Posts Tagged Jonny Flynn

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?

View Results

Loading ... Loading ...

, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

3 Comments

Fantasy Basketball Strategy: Week 4 Recap and Week 5 Pickups

Don't call it a comeback, Brand's been here all year long.  He's just finally making some noise.  (Getty Images)

Don't call it a comeback, Brand's been here all year long. He's just finally making some noise. (Getty Images)

WEEK 4 RECAP

They’re Ba-aaack

Week 4 featured the return of several fantasy studs: Rashard Lewis, Devin Harris, Troy Murphy, and Pau Gasol.  (Thanks for playing, Ryan Andersen and Rafer Alston.  Here are some nice parting gifts…)

As for Murphy and Gasol, their fantasy impact is a little more complicated.  Murphy will definitely take away some of Roy Hibbert’s stats, but I think the young center will still be valuable contributing a near double-double with 2 bpg.  Meanwhile, if you didn’t sell high on Andrew Bynum before Gasol’s return, please don’t panic and let someone buy low on him these next few (or more?) games as he readjusts to Gasol.  19 and 11 might be a little much to expect, but he’ll be much better than 11 and 8 (his first game with Pau back).

On the flip side, Week 4 also saw some key injuries, including Jameer Nelson and Andrew Bogut.  If you’re looking for replacements, Jason Williams has had a couple decent games thus far, while Kurt Thomas/Hakim Warrick have each had a nice game (depending on the matchup) in Bogut’s absence.  (There are some more exciting pickups further below.)

They’re “Ba-aaack”

Week 4 also featured the “return” of two stud centers: Elton Brand and Al Jefferson. With Marresse Speights out of the way due to injury, Brand absolutely erupted, averaging 20 and 10 with 2.7/3.7 spg/bpg this week, good for the #2 ranking by averages in Yahoo leagues.  I’m not sure what to make of this unexpected outburst quite yet, as the 76ers lost two of those games and barely beat a new-look CHA team in the other game, but I’ll have my thoughts on whether Brand is a sell high or buy low guy shortly.

Read the rest of this entry »

, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

2 Comments

Injury Timeout: Michael Redd

Get some knee braces on this guy, stat!  (D. Garrabrant/NBAE/Getty Images)

Get some knee braces on this guy, stat! (D. Garrabrant/NBAE/Getty Images)

As you’ve probably heard by now if you peruse fantasy basketball blogs, Michael Redd is out the next two weeks with a strained patella tendon.  Or rather, out at least two weeks.  Normally, I would just consider two-week injuries a natural part of fantasy basketball, but when you hear “at least” in front of that two weeks… yuck.  (But it also means it’s blog-worthy!)  The fantasy impact:

Brandon Jennings

The guys over at Brew Hoop were exactly right when they mentioned Jennings would have to shoulder more of the offensive load.  And I’m thrilled to have arguably the least-hyped (at least during the pre-season) of those rookie PGs (Tyreke Evans, Jonny Flynn, and Stephen Curry the others) on all my fantasy teams.  While I don’t think I would mind having him the entire year, despite the ups and downs, Jennings could certainly also be a sell high candidate in two weeks.  Stay tuned.

(By the way, I love this kid’s swagger.  I usually wouldn’t start a rookie PG in his third pro game in fantasy, but didn’t you just have a feeling he would bring it against D-Rose last night?  Let the man-crush begin…)

Andrew Bogut

After a putrid first two games, in which he looked “out of sorts and uninvolved”, Bogut was very involved last night, chipping in 16 and 13 with 3 blk.  I like to think he would’ve come around eventually anyway, but Redd’s absence will certainly make things easier.  I got lucky and made a small deal for him pre-Redd’s injury in one of my leagues, but there’s a small chance you won’t even have to make a trade, as he’s available in 25% of Yahoo leagues after that slow start.  So act fast if you need a C.

Hakim Warrick

I actually dropped Warrick for Jennings in one of my leagues last week, but I believe he deserves a look in most leagues, especially these next two weeks.  His minutes were limited the Bucks’ first couple games, but Scott Skiles inserted Warrick into the starting lineup because a) that was probably going to happen anyway and b) the Bucks needed the offensive lift.  Warrick only responded with 11 points on 5-15 shooting, but he also chipped in 10 rebounds and 1 stl/blk in 34 minutes.

And while I can’t get too excited about his career %s or lack of 3’s, this whole situation reminds me of a similar one in Milwaukee last year.  (Charlie Villanueva, anyone?)

Charlie Bell

If Redd’s injury turns out to be serious, all those guys above become even more valuable, and Bell becomes fantasy-viable for the first time since 2006-07.  (He’s already worth a look in deeper leagues.)  Fantasy-wise, he had a decent game last night chipping in 11 points on 5-11 shooting with one 3-pt.  Real life-wise, he had a great game, helping to shut down John Salmons (something I’m sure Scott Skiles can appreciate).

Did I leave anyone/anything out?  Feel free to let me know below…

, , , , , , , ,

2 Comments

Fantasy Basketball Strategy: Eye-Opening Lines from the Season’s First Full Night of Action

Although neither of them can jump anymore, one of these O'Neals might not be fantasy-finished just quite yet...  (NBAE)

Although neither of them can jump anymore, one of these O'Neals might not be fantasy-finished just quite yet... (NBAE)

Now that we’re done with those meaningless and (potentially) misleading eye-opening lines from the pre-season, how about some eye-opening lines from games that actually count.  In addition to looking at some lines from guys that are probably already rostered, I’ll look at (perhaps more importantly) lines from guys you want to keep an eye on.

First, a word of caution: While it can make or break your season if you land one of these game-changing free agents that went undrafted, something that can also make or break your season is dropping one of your sleepers before he pans out.  So, if you’re carrying dead weight, go ahead and jump on some of these guys.  Otherwise, just keep an eye on them and be ready to pounce (like, say, during the second quarter of their third consecutive solid game — sometimes you just can’t wait until that night).

Without further ado, some eye-opening lines from the season’s first full night of action (and a few from the first night too):

STARS

Gilbert Arenas

Sure, LeBron put up back-to-back monster lines, but that wasn’t the most eye-opening performance to me.  Even though I don’t own him in any leagues, it was still great to see Gilbert Arenas pour in 29 points with 9 assists in his season debut.  It’s certainly not a guarantee of anything, but still, nice to see.

Danny Granger

While Kevin Durant posted a line worthy of a fantasy first-rounder with 25 and 11, those who stuck with their guns and drafted Danny Granger must quietly be thrilled with his 31 points on 5 threes.  Again, it’s still early, but you geniuses may as well pat yourselves on the back (especially before Granger hurts himself).

BIGS

Nobody thrived more on opening night (and a half) than the League’s big men.  Some cases in point:

Brook Lopez poured in 27 and 15 with 5 blocks, and against Al Jefferson nonetheless.

Read the rest of this entry »

, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

3 Comments