Sleeper Watch

Brandon Rush was once a Kansas Jayhawk and a NCAA basketball champion. He is also the younger brother of three point specialist Kareem Rush. Now with the Indiana Pacers, Brandon Rush has a chance to be a fantasy basketball champion on your team. He has certainly become a decent fantasy player now that the Pacers are pretty much out of the playoff hunt.

Over the last five games as a starter, he’s scored 15, 11, 29, 29, and 11 points, respectively. Though you can’t expect him to duplicate those two 29 point games with Troy Murphy in the lineup, you can expect him to put up 15 points, two threes, five boards, and almost a steal from here on out. He’s not a high volume free-throw shooter or assist guy, so don’t expect him to help you out much in those departments. The Pacers have five games during championship week and though it’s not the maximum, Rush should be able to put up some decent numbers from now until season’s end.

Before Ronald Murray was playing in the NBA, he was playing street ball, where he earned his nickname “Flip.” He was drafted by the Bucks in the 2nd round in ‘02 from the Division II school Shaw University and has bounced around the league until finding a home in Atlanta. When Marvin Williams went down, this guy immediately became the Atlanta Hawks sixth man.

Flip’s scored in double figures eight games straight now, including a 30 point game against Minnesota, and should be worth a roster spot in standard 12 team leagues. This guy can certainly score the basketball and shoot the three ball, but Murray can also contribute in the valuable steals department. Flip is also averaging 1.4 steals a game over the last eight games while getting 17.8 points per game over that span. The Hawks have five games during championship week. Flip could give you that extra boost in points, threes, and steals your team needs next week. They play easy opponents in Memphis, Milwaukee, Indiana, and Toronto. The only playoff team they play is the the Miami Heat. If you need threes, steals, and points, give Flip Murray a look.

Those are two sleepers you can look at if your team needs some points, threes, and steals during your championship run next week. Good luck to all!

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