoe, but they sure as hell aren’t talking about him in elite point guard conversations. Well, they should. Bledsoe has been festering in Phoenix and the 27-year old is ready to be unleashed. Watch for a trade or just some good ole Bledsoe production on a young team. Bledsoe packs the stat sheets on a nightly basis, usually to the tune of something like 25 points, 8 rebounds, and 8 assists, so don’t be afraid to gamble.

Ricky Rubio, Utah Jazz

New location, new offense, new Rubio. Late last season Rubio had a hair-trigger when he had the ball and his production sky-rocketed. He was up there with the heavy-hitters in DFS contests and is still coveted fantasy asset due to his consistent assists. I am buying a lot of stock in Rubio this season, you should too.

Dennis Schroder, Atlanta Hawks

Like Rubio, Schroder was one of the more productive point guards last season. Schroder lost a serious piece in Paul Millsap, but that leaves more scoring for Schroder. Turnovers, smurnovers. Who cares about turnovers when your dropping 20 and 10 a game. Yeah, the Hawks might finish in last but 20 AND 10 a game?! I’ll ride Schroder as he captains this team to the depths of the league if I have to. This guy WILL produce.

D'Angelo Russell, Brooklyn Nets

I caved. I have been selling on Russell for two years and have yet to be proven wrong. Even before the trade I was still a little bit skeptical. Now, I think this trade put a nice fat chip on his shoulder. Remember that “awesome D’Angelo Russell vision” everyone was so hyped about? I think this is when we see it on a national scale in the association.

Tyler Ulis, Phoenix Suns

Clearly my sleeper and my boldest pick, so I’ll back this one up a tad more, Ulis is stone cold killer and his game-winner against the Celtics turned him into that killer. He benefited from playing on a losing team, getting his butt kicked in every night by some of the best in the league. This is a late round option and although playing behind Bledsoe, Ulis still cannot help but produce. Offensively he is a fireball that is either cutting to the hoop or looking for the open pass. He is a fantasy players dream, he just needs little more time. But juuussssttt a little more time. By the All-Star break Ulis will be bringing 10 points, 4-5 assists of the bench, nightly.

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