Fantasy Basketball 2021: Ranking Sleepers for NBA Week 2
The Brooklyn Nets opened the 2021-22 NBA season with some questions about their rotation.
Those concerns have been set aside in the first few games thanks to the play of veterans Patty Mills and LaMarcus Aldridge.
Mills and Aldridge have come off the bench to provide quality minutes for the Eastern Conference side. They have done enough in the stat columns to be considered as decent depth options in fantasy basketball.
Other teams across the NBA have received solid minutes from veteran bench players as well, with Ricky Rubio adjusting nicely to his role with the Cleveland Cavaliers.
Rubio and Mills are still considered fantasy sleepers now, but if their production increases over the next few weeks, they will be gone from the waiver wire before you can pick them up.
Top Fantasy Basketball Sleepers
10. Terance Mann, SF, Los Angeles Clippers
9. Jalen Brunson, PG/SG, Dallas
8. Devin Vassell, SG, San Antonio
7. Georges Niang, SF/PF, Philadelphia
6. Franz Wagner, SF/PF, Orlando
5. LaMarcus Aldridge, PF/C, Brooklyn
4. Jordan Nwora, SF, Milwaukee
3. Eric Bledsoe, PG/SG, Los Angeles Clippers
2. Ricky Rubio, PG, Cleveland
1. Patty Mills, PG, Brooklyn
Patty Mills, PG, Brooklyn
Mills forced himself on to the fantasy basketball radar with his 21-point outburst against the Milwaukee Bucks.
The Australian point guard cooled off in the two games after that, but he will still be a key piece of the Brooklyn rotation moving forward.
Mills is the first guard off the bench behind James Harden and Joe Harris. He had 37 points, eight rebounds and six assists in the opening three games.
Mills' best fantasy basketball asset is his three-point shot making. He drained seven shots from beyond the arc against the Milwaukee and nailed a trio of triples versus the Philadelphia 76ers on Friday.
The former San Antonio Spurs guard attempted 16 three-point shots in three games. If he keeps up his consistent three-point stroke, he should be a viable depth piece on fantasy rosters.
As long as Kyrie Irving is out, Mills should receive plenty of court time as the backup to Harden and Harris.
With that in mind, Mills should be an immediate waiver-wire pickup if he is available in your league. He is rostered in less than half of Yahoo leagues as of Sunday night.
Ricky Rubio, PG, Cleveland
Rubio is Cleveland's No. 2 scorer behind Collin Sexton at the moment.
The Spanish point guard is delivering is all stat categories for the young Cavaliers. He had 50 points, 28 assists and 12 rebounds in the first three games.
Rubio's case to be a top waiver-wire selection was strengthened on Saturday, when he posted 23 points against the Atlanta Hawks.
The 31-year-old is rostered in just over half of Yahoo fantasy basketball leagues going into Monday.
Rubio can be a valuable depth piece behind your top guards because of how well he distributes and shoots the ball.
The former Minnesota player dished out at least eight assists in each of his first three games. He also nailed down a trio of three-point shots in those contests.
Rubio is shooting at a high enough rate so that you can trust him as a tertiary scoring piece on fantasy rosters. He attempted 37 field goals and 20 of them were from beyond the arc.
Cleveland's four-game week with games against Western Conference could be the perfect time for Rubio to shine. The Cavs may rely on his veteran experience more in matchups with Denver, Phoenix and both Los Angeles teams.