Week 16 Pickups

George Hill plays on Monday and Thursday this week.  If that's important to you, then congratulations.  You're a fantasy nerd.  (AP)

George Hill plays on Monday and Thursday this week. If that's important to you, then congratulations. You're a fantasy nerd. (AP)

Because Week 16 is a short week (4 days), pickups are that much more important in H2H leagues.  So, in order to give you guys some more time to make those make-or-break pickups, I’m skipping the Week 15 Recap (Noah and the Foot Arch) in favor of posting this a day earlier than usual.  First, some logistics:

Mabye the most important thing to note: ORL has 3 games.

Most teams have two games, but SA has two games and plays on both Monday and Thursday (where there are only a total of 5 games going on).  This is important because it allows you to maximize (if your league doesn’t have a cap) the number of games you can get in for this week.

Think about it: If you’re only able to start 6 or 8 players per night, for example, you can maximize your games played (and minimize your games wasted on the bench) by picking up players that play on Monday and/or Thursday (or what I call “Off-Days” because most teams have those days off).  ORL and SA both play on both of the Off-Days for this week.  The following teams have 2 games this week, 1 of which occurs on an Off-Day: NO, GS, DAL, LAK, SA, DEN, and CLE.  In other words, if you have limited pickups, target players on ORL, SA, or these squads. Now onto the pickups (by team, with all/most guys available in 50+% of Yahoo leagues):

Orlando

J.J. Redick and Jason Williams are both decent bets for 3’s, as they’re getting solid minutes off the bench.  Matt Barnes has slowed of late, but he provides across the board production (and 3 games from him might be worth more than 1 game by a better player).

San Antonio

The best potentially available option out of SA is George Hill.  I’ve already written enough about him the past couple weeks so I won’t add too much more.  DeJuan Blair and Antonio McDyess could be helpful if you’re looking for boards.

Guys with 2 games (1 on an Off-Day)

The guys above are nice from a “quantity” perspective.  These guys might provide better quality: Darren Collison (if he’s available in your league, but if you’re reading fantasy basketball blogs, he’s probably not), Marcus Thornton (missed last two games, check status), Drew Gooden and Rodrigue Beaubois (esepcially on Monday vs GS), Shannon Brown, Arron AfflaloDaniel Gibson/Delonte West (check West’s status)

And if you don’t care about schedules…

Courtney Lee (heating up again), Brad Miller and Taj Gibson (with Joakim Noah out until the All Star break), Rudy Fernandez (with Roy out next week as well), Brandon Rush (only 1 game)

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20-Second Timeout: Nate Robinson

Nate Robinson will be making his first start at PG tonight for the Knicks.  Last year as a starter, Nate averaged 21 ppg, 5.6 rpg, and 5.0 apg to go with 1.6 treys and 1.3 spg on a respectable 44% from the field.  Unfortunately for him (and his chances to keep the starting job), the Knicks only went 3-8 in those 11 games, including 1-4 when Nate started at PG.  (They were 2-4 when he started at SG opposite Chris Duhon.)

The Knicks were 32-50 overall on the year last year, a .390 win percentage, which was sadly better than any of the splits with Nate as a starter.  (On a side note, the Knicks were 4-4 in games Nate missed altogether last year.)  And you wondered why Mike D’Antoni never wanted to give him a chance.

Add in the fact that the Knicks are apparently interested in Acie Law (likely as part of a bigger deal, but nonetheless still confusing considering their logjam in the backcourt), and I would be cautiously optimistic about Nate’s new role.  He’s currently available in 42% of Yahoo leagues, so keep a close eye on tonight’s box score.  (I should probably also mention I own him in both of my most competitive leagues.)

By the way, Nate versus Brandon Jennings should be a fun matchup tonight, especially for Knicks fans, considering they passed on Young Money in the draft…

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Week 14 Recap (Who Dat? It’s Darren Collison) and Week 15 Pickups

Week 14 was business as usual for the most part… until it was reported Sunday that Chris Paul will undergo arthroscopic surgery on his left knee and miss 1-2 months.  Before you even read anything else, run out and pick up Darren Collison, who had 18 assists in Paul’s absence on Saturday.  More on that below, but first the (abbrev.) recap:

Darren Collison, it's time to shake up some fantasy basketball leagues.  (Getty Images)

Darren Collison, it's time to shake up some fantasy basketball leagues. (Getty Images)

WEEK 14 RECAP

  • Mike Miller exploded for 25, 9, and 8 including 7-10 from downtown against the Knicks on Saturday.  When news of Gilbert Arenas’ legal woes first broke, I thought Miller would give Randy Foye a run for his money in terms of being the most valuable pickup.  It’s just one game (and chances are the Knicks won’t play zone against WAS when they meet again this week), but at the very least make sure Miller isn’t a FA in your league.
  • Attention, Tyreke Evans and Brandon Jennings: Stephen Curry is running away with the fantasy ROY race.
  • The Detroit backcourt is slowly getting healthy… putting a dent in the fantasy values of every member of that team, as there are only so many minutes to go around.
  • Channing Frye might be better as a sixth man, as he’s become a much more efficient player.  Lou Williams: better as a sixth man?  Not so much.  (Although Lou posted a nice line Sunday, it seems whenever Jrue Holiday or Willie Green are playing well, Lou is the odd man out.)  Both are worth holding, especially Frye, as the Suns and 76ers figure to make deals before the trade deadline.  (I dropped Lou for Paul Millsap in one league though.)  And if Amare Stoudemire gets shipped out of Phoenix, Frye could very well end up back in the starting lineup starting alongside Robin Lopez.
  • Andrew Bynum is learning to coexist with Pau Gasol.
  • And after nearly getting suspended earlier in the week, J.R. Smith had his best week of the year, averaging 17 ppg, 3.3 threes and 2.3 spg in Carmelo Anthony’s absence.  Meanwhile, Kenyon Martin continues to dominate the boards, hurting Nene Hilario’s value.  I expect that to even out (some) in the long term though, and since KMart is a perennial injury risk, I would sell high.  (Nene could be a sneaky buy low as well, as nagging injuries have slowed him down some lately.)

WEEK 15 PICKUPS

In New Orleans, everyone's saying "Who Dat?" lately.  Why, it's Darren Collison again.  Pick him up.  (Getty Images)

In New Orleans, everyone's saying "Who Dat?" lately. Why, it's Darren Collison again. Pick him up. (Getty Images)

Darren Collison (15%)

At the time I’m writing this, Collison has already jumped up from being owned in 2% of Yahoo leagues to start the week to 15% and rising.  He filled in admirably for Paul on Saturday night and could deliver some teams to fantasy victory in the coming months.

Marcus Thornton (25%)

Likewise, Thornton should benefit from Paul’s absence.  I was already going to include him on this list as he was recently inserted into the starting lineup, but now his playing time/value increases even more.  In 4 games as a starter (one without CP3), Thornton is averaging 18 ppg and 2.3 treys.

Goerge Hill (23%)

Continuing with the point/combo-guard theme, Hill is a great add with Tony Parker out in the short term.  And, like Thornton above, Hill had recently been inserted into the starting lineup anyway, where he was already being productive.  I give a slight nod to Thornton in preference, but only because the Hornets will need him to step up without CP3 the next 1-2 months, whereas Parker’s injury isn’t as serious.

Brandon Rush (39%)

One of my preseason sleepers, Rush is quietly averaging 13.6 ppg and 5 rpg to go with 2.1/0.6/1.0 threes/stl/blk per game over the last two weeks.  Like I mentioned last week, Danny Granger’s return has really sparked him.

Robin Lopez (40%)

There’s no reason Lopez should be owned in less than half of Yahoo leagues (unless all his owners are dropping him for Collison).  If Amare Stoudemire does in fact get traded, Lopez should get all the minutes he can handle, with Steve Nash spoon-feeding him buckets.  He had a mediocre week last week, but he’s still worth a calculated gamble in my book.

Jared Jeffries (5%)

If you need defensive help in deeper leagues, Jeffries has averaged 1.3 spg and bpg over the last two months.

Keep an eye on: Keyon Dooling (2% — check Devin Harris’ status), Brad Miller (41% — resurrected his season this past week), Kris Humprhies (7%), Chase Budinger (3% — second guy off the bench with Kyle Lowry out), Goran Dragic (16%)

And before I go…

Corey Brewer (54%)

He’s made my “Keep an eye on” list the last several weeks, and Brewer has finally cleared the 50% hurdle with another stellar 3-pt shooting week.  Add in the fact that MIN only has 2 games this week, and you’re probably wondering why I’m including him here though.  Well, I just needed an excuse to post this video.  (Apologies, Derek Fisher.)

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RotoWaste of Time: Best Fantasy Play of All Time

After the double-header on TNT last night, they showed the top 5 buzzer beaters from the last decade (a couple of which are featured below).  That got me to thinking, what are some of the best “fantasy plays” of all time?  I’m talking about individual plays where a player racks up multiple stats at once.  I came up with five to start us off.

Michael Jordan: 1-1 FG, 2 pts, 1 reb, 1 blk, 1 of a kind

Dwyane Wade: 1-1 FG, 3 pts, 1 stl, 1 3pm, 1 sad Brad Miller

Manute Bol: 4 blk, 1 tall mofo

Reggie Miller: (okay, this is technically 2 plays, but who cares) 2-2 FG, 6 pts, 1 stl, 2 3pm, 1 irate Spike Lee

Rasheed Wallace: 1-1 FG, 3 pts, 1 stl, 1 3pm, 0 technicals

Who pulled off the best 'fantasy play'?

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Injury Timeout(s): Tony Parker and Carlos Boozer

According to Rotoworld, Tony Parker will miss “several games” with an ankle injury, which means George Hill — who has already been very productive since starting at SG (see my latest pickups) — will get an extra boost in value.  He’s only taken in 14% of Yahoo leagues, up from 8% over the weekend and sure to rise by the end of the week.

Meanwhile, with Carlos Boozer suffering a calf strain last night, Paul Millsap is the obvious beneficiary.  Since Millsap is already taken in most leagues (75%), this is more a reminder that you might want to actually start him now (depending on Boozer’s status).

If you’re thinking more long-term, once Parker returns, Hill will likely slide back to the starting SG spot where he’s already been fairly productive.  As for Millsap, he gets a huge boost in long-term value if a) Boozer’s injury turns out to be serious or b) Boozer is dealt by the trade deadline.  Depending on what you need, I think they’re both worth stashing, and Millsap has a higher risk/reward payout.

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Week 13 Recap (It’s all about the…) Week 14 Pickups

Week 13 was really all about the pickups.  I haven’t seen this many players resurrect their fantasy basketball seasons/careers in a week that didn’t involve any major trades in a long while.  But first, the recap…

Mo Williams

The biggest fantasy news of the week involved Mo Williams’ shoulder sprain, which will sideline him 4-6 weeks.  He passed the injury bug to his replacement, Delonte West (fractured finger in shooting hand), and while I still like West over the next several weeks, it might take him a few games to heal and the another few games to regain his shooting touch, so temper your expectations.

I'm sorry, Grant Hill.  This is just wrong.  (Getty Images)

I'm sorry, Grant Hill. This is just wrong. (Getty Images)

Corey Maggette

The biggest fantasy news of the month is Corey Frickin Maggette.  I’ve hated him for years and vowed never to own him (unless I owned Dwight Howard in a roto league).  Now I hate him because I vowed never to own him.  He continues to put up top 10 numbers — amazingly, despite averaging less than ONE three/stl/blk per game — which is a tribute to his efficiency.  (He’s averaging 29 ppg on ~15 shot attempts per game.)  The fact that I want to underline this entire paragraph makes me hate him even more.

Logic says to sell high, although I probably wouldn’t do so unless I was getting a near-sure bet in return.  (That GSW squad just can’t seem to stay healthy, so Maggette will likely get his minutes.)  But, because of the sub-1 threes/stl/blk, once Maggette’s 55% FG rate dips closer to his career averages, he’ll likely plummet out of top 10 status back into the top 50 range.  That’s still nice, but if you can snag someone like, say, Brandon Roy from a panicked owner (in a packaged deal), go for it.  Hey, you never know…

ROY Race

Aided by Monta Ellis’ gimpy anke, Stephen Curry continued to take steps forward, and in my mind he took a big step ahead of the pack in the fantasy ROY race, averaging 23, 5, and 5 with a whopping 3.8 threes and 1.5 spgTyreke Evans, on the other hand, had a mediocre week (still averaging 20+ ppg with great percentages), although in his defense that entire SAC squad had a pretty terrible week.

And while he’s in danger of becoming an Also Ran, Brandon Jennings showed some signs of life, averaging 18 ppg and 7 apg with 2 threes/spg (albeit still shooting sub-40% from the field).  The emergence of Carlos Delfino and return of Jerry Stackhouse — both of which (at least for this week) seem much more like playmakers than Michael Redd ever was this year — seems to be having a positive effect on Young Money.  Sure, his big games this week also came against PGs that couldn’t quite abuse him (Aaron Brooks and Jonny Flynn), but at the least Jennings’ trade value has some life again, in case you need to unload that FG% off your squad.

And in other Week 13 news…

Randy Foye continued to hit his shots until a 3-9 dud on Sunday, which made me feel a little better about ’selling high’ on him earlier in the week.  What also made me feel better: Dwyane Wade’s awesome 2 games after my deal went through.  (In case you have no idea what I’m talking about, I traded Iggy, Foye, and Yi Jianlian for Wade + 2 scrubs who turned into Carlos Delfino and Drew GoodenRobin Lopez was sadly picked up before my trade cleared waivers.)

Rashard Lewis is still missing a lot of shots, but also seems to be a more active member of the offense.  There is hope…

F my life — Joakim Noah has plantar fasciitis.  He seemed to be upbeat about the situation, but if he’s just being optimistic, Tyrus Thomas owners have to be thrilled.  (Thomas had 6 blk in 20-something minutes against the (undersized) Rockets in Noah’s DNP over the weekend.)  And by the way, here’s a message to FourPointPlay — I know you rigged my last poll!!  Lol.

Andre Miller continues to excel in Brandon Roy’s absence.

Lastly, Lou Williams’ fantasy season is on life support, but if you can afford to, I’d try to wait until the trade deadline next month before bailing on him.  Many think the 76ers will be active in trades, which might even include Lou but will more likely include Elton Brand or maybe even Andre Iguodala, the departure(s) of which would really help Lou’s fantasy life.  If you need more immediate assistance, see below.

WEEK 14 PICKUPS

It seems like we’ve reached a point in the fantasy season where a lot of managers (namely, the ones out of contention) have checked out.  This actually has a fairly significant impact on fantasy leagues — especially leagues that aren’t as deep — because it means there is a lot of talent in the free agent pool.  If you’re in a H2H league where a lot of these guys are available, it might actually pay off to cut those iffy players and start churning players.  (Although you probably want to hang onto some of these guys.)

Robin Lopez (42%)

Last week when I mentioned him, Lopez was owned in 7% of Yahoo leagues.  That’s up to 42% now, and it should be even more.  After Lopez posted two great lines to start the week, Channing Frye bounced back with a nice performance himself against CHI.  But it’s telling that Lopez and not Frye got the minutes in PHO’s next game against run-and-gun GSW.  Expect defenses to pay closer attention to Lopez in the future, but his starting job seems secure for now.

Since I think this site has more pictures of Robin Lopez than it can handle, I'll give Delfino some well-deserved publicity.  (Getty Images)

Since I think this site has more pictures of Robin Lopez than it can handle, I'll give Delfino some well-deserved publicity. (Getty Images)

Carlos Delfino (33%)

I’ll let the numbers speak for themselves: 16.5 ppg, 9.3 rpg, and 3.5 apg with 3.0 threes and 1.5 spg in 4 games last week.  Who knows if this can last, but you want to own Delfino while we all find out.

Drew Gooden (21%)

Gooden was projected by many to be the starting C in Dallas when the year began, but due to injury and Erick Dampier’s strong play, he’s mainly played a bench role.  Sunday may have just been a spot start (Dampier was a DNP-nagging injury), as Gooden probably matched up better against the more mobile David Lee anyway, but even in a bench role Gooden has quietly put up top 50 numbers (by averages) over the last month, with 10 and 8 to go along with ~1 stl/blk and great percentages before Sunday’s 15 and 16 outburst.

Delonte West (23%) and Daniel Gibson (8%)

West is the guy to own in February, but for this week Gibson will hit some threes and get some assists just being in the same building as LeBron.

Craig Smith (5%)

I mentioned that Rasual Butler (and Al Thornton) was worth long-term consideration after it was learned Blake Griffin would miss the entire season.  But it’s Craig Smith who has really thrived while not having to look over his shoulder.  He has solidified his place as the third wheel in that Clipper frontcourt, averaging 15 and 5 on 69% shooting over the last week.

George Hill (8%)

Hill has started three games in a row at SG and produced 16 ppg with 2.3 treys.  Keep an eye on this situation.

Other guys to pick up/keep an eye on: Mike Miller (44% — slowly coming around), Corey Brewer (42% — #38 in Yahoo rankings by averages last week), DeJuan Blair (29% — see last week), Matt Barnes (40%), Brandon Rush (26% — he’s been hot since Granger returned), Rasual Butler (30%), Chase Budinger (3% — if you need 3’s in deep leagues), Cartier Martin (1%).

Here's a tough decision some owners might currently be facing -- who would you rather own?

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Injury Timeout: Mo Williams

Mo Williams is out 4-6 weeks with a shoulder sprain.  This is terrible news as he had really adapted to playing with LeBron in his second season in CLE.  (Mo actually has a poor +/- this year, but the guys at Cavs: The Blog do a good job of explaining why in the link.)

Anyways.  The obvious pickup would be Delonte West… and that is exactly who you should grab right now.  In my main roto league, I just dropped another one of my favorite pickups, Luke Ridnour, for him.  I’d be a little more hesitant to make the same move in a H2H league, as Mo should be back by the fantasy playoffs, at which point West probably reverts to something closer to his current stats.  But if you need help making the playoffs, I think West will be better over the next 4-6 weeks, and maybe a little longer as Mo gets back into shape.

Anthony Parker (and Daniel Gibson) should see a bump in production as well.  And there’s an outside chance Shaquille O’Neal could pick up some offensive slack, as Mo often leads the second unit when LeBron is out of the game.  That’s just a hunch, and I still don’t want him on my team though.  But if you have Shaq in a deeper league, there is some room for optimism…

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Eye-Opening Lines: Robin Lopez

And introducing Robin Lopez as the other brother from the same mother.  (AP)

And introducing Robin Lopez as the other brother from the same mother. (AP)

I mentioned him in my latest weekly pickups, but after two solid lines in two starts, Robin “The Other” Lopez is officially the hottest pickup in fantasy basketball right now.  When I mentioned him earlier this week, he was only owned in 7% of Yahoo leagues, and that number is up to 29% already so act fast if you want him.  Here’s why:

In a Monday night start against Marc “The Other” Gasol and the Grizzlies, he tallied 19 and 7 with 3 blk.

He followed that up with another start on Wednesday against twin brother Brook Lopez and the Nets, scoring another career high with 20 and 7 with 1 blk.

Granted, as good as Marc Gasol and Brook Lopez are fantasy-wise, in real life the Grizzlies and Nets tend to let opposing centers put up some pretty nice fantasy lines.  But you can’t ignore a) the minutes and b) the production.  I wouldn’t be surprised if the Suns switch back to Channing Frye if this experiment doesn’t pan out (because, really, the Suns could’ve beaten the Nets starting Lisa Leslie at center).  But Lopez is clearly worth a look whether or not you need a center, because he could very well turn into a nice mid-season trade bargaining chip to get what you really need.

And of course, RLopez could put up two duds in a row and get benched in which case you reevaluate everything and question my sanity (honestly I wouldn’t be surprised by Roy Hibbert-like inconsistency) but I think it’s worth the risk if you don’t have to part with a key piece of your team.

Which big man would you prefer on your team?

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RotoWaste of Time: Stephon “Strawberry” Marbury

Big news in the basketball universe: Stephon Marbury is returning to professional basketball… to the Shanxi Club of the Chinese Basketball Association!  Who cares if they probably won’t be able to say Starbury correctly — “Hey, Strawberry!”  (I can make that joke because I’m Asian) — if you’re in a Chinese fantasy basketball league, pick him up ASAP!

Apparently, Bonzi Wells had 48 and 11 with 5 threes and 7 stl in his first game for the same team back in 2008.  I’m projecting Marbury to drop 45, 7, and 7 with 8 threes and 6 stl per game.  Sleeper alert!

And if you’re wondering why Stephon is going to China, here’s one possible explanation: Wouldn’t you want to meet all the kids making your $15 dollar shoes?

For the record though, the only major-ish basketball injury I ever suffered — a partially torn MCL — happened the very first time I wore a pair of Strawberries Starburys.  I might have side with LeBron on this one…

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Week 12 Recap (Raaaaaaaandy!) and Week 13 Pickups

Week 12 featured a franchise quickly forgetting its (once) franchise player, the return of another (once?) franchise player in Sacramento, and the continued (and now seemingly sustainable) dominance of a player playing with a purpose.

(By the way, “Raaaaaaaandy!” is actually spelled exactly correctly.  It’s a reference to Aziz Ansari’s character in the movie Funny People.  Check it out at LaughYourDickOff.com.  Yes, you read that right.)

Randy Foye got off to such a hot start as Agent 0's replacement, you knew Fantasy Hoopster had to trade him.  (Getty Images)

Randy Foye got off to such a hot start as Agent 0's replacement, you knew Fantasy Hoopster had to trade him. (Getty Images)

Randy Foye

Gilbert who?  Life went on in WAS without Gilbert Arenas, with Antawn Jamison picking up much of the slack.  But it was Foye who particular impressed this past week, playing the best stretch of his year, so of course I just traded him.  Was it the right move?  Who knows, but here’s my reasoning.

Reasons to sell high: He’s shooting well above his career FG% right now.  If Caron Butler or Jamison gets traded, that might translate into more points but at a less efficient rate, which equals a bad tradeoff in my mind (at least for my particular team).  Also, when Mike Miller returns that’ll likely dent into Foye’s AST totals.

Reasons to keep: Apparently he has the reins to the team.  He took shots at the end of both overtimes (missing both) against Chicago.  Maybe he just needed a new setting and style of offense to excel.  His only (current) competition at PG is technically considered a dwarf in certain countries.

Obviously, I leaned towards the former.  In my trade, I packaged Foye along with Andre Iguodala (I also threw in Yi Jianlian) for Dwyane Wade and a couple scrubs who I plan to drop for Luke Ridnour and another player to be determined.  Yes, I know I overpaid, but the trade made sense to me for several reasons, which I might point out in another post if people are interested.

Also, going back to an earlier post when Arenas was first suspended, back then I decided not to drop Nate Robinson for Foye, but then quickly decided to drop Tyrus Thomas instead.  I’m sure most of you have already figured out Foye is currently the hottest player of all three, although as exhibited on Saturday night, he’s not perfect.

Kevin Martin

Martin returned this week and quickly resumed draining threes again.  That’s not too surprising.  The more interesting subplot (or is it main plot now?) to this story involves his effect on a couple of Sacto’s rising rookies: Tyreke Evans and Omri Casspi.

Two games isn’t much of a sample, but it appears as if Evans won’t be affected too much at all — he still controlled the ball for the most part and his shot attempts were still there — while Casspi’s role in the offense was reduced.  This isn’t too surprising; even though Martin just signed a nice extension, I’d argue Evans is Sacto’s new franchise player now.  It’s still early, but I’m glad I didn’t advise anyone to sell high on Evans.  Sadly, I also didn’t have enough balls to advise trading for him from a panicked manager who might’ve sold him on the cheap.  Either way, if you own Evans I’d breathe a slight sigh of relief, although everything is fluid in fantasy of course.

As for Casspi, I think some of those shot attempts might come back, but probably not at a consistent enough level for him to be mentioned in the fantasy ROY race anymore.  Evans and Martin are going to get their shots, so that probably means a lot of inconsistency for the rest of the Kings, especially Casspi.

ROY Race

This hasn’t been much of a race lately, at least not between Brandon Jennings and Tyreke Evans.  (Hello, Stephen Curry with your 6 stl/fouls against MIL on Friday night.)  I just mentioned Evans has a great chance to retain most of his value even with KevMart back, but it’s the absence of Michael Redd that might revitalize Jennings’ season.  Jennings is clearly a rhythm shooter, and he never quite found the rhythm (or volume) for his shots with Redd back.  But now that he (and Andrew Bogut) are the primary offensive options in MIL again, Jennings has a chance to get back to his old numbers… although I wouldn’t expect him to shoot above 40%.  If you can handle the ugly shooting, you might be able to snag him with a lowball offer.

Samuel Dalembert

Dalembert has been on a tear the entire month of January, and his last couple games have been particularly sweet.  In the past, I’ve recommended him as a waiver wire pickup that people should sell high on if possible because of his historic inconsistency, but I think I’m changing my tune now, for two (non-stat-based) reasons.

Dalembert’s productivity (along with a lot of other NBA players) is often directly related to his motivation/focus.  Well non-stat-based reason #1 that I like Sammy D the rest of the way is because he really plays with more passion whenever Allen Iverson is on the court.  Back when Iverson was first signed by the 76ers, I mentioned Dalembert even had dreams that AI would return to the squad.  Man-crush or motivation?  Who knows, but it’s translated into great numbers for Sammy D.

Non-stat-based reason #2, on the other hand, is no joking matter at all.  Dalembert is a native Haitian, and in the two games since the tragedy in Haiti, a lot of people have been saying he’s played with a clear focus (14.5 ppg and 16.5 rpg with 2 bpg while shooting a combined 13-15 from the floor).  I hate to bring reality into a blog about pure fantasy, but if you’ve ever had something absolutely shitty happen to you in real life, I’m sure you can relate with “focusing on work” as a temporary escape.  I don’t think NBA players are an exception to that, and it looks like Dalembert might be playing with a heavy heart from here on out.

By the way, there are a ton of ways to help out with the earthquake in Haiti.  Here’s one organization that’s already been working there for 20 years that some friends of mine have volunteered for.  It’s called Partners in Health, and I know they make a difference if you’re worried about how your donations are spent.

standwithhaiti

And in other Week 12 (fantasy) news:

As the guys at GiveMeTheRock point out, Charlotte is on a roll, led by none other than Stephen JacksonGerald Wallace and Raymond Felton are still playing well, but the other big fantasy news out of CHA is Boris Diaw, who is finally adjusting to his new teammate.  Buy low if you can.

In LA, Pau Gasol returned from injury, and Andrew Bynum decided to put up another great line.  This is encouraging news if you own Bynum, although I wouldn’t expect it to be the norm.  I still expect Bynum to have many more night like this, but with some mediocre games sprinkled in.

In Chicago, Joakim Noah is on fire from the free throw line and the sole reason why I’ve risen a couple spots in that category so far this month in one roto league.

In Indiana, Roy Hibbert is on fire from everywhere… and that’s with Danny Granger and Troy Murphy back.  Remember when I said he’d average a double-double with 2 bpg back when he was mired in a slump?  Even I laughed at myself.  Expect some inconsistency, but I’m glad/relieved I still have him in all my leagues.

WEEK 13 PICKUPS

Since my top pick from last week is still owned in less than half of Yahoo leagues, I’ll just mention Kirk Hinrich (49%) first.  Okay, there.  Now onto to some fresh meat.

Rasual Butler (26%)

Just in case you were wondering who that guy who keeps hitting 3's for your team looks like... (Getty Images)

Just in case you were wondering who that guy who keeps hitting 3's for your team looks like... (Getty Images)

Okay, so he’s not exactly fresh because this is probably the fourth time he’s made this list.  Also, I alluded to this earlier in the week, but with Blake Griffin out for the year, both Butler and Al Thornton don’t have to look over their shoulders quite as much anymore.  I much prefer Butler (as does Mike Dunleavy Sr.), and he has a real chance to keep up his current pace of 13.8 ppg with 1.7 threes as starting SF (including 33 pts and 4 treys versus the Cavs Saturday night), albeit with some inconsistency.

DeJuan Blair (23%)

I mentioned Blair in a recent Eye-Opening Lines post.  Since then, the undersized center had 8 and 8 in a foul-plagued game against MEM.  If you need a big man, check him out.

Luke Ridnour (38%), Ersan Ilyasova (38%), and Carlos Delfino (6%)

I mentioned these guys last week, and I still like them to benefit from Michael Redd’s season-ending injury (roughly in this order).  At one point earlier in the year, Ridnour was actually ranked in the top 50 as he was an efficient source of 3’s and ast.  Meanwhile Ilyasova had already been solid in recent weeks, while Delfino exploded for 28 pts in his last game.

Robin Lopez (7%)

I’ve been waiting for Lopez to eat into Channing Frye’s minutes all year and it finally happened last week.  In PHO’s two most recent games, Lopez averaged 12.5 ppg and 4.5 bpg in 27 mpg (all season highs).  One of the games was a blowout; one was highly contested.  I’m not sure if this is a trend, but pay close to attention if you need blk.

Some guys I’ve spent plenty of ink on already:

Mike Miller (37% — no official word on return, but should be owned in most leagues), Martell Webster (47%), Matt Barnes (29% — if you’re worried about Rashard Lewis, it’s actually Barnes and not Vince Carter who is hurting him more)

Some other guys to keep an eye on:

Corey Brewer (34%), Jonas Jerebko (7% — back in the starting lineup…for now), Delonte West (21%), Steve Blake (10% — still hitting 3’s as a sub), Vladimir Radmanovic (5% — check status), Chuck Hayes (12% — last week’s averages were inflated by a monster 3OT game, but he was relevant earlier in the year), Earl Watson (10%), Jared Jeffries (1% — still a cheap source of stl/blk), James Posey (5%), Shannon Brown (2%), DeAndre Jordan (3% — check Chris Kaman’s status)

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