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Related: Fantasy Basketball 2013: Reactions From Opening Night
The month of October is known for Halloween. Honestly, I could care less.
To me, October is known for the return of the NBA season, and with that, fantasy hoops makes it’s return as well.
Games like the Heat vs Bulls on opening night have me shrieking like a school girl. It’s going to be a very intense 2013 season, as we witness the returns of both Derrick Rose and before you know it, The Black Mamba, Kobe Bryant. However, fantasy owners need to know about more than just these guys, so with the help of one of my colleagues, here are our bold predictions for the upcoming season.
Prepare for tip-off, folks.
Colleagues
Adam McGill, Adam Pfeifer
1) PG Michael Carter-Williams Will Win Rookie Of Year (McGill)
Normally in fantasy basketball dynasty leagues, owners tend to want the rookie that was selected within the top-five picks. They generate the most buzz and generally have the most potential. This year, however, one of the best fantasy prospects will be the 11th overall pick; Michael Carter-Williams of the Philadelphia 76ers. He is on a team that has no backup threatening him for minutes and the team really has no other scoring threat outside of the young guard. Carter-Williams will easily be able to play 35 minutes per contest and that alone will help the rookie fill out the box score. He won’t have the best field goal percentage due to the amount of shots he will be asked to take, but I fully expect him to average 16 points/6 assists and end up hoisting the ROY trophy by the end of the year.
2) Thaddeus Young Will Finish As A Top-20 Player (Pfeifer)
In case you are living under a rock, I am incredibly high on the Sixers sudden best player. The team imploded this offseason, sending All-Star Jrue Holiday to New Orleans. Young has always been a good player, but this year, he’ll have the opportunity to breakout into a tremendous player. In the past, Young’s full potential was hindered. Last season, Holiday took almost 1,300 shots, while Young has only taken 1,645 over his last two seasons combined. Also, when Doug Collins was head coach, Young wasn’t able to attempt many threes, though he is capable of hitting the long ball. If he adds that to his game this season, watch out. After averaging 14.8 points and 7.5 rebounds per contest last season, Young could flirt with 20 and eight in a far more expanded role in 2013. He’s already taking more shots than any other member of the 76ers this preseason, which shows that they know who their main contributor on offense will be this year. He’ll score, rebound, make steals and shoot above 50 percent from the field. What’s not to like? Yes, the 76ers are terrible, but there’s nothing better in fantasy than a talented, young player on an awful team.
For the record, I did not plan on both of these predictions being related to the 76ers, but what are you going to do? Both players are going to be scrutinized heavily by me this season, and I fully expect big things from both.
From the Sixers? Not so much.
Adam Pfeifer is a featured fantasy sports columnist for Rant Sports.
You can follow him on Twitter @aPfeiferRS.
