Last week, the key focus was on getting younger players on your team that won’t be affected by the intense season. This week, it’s the players that are benefitting from teammates that are getting injured.
Injuries give court time to players that are usually afterthoughts in the Fantasy world. Rodrigue Beaubois has been one of those players and made the most of his opportunity. Enough so that he could be a viable Fantasy option later in the season when Jason Kidd is limping around with a cane.
Find out more players you should pick up now (Bull Market) and the ones you should get rid of now (Bear Market).
BULL MARKET
Jerryd Bayless, PG/SG, Raptors: With Andrea Bargnani out for an indefinite period of time, the Raptors will need their points from elsewhere. This means other players will have to step up. Even though Bayless is a guard, the Raptors went small last Sunday against the Nets with Jose Calderon, Bayless and DeMar DeRozan. They ended up winning that game by 21 points, their biggest win in over a year. Now, let’s get to Bayless. He dealt with an ankle injury to start the season, but it looks like he’s healthy with five straight games played including his most recent start and 34 minutes of game time. Bayless has a history of injuries, so he’s a risk. However, with Bargnani out, he can be a 30 MPG guard who can score and dish out a few dimes. He won’t put up amazing numbers, but he’s definitely worth a pickup.
Mo Williams, PG, Clippers: Here is another player that won’t stand out a ton on the score sheet. Chris Paul and Chauncey Billups are both healthy which means Williams is just a backup. The good thing he has going for him is that he is a shooter on a team that has much bigger offensive threats. Williams will get open and he will hit shots. He has made at least two three pointers in seven straight games. If you need threes, Williams is your man. Throw in some steals and he’s a nice backup to have on your bench.
Who needs Kidd when you have Beaubois? Photo Credit: Keith Allison
Rodrigue Beaubois, PG/SG, Mavericks: Jason Kidd is old. I threw him in the Bear Market last week and he proceeded to pick up a calf injury which has him out a week. Injuries will happen with the older players this season, even with ones who aren’t injury-prone. This is the second time Kidd has missed time because of injury already this season. Beaubois is stepping up big. In his past three straight starts, he’s averaging 14 PPG and seven APG. He’s also averaging a block per game on the season. For a guard, that’s an added bonus. While these minutes won’t always be there, he is a good player to keep your eye on even when Kidd comes back from this calf injury. Beaubois’ play over the past few games will surely give him more time throughout the season.
Drew Gooden, PF/C, Bucks: Most of the players this week with a boom in stock are the ones benefitting from injuries to teammates. Andrew Bogut is out for at least two months with a broken ankle. Gooden is now the starter. When Gooden has started this season (eight games), he has averaged over 30 minutes and close to a double-double per game. His FG percentage isn’t exactly where you want it from a big man, but the numbers are there. If Gooden is available there’s no reason you should let a proven center getting 30 MPG sit as a free agent. Get him now before he takes you down later.
BEAR MARKET
Amar’e Stoudemire, PF/C, Knicks: I’ve been waiting for Stoudemire to come through since December. He’s been a possibility for the Bear Market since then. Even without Carmelo Anthony over the past couple games, Stoudemire still hasn’t been able to put up numbers we’re used to seeing from him. The only season that Stoudemire did not average at least 20 PPG was his rookie season back in 2002-03. This year, he’s sitting just under 18 PPG. In fact, he has only reached 20 points in two of his last 10 games. In addition, his normal block rate isn’t there either, averaging half of his career average of 1.4 BPG. There is hope for him though. The Knicks are struggling at the moment and a change in offensive schemes to get Stoudemire better shots may be the next route. Until then, his disappointing season will continue.
Lamar Odom, SF/PF, Mavericks: It’s just not happening. Even the Dirk Nowitzki vacation didn’t help Odom’s case that he needed more minutes to get going. Last week, Odom got four straight starts. While he did take more shots and averaged close to 13 points in those games, his rebounds didn’t go up and his steals and blocks remained non-existent. To follow up those four starts, Odom did absolutely nothing off the bench in the team’s last two games and couldn’t get more than 20 minutes of action. A lot of people are holding on to Odom because they think he’ll come through and return to the form of his Lakers days. I don’t see it. Drop or trade Odom away if you haven’t already.
Jason Richardson, SG/SF, Magic: Injury or not, Richardson’s season has been a pretty big disappointment so far. He isn’t that old, yet it looks like his days as a pure scorer are gone. His numbers are down across the board, which goes hand-in-hand with his minutes also being low. Since joining the Magic last season, he just hasn’t taken as many shots. Last year he averaged 19 points in 31 MPG with the Suns, but when he went to Orlando, his numbers dropped to 14 PPG in 35 MPG. While the Magic need points from someone, they aren’t looking to J Rich to score them. The main reason you have Richardson on your squad is to score points. It’s time to let him loose.
Channing Frye, PF/C, Suns: Just give up on him already. He made this column a month ago in the same area. For some reason he is still owned in about three-fourths of Fantasy leagues. Either that many leagues are 20-team deep or a lot of people think one three-pointer made per game is good enough to hold onto. Frye is a center that isn’t scoring and doesn’t get enough rebounds to be noticed. He also averages less than one block per game. Please, get rid of Frye already. His value is not going up and is lucky to be considered a Top 40 PF/C. In fact, if you like 3PT shooting big men, what’s wrong with Matt Bonner?
*Stats up-to-date as of 01/31/12
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