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Im gonna level with you.Youre bound to be disappointed.Set up. Knocked down. Bamboozled. Overhyped. Underwhelmed. Left sputtering in a numerical ditch.The phrase rookie fantasy performance is practically an oxymoron.Every autumn, we fantasy enthusiasts open our arms to the promise of the new. And by the end of every spring? Were left with maybe one or two rookies at most who were worth the expenditure of even a midround pick.Anthony Davis and Damian Lillard? As 2012 rookies, both ended up barely returning seventh-round value. The Class of Tankapalooza 2013 spat out Michael Carter-Williams and Victor Oladipo; both were worth about an eighth-round pick. The class we were all waiting for? 2014? Just managed to eke out a pair of solid 10th-rounders in Andrew Wiggins and Nikola Mirotic.And those campaigns were the success stories of their respective classes. The imaginary ROYs.But we keep coming back. Hope is restored. We live to forget. Because were always looking for fresh numbers. Shiny new statistical portfolios. We crave the getting in on the ground floor.We keep coming back because every now and then ... you get a Karl-Anthony Towns. A Kristaps Porzingis. Or a Nikola Jokic. And all three arrived in one season.Last seasons rookie class was the best in my many (many) years of fantasy basketball analysis. We saw three rookies outperform Wiggins and Jabari Parkers sophomore seasons.Towns authored one of the great fantasy rookie campaigns in the history of everything, spinning a midround ADP into a top-10 return. Porzingis (who I did recommend around this time last year, lest you forget) finished in the top 50. Jokic closed out strong to finish at 55th on the Player Rater. Even DAngelo Russell managed to clock in at 100th on the rater.Just keep in mind that THAT IS NEVER GOING TO HAPPEN AGAIN.Rookie performance is all about volume. Usage. Minutes. Possession. Field goal attempts. And blocks. (Especially blocks. Fun fact: NBA players tend to peak in blocks per game in the first couple years of their careers. If youre looking for rookie upside in one category, start there.)And if said high-volume rookie adds a dash of efficiency? Said rookie becomes fantasy basketball rookie of the year.When youre figuring out which one or two rookies are worth more than an end-game pick, start with which newly minted millionaires might be in line for 25-28 MPG come Halloween.Today, we begin our predictive listing of the rookies with a heavy heart. Because were going to have to wait for about half a season -- if not until 2017 -- before we get to enjoy Ben Simmons and all of his out-of-position assist production. But if you take a look at which rookie is on top of this list, youll see that Simmons injury begets opportunity ...1. Dario Saric, PF, Philadelphia 76ersSaric is the opening starting power forward for a no-expectation NBA franchise. Thats all you basically need to know before considering Saric in the 10th round.Hes a Euro-rookie, as in hes over 20 and sports a portfolio of high-level international experience. He has the potential to deliver a Jokic-esque, diversified, a little of everything stat line.With Simmons on the shelf, another 5-9 minutes per game just fell in Sarics lap. More importantly, to start, Saric can start at his natural position of power forward.Even more importantly, Saric is a 76er. The Process is forever in process. With apologies to Jerryd Bayless (who just injured his wrist, by the way), Saric isnt surrounded by a surplus of playmakers with game-changing upside. Saric has a golden opportunity to become a key cog from opening tip, opening night.(Postscript, I wrote this before Sarics latest look at me preseason performance last night against the Wizards. If you want to get him cheap, move up your leagues draft date.)2. Buddy Hield, SG, New Orleans PelicansLike Saric, Hield isnt exactly a kid. Hes a rarity. A 22-year-old NBA rookie with four years of NCAA experience plus top-three fantasy upside.Hields sudden senior year leap (in which he suddenly became a 25 PPG guy) had some pigeon-holing him as a late-blooming one-year wonder. That Hield was bound for NBA rookie disappointment. Then on cue, Hield displayed difficulty finding his handle and shot in summer league (summer league FG%: 32.7 percent).July blunted any momentum Hield had built to enter the season as New Orleans starting SG. It looked like Hield would be behind ETwaun Moore for the immediate future. (And I really like ETwaun Moore. I think hes a decent sleeper.)But now its October. And Hield has been on a preseason binge. To date, Hield is averaging 18.5 points and 2.5 3-pointers per preseason game. Suddenly, hes shooting nearly 60 percent from the floor. And yes, its only two preseason games. But preseason can be a heckuva lot more determinative toward fantasy performance than summer league.Sans Jrue Holiday and Tyreke Evans, the Pelicans are in need of some early-season backcourt assistance. Hield has an opportunity to make everyone forget his summer league in a royal flash. Moores NBA experience still gives him the edge to begin the season as the starting SG. But Hield could shoot his way into 25 MPG from the get-go. If he gets the minutes, and gets hot, Hield could very well play his way past Saric.3. Kris Dunn, PG, Minnesota TimberwolvesHeres another 22-year-old rookie entering the league with a ton of big-game polish.Unlike Hield, Dunn went bonkers in his (concussion-shortened) summer league stint. But unlike Hield, Dunn may have to wait before breaking the 25-MPG barrier as a point guard. The Timberwolves still have Ricky Rubio (for now ... Rubio is one of the NBAs most trade-rumor-heavy employees).Unless Rubio is dealt, Dunn may have to look elsewhere to garner enough minutes to be truly fantasy-worthy. (Also, Tyus Jones is still around, and he could peel off just enough minutes at PG to further hurt Dunns fantasy prospects.)But Dunn has the ability to slide over to shooting guard. Dunn is the kind of tough-minded player new (and very tough-minded) coach Tom Thibodeau covets. The question is whether Dunn can shoot consistently enough from deep (37.2 percent in 2015-16) to warrant starting consideration over Zach LaVine.I dont know if Dunn does enough to start ahead of LaVine. But knowing Thibodeaus (non-fantasy friendly) history, its easy to envision him giving Dunn every opportunity to earn 28-30 MPG. Momentum tends to power rookie campaigns. Keep an eye on Dunn the next couple of weeks to see if he builds a case to pass LaVine.4. Brandon Ingram, SF, Los Angeles LakersComing off the draft, I was all kinds of excited over Ingrams fantasy ROY prospects. Ingram already had an NBA-ready 3-point shot. In 2015-16, the Lakers were one of the NBAs thinnest teams at small forward. Kevin Durant comps were getting thrown (somewhat irresponsibly) all over El Segundo. A Kobe-free rotation means plenty of usage rate to reapportion.That rarest of NBA rookie roles -- an opening-night starting job -- was easy to envision. Even if Ingram didnt turn 19 until Sept. 2. (Of course, living in Los Angeles, I heard enough Durants definitely coming here delusions to occasionally wonder if any minutes would be available at SF.)Then the Lakers up and improbably blew some cap space on the oft-injured, but otherwise reliable Luol Deng. And while its easy to see Deng playing at the 3 and 4 for Luke Walton, its hard to see how Ingram gets above 25 MPG before Thanksgiving.Except of course if Deng gets hurt. And while I hate predicting who is and isnt going to get injured ... Luol Deng is always injured. The only question is if hes too injured to stay on the court.Like Saric, Ingram is a high-upside rookie playing in a low-expectation, veteran-poor environment. Ingrams also playing for a new coach (Luke Walton) with a sparkling offensive pedigree. As opposed to Byron Scott, Walton isnt averse to giving his young players more minutes to grow.Waltons preseason quotes all point toward Ingram steadily building a larger role, sooner than later. But in terms of getting an entire season of decent fantasy production from Ingram, I doubt hes worth more than an endgame flier.5. Joel Embiid, C, Philadelphia 76ersRemember what I said earlier regarding rookies and blocks? Here they come. Embiid has finally arrived and is operating in a reasonable ambulatory fashion.And I mean finally. We rookie enthusiasts have been waiting a long, long time for Embiid. Now after two years on the shelf, hes finally on the court. Embiid hasnt played much the past two seasons, but he has been drool-worthy in short bursts.Unlike most rookie big men, Embiid boasts a perimeter game to go with his low-post production. He has 2.5 block-per-game potential. Statswise, Embiid has a lot of indicators pointing toward a fantasy ROY-type of campaign.Thats until you allow reality to set in. Coming off major injuries and surgeries, the 76ers will be (justifiably) slow to allow Embiid to play in back-to-back games. Hell likely be on a minutes restriction. Oh, and the 76ers already have two first-rounders in their frontcourt in Jahlil Okafor and Nerlens Noel. And while Okafor and Noel seem to be involved in two trade rumors a day, it will be hard to see Embiid starting until somebody is dealt.6. Ben Simmons, PF, Philadelphia 76ersListing Simmons sixth has nothing to do with his eventual fantasy upside. Its easy to envision him as a potential fantasy elite. But its just as easy to envision Simmons sitting out an entire season. Coming off Embiids foot problems, the 76ers will approach Simmons recovery with an appropriate amount of caution. Clyde Drexler Rockets Jersey . Clarke was injured while practicing on the Doha Golf Club range after the pro-am on Tuesday. The Northern Irishman arrived at the course on Wednesday hoping to start, but after hitting a few balls on the practice putting green Clarke advised officials he was not fit to play. Eric Gordon Jersey . -- Three close looks at the bucket, three misses. http://www.therocketsofficial.com/ . - Derek Wolfe says hes finally healthy after suffering a seizure in November that doctors now believe was related to the spinal cord injury he suffered in the preseason. James Harden Rockets Jersey . Its sharpness matched my mind. This was no night to go to sleep. Robert Horry Jersey . Michell Burger, a woman who lives on an estate next to Pistorius gated community, said she and her husband were awoken by the screams in the pre-dawn hours of Feb. 14 last year, when Pistorius killed Reeva Steenkamp by shooting four times through a door in his bathroom. FOXBOROUGH, Mass. -- Acknowledging that its been a combination of tough to watch but great to see [the Patriots] win, quarterback Tom Brady said viewing the teams opening two victories on television has sparked an appreciation for the clubs approach.I was hoping to gain a little different perspective, and I think I have, Brady said during his weekly Westwood One radio interview prior to Monday Night Football.Its amazing the way our team responds to adversity and the way our coaches prepare us for all these different situations that we face. Im just proud of the guys for how hard theyre working. You can see it on TV, and obviously its really paying off. Its great to be a fan of the Patriots and its really great to be a player on the Patriots. I definitely have gained that perspective, and hopefully we get to 3-0 on Thursday night.The Patriots host the Houston Texans on Thursday, which is a quick turnaround with quarterback Jimmy Garoppolos status is in question after he suffered a sprained AC joint in his right, throwing shoulder Sunday. Garoppolo left in the second quarter after throwing three touchdown passes in a 31-24 victory over the Miami Dolphins.Its tough ... I feel for him, Brady said on the program. He made a great play to escape the pocket and made a great throw on the run on a third-down play. The linebacker [Kiko Alonso] hit him and landed on top of him. You see that quite a bit in the NFL. Its a tough injury, especially your throwing shoulder ... I know hell be back out there as soon as he can. ... Who knows? Jimmy may be out there [Thursday]. Well see how it plays out.Brady had been impressed with what he saw from Garoppolo up to that point.Its been a great start. Hes a very hard worker, and Im just proud of the way that hes led the team, Brady said. To be 2-0 at this point when two of the other [division] teams are 0-2, its really great for our team. Hes done a really great job.If Garoppolo doesnt play Thursday, rookie Jacoby Brissett would take over. The third-round pick from NC State (91st overall) has caught Bradys eye quickly.Jacoby has done a great job taking advantage of his opportunity as well, Brady told host Jim Gray. He went in there [Sunday] and showed a lot of poise. He has a great demeanor about him. I love working with him. He shows up to work every day working hard. Hes very competitive, and I know our coaching staff will have him prepared and ready to go for Thursday night if hes called upon.ddddddddddddMeanwhile, its possible that receiver Julian Edelman could be the teams emergency quarterback, which led Brady to joke about his best pal.He still talks about that touchdown pass he threw against Baltimore [in the playoffs] a few years ago. Hes kind of batting 1.000 right now, Brady cracked.Edelman played quarterback at Kent State before switching to receiver after the Patriots selected him in the seventh round of the 2009 draft. By his fifth NFL season, he had emerged as one of Bradys go-to targets.If he was ever thrust into the top spot at quarterback, Brady, turning serious, expressed confidence.Coach Belichick always has the team prepared for any situation. He thinks these things through, and obviously the game just happened [Sunday], so a lot of things could happen between now and Thursday night, but Julian has kind of been in that role, he said.Hes played the position and, God forbid anything happened to Jacoby, if hes the only guy out there at quarterback, if thats the case, then Id expect Julian to go in there and the coaches to be comfortable with the plays that theyre calling for him.As for Brady himself, he confirmed that he worked out with former teammate Wes Welker on Sunday morning, saying, It was fun to be out there on the field with him. We got out there and broke a pretty good sweat.In addition, Brady said hes been trying to replicate what hed normally do during the course of the week and feels hes in a decent place. He added that he looks forward to the next couple weeks going fast.While serving a four-game suspension as part of the NFLs Deflategate penalties has kept him away from the Patriots, it did bring Brady back to his alma mater on Saturday as he was honored at Michigan. Brady played catch with coach Jim Harbaugh on the field before the Wolverines victory over Colorado.They were so warm and embracing; I have a lot of love for the people there, he said. Coach Harbaugh has done such a great job with the university and the team, and bringing so much excitement back. ... It was a really cool experience being back in the Big House. Ive never had a chance to go back in the fall, so to have an opportunity to do it was really special. I had my son there with me, so it was such a memorable day and such a memorable experience for me and Jack. ' ' '