FANTASY BASKETBALL (WEEK 16)

WAIVER WIRE & PLAYOFFS

By Muntradamus

BEAST DOME: PLAYOFF FANTASY BASKETBALL MVP CANDIDATES.

*In order to be thee PLAYOFF FANTASY BASKETBALL MVP the “Player” must be someone that was not drafted in a majority of leagues to start the season.

*Updated 4/8

1. Goran Dragic

2. Jordan Crawford

3. Byron Mullens

4. J.J. Barea

5. Ramon Sessions

6. Kemba Walker

6. Tristan Thompson

7. Isaiah Thomas

8. J.J. Hickson

9. Gordon Hayward

10. Kevin Seraphin

 

(This is the leaderboard now.  It will change at the end of each week)

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WAIVER WIRE FOR WEEK 16

*If there is a player on this list you are considering, ask below and I will respond with my thoughts.  It also helps if you give me some options you would drop for the player.

SHOULD NOT BE FREE AGENTS:

Jordan Crawford

Danilo Gallinari

Zach Randolph

Kemba Walker

Byron Mullens
GUARDS:

Jordan Crawford: Despite two bad games in a row, I am not worried about the fantasy god of Basketball right now.  He should get right back on track as the Wizards love him and still let him play 30+ Minutes in both games, even when he could not hit a shot if our Playoff Fantasy Basketball lives depended on it.  He will be fine, and I still expect him to win the PFBMVP award.

Kemba Walker: He took 26 FG attempts two games ago.  The potential is huge down the stretch of the season.

J.J. Barea: If you want a safe assist PG, Barea is your guy.  Luke Ridnour may be limited or not come back the entire week, but Barea has already proved he can co-exist with Ridnour in the lineup.  Before Barea went down the thigh injury he had a 3×2 with Ridnour healthy and starting.

Kyle Lowry: Not sure how it is going to shake down with Lowry and Dragic when they return.  Dragic did too well to just go to the bench.  It is a situation worth monitoring, but Lowry was at an elite fantasy level before the injury.  Though Dragic was playing much better across the board.  Either way Lowry may not be the fantasy player he once was as Dragic deserves equal PT.

J.R. Smith: J.R. is clearly the #2 shooting option on the Knicks now.  His potential is sky high, and he can win you your 3PTM matchup by himself this week.

Shannon Brown: The new scorer for Phoenix.  He is shooting the ball at a high volume, and is doing very well giving you a bit of everything including a lot of 3PTM.  The only downside to Brown is if Dudley and Michael Redd get hot.  So far Brown has stayed above the pack.

Rodney Stuckey: Stuckey is one big game away from going back to his vintage form and taking over this team.  It may come Sunday, it may come in his next one.  Either way he will be must-add material with monster performance.

J.J. Reddick: J.J. is the new starting SG for the Magic.  He should make plenty of 3PTM and is now seeing around 40 Minutes a game in his first start.  I would add him.

Devin Harris: Harris is the PG for the Jazz, and he is the only way they will make the playoffs.  He is coming off of a 28 Point game, and if those assists can go up from 5 to 8 he will be playing at a MVP level.

Jameer Nelson: Nelson is starting to cool down, and now with J.J. in the starting lineup, it will be hard for him to get his shots.  However he does have big-time scoring potential and it would not be surprising to see at least one 20 Point game this week.  Those assists should be nice at around 6 a game.

Iman Shumpert: Shumpert sees a lot of guaranteed minutes every night, but that does not necessarily translate in a lot of points.  He is solid at getting intangibles and is almost like a James Johnson type player at the guard spot.

O.J. Mayo: Mayo has 5 games this week, but his role is the not same as it was a week ago from this time.  Mike Conley is healthy, and that means less shot attempts and ball handling responsibilities.  Mayo is a last resort.

Mario Chalmers: Chalmers is very inconsistent now that the Heat are healthy, if you are desperate for a steal or two with a 3PTM or two, and J.R. or Reddick are not available, then you can go with Chalmers.

Randy Foye: He has been the leading scorer for the Clippers night in-and- night out.  However Mo Williams is due to return soon which could hurt his value.  Foye was the offensive MVP for the Clippers this past week.

 

FORWARDS:

Danilo Gallinari: Wilson Chandler may be declared out for the season soon.  That clears the path for Gallo to be the fantasy player he was to start the season as he has no competition for PT.  Add him in all leagues for immediate results.

Zach Randolph: Z-BO appears to be back in prime form.  He is taking double digit shot attempts, and he is racking up big double-doubles.  He must be added in all leagues as he is ready to explode for a big 5 game week.

J.J. Hickson: J.J. has been very inconsistent, but he does have double-double potential.  The Blazers may be cautious with Nicolas Batum which could create some extra PT for J.J. if they make some adjustments to that rotation.  Either way, he is not the most dependable.

Jason Smith: Coach Montey Williams loves Jason Smith.  He will run him out there more minutes than Carl Landry, Gustavo Ayon, maybe the entire Hornets team if he can.  However there are going to be nights where Carl Landry is too hot to sit and those nights Smith will disappoint his owners.

Chandler Parsons: Parsons is playing well, but with Kevin Martin and Kyle Lowry due to return soon.  That should mean a lot less touches and possibly minutes for Parsons.  I would avoid him, but if you still like his potential then get him on your team.  Do not be surprised to see Courtney Lee eat into his minutes.

Stephen Jackson: S-Jax is the SF for San Antonio.  Kawhi Leonard may be starting, but Jackson is more effective and is getting more minutes.  He is still not playing enough minutes to get his vintage numbers, but soon he will approach 30 and then he will be an excellent add in all leagues.

Linas Kleiza: James Johnson appears to be done this season, and James Johnson is the type of player that can come in and dominate.  He has high-end double-double potential with a bit of everything.  If he gets hot this week, it will be too late to add him in any league.

 

CENTERS:

Byron Mullens: Mullens has been a scoring machine, and makes 20+ look routine.  He should not be a FA in any league as the Bobcats have 5 games this week.

Nikola Pekovic: The greatest Pek of them all appears ready to go 30+ Minutes.  Once he breaks into that threshold he should be a double-double machine.  May take one more game before we see that, which only leaves you with three solid games this week from him.

Tristan Thompson: Thompson has 5 games this week, and he also has the center job all to himself.  Varejao is still not ready to return, so this is the week to get your money’s worth out of him.

Kevin Seraphin: Seraphin has been great replacing Booker and Nene.  When both return, you should not expect the same consistency as those rebounds and minutes will decrease significantly.

Bismack Biyombo: Bismack had his best game in sometime with a 14 Point, 14 Rebound effort.  Will it come again, probably not.  However with 5 games you should roll with the Congo star who can possibly win you blocks on his own with one or two MONSTER games.

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FANTASY PLAYOFFS WEEK 3 AHEAD

5 Games

Boston

Charlotte

Cleveland

Memphis

 

4 Games

Dallas

Denver

Detroit

Golden State

Houston

Indiana

Clippers

Lakers

Miami

Milwaukee

Minnesota

New Orleans

Knicks

OKC

Orlando

Phoenix

Portland

Sacramento

San Antonio

Toronto

Utah

Washington

 

3 Games

Atlanta

Chicago

New Jersey

Philadelphia

 

Start’EM:

Kemba Walker: 5 Games is plenty of action for Kemba to have a breakout week.  He could possibly shoot 80 FG attempts over this span.  Who knows what his potential is with that.

Byron Mullens: 5 Games for Mullens should result in 100 Points.  Give me that to go along with hopefully 50 Rebounds, and you have a must-start option in all leagues.

Zach Randolph: 5 Games for Z-Bo and you should get at least 50 Points and 50 Rebounds.  The scoring should be higher, that is just his floor.

Mike Conley: Steals, Assists, 3PTM.  That is all we want in a 5 game week from Conley.

Paul Pierce/Rudy Gay/Marc Gasol/ Rajon Rondo/Kevin Garnett/Antawn Jamison: All have 5 games, and you would be starting them anyways.  Now you get an added bonus.

Derrick Rose: Rose only has 3 games, but he proved he is 100%, and should be added and starting in all fantasy leagues over that time.

 

Sit’EM:

Jeff Teague: 3 Games is not enough time for Teague to have a full great fantasy week.  He should be solid in each of the games, but I am not taking the risk of one bad one.

Luol Deng/Carlos Boozer/Joakim Noah: Three games is not enough for these Bulls who are all inconsistent when Rose is healthy.  None of these guys are expected to be solid the entire week.  None of them.

All 76ers: The most inconsistent team only gets 3 games this week.  None of them have been good for a week straight to begin with, and after all starters failed to score in double digits.  I am avoiding this team all together.