Robert Fung is an avid basketball fan, a 10+ year fantasy NBA veteran, and the Basketball Team Lead on Rotokingdom.net. Chicago born and raised, he grew up with the Michael Jordan era and continues to root for the Bulls.
Hope you guys had a great Thanksgiving and lots of turkey, gravy, stuffing, mashed potatoes, candied yams, brown rice, white rice, whatever you ate. More importantly, I hope you were able to spend good time with people that you care about, because I did. So, getting back to fantasy NBA, a couple key players have returned (CP3, Devin Harris, Jamison, Bogut, Kevin Love, Courtney Lee, etc), a couple key players have gotten hurt (LouWill, Oden, Raja Bell, etc), and I’m sure you’re looking to make some changes. These pickups might be on your wire:
Dahntay Jones (40%) –
Jones is on a tear this year, and I have no idea where it’s coming from. Last year, in DEN, he was a token starter, averaging just 18 mpg, and supposedly due to his defensive focus. Eyeballing it, you could probably have counted the number of double-digit scoring games on two hands (and at most two hands and a foot). In less than 20 games this season, you can count the number of single-digit scoring games on one hand. His value is increased by good hustle from a SG and percentages are decent to boot. For a decent all-around player without treys, look at DJ.
Will Bynum (39%) –
With the exception of his low 3s, Bynumite is a pretty solid waiver wire guard and is one of the bright spots in one of our country’s darkest places. In the past month, he’s posted 14-5-3-steal with 46/82. Be wary of his TOs and take careful note that 2 key Pistons are close to returning (Rip/Tay) and 1 already has returned (BG), but ride Bynum until his minutes drop below 24 consistently.
Luke Ridnour (37%) –
Ridnour is averaging around 13-5-3-steal-trey with an amazing 53/91 and 1.3 TOs over the past month. We haven’t seen this kind of production since he was pegged for potential breakout as a Seattle Supersonic. Even then, I’m not sure that we saw these 20+ point explosions. Michael Redd is still out, which gives Ridnour a little longer leash. Ride Ridnour while he’s hot.
Joel Przybilla (29%) –
Run to pick up the Vanilla Gorilla if you need a big man. As long as you have somebody to drop, go pick him up and then come back to read the rest of this article. Greg Oden just went down with a season-ending surgery, leaving Przy to pick up even more of the slack. In less than half a game, Przy averaged 8 boards, a block, and greater than 57% FG the past two years. His per minute averages are about the same this year, but his minutes are about to go up. POR isn’t very deep. Outside of their max-contract star, LaMarcus Aldridge, POR’s next tallest player is just 6’9”, so we’re talking HOU short. Rumors are that POR will run small, but Przy will still need to play decent time and is certainly capable of producing. If only we could get those triple-double with pts/boards/blocks back….
Andres Nocioni (14%) –
Noc is back in action, starting for the Sacramento Kings. His percentages are down, but if you want some cheap points (low to mid teens) with a couple threes, some boards, and the occasional hustle, he should be available. His production is pretty consistent as long as he gets consistent minutes, and he’s healthy (4 nearly perfect seasons out of 5), so the level of risk is low.
Mickael Pietrus (13%) –
Think Noc, but with less consistency/boards, and more threes/hustle. He’s maintained his role even with Shard back in the lineup, so it’s possible he keeps this up. However, in a fully healthy ORL team, MP is likely the 5th option in the starting lineup. Lucky for you, ORL won’t be fully healthy for at least another couple weeks to month.
Nick Young (9%) –
Nick Young is currently just a scoring specialist, and nothing really all that special at that. However, at 9%, he should be available if you need some more points. He’s been filling in as a starter in WAS, and occasionally chips in a steal or trey and some boards.
C.J. Watson (8%) –
Watson comes with the usual GSW caveat, and even moreso, because he was yoyoed around the lineup last year, but, as of the last game, he’s starting. In addition, he even made some waves a few games before getting the starting spot. In the past week, he’s put up numbers everywhere except blocks, averaging 15-4-3 with nearly 2 steals, 1.5 treys, 56/86 percentages and 1.3 TOs. It most likely won’t last, but you need to take it while you can if you need to drop a Collison, Alston, or other injury fill-in.
Wesley Matthews (3%) –
We’ve seen some of his scoring potential before this season, when he posted four double-digit games out of six. He’s been starting for awhile now and his minutes have climbed recently. He’s also posted some decent SG lines (pts, 3s, steals) in that period. He’s a rookie, and has already gone through a patch where he’s faded away, but keep an eye on him, because he could surprise you by the end of the year.
Jonas Jerebko (3%) –
The Swedish love this kid and DET is pretty fond of him too. By averaging almost 11-7-steal with 46/82, he convinced the coach to give him minutes even when Rip and Tay are back. Even though DET isn’t the all-star studded team of year’s past, that’s a pretty good accomplishment for a rookie and the first ever Swedish NBA player. He’s more roto-friendly, because he has low TOs and not too many assists, blocks, or treys, but still could have some value for you.
