Some weeks the league is teeming with up-and-comers, other weeks fantasy day traders have to settle for short-term injury replacements. This is one of those weeks. Still, you have to get your fantasy production where you can, so let’s take a look at some players to tide you over into next week and some others that might be worth ridding your team of.
Buy:
Eric Bledsoe: Short-term buy. With Chris Paul likely out until at least next week, Bledsoe is getting a chance to start and produce some fantasy numbers. His first start Tuesday against the Thunder was iffy as he shot 5 of 16 for 12 points, 4 assists, 2 blocks, and a steal. At the same time, he is shooting an okay 46% on the season and is looking at around 35 MPG until Paul returns—so he should be a solid fantasy producer going into the next couple of games.
Earl Clark: Short-term buy. With Pau Gasol assuming a temporary (maybe) bench role, Clark is given a chance to start for the foreseeable future. He has played over 34 minutes in each of his last three games and is averaging 12.3 PPG, 10.3 RPG, and 1 BPG. As long as he keeps getting those kinds of minutes and double-digit shot attempts he should continue to be a solid fantasy producer in most leagues.
Kyle Korver: Short-term buy. With Lou Williams out for the season and Anthony Morrow still dealing with a long-term back injury, Korver is getting the starts in Atlanta’s backcourt. In his first game at shooting guard he played 41 minutes and scored 21 points, his fifth-straight double-digit scoring performance. As long as Morrow is still out, Korver should continue to see a lot of minutes and a lot of scoring opportunities.
Alan Anderson: Solid buy. Although he isn’t starting, he has earned himself starter minutes and is averaging 33 MPG, 20 PPG, 4 APG, and 1 SPG over his last four games. He won’t produce much beyond points and steals but he has surpassed the 20-point mark four times this month and you can’t pass up that kind of production.
Wilson Chandler: Solid buy. Chandler is still limited in minutes after spending most of his season dealing with a hip surgery. Still, in just 24 minutes against the Rockets Chandler put up 20 points, 6 rebounds, and 3 steals which is very encouraging. Even a 25 MPG Chandler could have a lot of value in deeper and some standard leagues playing in Denver.
Sell:
Jason Terry: Terry had some fantasy value when he was a starter but considering he seldom plays over 20 MPG off the bench there is no point in keeping him around. His assists are gone and in 11 games since moving back to the bench he is averaging just 6 PPG. Time to drop him.
Ricky Rubio: He has finally recovered from his knee injury but continues to drive fantasy owners crazy with his lack of minutes and production. Over his last nine games, he is averaging 24 MPG, 4 PPG, 5.6 APG, and 1.5 SPG. Worse than the minutes and points is his miserable 25 percent shooting. It’s getting pretty hard to envision him producing much outside of some assists going forward.
Marcus Thornton: Since coming back from an ankle injury January 10, Thornton hasn’t looked like his old self at all. Averaging just 17 MPG, he is putting up 7.6 PPG, 1.5 RPG, and 0.8 SPG over his last eight games and has topped double-digits scoring just twice all month. He’s also shooting just 38% since coming back and things have not been looking any better.
Gerald Henderson: Henderson played just 15 minutes on Wednesday against the Hawks and has put up just 14 combined points over his last two games. After averaging 15 PPG last season, Henderson is averaging 12.7 on the season and just 10.5 PPG over his last 10 games. Considering he never contributes much outside of scoring, it’s getting tough to keep him on your bench.
DeMar DeRozan: DeRozan is a solid scorer, averaging around 17 PPG over the last three seasons. Suddenly he has lost his groove and is averaging just 12.4 PPG over his last seven games. I wouldn’t drop him, he averaged over 18 PPG in November and December but I would consider benching him since he doesn’t produce much outside of points.
