Yesterday I gave my mom a copy of the Fantasy Alarm Baseball Draft Guide, and she suddenly saw my fantasy writing in an entirely different light. My contribution to that magazine is incredibly small compared to awesome efforts of everyone else involved. I was thrilled to get the opportunity to write a DFS article, and I am proud of how it turned out, but my guess is a lot of people who bought the draft guide didn’t even notice my article.
None of that matters to my mom, though. In her mind, this finally validates all of the writing I have done in my life. The year I spent writing for a small-town newspaper in Idaho, the dozens of NBA articles and hundreds of player notes on FantasyAlarm.com are meaningless compared to three pages in a magazine she can actually hold in her hands and show to the people at the dental office where she works.
Nothing has changed for me—I’m the same writer I was when the digital version of the Draft Guide came out—but the magazine opened my mom’s eyes. The same is true for many players languishing on NBA benches. There are a lot of really good NBA players who can produce for fantasy given the opportunity. Guys like D.J. Augustin and J.J. Barea are the same players they have always been, but it took injuries to Brandon Jennings and Rajon Rondo for them to produce for fantasy.
Identifying those kinds of players is my favorite part of writing this column. Writing about good players getting injured can be a bit depressing, but unearthing the hidden gems who will take advantage of newfound playing time makes me feel all warm and fuzzy. A lot of very good players are set to miss time, which means there are a lot of minutes available for some underrated bench player to take advantage of. With that, I give you the latest NBA injury news.
Chris Bosh is dealing with a blood clot in his lungs, and even if it does not end his season, it will keep him out long enough to make him droppable in all formats. Hassan Whiteside has still averaged just 26 minutes per game in February, but in light of this news you would have to think he will finally start playing upwards of 30 minutes per game. Chris Anderson and Udonis Haslem should play more as well though that does not do fantasy players any good.
Kevin Durant will not play Saturday night against the Hornets after left Thursday’s game with foot soreness. At this point, there is no reason to believe Durant will put this injury behind him until after the season. He has still produced when he has been on the court, but fantasy players should probably expect him to miss games here and there for the rest of the season.
Russell Westbrook is a must-play in daily games whenever Durant is out, while Kyle Singler will get the start. Singler did very little as a starter in Detroit, and while he could get a few more open shots in OKC, there is little to like for fantasy. Dion Waiters is a better fantasy play off the bench, though Anthony Morrow could be interesting as well. Durant’s absence also means the Thunder will probably have to lean on Enes Kanter to provide some scoring right out of the gate. Kanter is available in some shallow leagues, and makes a nice speculative pickup.
Carmelo Anthony has finally been shut down by the Knicks. There is a decent chance he is an underrated fantasy asset going into next season. He averaged 24.2 points, 3.1 assists and 6.6 rebounds this season, almost exactly in line with his career averages. He was still productive when healthy, and while he probably has a slightly higher injury risk than most guys, it is not like he is Dwayne Wade or Kobe Bryant. I’m not sure I would use a second-round pick on Carmelo next season, but I wouldn’t let him fall much farther than that.
Jrue Holiday aggravated the stress reaction in his lower leg Monday. He will be re-evaluated in three weeks. Holiday is droppable in 12-team leagues, and probably even in deeper leagues. This news is a stay of execution on Eric Gordon’s fantasy value. He will probably never be exciting, but he provides decent production across the board with Holiday out.
Chandler Parsons will have an MRI Saturday to determine the severity of his left ankle injury. If you own Parsons you should at least hold onto him until we have a better idea of his timetable, but you probably shouldn’t drop him even if the injury is severe. Parsons is averaging 15.4 points and 2.0 made 3-pointers on the season, and that production is hard to find. Al-Farouq Aminu played well in relief of Parsons Friday, but his offensive game is limited. Aminu can provide some rebounds, blocks and steals in deep leagues, but he and Richard Jefferson should be ignored in most leagues.
Rodney Stuckey injured his ankle Friday as well, and we have even less information about his injury. George Hill finally had his minutes restriction lifted after the All-Star break, so he could be in the best position to take advantage of Stuckey’s injury. The Pacers still have too many mediocre backcourt options for any of them to really shine, but Hill is the most attractive right now. He has averaged 13.4 points, 4.7 assists and 3.4 rebounds over his last 10 games despite playing only 23.4 minutes per game. Stuckey is droppable even in deep leagues.
Amare Stoudemire is expected to make his Mavericks debut Sunday after sitting out Thursday and Friday. Charlie Villanueva averaged 12 points over those two games, and he will be useful in daily games on the days Stoudemire sits. Between his various health issues and mediocre production, Stoudemire is droppable even in deeper leagues.
Bradley Beal has a chance to return Sunday at Detroit after he was cleared to resume basketball activities Saturday. He should be considered day-to-day until we learn otherwise. The Wizards have no really had anyone step up in Beal’s absence, though if you are desperate, Rasual Butler has averaged 9.6 points and 1.6 3PM over his last five games.
This week isn’t great for finding hidden gems, at least for season-long fantasy leagues, though there are plenty of guys who could useful for a game or two. Just because we haven’t heard from someone like Rasual Butler in a while does not mean he cannot contribute. Maybe he just needs an opportunity.