Who has outperformed their draft slots so far? With more than a third of the season in the books, let’s take a look at guys that will begin more and more to become household names among basketball fans in general. As a savvy fantasy owner, you would do well to consider these guys before your league’s trade deadline as well. Keep in mind many leagues offer multi-position eligibility, but since some are more restrictive in this area, we tried to go with guys who were "true" 1s, 2s, and 3s, etc.
POINT GUARD
- License to Lillard
Damian Lillard (Blazers) gained momentum with a strong summer but was still typically picked in sixth and seventh rounds in many leagues in October. His ROY season is making owners who did their homework look mighty smart. In case you didn’t know Lillard is leading the NBA in pick and roll points (7.8). He’s been particularly nice the last five games averaging 19.2 points, 7.2 assists, and 4.2 boards a game, shooting 47% and 38% from downtown. He’s just scratching the surface of his talent.
Honorable Mention: Jrue Holiday (Sixers) While expectations were raised for Kyrie Irving and Stephen Curry, two top five “1”s in fantasy right now, no one could have foreseen the growth by Sixers point-guard Jrue Holiday, as he’s averaging Chris Paul-type numbers in the big three categories; 18.3 ppg, 8.8 apg and 4.2 rpg. The assists are way up which is typically what we look to our “1’s” to provide. He was drafted anywhere from 4th-7th round, and the field of really good fantasy point guards has seemingly expanded to 10. He’s trending up.
SHOOTING GUARD
- Houston's "Harden" Soul
James Harden, (Rockets) A late off-season deal rocketed Harden from third option on a great Oklahoma City team to first option on a young an under-the-radar Rockets team. People expected James Harden to get more shot attempts but they couldn’t have predicted that as of January 12, average more points than LeBron James! He just recently broke a fourteen game streak of scoring 25+ and has upped his assists from last year (5.3 apg). He’s a legit MVP candidate who is averaging nearly two steals a game and shooting 35% from downtown. Not bad for someone typically drafted in the third round in most drafts in October.
Honorable Mention: J.R Smith (Knicks) J.R has held down the bench for the Atlantic Division-leading Knickerbockers all season with 17.0 ppg, 5.1 rpg and nearly three dishes per contest. A leading sixth-man candidate and was drafted in the double-digit rounds in most leagues.
SMALL FORWARD
- By George, He's Got IT
Nicolas Batum (Blazers) Another key piece of the most talented young squad in the league, Portland, Batum was not a stranger to experienced owners heading in to this season, typically drafted by the eighth rounds in October. By November, a lot of owners were still unaware of the St. Nick’s ability to deliver holiday gifts in all categories. Fact: Batum and Kevin Durant are the only two small forwards to average 15 points and a block and a steal per game.
Honorable Mention: Paul George, (Pacers) Formerly known as a defensive stopper, his game has blossomed to the tune of 16.9 ppg, 7.0 rpg, and 3.7 apg. A top ten performer at an otherwise thin position.
POWER FORWARD
Zach Randolph (Grizzlies) Big Z-Bo has provided fantasy owners consistent production at the power forward position where double-doubles are typically rewarded more to varying degrees. With Kevin Love in and out of the injury report, the amount of true fours that can get you 15 and 10 a night are scarce. A rejuvenated Randolph has been a big help to the suddenly scary Memphis Grizzlies. He’s shooting .504 from the field so far in 2012-13 to go with 16.9 points and 12.0 rebounds a game. He could have been had in the seventh round in most drafts prior to the season.
Honorable Mention: David West (Pacers) Typically undrafted, D-West has really picked up the scoring load for the Pacers in the absence of Danny Granger. He’s a bit of a slump lately.
CENTER
- Vucevic: Franchise Record 29 Rebounds against Heat on NYE
If the Cavaliers Anderson Varejao wasn’t injured recently he’s a shoo-in for under-the-radar fantasy basketball MVP in the whole league. But since he’s out at a time when fantasy is just starting to get going, we’ll go with Orlando’s center Nikola Vucevic. Vucevic wasn’t on anyone’s radar until recently and now is completely owned in most leagues. Reason? He’s had 13 or more boards in 14 games, including 29 rebounds to go with 20 points on New Year’s Eve against the world champion Miami Heat. He’s now scoring more and playing more and out of the last 14 games he’s played- only three has he not had a double-double.
Honorable Mention: Nikola Pekovic, (T-Wolves) Two Nikolases? Indeed, although unlike Vucevic, Pekovic was drafted in the eight-to-tenth rounds in most leagues; he’s a little less under the radar. He’s more of a scorer (16.3 in 2012-13) than his Orlando namesake, but will likely rebound more with Kevin Love out until March. Perhaps blocks will increase as well.
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