Francisco Garcia - Fantasy Basketball Sleeper (Image: Newscom)

Francisco Garcia, Sacramento Kings
Although Garcia’s minutes have been somewhat erratic, he’s a fantasy basketball dream if he gets the playing time. He can help you in a number of categories and is capable of exploding for huge outings.

Hilton Armstrong, New Orleans Hornets
With the health of Tyson Chandler a question mark, Armstrong has emerged as an interesting center option. While he is still raw, he has shown the potential to put up points, rebounds and blocks in a hurry.

Thabo Sefolosha, Oklahoma City Thunder
Since coming over from the Bulls, the entire state of Oklahoma has fallen in love with Sefolosha. He fits perfectly next to Kevin Durant and Jeff Green and appears to be a player who has a bright future.

Craig Smith, Minnesota Timberwolves
The T’Wolves continue to look for a player capable of filling the giant shoes of Al Jefferson. Smith is an explosive option off the bench. He can use his strong body to score down low and battle on the boards.

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Craig Smith, Minnesota Timberwolves
Smith has been on fire as of late and his PER is looking very solid at 19.38, which is 40th in the NBA. While he’s only playing a bit over 20 minutes per game, the numbers point to him being a big producer if his minutes rise. With the Timberwolves being content to get as many ping pong balls as possible, don’t be surprised to see Smith play big minutes from here on out.

Fabricio Oberto, San Antonio Spurs
While this stat is most useful in terms of finding young players, it also points to Oberto being able to produce very nice numbers if given more time. And now with Francisco Elson sidelined with an ankle injury, he may see a bump in his playing time. On the season Oberto has a PER of 18.1, which ranks him 58th in the NBA. If his minutes per game rise to around 30, he may be a nice fantasy option.

Kris Humphries, Toronto Raptors
Humphries is quietly coming on strong for the Raptors. He has scored in double figures in three straight games and four out of his last five games. He also has at least five rebounds in each of those contests. Humphries is a bigman who is athletic and has a good touch on his shot. With consistent minutes, he could become relevant in the fantasy world.

Trevor Ariza, Los Angeles Lakers
Ariza is a very athletic small forward who was recently traded to the Lakers in a swap that sent Brian Cook and Maurice Evans to the Orlando Magic. Ariza can score a bit, rebound, block some shots and swipe some steals. If he gets time next to Kobe Bryant and the rest of the Lakers, he could very well post some Jamario Moon type numbers for the Lakers.

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No longer will the T’Wolves be thinking championship, instead their main goal will be to locate and grow their young core players. It’s going to be another two or three years until people in Minnesota seriously consider the T’Wolves a playoff team.

What makes this situation tough is there are so many players on the T’Wolves who may or may not be fantasy factors. The only real fantasy stud on their team is Al Jefferson. Aside from him, it’ll depend on which players are getting minutes.

Here’s a look at the Timberwolves’ players and their possibly fantasy impact:

Al Jefferson – Jefferson was the crowning piece of the Garnett deal. He’s a stud in the making that should be ready to produce this year. He’s a very good low post scorer who can rebound at a fantastic rate. His feel for the game is phenomenal and he still has room to get a lot better.

Ricky Davis – Davis is getting a lot of fantasy love but his situation is shaky. He doesn’t exactly fit with the youth movement and could easily find himself behind younger players. However, he’s also a likely candidate to be traded to a contending team in need of a scorer. Davis’ fantasy appeal is completely dependant on whether or not he’s starting and playing big minutes.

Randy Foye – Foye showed good promise last year in his rookie season. He can play both guard positions and has a good knack for scoring the ball. He’s not going to average a lot of assists because he’s not a pure point guard, but he should find himself starting at point guard at some point this season.

Craig Smith – After a fine rookie season, Smith is going to look to expand his game. Although he’s undersized, he can rebound and is a beast down low.

Gerald Green – Green is a guy who looks to score. Fantasy wise, his upside is somewhat limited as it stands because he doesn’t rebound or get many assists.

Corey Brewer – Brewer is a rookie with a good deal of potential. He could become a very good fantasy player if he gets minutes because he’s a threat to rack up steals, blocks and rebounds in bunches.

Rashad McCants – McCants has struggled with injuries but he’s another shooting guard option that can score the ball for Minnesota.

Ryan Gomes – Gomes had big games with the Celtics over the last couple seasons. He’s an all around player who can put up fantasy stats at nearly every category.

Sebastian Telfair – Telfair is a very talented point guard. Problem is he’s undisciplined and not very strong. If he could slow down and attempt to learn the game, he has the potential to one day be a starter.

Marko Jaric, Mark Blount, Greg Buckner, Juwan Howard, Theo Ratliff – These five guys could have solid fantasy value or they could have absolutely no value. It’s tough to tell because they are veteran players on a team trying to rebuild. If any of these players earns a starting spot or gets traded, that’s when they’ll enter the fantasy equation.

Post from: Expert Fantasy