 |
| (Illustration courtesy of Tyson Beck) |
However, because I am a completionist (and sometimes a perfectionist), today's post will indeed cover what happened over the last two days in fantasy basketball. And, as an added bonus, I'm getting this post up relatively early in the day -- which is something I haven't done in a while. Hopefully, this will serve as an acceptable mea culpa. (By the way, Blogger doesn't recognize "completionist" as a word. Guffaw.)
Oh, and allow me to switch up the tried and true template of these Dailies for once, as a way to cover more information.
Al Horford is out for the year with a torn pectoral muscle
- Just awful news, especially since Horford was having an absolutely brilliant season, averaging a career-high 18.6 points per game, along with 8.4 rebounds, 1.5 blocks, 0.9 steals, and 2.6 assists per contest, while shooting 56.7%. He had even developed something of an outside stroke too, having hit a three in half of his last six games. And it isn't just that Horford is a great player who's leaving a gaping hole on a slew of fantasy teams; it's that there's really no one in his wake for his grieving owners to substitute him for. Most of the time, an injury will at least open the door for a bench player to do well, like how John Henson was a beast while Larry Sanders was out, or how Steve Blake was a monster while Steve Nash was out. Even Mirza Teletovic, who's filled in for Brook Lopez since the Nets bigman got hurt, has at least some fantasy appeal. But the Hawks have no one like that, no trendy sub who could post Horford-ish numbers now that he's hurt. Elton Brand has taken his place in the starting lineup, and yeah, Brand was a great fantasy player back in 2007, when none of us had ever heard of Justin Bieber. (Ah, the good ole days.) But he's far too old and injury-riddled to be someone you should bat an eye at. Pedro Antic and Mike Scott, who come off the bench, are merely speculation adds -- though Scott did put up 18-and-6 the other night. Still, dropping Al Horford for the likes of Mike Scott is a pretty awful trade-off, and I feel immense sympathy for the owners who were forced to release him the other day.
- This is kind of crazy. Westbrook had to have arthroscopic surgery on his right knee the other day, and this makes three times in less than eight months that Westbrook has been forced to go under the knife to repair the same body part. Concerning? Absolutely. Westbrook is a tremendous player, and he needs to be rostered, even at the cost of his owners being a man down for the next six weeks. Still, it makes me wonder if Scott Brooks will rest him down the stretch at this point, which would be an even more critical blow to his value. Meanwhile, Reggie Jackson will fill Westbrook's place in the starting five and should be an excellent fantasy play for the foreseeable future.
- The reasoning is the very vague "conduct detrimental to the team," and there are now reports that the Cavaliers plan to waive Bynum by Jan. 7 -- which is the last day that they can drop him and not have it count against them in the salary cap. Bynum, who's only 26, is extremely talented, and extremely talented centers are impossible to find in the NBA. There's no question that some other team will take a chance on him. Hell, look at the money Kwame Brown racked up as teams tried to spin him into a superstar; look at all the attention the Miami Heat, an otherwise fantastic team, have given to Greg Oden, a guy who for all we know may never even play again. Bynum, when he's healthy and isn't a malcontent, is a terrific player. Unfortunately, he's so immobile that even if/when he finds a team that will tolerate his nonsense, it's highly unlikely he's going to be much of a fantasy option. So if you were considering stashing him until a new team picked him up, don't. He's droppable in every conceivable format, and Anderson Varejao -- who was coming off the bench before now -- suddenly is an awesome player to own again, unless he gets traded, which is always a possibility.
- Amar'e Stoudemire had another solid outing for the Knicks, this time putting up 23 points, 9 rebounds and 2 blocks in 30 minutes off the bench. Stoudemire is averaging 17 points over his last three games, which would be more impressive if Carmelo Anthony had actually played in any of those games. The sad truth is that when Melo is in there, Stoudemire just isn't much of a fantasy option, as the two are incapable of coexisting. Stoudemire still has a lot of skill left in that body, and in a different scenario or on a different team, he could be a must-own player. Until then, these momentary outbursts from him -- while nice -- ultimately don't amount to much.
- Tim Hardaway Jr. has looked quite good for the Knicks recently, and scored 12 points to go with 2 three's the other night against the Raptors. I could honestly take my analysis for Stoudemire and paste it here, because even though Hardaway Jr. is talented and will be an ownable fantasy asset at some point in his career, there's only so much he can do playing beside the possession-destroying monster that is Carmelo Anthony. Even if Iman Shumpert gets traded, J.R. Smith is still going to earn most of the minutes at shooting guard, so Hardaway Jr. is merely a player to watch for now.
- Terrence Ross is very quickly redeeming himself after some underwhelming initial returns. Ross scored 23 points and hit 7 three's the other night, giving him 18 three's over his last five games. He's basically a two-category producer, but he has a chance to make such a high volume of three's that he's absolutely worth owning.
- Kyle Lowry continued his awesome play of late, scoring 32 points on 10-17 shooting to go with 11 assists, 8 rebounds and 4 three's versus the Knicks. A healthy Kyle Lowry is a beautiful thing to behold, and really, the only thing that's kept him out of the elite point guard discussion is his inability to stay on the court for longer than a few weeks.
- Lance Stephenson has been awesome lately, with the Pacers shooting guard posting a 23-9-7 line the other night. Stephenson -- contrary to what most people, including myself, probably thought -- has picked up his game since Danny Granger returned, and is making it impossible for the former Indy superstar to be much of a pickup. Stephenson, in the meanwhile, might be the biggest fantasy surprise of the season, as he's gone from a woefully inconsistent role player to a legitimate All-Star candidate in the blink of an eye.
- Andre Drummond had his weakest game in a while yesterday, with the budding Pistons center posting a puny 4 points and 7 rebounds against the Wizards. Drummond may not be the most well-rounded player in the league, what with his historically-awful free-throw shooting and his sheer unwillingness to ever pass the ball. But he's so damn helpful in the field-goal percentage, points, rebounds, blocks and steals categories that he's more than worth the trouble. If it's possible to buy low on him, I highly recommend it.
- Ramon Sessions was quite good in the Bobcats' overtime loss to the Hawks, with the Charlotte backup posting 15 points, 4 assists and 3 rebounds. Sessions is more or less useless right now in standard leagues, though he'll be a must-own player if something should ever happen to Kemba Walker.
- Paul Millsap roasted the Bobcats alive yesterday, scoring 33 and adding 13 rebounds, 2 blocks, a steal and a three. If there's any positive takeaway from Horford's injury, it's that Millsap now has the froncourt all to himself, which raises his fantasy value into another stratosphere. As maybe the only bigman in basketball capable of producing in every single category on a consistent basis, it's hard not to see him as a top ten fantasy play from here on out.
- Despite playing with a hip injury, Joakim Noah kept up the momentum on Saturday, posting 20 points, 10 rebounds and 3 assists. Noah has been a completely different player since Derrick Rose was lost for the season, which is something only Derrick Rose owners are probably sour about.
- Tyreke Evans has been amazing lately. The Pelicans backup scored 16 yesterday and added 9 assists and 4 rebounds, which gives him an impressive 47 assists over his last five games. After a rather awful first month in New Orleans, Evans has been spectacular of late and looks like he'll be a terrific (though at times inconsistent) fantasy play from here on out, again barring injury.
- How good has Terrence Jones been? Jones scored 17 points on 6-8 shooting yesterday and did it while adding 8 rebounds and 3 blocks. Jones should still be viewed as something of a rental player, as he isn't totally reliable -- what with the previous few weeks, when he wasn't good at all on the court. And the looming threat of an Omer Asik trade is of course yet another potential roadblock. But while he's in there and producing like this, you'd have to be a madman not to pick him up if he was still available in your league.
- James Johnson continues to be relevant, even with Tayshaun Prince starting again for the Grizzlies. In 23 minutes yesterday, Johnson produced 14 points on 5-7 shooting with 7 rebounds, 6 assists, a steal, a block and a three while going 3-3 from the foul line and committing zero turnovers. His ability to produce in every category makes him an intriguing fantasy commodity, though with his minutes capped at around 25 a night, you'll have to endure some horrible lines from him on occasion in addition to the well-rounded gems like this one. In deep leagues, he's absolutely worthy of your consideration.
- John Henson picked a really awful time to sit out with a leg injury, and not just because yesterday was his birthday. Henson had been holding onto the starting center spot by a string, and with his injury, Larry Sanders was able to slide into the starting center and put up 9 points and 10 rebounds yesterday. Sanders is poised to stay in the starting five the rest of the year, which complicates things for John Henson owners -- especially since Henson and Sanders never shared the court at all in Sanders' first game back. Henson is such a good shot-blocker, and the Bucks have so many roster holes, that he'll probably still be useful when he's healthy, even if he's only playing 20 minutes off the bench. But the days of him being a must-own center are likely over at this point.
- Besides maybe Andrew Bynum, has there been a bigger dog in fantasy basketball this season than Ersan Ilyasova -- who Yahoo!, let's not forget, had ranked ahead of DeMarcus Cousins at the start of the year? Ilyasova scored 4 points on 2-10 shooting yesterday, which nicely accompanies his line on Friday, when he went 2-11 from the floor. Ilyasova is not without talent and isn't incapable of being relevant... maybe. But sweet zombie Lincoln has he been pathetic this year, even when he hasn't been saddled with nagging injuries. His horrific play really can't be tolerated at this point, and as hard as it must be to part with someone who went so early in fantasy drafts, owners would be better off cutting ties with him right now.
- Evan Turner did not play yesterday with a sore knee, which has to be pretty frustrating for his owners, considering the Sixers hadn't played in a full week. Turner is expected to play on Sunday, however.
- Thaddeus Young capitalized on Turner's absence, dropping his second consecutive 30-point-10-rebound night. Young has been on fire lately, and though he reportedly asked out of Philadelphia recently and could be on the move to a new team when it gets to February, he's good enough that he'll be relevant regardless of where he's playing.
- Chris Bosh exploded for 37 points, 10 rebounds and 3 three's against the Blazers last night. Bosh is yet another player who's doing substantially better than he was at the beginning of the year.
- Blake Griffin went for 40-and-10 yesterday, giving him 75 points in his last two games. Playing with Chris Paul has its benefits.
0 comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.