With NBA point guards dropping like confetti, fantasy basketball owners need to look elsewhere for a steady stream of assists, steals, threes, points, and free throw percentage. Guys like Jeremy Lin and Reggie Jackson are valuable backup points but are owned at too high a rate to be realistic prospects. That is where our replacements guide comes in; we’ve picked five guys on an upward trend that are still available at a high rate and that will help you fill up your stat sheets.
1. Ramon Sessions – The former Bobcat is playing the best ball of the bunch and is even hitting three-pointers—something he has purposefully steered away from in his career. He’s not the best free-throw shooter for a point guard but is making up the difference in his field goal percentage, averaging 50 percent from the field in his last 30, 56.1 in his last seven.
His stock only rose yesterday as he got the start against the Los Angeles Clippers and played circles around point guard general Chris Paul. He certainly has his faults as he doesn’t swipe the ball as much as owners would like and makes less threes than desirable, but he’s a high-rebounding point who can score in bunches.
2. Jarrett Jack – His 31-10 game against the Knicks won’t be often imitated—opposing players can feast off of Raymond Felton‘s suspect play only so many times—but it reminds of what Jack can do. Remember: he was a Sixth Man of the Year candidate in Golden State last season. Jack is very similar to Sessions as he’s not known as a guy who shoots the three but can score, pass, rebound, and, unlike Sessions, is effective from the floor and charity stripe. The only reason not to rank him higher is because Kyrie Irving has not been ruled out from a return.
3. Randy Foye – Foye seemed to be regressing back to the mean with Kenneth Faried playing to form and Aaron Brooks snagging guard minutes. But he’s since saved himself with five-straight double-digit scores. Not to mention that he’s averaging 4.5 bombers in the last week—good for third in the league behind James Harden and Avery Bradley, and yes, above Kevin Durant. The only thing hurting his value is his field goal percentage but that’s always been the drawback of a chucker like Foye.
4. Greivis Vasquez – Kyle Lowry is a-hurtin’ which only spells good things for Vasquez. The tall point is most effective when playing above the 21-minute mark which can become a trend if Lowry has his minutes reduced. Averaging 24.5 minutes over the past week, Vasquez is putting up 14.3 points, 3.0 assists, 3.0 rebounds, 1.3 three-pointers, and is making 51 percent of his shots.
5. Brian Roberts – Anthony Davis and Tyreke Evans get all the attention in NOLA, but Roberts has been a serviceable replacement for Jrue Holiday for months. He’s no longer playing at the level he was when we praised his efforts, but remains worth a look.
None of his stats jump off the page but that’s exactly what makes him great: he’s an all-around contributor. He can score: is averaging 13.0 points in the last week. Can pass: 4.8 assists. Rebound: 2.0. Shoot the three: 1.5. Steal and block: 0.8 on both counts. And his best asset, he is a great free-throw maker: over the last 30 games he’s made 98 percent of his takes.
