Posts Tagged Shaun Livingston

If you are taller than 7 feet and live in Portland, chances are your knees look like silly putty. (AP)

I was talking with a friend the other day about how there are so many more quality C’s (or C-eligible players) in fantasy now as opposed to five years ago.  Well, last night was a reminder why you still need to be deep at the center position on your fantasy teams.  Joel Przybilla suffered a ruptured patella Wednesday night versus the Mavs.  It wasn’t as ugly as, say, Shaun Livingston’s ruptured ‘everything’, but it was still painful to watch.

I still find it hard to believe Przy only made it up to 39% ownership in Yahoo leagues (he was averaging exactly what everyone who owned him was hoping for as a starter: 10 rpg and 2 bpg), so if you own him, chances are you originally had Greg Oden or you play in a deeper league.  Since Przy is likely done for the season, here are some guys available in less than 50% of Yahoo leagues:

Roy Hibbert (45%)

See last post.  He also added 6 blk versus Boston Tuesday night despite a subpar offensive game.

Tyrus Thomas (44%)

Even though he’s not a C, he’s a nice option to replace some of those boards and blocks while adding more steals as well.  Grab him if he’s still available, although in deeper leagues he’s probably been stowed away for at least a few days now.

Erick Dampier (45%)

Quietly averaging 10.4 rpg and 2.1 bpg in 10 December games.

Anderson Varejao (47%)

Probably won’t get as many blocks as Przy, but he’s a sneaky source of steals (1.0 spg).

Tyson Chandler (46%)

After being called out by Gerald Wallace recently, Chandler responded with a 13 and 14 double-double versus the undersized Knicks.  He’s maddeningly inconsistent, but he’s a decent filler for REB with potential for more.

Marreese Speights (35%)

He doesn’t block the ball nearly as much as you’d hope for a big, but he’s getting quality minutes in Philly.  Although Elton Brand was hot Tuesday night, Speights was very solid in the 3 previous games.

Serge Ibaka (2%)

Who?  The third-string C for the Thunder of course!  Well, he’s averaging 8+ rpg and 1.5 bpg over his last 4, including a nice 8 and 14 outing against the Lakers Tuesday night.

Josh Boone (4%)

Boone doesn’t do much besides rebound and block, but that’s probably what you’re looking for right now.  If you’re scared (and rightfully so) by that putrid 26% FT percentage, take comfort knowing that he only averages 1 attempt per game.  In 11 December games he’s averaging 6.9 rpg and 1.4 bpg.  Not a huge dropoff from Przy’s stats.

Hasheem Thabeet (9%)

He’s disappeared in recent games with Zach Randolph blowing up and Marc Gasol playing well again, but Thabeet had a 3-game run earlier this month where he tallied 11 blk.  Keep an eye on him.

Juwan Howard (3%)

Since Portland’s only other listed C, Anthony Tolliver, only has 1 career block, I’d lean towards the veteran Howard if you’re really strapped.  Even though half his old Fab Five teammates (for those of you young’ns, that’s not a T-Mobile plug…) are now doing commentary for TV, Howard posted respectable stats the last time he had to log big minutes — in Houston during the 2006-07 season when Yao Ming missed 3 months.  Don’t expect much more than double-digit points and 5-6 boards though.  And if Portland signs another big man (which is likely), you probably can’t even expect that much.

And by the way: Yes, LaMarcus Aldridge owners, LA might finally start averaging double-digit boards…