FANTASY PLAYER UPDATE Prt.2

FANTASY PLAYER UPDATE Prt.2

BY: Muntradamus

(Read Part 1 here)
(Daily Show: Daily Fantasy Basketball report)
(Trade Market: Buy Low/Sell High)

Every fantasy player that has any implications on any lineup will be listed in this article.  This is my perspective of what is currently going with every player.  If you have a question about a player, and a player only I will share my opinion on him.

For those that are new to the site, I spend hours upon hours of research and I man handle multiple high stakes fantasy basketball leagues at once.  I am here to help you win your league.

Daily Show is coming soon…

Coming on the first day of February is the new RANKINGS for each position.

LOS ANGELES LAKERS

Lakers are a three man fantasy basketball team.  I’m going to keep opening up with that line until they prove otherwise.  Kobe Bryant is on fire averaging over 30 Points a game.  The streak of 40+ games was the most impressive performance this season.  Andrew Bynum should be getting more shots, but he will settle with over 13 rebounds per game.  Bynum is a beast and is currently the #3 Fantasy Center to own behind Dwight and Al Jefferson.  Pau Gasol no matter how well he plays in one game, it will never translate to something special the next.  His potential is not very high and you should trade him while his value is soaring (16 Points, 10.5 Rebounds) will not last all season.

MEMPHIS GRIZZLES

Rudy Gay is playing at a 2^nd or 3^rd pick level.  He is putting up great numbers and will continue to be the man while Zach Randolph remains out.  Which could be another month.  Mike Conley has stepped up his game and is starting to look like a breakout candidate, averaging 12 Points, 7 Assists, and 2.5 steals.  Marc Gasol is beasting it with no competition down low for touches (14 Points, 11 Rebounds).  Marc is the better Gasol to own, and he is having a breakout season.  The Marreese Spreights project has some potential if he can get the minutes.  Big body PF that is tough to handle down low.  OJ Mayo needs to get traded to another team, because Tony Allen continues to steal his minutes.  Tony’s defense is so elite that they will not make that change easily.

MIAMI HEAT

Lebron James only has 3 3PTM and is shooting 73% from the free throw line.  Besides those two problems his stats are impossible to beat (30 Points, 8 Rebounds, 7 Assists, 2 Steals, 1 Block).  Udonis Haslem has turned into a nice fantasy sleeper this season, he is quietly averaging 30 minutes a game with 8 Points and 10 rebounds.  Dwayne Wade continues to find his way in a GQ suit on gamedays.  You know once Wade is healthy there are few fantasy players you want to own.  Chris Bosh is having a nice season now that the Heat need him to be the #2 option, finally putting up stats that we once saw in Toronto (19 Points, 8 Rebounds, 1 Block, 1 Steal).  Mario Chalmers continues to find fantasy relevance with Wade sitting games.  Even when Wade is healthy Chalmers is a good enough option to get the job done.

MILWAKUE BUCKS

Stephen Jackson woke up this week and had a few 20+ point games.  His value will not be this high for long, as he always finds something to complain about.  Brandon Jennings proved he is a fantasy superstar still putting up solid/elite games even when Stephen Jackson was getting his.  Andrew Bogut is not as important to this offense as he was a year ago, he is still averaging 14 Points, 10 Rebounds and 2 Blocks.  Carlos Delfino has not been doing a good job of taking over with Mike Dunleavy out.  In Delfino’s 9 starts only twice has he scored over 10 points.  Drew Gooden now has to battle Jon Leuer for playing time at the PF spot.  Neither have great value.

MINNESOTA TIMBERWOLVES

The T-Wolves are a tough fantasy team when it comes to mediocre role players.  Kevin Love does not fit that category as he is easily the #1 Fantasy pick in all leagues next season, (25 Points, 1 Steal, 80% FT, 2 3PTM, and the deal breaker…14 Rebounds).  Ricky Rubio has come on hot lately and is a great fantasy option in all leagues, he has Steve Nash assist potential.  Luke Ridnour continues to start for the Wolves and is a solid guy to own.  He plays a lot of minutes and he will knock down a couple of 3’s.  Anthony Randolph is on the cusp of something great if the Wolves let him run more minutes.  Michael Beasley is a good buy low candidate as Derrick Williams did not explode the way he needed to with no Beasley in his path.

NEW JERSEY NETS

Deron Williams is back to elite.  He had 4 straight games of 10 assists or more, and threw in a 35 Point game.  Kris Humphries is solid and will continue to rack up double-doubles as long as Brook Lopez stays out.  He is expected back in mid February.  MarShon Brooks was on his way to must start status every week, that was until Anthony Morrow woke up, now leaving the possibility of Brooks putting up a so-so game.  Brooks should still be added in all leagues, his potential is great and the Nets will need him to play big all season.

NEW ORLEANS HORNETS

Chris Kaman has turned into the big scoring option for the Hornets with Eric Gordon out.  Kaman had two solid games of 17 Points or more, and then went 0-10 a game later.  It will be interesting to see how he bounces back.  Jarret Jack is solid and is playing like a high-end PG.  He could be the steal of most drafts.  Carl Landy is maybe the most gifted scorer on the team with Eric Gordon out.  The Hornets are running out of scoring options and Landry might be the next man up.  Emeka Okafor does what Okafor does best.  Rebounds and blocks.

NEW YORK KNICKS

Carmelo Anthony needs to step up his game to the next level.  He is not playing like the consistent 1^st round fantasy pick you drafted him to be.  It’s Melo, you know he will bounce back.  Amare Stoudemire is also not playing at the level he needs to be at.  Both of these players are superstars and a bad week will happen every now and then.  The reason this bad week came was not only injury, but the rise of Iman Shumpert.  Iman should be added in  all leagues and starting in all leagues.  He gets steals, he shoots the ball a lot, and he will give you intangibles to win any fantasy championship.  Tyson Chandler had one nice game before doing nothing the next few..Story of his career.

OKLAHOMA CITY

Kevin Durant has not broken out into that next level that everyone has expected, but the season is still young.  He currently sits at (26 Points, 7 Rebounds, 2 3PTM).  Kevin Love has way more value than Durant, go to Minnesota to read about him.  Serge Ibaka has about as much fantasy value as Kendrick Perkins..that simply cannot make his fantasy owners happy.  James Harden is looking like a lock for 6^th man of the year and is bringing Jason Terry in his prime numbers to OKC.  His value can continue to rise especially with how much the team needs his production off the bench.  Russell Westbrook after his slow start his numbers are coming back, 19 Points, 5 Rebounds, 5 Assists.  He has already started breaking out after his slow start with 20 Points or more in his last 3 games.

ORLANDO MAGIC

Dwight Howard is averaging a solid 19 Points, 14 Rebounds, 2.5 Blocks.  His FT% is still down at 44%…Jameer Nelson is starting to look healthy and will be a great contributor to all fantasy owners.  He should bring you near 8 Assists a game with a steal and a 3.  Ryan Anderson is still averaging 18 Points a game.  I am surprised, but he still needs to be more consistent.  Jason Richardson’s knee injury has opened up the gate for J.J Reddick to be the 3PT machine you want him to be.  Pick him up.  Hedo Turkoglu is playing alright, the 14 Points are average, but 5.1 Assists is a nice little surprise.

PHILIDELPHIA 76ERS

Louis Williams continues to create the log jam at the Guard position.  Lou is averaging a team leading 16 Points Per game.  Jrue Holiday is too talented to not see his numbers go up, great buy low candidate.  Andre Iguodala is struggling this season averaging 10 shots per game.  Spencer Hawes is having a career year, which is already seeing its way down.  Elton Brand is getting old, and his consistenty is not there anymore averaging 10 Points and 7 Rebounds.  Evan Turner and Thaddeus Young are high potential fantasy reserves for now.

PHOENIX SUNS

Marcin Gortat is playing like the player you drafted.  He is a consistent double-double machine with blocks.   He also can break out for that rear 20 Point game he showed this week.  Steve Nash continues to show up the critics and can still get the job done.  He is now averaging a solid 10 Assists a game, the points have slowed down at 13.  Jared Dudley is starting to get more confident with his game.  Problem is Michael Redd and his comeback story could have a play on Dudley’s status, especially when you also have to worry about Shannon Brown.  Markieff Morris, Channing Frye, and Hakim Warrick are all canceling each other out as consistent fantasy options.

PORTLAND TRAILBLAZERS

 The Blazers are the toughest defense for any of your fantasy players to face.  Remember that.  LaMarcus Aldridge is the most consistent fantasy option averaging 22 Points and 8 Rebounds a game.  After that 5 Players range from 10 Points-13 Points a game.  That is bad news for fantasy owners especially when you consider that all of these could cancel each other out on any given night.  Ranked from most valuable to least; Gerald Wallace, Wesley Matthews, Raymond Felton, Jamal Crawford, Nicholas Batum.  All of these players are nice fantasy options, but they will never be fantasy stars this season.  Marcus Camby is a nice backup center to own when healthy.

SACREMENTO KINGS

Tyreke Evans value will take a hit when Marcus Thornton returns, which could be any game.  Now is the time to trade Evans with his stock so high, Thornton is still the leading scorer at 18.2 a game, (Evans had 3 games with shots to himself and still is below Thornton).  DeMarcus Cousins has a lot of potential even with his 14 Points, 10 Rebounds.  He still gets in foul trouble, but by the time this season ends he could be a 20-10 guy every night.  Jimmer Fredette ruined all of his value not performing well at all with Marcus out, his top game was 10 points.  JJ Hickson has done nothing to impress since taking over for Chuck Hayes.  I would hold onto him and wait a little while longer before cutting bait.

SAN ANTONIO SPURS

Kawhi Leonard has turned into a solid fantasy option that will give you around 10 Points and 10 Rebounds a game.  This will be nice for however long it lasts.  Tony Parker is now the heart and soul of the team, while Tim Duncan is the cagey veteran who finally has some trade value.  Now is the time to move him, when Ginobli comes back, Duncan will not be needed.  He will also start to sit out games as they prepare for the playoffs.  Richard Jefferson has to step up with Ginobli out, and he has yet to do it.  Dejuan Blair continues to lose playing time to Tiaggo Splitter who actually isn’t half bad.

TORONTO RAPTORS

Andrea Bargnani suffered a foot injury that has allowed DeMar DeRozan and Jose Calderon the opportunity to add to those PPGs, both players are solid fantasy options.  Bargs is playing great and is one of the top options at the Center position when healthy.  James Johnson continues to rack up the blocks and steals, he also suffered an ankle injury and is day-to-day.  Jerryd Bayless will be coming back soon.  This will hurt the value of all the Raptors guards, especially with how well Leandro Barbosa has been playing well averaging nearly 20 Points a game in his last 3.

UTAH JAZZ

Al Jefferson continue to average 18 Points and 9 Rebounds a game with 2 blocks (Beast).  Paul Millsap is ready to take over and should be owned and starting in all leagues.  He is over his early season bad games now coming off of 4 straight with 19+ including a 26 Point, 12 Rebound performance.  Josh Howard suffered a calf injury at the worst time as now he is back in his bench role.  Devin Harris is still finding himself again after suffering through a sprained ankle.  Harris will get hot again, but for now is inconsistent and you can expect 5-10 assists with little scoring.  Derrick Favors is the odd man out in the Jazz big man rotation.

WASHINGTON WIZARDS

John Wall is the closest thing to a safe start for the Wizards, although inconsistency has been a problem.  The reason for this is the Wizards are playing terribly and are on the wrong end of blowouts.  JaVale McGee has not taken his game to the next level, which is disappointing for fantasy owners who took him high.  Jordan Crawford could be a difference maker for the team like he was last season.  It will be interesting to see if the Wizards start playing him consistently with starters minutes.  Nick Young is simply not making Washington a better team.  Andray Blatche problems keep growing.  Hold onto him for now, he is too talented to be on the waiver wire.  This guy has put up 30 Points 20 Rebound games consistently two seasons ago.