Fantasy Basketball Weekly Dime

By: Joe Bond

So I apparently I reached a bit in my first article and mentioned some players to add that didn’t exactly work out as planned.  I also mentioned it might be time to drop Jason Richardson and what did he do right after I said that? Average 18 points and 3.25 threes in the next three games.  Things are changing pretty quickly on rosters in the NBA as teams are trying to adjust lineups to find the best possible combinations.  With all of that happening some players are going to get a huge boost in value while some are losing value.

Pick ‘Em Up
Matt Barnes (SF- LAL) - Is now the starting SF in LA over Metta World Peace.  He will be the fourth scoring option on the team but he should still average around 10-12 a game. He wil also get you good rebound numbers, averaging 8 the last five games.  Barnes will also chip in in the other categories as well with a good FG and FT %, about 1 steal and block a game and can also hit the three ball.  He is a must add in my opinion.

Anthony Morrow (SG/SF - NJ) - Has averaged 19.5 ppg the last 4 games, with three of the 4 being over 20.  A lot of that scoring has to do with the 18 threes in that span of time but he has always had the capability of hitting the three just needed the minutes/opportunity to do so.  Well now that he has taken the starting SG spot over Sundiata Gaines and just about all the minutes , 133 - 51 in favor of Morrow.

Byron Mullens (C - Cha) - Mullens has scored in double digits 5 of the last 6 games and also pulled down over 6 boards (double digit in two games).  All of this is while coming off the bench and only averaging 21 minutes a game.  He is probably worth the add in deep leagues right now based on those numbers but if he can ever get more minutes then I see him being a must add in standard leagues as well.

Channing Frye (PF/C - Pho) - Frye seems to have found his shooting touch finally.  In his last two games he has hit 7 three pointers.  He is averaging 7 rebounds a game this season too so as long as he is hitting his shot he is definitely worth an add.

I Got My Eye On You

Trevor Booker (PF -Was) - He has taken over the starting PF spot in Washington due to a shoulder injury to Andre Blatche and performed fairly well.  The scoring is not much, only 8 points in both those games, but he hustles on the floor and gets stats in lots of other categories. In the last four games he has averaged 7.5 rebounds, 1.5 steals and 1.75 blocks.  Combine that with a .643 FG average and the fact that even when Blatche comes back he could keep the starting role you have a pretty good stat stuffer for your team.

John Lucas (PG - Chi) - Derrick Rose misses one game with his turf toe and what does Lucas do with the opportunity? Go off for 25 points, 8 assists and 8 rebounds.  If Rose has to miss more time because of the toe then Lucas is a must add.  Now don't get me wrong I don't expect those kind of numbers especially the rebounds and points but a 15 point, 6-9 assists, 2-3 rebound game stat line is not out of the question.  Just remember this is only if Derrick Rose misses more time, once Rose is playing he will go back to his bench role and not contribute much.

Baron Davis (PG - NY) - He is now expected to be back by the end of January and when he does come back I expect him to have some good numbers especially assists in the Knicks lineup.  So now is the time to stash him on your bench if you can deal with 1.5-2 weeks of no stats.

Welcome to Dumpsville, Population You

Jason Kidd (PG - Dal) - With the exception of very deep leagues he is not worth keeping anymore.  The last few years you were able to deal with the low scoring outputs because he was averaging 8 - 10 assists a game. Well this year the scoring has dropped even more and the assists have been cut in half.  If that isn't a sign that age has finally caught up with him the back injury that has kept him out the last few games and maybe more is.  At this point I'd rather have Jameer Nelson on my fantasy roster.

DeJuan Blair (C/PF - SA) - He has only seen the floor more than 18 minutes twice in the last five games and only 30 minutes once.  Because of that his production has declined to 7.4 points, 5.2 rebounds and close to nothing in the other categories.  Kawahi Leonard has stepped in nicely for him so I see no reason the Spurs will go back to Blair any time soon.  Its time to let him go.

Kemba Walker (PG/SG - Cha) - He has talent don't get me wrong but he is just not getting it done right now.  His shooting percentage is terrible at .361 and even his FT% isn't where you would like to see it, .760.  Those two stats combined has really hurt his scoring, with the exception of a couple good games.  Add that he doesn't really contribute much in the other categories and DJ Augustin does not look like hes giving up the starting role anytime soon, he is just not worth owning in standard leagues right now.  Another possibility is to trade him to somebody who just likes him for the name.