Super Sleepers.

To fit the definition of a ‘sleeper’, a player has to be someone that barely any fantasy GMs are even thinking of drafting. Every man and Qyntel Woods’ dog is poised to pounce upon the likely likes of Brandon Roy, LaMarcus Aldridge, and Rajon Rondo; second-year guys who circumstance has handed way more responsibility/opportunity than they had last year. And injury-comeback cats like Peja Stojakovic and Kenyon Martin can hardly count; never should a former All-Star be considered an under-the-radar prospect (except maybe Steve Francis). The five guys I’ve honed in on as my super-sleepers are the players no one’s ever dreamed of owning; guys that, at the moment, would be going undrafted even in deep leagues. But they’re all ballers who have enough potential that I’m going to be keeping a careful eye on their preseason form. Of course, any fool can hop onto a sleeper bandwagon after a whole slate of preseason games, so I’m going out on a shaky limb bright and early, picking five ‘who?’ players who I’m thinking may go from non-entity to surprising contributor this coming season; all of whom would be, at this stage, even an outrageous flyer to let loose with in a draft’s final round.

TRAVIS DIENER, Pacers.
All those mocking pundits who dismissed the Pacers’ off-season with “the only addition has been Travis Diener” will soon be eating their words. Sure, Larry Bird’s term at the helm of the Pacers has been absolutely atrocious; he bringing in gangsta after gangsta, seemingly believing that chemistry is best left to four-eyed weenies in white coats. Whilst I’m not promising anything from this Pacers team —except a trip to the lottery— and wouldn’t want to go anywhere near drafting their “franchise player”, Jermaine O’Neal, I’m here to say that the Diener signing will soon be so much more than a punchline. Mostly, because Jim O’Brien has taken over as Pacers coach. See, kids, Obie loves that longball. His 02/03 Celtics cranked up 2155 threes, and 1573 of them were chucked up by guys who weren’t Antoine Walker. And whilst bricklayers like Marquis Daniels and Mike Dunleavy won’t be given too verdant a green light, there’s room for guys other than Troy Murphy and Danny Granger to get it up from range. Coincidentally enough, in his 532 career minutes, Diener has shown he can do exactly one thing in the league: hitting on 43/107 three-pointers in his limited-edition appearances. With no other backup point-guards on the roster and starter Jamaal Tinsley being, well, Jamaal Tinsley (ie. the guy who’s sat an average of 28 games over the last four seasons), Diener looks likely to, at the very least, be given the opportunity to find a role as a three-ball specialist. Yet, if the crusty, cleft-chin’d old coach —a guy promising fans naught but hustle— warms to the furry little white gym-rat, it could all amount to so much more.

REGGIE EVANS, Sixers.
Up until, oh, a couple weeks ago, Philadelphia had a cavernous hole at the four-spot that they planned to plug with, um, I’m not sure. Kyle Korver’s hair, perhaps. With one deal that few NBA fans would’ve even paid attention to, all that’s changed. Gone is the galloping goose Steven Hunter, and in his place is the rebounding machine Reggie Evans. Once again, Evans had the highest rebound rate in the league last year, grabbing a board every 147 seconds he was on the floor. Though he played only 17 minutes a night for Furious George’s Nuggets, Evans hauled in a hefty 7.0 RPG (aka: what Eddy Curry did in twice the tick). Such productivity wasn’t simply a product of the Nuggets’ fast pace and bricklaying ways, but was consistent with Evans’ career form. The wingnut’d warrior has found a place in the league solely through his single skill; he a sub-par performer by nearly every other measure. But every fantasy squad needs a rebounder, and with Philadelphia’s ultra-thin frontcourt needing all the brawn it can cop, Evans is going to be a rebounder deluxe. And, if he can replicate last year’s career-high 54.4% FG clip, he’ll alleviate a lot of the damage that comes from having someone so offensively challenged in the roster. I see no reason why Evans shouldn’t match the 9.3 RPG he grabbed two years ago for the Sonics, and it’s even possible he could crack the double-digit mark on the glass. Whilst his single-skill skillset makes him a late-round, for-need pick at best, here’s the kicker. Right now, Yahoo! has him default ranked at #393. So, in all likelihood, he should be there right at the end.

EDDIE HOUSE, Celtics.
Whilst Rondo’s breakout potential is obvious, I’m playing the hunch that he won’t be the only Celtics guard who cuts the boxscore mustard playing alongside the neo-Big-Three. Sure, it does help that Eddie House has, since back in his Sun Devil days, been a favourite of mine. See, on the blacktop court where I cut my pickup game teeth, when you caught the rock, you jacked it up. No second thoughts, no questions asked. Few players in the League ball with as much ‘Monty Primary’ flavour as House, the high-sock’d, off-the-bench sniper beloved by conscience-free chuckers the globe over. Already on his eighth NBA team in his eighth NBA season, House hasn’t let his itinerate travels become baggage. At every stop, Fast Eddie quickly becomes the fan-favourite. Maybe for the simple fact that, no matter where he lands, he shoots the ball like it’s burning his hands. Throughout his career, House has averaged a three-point attempt roughly every 7 minutes he’s on the floor. Two years ago, playing for Phoenix, he took that to an extreme; attempting 4 deep-balls a night in only 17 minutes per. Playing for a Boston squad that, outside of its superstars, seems a little like a patchwork job, the guess is that House will be able to find minutes. When Boston needs scoring off the bench, he’ll be there. When they need a shooter at guard, to space things away from their man men, House will be there. And, when Rondo is having his obligatory work-in-progress struggles, it may indeed be Eddie who’s brought on to be the ‘veteran’ presence. At the moment, no one’d dare draft House, but I get the feeling that once the Boston minutes shake out, he’ll definitely have a place in whatever passes for Doc Rivers’ rotation.

KYLE LOWRY, Grizzlies.
Whilst we’re working from the incredibly small sample-size that was his 174-minute rookie season, Kyle Lowry’s limited-yet-incredibly-impressive per-40 minute stats look like this: 12.8 PPG, 7.1 RPG, 7.3 APG, and 3.2 SPG, with 5.7 FTM to boot. Frighteningly aggressive, Lowry’s like a power-forward in a 6-foot point-guard’s built-like-a-power-forward frame: a prolific offensive rebounder, a guy who loves to draw contact, and a bullish defender. Lowry was a huge reason that, two years ago, his Villanova squad could run with four guards; he often playing point-guard whilst really (or spiritually, perhaps) moonlighting as the team’s power-forward. In his scant time in the league last year, before a broken wrist ended his season, Lowry had looked like Jerry West’s first good draft pick of the millennium; and, if he’d stuck around, when the Griz went into tank mode, we would’ve got to see a lot more of him. This year, Lowry comes back into a new fast-paced offence that should suit him to a ‘t’. Whilst Memphis’s backcourt situation is cloudy —Mike Conley, Jr. seems a frontrunner for minutes, Damon Stoudamire doesn’t look like he’s about to be bought out, Juan Carlos Navarro is going to play plenty (though, let’s get this straight: he’s very much a SG), and late-season fantasy hero Tarence Kinsey is looming— I can’t help but believe that Lowry will force Marc Iavaroni to give him some sort of role. Especially if Mike Miller and Rudy Gay end up as the starting forwards, rather than playing the wings; for multi-guard sets are primed for a guy like Lowry, who plays bigger than his stature. As it stands, Memphis’s due-to-be-stat-friendly situation is too loaded with questions to feel safe betting on Lowry; outside of Miller and top-ten guy Pau Gasol, I’m not sure who else will earn enough burn to be a fantasy factor. At the moment, Lowry stands as the longest of shots to be a contributor (Navarro is much more likely), but I like taking the rough(ie) with the smooth, so I'm calling it now. Yeah.

J.J. REDICK, Magic.
Let’s get this straight: Redick is going to start. Even before Tony Battie went down for the year, Stan Van Gundy was always going to shift gears. After the young Magic played at a soporific snail's speed last year under the miserable Brian Hill —wasn’t the second time around so much worse?— there was never any doubt that the Hedgehog would push the pace. Rashard Lewis is bound for the four spot; just as Stan the rookie coach switched Lamar Odom to PF in his first year in Miami. With rebounder deluxe Dwight Howard anchoring the middle, playing Lewis and Hedo Turkoglu at the forwards won’t hurt too much on the glass; and, let’s not forget, both the $116 Million Dollar Man and the Fat Turk stand 6’10, so it’s not like Orlando will be giving up size. What this opens up is a huge spot at the shooting-guard. Into which Redick will step. Trevor Ariza, the other legit candidate, carved out a fine role as a high-energy hustle guy off the bench last year, and that should be one of the few things from the Hill regime that stay the same; this desperately-thin Magic squad needing scoring off the bench. Redick will play with the first five, providing scoring and, in what makes him a fantasy factor, sure three-point abilities. Last year, in his scant rookie-season action, Redick went 38/98 from deep, for a decent 38.8% clip. But, in the 5 games in which he played over 24 minutes, he shot 44.0%, suggesting that, with more minutes, and thus confidence, Redick could be a three-point weapon. And this year, it looks like he’s actually going to get a lot of minutes. If we project him to average a conservative 25 per, and use last year’s numbers as a guide, that’d make for 128; or, exactly the same amount three-point specialist supreme Brent Barry hit last year. But, given that Van Gundy’s pace will generate more offensive opportunities, and more open looks, and create more confidence, and, then, given Redick could cop even more burn, 150 threes isn’t out of the question. So, how many guys made that many last year? Just 14. And two of those, Rocket bench buddies Luther Head and Rafer Alston, look certain not to make a return to such ranks. Meaning, Redick could be in elite three-ball company. Making him more than worth that late flyer.