There are various reasons and certain situations where a new NBA sleeper will emerge from the ashes. In some cases, a crucial injury to a player will open up the window of opportunity to another player buried deep in the roster. There have been numerous occasions where a “blessing in disguise” has occurred in the NBA.

For this NBA season, a surplus of injuries have occurred to many star players including Kevin Durant, Paul George, Russell Westbrook, Ricky Rubio, Victor Oladipo, Bradley Beal and many others. These key injuries have opened up the doors to players such as Perry Jones, Jeremy Lamb, Anthony Morrow and Reggie Jackson on the OKC Thunder. Without Westbrook or KD on the court, this team needs to get A LOT of help from the remaining healthy players. Let’s face it, the offense ran mainly through Durant and Westbrook and sometimes Ibaka. Now the team will have to see whether they can stay above water until the dynamic duo makes their return.
 

The Pacers are also injury riddled and guys like Donald Sloan, Chris Copeland, Solomon Hill, Lavoy Allen and Luis Scola all have the chance to show what they can do. Scola is a veteran and could average 10 points and 7 rebounds if given the minutes. So far Sloan and Copeland have put up modest numbers. Until Hill, West and Watson come back from their injuries, there will be more than enough stats to go around. Copeland and Solomon Hill will get the most run regardless of when Hill, West and Watson come back considering they don’t have much competition at the sf spot.

Victor Oladipo’s absence has really allowed Harris and Vucevic to flourish. It is also helping Payton get used to running the offense as well as Fournier getting some burn and really adding help on offense. It is unclear what role Oladipo will have once he returns, but look for Fournier’s stock to plummet drastically. Harris and Vucevic should still put up good numbers as they’re locked in for heavy minutes in their respective positions.

Bradley Beal will also be out until end of November at the earliest, which leaves Otto Porter Jr, Garrett Temple, Glen Rice and a heavier workload for Paul Pierce. Although Pierce was brought in to replace Ariza and was expected to have a decent role with the Wizards, with Beal out for a few more weeks he needs to keep pouring in numbers. The other 3 will have to fight for Beal’s minutes and production. They now have a great chance to crack the rotation and give Washington much needed help in the backcourt. As great a player Wall can be, he still needs help in order for the Wizards to succeed.

To win at fantasy basketball you need to take into account sleepers. Sleepers will help your team catapult to the top if chosen correctly. Sleepers are however usually a hit or miss and if you managed to hit the jackpot with your chosen sleeper, then you are ahead of the game. Whether you are playing fantasy basketball in season long leagues or in daily leagues, it is always important to know who the potential sleepers are.

Also, knowing when there is a mismatch in a scheduled game can really help your stats blow up. If you know that a certain team will be facing a low end team, then feel free to maximize your stats by choosing players who you think will dominate in that game. Fantasy basketball is as much skill as it is luck. Sometimes you’ll get lucky or sometimes you’ll get unlucky. That’s just the way the game is. You cannot predict future injuries or the outcome of the game and that is what makes fantasy basketball so appealing.