Fantasy NBA: Sophomore Studs

Sophomore year is usually the year with the biggest improvement for future studs. These are the best of last year's rookie crop, ready to make their mark on the world's best basketball stage. Brook Lopez - Broke into the starting lineup 7 games into the season and never looked back. He finished with starting numbers of 14-8-2 blocks and 54/80% shooting, which improved to 57% FG shooting after the ASB. That was good enough for top 50 last year. This off-season, the team traded away their all-star wingman, Vince Carter, which leaves Lopez and Harris to run the team. Lopez will easily be the benefactor of more shot attempts and rebounds, and seems likely to break 20-10, with every position in between PG and C up for grabs. Derrick Rose - DRose is the Chitown franchise. 3 of the Baby Bulls (Chandler, Curry, Gordon) are gone, and Rose is leading the new era. Rose was a 17-6-4 with great percentages impact player from the get-go and carried the Bulls on his back in a tough, 7 game, multi-overtime, round one playoff series against the defending champs. This year's offense will depend on him even more with Ben Gordon leaving a 21 pt, 16 FGA hole and no replacement. Rose's value is held back by lack of 3s and steals, but he'll be a stud for a long time. OJ Mayo - Mayo co-led the team's offense last year, leading the team in FGA and 3PTA, while just falling short in leading in PPG. He also chipped in some decent rebounds, assists, and steals. Memphis brought in some heavy artillery with Zach Randolph and Allen Iverson (combined 43 ppg career scoring avg), so Mayo may not get as many shots as he did last year. He still has good value as a SG with contributions in every category except blocks, but don't expect a big leap from him next year. The leap will surely come though, as soon as ZBo and AI are out of town. Eric Gordon - Eric Gordon made a big splash, averaging nearly 19-3-3-2 treys-steal with 47.5/83.5% shooting post ASB, and made everybody forget about retired but effective Cat Mobley, and ex-6th man of the year, Ricky Davis. His role looks to be about the same this upcoming year, although the team did draft the best rookie, Blake Griffin, expecting that he'll provide significant impact. Michael Beasley - Beasley was one of the more hyped rookies last year, and he underperformed, averaging 14-5 in 24 mpg. As a starter in 19 games, that jumped to nearly 17-7 and 30 mpg, but he struggled with inconsistency and position/lineup depth. This summer, he appears to have publicly struggled with depression and emotional issues which are undergoing rehab in Houston, and scheduled to complete by camp. Hopefully, he comes into camp determined, confident, and ready to work. If he does, he could be ready for a big leap, as he finished the season with nearly 21-9-steal-trey on 55% FG shooting in 8 games at 31 mpg in April. Russell Westbrook - This Bruin took over the starting job 17 games in, and posted solid contributions in points, rebounds, assists, steals, and FTs. Only 7 players posted better than 15 ppg, 5 rpg, 5 apg, and 1.2 spg last year. That company includes Chris Paul, Lebron James, Dwyane Wade, Kobe Bryant, Andre Iguodala, and Stephen Jackson. Of those 6, four of them were top 10. If Westbrook can improve on his FG% and TOs, 2 cats that improve most with experience, his value will skyrocket. He'll need 3s to truly become elite, but his future is very bright, and the team is committed to their youthful quartet of Durant, Westbrook, Green, and Harden. Kevin Love - Love is another Bruin alumni, and will be teaming up with Al Jefferson to form a new age twin towers team. Minny doesn't have a great backcourt, so the offense will flow through the frontcourt. While AlJeff was out much of last season, Love held down the fort with double double averages and 14-10 post ASB. He won't likely break 20-10 for another few years, but he'll definitely be worth a mid-draft pick and his nearly 80% FT shooting on 4 FTA/gm makes him more valuable. He'll need to work on his blocks and FG% to really move up the fantasy draft boards though. Jason Thompson - Sacramento is in the middle of it's youth movement, with their leader, Kevin Martin, only a 5 year veteran. Thompson posted 12-9-block post ASB and 14-10-block in April. His mpg improved from 26 pre ASB to 31 post ASB to 34 in April, so the team appears ready to give him all the opportunity he needs. In addition, their frontcourt acquisitions this offseason include 2 rookies, and a player who can't get past his health, injury, and weight issues enough to play half a season. He may not make a big leap from his April numbers, because the team also drafted a nice offensive weapon for their backcourt, but he should provide more consistency and post better monthly splits. Mario Chalmers - In a year where people expected a point guard by committee, Super Mario stood out and stole the starting role with great steals, and good FG%, assists and 3s. Wade is looking for a strong supporting cast to give him reason to stay with the team, so Mario does have some incentive to work harder. However, Mario has an arguably low ceiling, which could have contributed to his late drafting in the early 2nd round. DJ Augustin - The Charlotte backcourt is fairly well-established, with Felton and Bell. However, if either of them misses time, DJ Augustin could be a huge hit. In 12 games and 38 mpg as a spot starter last year, Augustin put up nearly 18-6-2-steal-2.6 treys with 47/87% shooting. Also, by trading an offensive center like Okafor for a 2nd chance buckets center like Chandler, they'll need a little more scoring punch and Felton isn't known for good shot selection. Anthony Randolph - AR could be on a lot of different lists (sleepers, breakouts, etc) this year. His tall-tale grows as his height (reportedly 6'10" to 7'0") and weight (reportedly 205 to 222). He had a great 15-10-1.5 steal-block-47/81 April (albeit without team stars like Ellis, SJax, and Biedrins), and a summer league MVP, which culminated in a Team-USA mini-camp invitation. He was in Nellie's doghouse last year, but they seem to have resolved their differences, as coach initiated and reached out to AR's parents to get a better understanding of the youngin. AR's only trouble could be his coach, who played multiple different lineups with people playing multiple different positions last year, which makes it incredibly hard to rely on for fantasy. Beware, as he's probably the most-hyped 'sleeper' going into this year's draft, but the potential is obviously there. To discuss this article further, to ask any questions, or to raise any concerns, please reference the original publication of this article at http://www.rotokingdom.net/forum/viewtopic.php?t=67719