If you can flip Marc Gasol for this Gasol, either your name is Mitch Kupchak or you're one savvy fantasy manager. (Getty Images)
There was a lot of action on Wednesday night, on and off the court. Without further ado, some of the newsier and more actionable items:
Pau Gasol
Gasol hasn’t even suited up this year, but he was at the center of attention in fantasy news headlines Wednesday. First, earlier in the day, Phil Jackson told the Los Angeles Daily News that Gasol might be out until Christmas. Then, later that night, the Lakers clarified that Phil Jackson was in fact joking (Hahaha! Oh, Phil), and Gasol is actually day-to-day. How long will Gasol actually be out? Probably somewhere in between “day-to-day” and “a long time.”
One thing’s for sure, his owners are probably starting to lose patience, especially with these ambiguous/conflicting reports. If you can afford to stash him (for what could amount to several weeks), I think Gasol is a nice BUY LOW option right now.
Brandon Jennings and Andrew Bogut
As the guys over at BrewHoop mention, Wednesday’s game against the Nuggets and Chauncey Billups was supposed to be Jennings’ first true PG test (even though the young Buck already went toe-to-toe with Derrick Rose). He responded with 32 points and 9 assists while shooting 11-19, 8-8, and 2-2 from FG, FT, and 3-pt range. The guys at BrewHoop summed it up nicely: “In short, he was everything. Again.”
Meanwhile, Andrew Bogut did a pretty good impression of Andrew Bogut circa 2007 with 23 and 10 with 4 blocks. The makeup of their numbers will change when/if Michael Redd returns, but they should both be rostered in almost all fantasy formats. (Yet somehow they’re each available in 22% of Yahoo leagues.)
It seems like Fantasy Hoopster's man-crush on Brandon Jennings grows stronger everyday. (Getty Images)
Charlie Villanueva and Anthony Randolph
There were several huge lines from Wednesday night, including Danny Granger’s 31 and 16 with 2/1/2 3pm/stl/blk against GSW, Kevin Durant’s 30 and 10 with 1/2/1 3pm/stl/blk against LAC, LeBron James’ 36 and 8 against ORL, and Carmelo Anthony’s 32 and 10 against MIL, but the two games that stood out the most to me were from two F’s who have put their owners through a lot of misery these first few weeks.
Villanueva finally had the all-around breakout game his owners have been waiting for, posting 30 and 4 with 2/2/1 3pm/stl/blk on 13-17 shooting against the Bobcats. After a slow-start, he’s shooting above 60% from the field his last 4 games. I’m kicking myself for not pursuing him more aggressively after his slow start because he’s no longer a buy low candidate. Or as the guys at Detroit Bad Boys put it: “It is officially safe to say that there is no rust on the CV Machine.”
Meanwhile, Randolph had his second big game in a row sans Andris Biedrins, posting 17 and 13 with 3/2 stl/blk. As I mentioned in my last article, I’d expect more of the same while Biedrins is out, which puts Randolph’s owners in an interesting situation in a few weeks…
Marc Gasol, Russell Westbrook and Aaron Brooks
There were several duds from Wednesday night. Well, one that really comes to mind is Peja Stojakovic’s 0 points on 0-8 shooting, and against the Suns nonetheless. But three duds that stick out to me are Gasol’s 3 and 7 versus HOU (although he did manage 2/3 stl/blk), Westbrook’s 2 pts, 2 reb and 3 ast on 1-11 shooting performance (he also left the game early with a sprained ankle), and Brooks’ 8 pts and 3 ast effort on 3-10 shooting with no treys against MEM.
Why am I highlighting these lines? I own each of these guys in separate leagues and have already fielded trade offers for all of them after they posted some sick lines to start the season. If you’re someone who really wants any of them, the next 48 hours (after a poor performance) should be a nice window to make some offers.
