Posts Tagged Marcus Thornton

WEEK 16 RECAP

After a shortened week and a lackluster dunk contest, I have to admit the All Star game itself was kind of exciting, at least for an exhibition game.  You could tell the 108,000+ spectators helped to motivate the players (or distract, in the case of one Deron Williams).

Hmm, did anything else happen last week?  Well, there was that trade.  And oh yeah, Stephen Curry put up a ridiculous triple-double (36, 10, and 13 with 7 treys) thanks to a buzzer-beating rebound with the help of one of the most clutch box-outs I’ve ever seen…by Anthony Tolliver (more on him below).  Check out the 6:30 mark for the play:

In fact, Curry has been so impressive lately, I’m not even going to mention those two other guys until they show me they’re capable of making this a Fantasy ROY race again.

See, I told you Week 16 was short.

WEEK 17 PICKUPS

As has been the theme around here lately, most of these pickups will actually be speculative long-term adds based on trade rumors.  Others will be named Anthony Tolliver.  (p.s. Anthony Morrow and Darren Collison have both cleared the 50% ownership mark required for this list, but make sure neither are taken before continuing below.)

Andray Blatche (34%)

See my post from over the weekend.  But essentially, with Brendan Haywood out of the picture and Antawn Jamison likely (but not surely) to follow, the door is open for Blatche to get 35+ minutes a night.  In 4 games as a starter this year, Blatche is only averaging 11 ppg and 7.5 rpg with 1.8 bpg in 34 mpg, but that was as a starting PF playing alongside Haywood.  Last year, he averaged 12 ppg and 6 rpg with ~1 spg/bpg in 28 mpg as a starting C without Haywood.  Project that to 35 mpg, and those numbers come out to roughly 14 ppg and 8 rpg with 1+ spg/bpg.  Add in the Wizards’ great playoff schedule in H2H leagues, and you want to own this kid.

Drew Gooden (28%)

I also like Gooden’s value to take a step up as he’ll get more consistent minutes in WAS (assuming he isn’t flipped to a contender).  In fact, the only downside to owning Blatche will be seeing Gooden gobble up double-digit boards on certain nights, while Blatche only snatches 5 or so.  That being said, I’d still prefer Blatche for his steals and blocks, but Gooden will be an excellent source of rebounds.

Anthony Tolliver (7%)

Curry and Tolliver probably won't lead Golden State to many W's this year. Good thing we live in a fantasy world. (Getty)

Gasp!  What is this — a player who likely doesn’t stand to benefit from a trade on this list?  Well, with the rate that Monta Ellis, Corey Maggette, and the rest of the Warriors get injured, Tolliver is essentially getting theboost in minutes a trade would have.  (Not to mention Andris Biedrins actually has been mentioned in some rumors.  But then again, who hasn’t this year?)  There are so many different ways to hype Tolliver, but I’ll just go with his averages from the last 3 games: 17 ppg and 8 rpg with 1.3/1.0/0.7 3s/stl/blk.

The Warriors recently decided to cut Speedy Claxton’s valuable expiring contract to keep Tolliver (a move that angered many GS fans), so you can expect management will give him plenty of minutes to prove himself the rest of the way.  I recently picked up Tolliver, then dropped him for Blatche.  If Carlos Boozer doesn’t get traded, I’m dropping Paul Millsap for this kid.

[02/18/10 UPDATE -- Boozer didn't get dealt, but Ronnie Brewer did, freeing up time for both Andrei Kirilenko and Millsap.  Add in the fact that Millsap has been on fire lately and looks to get 30+ mpg, and no, I am in fact not dropping him for Tolliver at this point.  Just to clarify...]

Robin Lopez (38%)

He sputtered a bit last week, but with Amare Stoudemire trade rumors swirling faster than a Mid-Atlantic snowstorm, Lopez is worth owning (or at least keeping a close eye on) over the next 3 days.

J.J. Hickson (9%)

Speaking of Amare trade rumors, Hickson will be a likely beneficiary of any trade the Cavs make because the Cavs will likely be bringing in a stud PF (Amare, Jamison, or Troy Murphy), leaving a nice, empty starting PF spot on the other team.  Of course, Hickson wouldn’t have LeBron James feeding him for easy scores anymore, but considering the opposing team would most likely be rebuilding (except in the case of the Suns), and Hickson should get more run than he did/does in CLE.

Keep an eye on:

Wow, I didn’t realize this list was so F-C heavy.  Here are some other guys to keep an eye on (including G’s!), either due to trade speculation or strong play: Brad Miller and Taj Gibson (43% and 10% respectively — Joakim Noah still hurting and Tyrus Thomas on the trade block), Ryan Gomes (32%), Marcus Thornton (38% — coming back from injury and should still benefit from Chris Paul’s absence), DeJuan Blair (25%), George Hill (38% — better with Tony Parker healthy?), Luc Richard Mbah a Moute (8% — 11 rpg over last 3), Jared Jeffries (8%), T.J. Ford (33% — don’t get your hopes up, but back in rotation), Marquis Daniels (2%), Charlie Bell (4% — a trey in 12 straight games)

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