Since we called him the most underrated fantasy player last Monday, Larry Sanders has put up 11 PPG, 11 RPG, and 2 BPG over his last three and is now owned in most leagues. Not saying we necessarily had anything to do with it but we are calling it the NBA Jerks bump around the office. Let’s see who’s worthy of a bump in week 3:
A.J. Price (Owned in 25% of Yahoo! Leagues): Strong pick-up.If you are rushing over to snatch him up, odds are he was just picked up in your league a minute ago. Over his last three games, Price is averaging 13 PPG, 10 APG, and 5 RPG while playing 36 minutes each game. He never did much with the Pacers but seems to have really found his niche as the starting point guard for the Wizards.
Jose Calderon (60%): Solid short-term buy in all leagues. Calderon stepped into Kyle Lowry‘s starting job and has produced nicely with 25 points and 17 assists over two starts. He will play over 32 minutes per game until Lowry gets back and should be able to dish out some solid assists.
Al-Farouq Aminu (50%): Solid buy in most leagues. He has posted double-digit scoring in 4 of 5 games, 14+ points in three of those games, and is pulling down 6-8 boards per game. He has 2 steals in each game so far and has nice shot blocking potential.
Metta World Peace (29%): Short-term pick-up. If you need some points and a few rebounds infused into your already-struggling lineup, World Peace may be for you. He has averaged 15 PPG and 6 RPG on 30+ minutes over the last four games with six steals to boot, despite inconsistent shooting. Not a bad pick-up though minutes may go down if Nash comes back or new head coach Mike D’Antoni makes a change.
Ben Gordon (21%): Solid buy in deeper leagues. Don’t expect a lot of 34-point efforts like the one he had Friday against the Hornets but Gordon should definitely continue to be a producer for the Bobcats. Though his minutes are in the 20-25 per game range, he will get a lot more scoring opportunities here than he did while with Detroit but don’t look for more than a couple of assists and rebounds here.
Eric Bledsoe (11%): Desperation buy in deeper leagues. He typically plays between 15-19 minutes per game but he definitely makes his presence known when he’s out there. Averaging 10 PPG and a couple of rebounds and assists here and there is likely where he will remain unless someone in the Clippers back-court gets hurt.
Ronnie Brewer (10%): Solid buy in deeper leagues. He has started every game for the Knicks and has seen a substantial increase in playing time every single game so far. In his last two games, he is averaging 13 PPG and 9 RPG after finally getting 30+ minutes per game (including a 37 minute effort against the Mavs). Look for 10-13 PPG and 7-9 RPG from him, at least until Amar’e Stoudemire or Iman Shumpert returns.
Corey Brewer (10%): Desperation buy in deeper leagues. Brewer has posted double-digit scoring in each of the last five games, including a 20-point run against the Jazz. He is shooting more consistently (11 PPG) and will get you a few rebounds and a couple of steals but don’t expect more than 20 minutes per game from him.
Kosta Koufos (9%): Desperation buy in deeper leagues. Koufos is the starter for the Nuggets but doesn’t always play starter minutes. He production has been inconsistent but we have seen 15-point and 10-rebound games. Though his average production is closer to 6 PPG and 6 RPG, Koufos has some serious shot blocking ability and has laid out 8 rejections in his last two games.
