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Day 35 of 124: Where Kemba Walker Joins Stephen Jackson and Boris Diaw

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Categorized as: Author: Patrick, Fantasy Basketball
Posted on: January 29th, 2012

Line of the Night: It has been one wild ride this year for Tyreke Evans (2.57 WARP). Horrible shooting performances and single-digit scoring games followed by games like this against the Jazz: 31 points, 6 rebounds, 9 assists and 2 steals. Evans’ owners would surely appreciate a little more consistency from Evans this season, but his highs keep them coming back for more.

Honorable Mentions: Memphis lost to the hot mess known as the Phoenix Suns, but Marc Gasol (2.18) had the second best fantasy line of the night with 18 points, 13 rebounds and 4 blocks in the game. Thanks Phoenix and your 36% shooting as a team. Or more specifically, thanks Channing Frye (more on that below).

The Suns finally (finally!) got a good performance out of Jared Dudley (1.82), who scored 20 points, adding 6 rebounds, 4 assists and 3 steals in the game. The good news is that Dudley is now back in the starting lineup after the Sun scored a season low 71 points on Friday. Dudley has been dropped a ton in leagues and is available in nearly 50% of Yahoo leagues right now, but he is a notoriously streaky player, so don’t assume it’s going to be all roses for him the rest of the season. Still, if you’ve got a spot on your team and Dudley is available, he’s worth one more chance. Come on, he’s sorry, now take him back.

Kobe Bryant (1.87) nearly triple-doubled against the Bucks with 27 points, 8 rebounds, 9 assists and 2 steals. But the Lakers’ lost thanks to a strong performance by Drew Gooden (1.45). Gooden still could qualify as a waiver wire pickup in many leagues (he is currently only 43% owned in Yahoo leagues). His second start was almost as good as his first – Gooden had 23 points and 8 rebounds against the Lakers. With Andrew Bogut out for the next 8-12 weeks with a fracture ankle, grab Gooden ASAP if he happens to be available in your league.

But Kobe was outdone by Kemba Walker (1.86), who actually triple-doubled with 20 points, 10 rebounds and 11 assists, adding 2 block against the Wizards for good measure. 10 boards and 2 blocks for the 6-1 Walker? I was going to chastise the Wizards, but he actually is a very good rebounder and shot blocker for his size. It is the first triple-double by a rookie this season and he becomes the third player to have a triple-double in Bobcats’ franchise history. The other two? That’s right, Stephen Jackson and Boris Diaw.

Despite giving up that triple-double, the Wizards beat the Bobcats behind JaVale McGee’s (1.82) 22 points, 10 rebounds and 5 blocks. John Wall (1.51) also finished with 13 points and 10 assists in the game.

Andre Iguodala (1.54) triple-doubled himself, barely crossing the threshold with 10 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists in a blowout win over Detroit. Louis Williams (1.42) chipped in 17 points and was 3-4 from three.

Without Carmelo Anthony for the second straight game, Amare Stoudemire (1.77) finished with a big 23 points, 8 rebounds, 3 steals and 2 blocks in a 97-84 loss to the Rockets, while Tyson Chandler (1.47) scored 14 points (5-7 from the field), 11 rebounds and 2 steals.

***

Waiver Wire Line of the Night: Starting his second game in a row in place of the injured Kevin Martin, Courtney Lee (1.37) scored 14 points and racked up 4 steals in about 30 minutes. Lee is one of those low upside guys who is not going to bust out in a starting role (a la C.J. Watson), but is good for about 10 points, a three and 1-2 steals a game whether he is starting or coming off the bench. Martin is currently day-to-day with plantar fasciitis in his right foot and may or may not be available for the Rockets’ game on Monday (got to love NBA injury reports).

Pick Up Lines: A quiet night overall considering there were six games.

Luc Mbah a Moute (1.33) scored 10 points, adding 6 rebounds and 2 blocks in 38 minutes against the Lakers. So why did Mbah a Moute see so much run when he was getting less than 20 minutes a game prior to that? One, Stephen Jackson was suspended for this game for “verbal abuse of an official and failure to leave the court in a timely manner”. That’s not the Stephen Jackson I know. Second, the team used him defensively to guard both Gasol and Bryant at times and he was moderately effective, at least against Gasol. Keep an eye on Mbah a Moute for now, but the Bucks’ rotation is a mess and he is a defensive first guy whose stats barely translate into fantasy basketball even when he’s getting a consistent 30+ minutes a night.

Gordon Hayward (1.25) busted out with 21 points, 5 rebounds, 4 assists and a couple steals in a win over the Kings. I liked Gordon as a mild sleeper going into the year simply because the SF spot on the Jazz was wide open for him with the departure of Andrei Kirilenko. Hayward has effectively crapped all over that opportunity – this was his first double-digit scoring game out of the Jazz’s past 6 – but the minutes will continue to be there and he could be worth a pickup if he can get his shot to start falling with consistency.

Chase Budinger (1.13) is back on the court for the Rockets thanks to the Kevin Martin injury. After racking up a few DNPs, Budinger followed up a 21 point game on Friday with a 19 point game against the Knicks. Budinger makes a decent spot start as long as Martin is out if you need a scorer, but don’t get too optimistic about him, he’s likely to return to the abyss when Martin returns from injury.

Biggest Loser: Tayshaun Prince (-0.93) returned to the court last night for the Pistons after missing two games for personal reasons. He should have taken an extra day off, as his 6 points on 3-9 from the field was the least impressive line among guys actually owned in some leagues.

Right behind him was Channing Frye (-0.89), who scored 2 points on 1-9 shooting in only 14 minutes on the court. On the positive side, Frye and Dudley are now back in the starting lineup for the Suns. So Frye bombed in the start, but all he has to do to turn things around is hold onto the starting job, actually get some minutes and start playing much, much better. Easy, right?

And Andray Blatche (-0.67) had 4 points, 1 rebounds and 0 assists in only 8 minutes off the bench for the Wizards before leaving the game with tightness in his left calf. Blatche had been replaced in the starting lineup by Jan Vesely anyway and is currently in Randy Wittman’s doghouse, so I’d have a short leach with Blatche if he were to miss time with that injury.

***

Daily rankings and stats come from the GMTR H2H Player Rater (beta version). They are based on the stat Wins Above Replacement Player (WARP) an estimate of the number of wins a player produces per week in H2H leagues over a replacement (waiver wire) player.

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  • Cortez

    Would you trade Kevin Martin and Kris Humphries for Blake Griffin? 
    Im worried about Kmart’s injury and if he will miss a LOT of games.

  • http://nelswadycki.com/ Nels

    If you’re okay with the big loss in FT%, then you’ll gain in everything else, so I’d say that’s a pretty decent trade. If you take out FT%, Martin is #59 and Humphries is #58, while Griffin is #24. In that case, that’s the kind of trade that I think people should usually try to make. You’re getting the best player, trading 2 lower ranked guys for a higher ranked one.

    I’d be worried about Martin too, since plantar fasciitis is one of those things that can linger and affect a player for a long time.

  • Kalergis

    I drafted Dudely this year and hung onto him until this past Thursday when I had finally had enough.  I took a chance on Beasley with Dudely’s slot.  Just finished reading your post and seeing Dudely’s stat line and that he’s back in the starting lineup.   What are your thoughts on Michael Beasley?  Any upside there?  Or should I throw Dudely back on my roster (he’s so streaky, it makes me want to pull my hair out!)  Thanks GMTR!

  • Edwin

     Hey guys, couple questions.

    1) I’m about to drop Devin Harris for Drew Gooden. What’s crazier, that I’m about to drop a mid-round pick for Gooden, or that I held on to Harris this long/think he might turn it around?

    2) Also, how do you think the returns of Hinrich and Davis will affect Teague and Shumpert? I ask because Brandon Knight is available in my league, as is Stuckey, Ridnour, Beasley, and Brook Lopez.

  • DR

    Just had somebody in one of my leagues agree to my Stoudemire for his Millsap, presumably on the back of Stoddy’s big game last night. I should be pretty euphoric about this, yes?

  • http://givemetherock.com/ Patrick

    The Beas has pretty limited upside imo. At his best, he can score and board a little, but the rest of his stats are pretty weak. He’s currently ranked 316 on our rater for the season – which is what happens when you combine a 38% FG% with a 45% FT%. Those will improve as the year goes on, but what I don’t like is that he’s now competing for minutes with Wes Johnson and Derrick Williams. I’d throw him back to the wire if I were you.

    Not that Dudley is the answer – he’s been so streaky that his game last night is more likely to be an aberration than the start of a run. But given the choice between those two guys, I’d reluctantly choose Dudley.

  • Kalergis

    Thanks for the response.

  • http://givemetherock.com/ Patrick

    We’ll have to wait and see what kind of effect Baron Davis has on the Melo/Amare dynamic (or lack thereof), but Millsap has shown is can outperform Amare fantasy-wise as long as Melo is on the court running the show for the Knicks. I’ll give you the early nod as likely trade winner, but reserve final judgment until Davis joins the team.

  • http://givemetherock.com/ Patrick

    I think the craziest thing of all is that police aren’t out looking for the person who kidnapped the real Devin Harris and replaced him with an impostor.

    But actually, while you waited a little longer on Harris than I would have, I think most people tend to hold onto underperforming guys longer than they probably should. You’d hate to drop someone only to watch him explode after you say goodbye (like Dorell Wright). But with Harris, it really is time to say goodbye.

    I think right now Shumpert is doing enough to ruin his own value thanks to some true horrible shooting games lately. In fact, Shumpert lost his starting spot and came off the bench for the Knicks last night – which D’Antoni attributed to Shumpert being banged up right now. Once Davis gets back Iman should split time at SG with Fields and possibly backup Davis at the point. I could see him getting 25 minutes a game and be worth owning in deeper leagues, but his run as a top-75 player will be over.

    Teague should weather the Hinrich storm a little better. Larry Drew has already declared that Teague will remain the starter (provided he can come back from that ankle sprain). There will be decent minutes available for Hinrich as a combo guard off the bench without cutting too much into Teague’s minutes. Still, if you can get full value for Teague in a trade right now, you may want to think about it, because there certainly some chance that Hinrich takes a good chunk of Teague’s minutes.

  • zee

    hey guys, what do yall think about giving up Rudy Gay + Splitter for Chris Bosh? I mean Rudy might be better in real life but Bosh just outdoes him in almost every fantasy aspect: FG%, FT%, Rbds, and a few Ast and Pts.  For Splitter, I wouldn’t mind giving him in the trade since it would open up a space for me to add/drop.

  • http://givemetherock.com/ Patrick

    The way Gay has been playing this year, that is a clear win for you. Removing Splitter from the equation (since you’ll be free to pick up someone just about as good as him), Bosh is outperforming Gay in every category this year except for steals and threes. If Gay bounces back to the level that we projected for him this year, the trade is right around even (Bosh + points/boards, Gay + steals/threes) but Bosh has the added bonus of being C eligible in most leagues. 

  • zee

    Thanks Patrick! thats what i suspected.
    What about Kemba Walker, DJ Augustin, Hedo Turkoglu for Monta Ellis + Jeff Teague? do you think the Monta guy will accept that trade? Trying to sell high on Kemba after that trip dub because 1) Augustin is out 2) he shoots like 37% which makes me puke

  • Lyj1

    What do you think about Beaubois? I have felton, collison, stuckey, augustin. Just trying to see if there any other viable options out there.

    What would you do? 

    My team is full of hurt…Melo
    Teague
    Augustine
    Zbo
    Anderson

    This season is ridiculous haha!

  • http://givemetherock.com/ Patrick

    Nothing wrong with trying to sell high on Walker, but I doubt someone would trade Ellis for him at the moment. You may have to aim a bit lower.  

  • Jeremy

    should I pick up tyrus of hawes off the free agent wire. I like the fact that hawes is center eligible, which tyrus is not, but who knows when he’ll be back or how he will play. Obviously allured by the opportunity for 9 block games by ty ty

  • http://givemetherock.com/ Patrick

    This season IS ridiculous. I’m considering dropping Jason Kidd in one league because I’ll rolling with too many injured players and I’m going down in flames. 

    Anyway, Erik and I just finished recording the podcast for this week and we talked about Beaubois. Our consensus was that he finally looks like he’s breaking out and makes a great pickup while Kidd is out. if your looking for a short-term play and have the spot, I’d add him, especially with reports that Kidd will be out at least a week with his latest injury.  

  • http://givemetherock.com/ Patrick

    Given that Hawes is still out with that strained achilles and his return keeps getting pushed back, I’d go with Thomas at least in the short term since he’s the only one playing at the moment. Long-term, I’d probably rather have Hawes as long as he’s healthy and getting 25+ minutes a game because I don’t trust Thomas to put up lines with any sort of consistency.

  • Edwin

     Yeah I also have Wright, which gave me hope for Devin.

    Thanks for the response!

  • GMTR Fan

    Hey GMTR! Potential trade in the works – my Hawes + Granger + Ty Lawson for his Lebron + Jason Terry. I’m pretty sure I win this trade…right? Thanks!

  • GMTR Fan

    or if that doesn’t work – what if I subbed in Aldridge for Granger

  • zee

    Why is raymond felton so bad and not getting better? Earlier in the season I thought he was just getting accustomed to the new season+team but he’s just getting worse… culminating in a 4 point 23 minute (!) effort last game…

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  • http://givemetherock.com/ Patrick

    Anytime you can get LeBron in a trade, it’s likely to be a win. Running the numbers, even just comparing the two guys you get against the three you give away and you still come out ahead in points and FG%, with assists, steals, TOs and threes about even. The only place you currently lose is in boards and blocks (assuming Hawes is healthy) And that doesn’t even take into account the extra roster spot you’ll get to play with after making the trade. Plus Hawes is currently hurt, so it’s even better for you. I’d try and make this trade for sure. 

    Substituting Aldridge for Granger and the trade is a lot more even. You’ll take a bigger hit and points and boards, still lose in blocks and your FG% advantage is gone. You’ll need to be able slot someone pretty good in that extra spot you’ll get – you’ll need to make up something like 6 points, 12 boards and 1.5 blocks a game – again of course assuming that Hawes is healthy. I’d consider this trade though, depending on who is available to you as a free agent.

  • http://givemetherock.com/ Patrick

    My best guess would be that it’s partly due to the lockout, part bad luck and part him pressing badly because he’s playing for a new contract and he wants the Blazers to resign him. We’ve seen a lot of PGs struggle so far this season (especially those on new teams) not only with their shots, but also the fact that they’ve been turning over the ball A LOT. It’s probably the position most affected by this crazy season, because once they start to get tired and a little sloppy with the ball, things go to hell quickly. 

    In a normal season, I’d say that things are bound to get better and Felton would regress back up to the mean, but I’m increasingly getting the feeling that all bets are off this year and we are in for some unprecedentedly bad seasons. 

  • GMTR Fan

    thanks!

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