Owning a talented backup who just needs a chance to play is one of the most fun (and frustrating) parts of fantasy sports.
Whether it’s a closer-in-waiting in fantasy baseball or a second-string running back in fantasy football, there is nothing more gratifying than seeing your patience rewarded when your guy gets a shot. However, while it’s fun when that scenario yields Kenley Jansen or LeGarrette Blount, it’s a lot less fun when you end up owning Vinnie Pestano or Christine Michael longer than one of their family members would and get nothing out of it.
Since I know you’re not here to read about fantasy baseball or fantasy football, I’ll bring this back to hoops and (re) introduce you to “Razor” Ramon Sessions.
For those of you who have been playing fantasy hoops for years, it probably feels like Sessions has been in the league for no less than 17 years (or that’s how I feel, at least). The surprisingly still only 27-year-old University of Nevada product has had quite a few of those “he could be good if he gets the chance to start” seasons (on five different teams), and has generally produced once he’s gotten the chance to start. Here’s a look at his numbers as a starter over the years on top as compared to his numbers as a bench player over the years on the bottom (and I’m excluding FG%, FT%, 3-pointers, and blocks since those are basically the same regardless of whether he’s starting):
|
Year |
Starts |
Mins |
Team |
Rebs |
Assts |
Stls |
Pts |
TOs |
FanDuel Pts |
2013-14 Comp |
|
2008-09 |
38 |
33.8 |
Bucks |
4.1 |
7.5 |
1.3 |
15.2 |
2.4 |
31.57 |
|
|
2010-11 |
38 |
30.9 |
Cavs |
3.7 |
5.9 |
0.9 |
14.5 |
2.9 |
26.69 |
|
|
2011-12 |
23 |
32.5 |
Lakers |
3.7 |
7 |
0.8 |
13.7 |
2.9 |
27.3 |
|
|
Averages |
33 |
32.4 |
n/a |
3.8 |
6.8 |
1 |
14.5 |
2.7 |
28.5 |
|
|
Year |
Off Bench |
Mins |
Team |
Rebs |
Assts |
Stls |
Pts |
TOs |
FanDuel Pts |
|
|
2008-09 |
40 |
21.5 |
Bucks |
2.7 |
3.9 |
0.8 |
9.8 |
1.5 |
18.95 |
|
|
2010-11 |
43 |
22.2 |
Cavs |
2.7 |
4.5 |
0.6 |
12.2 |
1.6 |
21.59 |
|
|
2011-12 |
41 |
23.4 |
Lakers |
3.1 |
4.7 |
0.6 |
9.9 |
1.8 |
20.07 |
|
|
Averages |
41.3 |
22.4 |
n/a |
2.8 |
4.4 |
0.67 |
10.6 |
1.6 |
20.4 |
What does that have to do with this year? Well, coincidentally enough, Kemba Walker is out for the next two weeks with an ankle sprain, so Razor Ramon will again become a starter and get a chance to turn himself from Patrick Beverley into Tony Parker. Again a bit of a small sample size, but Sessions’ FanDuel points average in the eight games prior to Walker’s injury is 16.11 compared to a 24.75 average in the two games after Walker’s injury. And the best part of all of this is that Sessions comes at the dirt-cheap price of $4,200 right now. I think I once saw a guy on Pawn Stars pay double that for a used One Direction lunch box. I’ll admit that those charts above have a little bit of “fun with numbers” element to them because it’s a relatively small sample size (and I excluded the years he didn’t start any games), BUT it’s still pretty darn interesting (to me, at least) that Sessions goes from being Patrick Beverley to being Tony Parker once he gets a chance to start.
So that’s all fine and dandy, but how does Sessions’ DV compare to other point guards? (click here and skip to about halfway down the article if you’re wondering what the heck a DV is)
[table id=63 /]
As I said last week, this is not an exact science since daily sports is about one day’s stats not ten days’ (and this also ignores matchups), but it’s pretty amazing to see the type of bang-for-your-buck that you can get from Ramon Sessions right now. His price is basically guaranteed to rise while Walker is out (which will bring down his DV), but it’s almost impossible (foolhardy?) to pass up the type of value that Sessions brings to your daily fantasy basketball lineup right now.
