As has become our weekly motto, injuries are almost always a fantasy daytrader’s best friend. Almost always. There is nothing worse than hitting it big with the perfect injury replacement, seeing him put up All-Star caliber numbers for weeks, and then seeing him demoted back to 12-minute per game mop up duty as soon as the starter returns. The league is not kind to non-starters. Luckily, there are plenty more injuries to come. Let’s cover some new ones in this week’s NBA stock market:
Buy:
Dorell Wright: Strong short-term buy.With Jrue Holiday still out and Evan Turner possibly joining him on the sidelines with an ankle injury, Wright has a good shot to continue his great play for the foreseeable future. He has put up a combined 45 points, 11 rebounds, and 8 assists over his last two games. More importantly, he is playing upwards of 30 minutes per game and spent 40 minutes on the court Wednesday against Houston.
Shannon Brown: Strong buy. Brown has been starting for almost a month but he’s just now getting starter minutes. He has really turned it up in the last two games, putting up 22 and 26 points respectively with great shooting numbers. He won’t shoot over 60% often but with at least one steal in each of his last 12 games and some rebounds here and there he is worth a look in most leagues.
Alan Anderson: Strong buy. Anderson missed 17 straight games with an ankle injury but he’s back and in a big way. The Raptors are heating up and Anderson is playing 25-30 minutes per game as Toronto’s main scoring threat off the bench. He is averaging 19 PPG with some rebounds and steals over his last three and should continue to be a serious contributor moving forward.
JJ Barea: Solid buy. Barea usually plays less than 25 minutes per game but he’s made the most of it with double-digit scoring in nine straight games. He’s good for some decent assists, okay rebounds, and the occasional steal as well.
Aaron Brooks: Solid buy in deeper leagues. He has benefited from Tyreke Evans‘ injury but he has been starting since mid-November so there’s still value there when Evans returns. He put up 23 points Wednesday against the Warriors and puts up some occasional assists. Don’t count on him for 20+ games but he isn’t a bad guy to have on your bench in deeper formats.
Sell:
Andray Blatche: Blatche did a fantastic job filling in for injured Brook Lopez but the Nets sent him back to obscurity almost immediately once Lopez returned. With single-digit scoring in his last three games and less than 16 minutes on the court over his last two, it’s safe to say that Blatche won’t be producing double-doubles anymore unless another injury gives him the opportunity.
C.J. Miles: Miles is another good injury substitute who did a great job for the Cavs’ backcourt but with Dion Waiters back in the lineup Miles played under 17 minutes Wednesday against the Celts and scored just three points. Time to cut him loose as well.
Vince Carter: Carter has been up and down all season and seems to have really lost his touch of late. He has scored just 16 points over his last three games with some rough shooting numbers. Worse than his shooting percentage is his decreased opportunities, he is playing under 24 minutes in most games and has put up just four shots in each of his last two contests.
Danny Green: He has started all season for the Spurs but finds himself playing under 20 minutes far too often. He has scored 5 or less in three of his last four games and doesn’t contribute much else save for the occasional steal.
Michael Beasley: He put up decent numbers as a starter but is pretty irrelevant now that he is back on the bench. He has played under 19 minutes in five straight games and is averaging just 6.4 PPG over those games.
