Clippers star Kawhi Leonard missed nearly 500 days while recovering from a partially torn ACL, but he has returned to action in time for the 2022-23 NBA regular season. Leonard scored 11 points, grabbed four rebounds and dished out two assists in 16 minutes during a preseason game against Portland on Monday night. The 31-year-old is not going to be playing a full workload early in the season, so should you be avoiding him with your 2022 Fantasy basketball picks? However, his injury could also make him one of the 2022 Fantasy basketball sleepers after missing nearly two years of action.
Point guard John Wall is also returning after sitting out last season as part of a mutual agreement with the Rockets. The Clippers are a tricky team to figure out heading into the season, which makes it important for Fantasy owners to read through quality 2022 Fantasy basketball advice. Before setting your 2022 Fantasy basketball draft strategy, be sure to check out the 2022 Fantasy basketball rankings and cheat sheets from the proven computer model at SportsLine.
SportsLine’s proven model simulates each season 10,0000 times. This model is powered by the same people who powered projections for all three major Fantasy sites. And that same group is sharing its 2022 Fantasy basketball cheat sheets.
These cheat sheets and rankings, available for leagues on many major sites, are updated multiple times every day. Any time an injury occurs or there’s a change on a roster, the team at SportsLine updates its cheat sheets.
Last year the model was extremely high on DeMar DeRozan even though he was being drafted in the fifth round on average, predicting he’d outperform small forwards being drafted ahead of him like Khris Middleton and Brandon Ingram. The result: DeRozan had a resurgent year where he finished fifth in the NBA in scoring (27.9 ppg) and wound up being a top-10 player overall in Fantasy basketball.
The model also called past Fantasy basketball sleepers like Lauri Markkanen and Aaron Gordon in 2018-19 and warned about Zach Randolph being a bust that same year. Anyone who followed the model’s Fantasy basketball advice on them was well on their way to making a deep postseason run.
Now, SportsLine has simulated the entire NBA season 10,000 times and released its latest Fantasy basketball rankings 2022, along with plenty of sleepers, breakouts and busts. Head to SportsLine now to see them.
Top 2022 Fantasy basketball sleepers
One of the top 2022 Fantasy basketball sleepers the model is predicting: Warriors point guard Jordan Poole. He is coming off the best season of his career, playing 30 minutes per game for Golden State. Steph Curry, Klay Thompson and Draymond Green all missed games due to injury, which allowed Poole to step up as a major scoring option.
He has been able to raise his field goal percentage in each of his first three seasons in the NBA, while also becoming one of the best free-throw shooters in the league. Poole might not start 51 games like he did last season, but SportsLine’s model does not expect a huge drop-off with his production. He is being selected behind Marcus Smart, Kyle Lowry and Russell Westbrook in average Fantasy basketball drafts, but the model expects him to have a better campaign than all three of those point guards.
Top 2022 Fantasy basketball breakouts
One of the 2022 Fantasy basketball breakouts the model has identified: Thunder point guard Josh Giddey. After suffering a hip injury that caused him to miss the last month and a half of the 2021-22 season, Giddey is expected to enter the 2022-23 season at full health and should maintain his status as Oklahoma City’s second offensive option behind Shai Gilgeous-Alexander.
Giddey appeared in 54 games for the Thunder last season, averaging 12.5 points, 7.8 rebounds and 6.4 assists. In Oklahoma City’s 112-101 exhibition win over the Nuggets on Monday, the 19-year old registered 14 points (6-11 FG, 2-2 3Pt), 12 rebounds, nine assists, two steals and one block over 25 minutes. Giddey has the game to produce Fantasy numbers on a nightly basis, making him a player to target later in drafts.
Top 2022 Fantasy basketball busts
As for players to avoid, the model lists Nuggets SF Michael Porter Jr. as one of its 2022 Fantasy basketball busts. Porter Jr. has dealt with numerous injuries in his career and he made just nine appearances in 2021-22. He also missed the entirety of his rookie season, but Fantasy managers are still selecting him in the 9th-round according to the latest 2022 Fantasy basketball ADP.
The 24-year-old averaged only 9.9 points in nine appearances last season and SportsLine’s model expects he’ll struggle to duplicate the numbers he had in 2020-21. The model ranks Porter Jr. behind players like Dillon Brooks (12th-round ADP) and Jae’Sean Tate (12th), making him one of the biggest 2022 Fantasy basketball busts.
How to find proven 2022 Fantasy basketball rankings
SportsLine is also extremely high on a forward to make a big leap and advises you target him in 2022 Fantasy basketball drafts. This youngster is listed as a shocking top-five option ahead of superstars like Anthony Davis and Kevin Durant. You can only see who it is, and the 2022 Fantasy basketball rankings for every player, at SportsLine.
So which 2022 Fantasy basketball sleepers, breakouts and busts should you target and fade? And which forward shocks the NBA with a top-five performance at the position? Visit SportsLine now to get 2022 Fantasy basketball cheat sheets for every single position, all from the model that’s nailed its Fantasy basketball picks, and find out.