Position Battle: Milwaukee Bucks Small Forward
Oct 4, 2012 Small Forward Updates
Fantasy players are always searching for new opportunities to pickup guys who are getting starters minutes and there’s a good situation to find a gem in Milwaukee. The small forward spot is wide open in camp and the battle is between Mike Dunleavy, Tobias Harris, Luc Richard Mbah a Moute and Marquis Daniels.
As a fantasy owner, I’d love to see Tobias Harris win this spot. Even if he doesn’t, he’s still an attractive keeper league target. Harris didn’t get much of a chance to learn the game last season, as he missed most of camp with an illness and only managed about 11 minutes a game. He did make a pretty good showing in that time though and ended up with solid per/36 minutes stats of 15.6 points, 7.6 rebounds, 1.0 steal and .5 blocks. Harris is a late round flier in keeper leagues and an attractive mid to late round option if he wins the starting spot.
The favorite to win the starting job is Mike Dunleavy, but Scott Skiles has said repeatedly that he wants to bring Dunleavy off the bench. I’m not sure he’s going to have that luxury this season. Dunleavy had a solid season in 2011-2012 posting 12.3 points, 3.7 rebounds, 2.1 assists and 1.5 threes. Dunleavy probably still gets the same amount of minutes even if he doesn’t win the starting job. He’s a solid late round small forward option.
Luc Richard Mbah a Moute will miss all of camp as he recovers from patella tendon surgery. He’s primarily a defensive stopper and won’t hold much fantasy value even if he somehow wins the starting job.
The darkhorse in the race is 31 year old Marquis Daniels. Daniels has been with the Celtics the last couple of years and only saw the court for about 13 minutes a game last season. He’s got good defensive ability, but probably wouldn’t be called on to add much offensively.
The real hidden gem in this battle is Tobias Harris, so keep an eye on the battle as camp progresses and if it looks like Harris is going to get his shot, then be ready to bump him up the draft board and gamble on him, especially in keeper leagues.
Tags: fantasy basketball, Small Forward