Overview:
Last season wasn’t really a good one for the San Antonio Spurs and all the nagging injuries Tony Parker suffered is primarily the one to blame. Despite being known as a “unit” rather than a one-man show, everything goes where Parker goes. If he’s at it, everybody’s at it.
That said, the Spurs somehow makes every experts list as contenders year in and year out BUT on fantasy previews, the consensus is to AVOID everyone not named Kawhi Leonard (and to a lesser extent, Danny Green) like the plague.
Of course, if you can get Tim Duncan and Parker in the 9th-12th round, that’s obviously a bargain, but both guys (and Manu Ginobili) have seen better days when it comes to playing time. To note, Parker recently said he wants to play five more seasons and Duncan will have a tag-team extraordinaire up front in LaMarcus Aldridge.
That apparently will have an effect on Parker and Duncan’s playing minutes.
BREAKOUT CANDIDATE: Kawhi Leonard
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CXHreWMC268
Leonard is not even the Spurs number one option on offense last year but he’s the team’s most valuable fantasy commodity. The corn-rowed forward is good for 16.5 points, 7.2 rebounds, 2.5 assists, and a combined 3.1 steals/blocks with one 3PM a contest. And to think he only plays less than 32 minutes a night (sigh, typical Pop), you’d be drooling at the thought of Leonard going the whole 36-minute route.
Please, Pop, please!
Bust Candidate: Tim Duncan
Timmy has managed to shut people up from up and down the basketball ranks so I am prepared to take some heat if this prediction falls way short. Again, it’s not about Duncan’s contributions per se, but he’s 40 years old with a talent upgrade in his position (David West, we’re also looking at you). So Pop must be ecstatic to know he can rest TD 50 games this season and play him 10 minutes if he ever decides to suit up.
Deep-League Sleeper: Kyle Anderson
https://youtu.be/4WXCc_2lWes
Kyle Anderson looked like a man among boys in the recent Summer League as he led the Spurs to the championship with an MVP-like 22-point, six-rebound, 1.5-assist, 1.3-steal performance across six games.
Can he crack the rotation this year? By all means!
Marco Belinelli is now in Northern California so a dependable third wing that is a feature in every Pop team (Belinelli, Roger Mason, Jr. and Brent Barry played those roles from before) will be needed. If Anderson gets 25 or so minutes a night, his all-around contributions could help a 15-20 team league… SNEAKILY.
Next on Fantasy Basketball Team Preview: Atlanta Hawks
Photo via: 365rundown.com
