What a month this has been. Since I last wrote in this blog, my grandmother passed away and I had to leave town to return home. As such, it has been over 2 weeks since my last post. But I have some quick thoughts to share nonetheless.
Well, it looks like some of my "hot pickups" from earlier in the season are panning out to be busts.
Jeff Green - that didn't last long. He is still starting and looks to have a solid hold on the role, so what gives? Well, his performance has not been very impressive, as Wally Szczerbiak has stolen the limelight with a string of decent scoring performances. In January, Green has started 11 games, out of which he managed to play 34+ minutes in 5 games, but less than 25 minutes in another 5 games. Fouls aren't the problem, and it's clear that the coach prefers to give burn to other players some nights. If you own Jeff Green as anything more than bench filler, I'd wager you can do better in typically sized leagues.
Joe Smith - Ugh. That's all I can say after being suckered in by this guy in two leagues. His minutes are steadily decreasing of late, as Joakim Noah is starting to get big minutes off the bench. We all knew this was a possibility, but who thought it would get so bad so fast? His cumulative stats in the past 3 games says it all: 19 points, 13 rebounds, 0 assists, 1 steal, 1 block on 8-of-24 shooting from the field (33.3%) and 3-of-3 from the line (Not enough attempts to matter). Heck, Josh Smith way outperformed those counting stats in one game last night, with similar shooting percentages. Time to move on.
THIS WEEK'S RECOMMENDATIONS
Ryan Gomes - kid is finally coming on, as evidenced by his career-best 35 point performance earlier this week. I've always known he would eventually turn into a solid player, and have snapped him up off the free agent wire in three leagues. More goodness to come here, especially since he finally learned to hit treys and later improved his shot selection, so he can still hit for percentages while getting the bonus of the long ball. BUY BUY BUY!
Nate Robinson - I was not convinced he has fantasy value at first, but with the news that Starbury will be out for an extended period of time (likely all season) after surgery, L'il Nate makes for a great pick up. Look for him to keep up his January pace of 15.8 points, 3.3 boards, 4.4 assists, and 1.8 treys. But remain skeptical about his FG%, because he has had great shooting stretches in the past and they tend to cool off eventually. Still, outstanding free agent pick up at this point in the season, so he shouldn't be on the waiver wire in leagues of 10+ teams.
That's all I have for today. Until next time, Namaste.
Thursday, January 24, 2008
Monday, January 07, 2008
Waiver Wire Nuggets
Well, we're just about at the halfway point of the season. If you haven't managed to swing that blockbuster trade yet, you had better work fast or else it'll be too late. By the All Star Break, struggling fantasy owners sometimes fade away and successful GMs start thinking they can make a run with what they have.
Regardless of your performance to date, it is never too late to improve your team with the waiver wire. Here are the guys I'm monitoring this week:
Mike Conley (Memphis, PG/SG)
Well well well, it's about time the team realizes that Mighty Mouse isn't the answer while starter-caliber talent sits injured on the bench. Kyle Lowry and Juan Carlos Navarro have both failed to take hold of the starting PG role, and they've missed their window of opportunity (Navarro is more of a 2-guard in this rotation anyway). Enter Mike Conley., the heir apparent to the Grizzlies' PG gig.
Since being thrust into the starter's role, Conley has offered 9.3 points, 4.3 rebounds, 6.3 assists, and 2.0 steals, even throwing in 0.3 treys/game (not his strong suit, but nice to see). Based on his solid NCAA stats, those numbers are completely reasonable to expect of him in the NBA. Once he settles in as a starter, I see 10-11 points, ~3 rebounds, 6-7 assists, and at least 1.5 steals per game. His FG% should be solid as it was in college, but he won't block shots or offer many treys and his FT% will be weak for a starting PG. But at this point in the year, that's enough to make him my pick up of the week.
Joe Smith (Chicago, PF)
What year is it again? Joe Smith looks like a spry 20-something out there with extended minutes in the Bulls rotation. After all, he hasn't averaged better than 9.2 points and 6.7 rebounds since 2004-05, the year before he lost his starting position with the Bucks. He still isn't providing those types of rebounding numbers, but as a starter he has averaged 12.2 points and 5.7 boards in an average of 24+ minutes per game. If he continues to log at least 25 minutes per contest, there's no reason he can't finish with 12-13 points and 6+ boards with great percentages. Not a life saver, but the kind of guy who makes a great add for your last bench spot as PF depth. There simply aren't enough PF to go around, so those numbers are worth the precious bench spot.
Antonio Daniels (Washington, PG)
What more can you say, except that he is starting at PG for the Wizards (at least until/unless Gilbert Arenas returns later this season) and he had 18 points in his first game back from injury. You don't drop nearly 20 in the NBA unless you can ball again, so go get him if you need a short/mid-term fill in at PG. 'Nuff said.
Anthony Carter (Denver, PG)
Okay, this is very PG-centric, but there's not much I can do if those are the guys making waves! Carter has been starting in Denver since November 29, and he continues to hover in the top 100 players in fantasy leagues even after Chucky Atkins has returned. Apparently the team likes how Carter complements their stars (Allen Iverson and Carmelo Anthony), because they haven't even talked about changing up the rotation. Oh yeah, and if you haven't seen it, Carter has averaged 13 assists in his past 2 games. Iverson dropped 8 assists of his own in the most recent game, in addition to the 15 that Carter put up. Don't think they'll lose assists to each other, because there are plenty of options to help fill up the stat sheet. If you can use help in basically every other category but scoring (okay, not much in blocks either), go get Carter.
Jeff Green (Seattle, SF/PF)
This won't be news to anyone paying attention, but just in case you've been napping under a rock for the past couple of weeks, the Sonics have decided to hand over the starting gig to Green. He'll run as much as he can take it, and I think he can really do something special with the opportunity. If you have a slot and he hasn't already been nabbed in your league, surely you have someone ready for the waiver pile (Nazr Mohammed maybe?) who can free up a spot for a high-upside, high basketball IQ, physically gifted combo-forward. Go get him!
That's it for today. Until next time, Namaste.
Regardless of your performance to date, it is never too late to improve your team with the waiver wire. Here are the guys I'm monitoring this week:
Mike Conley (Memphis, PG/SG)
Well well well, it's about time the team realizes that Mighty Mouse isn't the answer while starter-caliber talent sits injured on the bench. Kyle Lowry and Juan Carlos Navarro have both failed to take hold of the starting PG role, and they've missed their window of opportunity (Navarro is more of a 2-guard in this rotation anyway). Enter Mike Conley., the heir apparent to the Grizzlies' PG gig.
Since being thrust into the starter's role, Conley has offered 9.3 points, 4.3 rebounds, 6.3 assists, and 2.0 steals, even throwing in 0.3 treys/game (not his strong suit, but nice to see). Based on his solid NCAA stats, those numbers are completely reasonable to expect of him in the NBA. Once he settles in as a starter, I see 10-11 points, ~3 rebounds, 6-7 assists, and at least 1.5 steals per game. His FG% should be solid as it was in college, but he won't block shots or offer many treys and his FT% will be weak for a starting PG. But at this point in the year, that's enough to make him my pick up of the week.
Joe Smith (Chicago, PF)
What year is it again? Joe Smith looks like a spry 20-something out there with extended minutes in the Bulls rotation. After all, he hasn't averaged better than 9.2 points and 6.7 rebounds since 2004-05, the year before he lost his starting position with the Bucks. He still isn't providing those types of rebounding numbers, but as a starter he has averaged 12.2 points and 5.7 boards in an average of 24+ minutes per game. If he continues to log at least 25 minutes per contest, there's no reason he can't finish with 12-13 points and 6+ boards with great percentages. Not a life saver, but the kind of guy who makes a great add for your last bench spot as PF depth. There simply aren't enough PF to go around, so those numbers are worth the precious bench spot.
Antonio Daniels (Washington, PG)
What more can you say, except that he is starting at PG for the Wizards (at least until/unless Gilbert Arenas returns later this season) and he had 18 points in his first game back from injury. You don't drop nearly 20 in the NBA unless you can ball again, so go get him if you need a short/mid-term fill in at PG. 'Nuff said.
Anthony Carter (Denver, PG)
Okay, this is very PG-centric, but there's not much I can do if those are the guys making waves! Carter has been starting in Denver since November 29, and he continues to hover in the top 100 players in fantasy leagues even after Chucky Atkins has returned. Apparently the team likes how Carter complements their stars (Allen Iverson and Carmelo Anthony), because they haven't even talked about changing up the rotation. Oh yeah, and if you haven't seen it, Carter has averaged 13 assists in his past 2 games. Iverson dropped 8 assists of his own in the most recent game, in addition to the 15 that Carter put up. Don't think they'll lose assists to each other, because there are plenty of options to help fill up the stat sheet. If you can use help in basically every other category but scoring (okay, not much in blocks either), go get Carter.
Jeff Green (Seattle, SF/PF)
This won't be news to anyone paying attention, but just in case you've been napping under a rock for the past couple of weeks, the Sonics have decided to hand over the starting gig to Green. He'll run as much as he can take it, and I think he can really do something special with the opportunity. If you have a slot and he hasn't already been nabbed in your league, surely you have someone ready for the waiver pile (Nazr Mohammed maybe?) who can free up a spot for a high-upside, high basketball IQ, physically gifted combo-forward. Go get him!
That's it for today. Until next time, Namaste.
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