The Extremely Late Sunday Evening Buzzer Beater
OK, I’ll admit it. This one didn’t beat the buzzer, but it was my birthday yesterday so cut me some slack. The NBA is well underway and a couple things have really stuck out to me. First, what happened to the Chicago Bulls? Isn’t this the year they were supposed to rise to “real contender” status in the East. I have no idea what is going on with that team, so please don’t ask. Another trend that seems to have fantasy GMs pulling their hair out, is the so-called “healthy” stars around the league, that were projected to “miss no time” due to offseason operations/surgeries/aches&pains.
A short list of some lazy rehabbers:
Gilbert Arenas – Having his knee drained after every meal is apparently shortening his range. Agent Zero is shooting 13% from behind the arc.
Amare Stoudemire – We can forgive his shortened minutes, but sitting out full games just doesn’t seem right. Also, getting kicked out of his first game back after a weeks long rest is not winning him many points with his fantasy owners.
Jermaine O’Neal – We all thought that he just needed to get his cardio back to form, but his minute cap is keeping him under 15ppg right now.
Dwayne Wade - This was expected, but every D-Wade fan secretly thought he would comeback early because of his toughness and ability to overcome the odds on a regular basis.
****A minor shoutout to Randy Foye and Ike Diogu who aren’t stars but were budding fantasy sleepers.
Lets get down to some more pickups people should be considering:
Theo Ratliff
This shotblocker is slipping under the radar due to a headcold that kept him out of action for a game and rendered him fairly useless in another. If you look at his production and minutes during his headache free games, he is earning a spot on your bench. (10ppg, 5.5rebs, 3.5blks)
Francisco Garcia
I’m quite ashamed of myself for not having this breakout stud on an earlier post. If you can still grab this guy in your league then do it now, and make sure you post something insulting toward the quality of the other GMs in your league. Also, if you are in a league such as this, you better be no older than 9. Garcia’s numbers are very solid. (14ppg, 4reb, 3ass, 1.5stl)
Antoine Wright/Bastjon Nachbar
Its hard to tell who will benefit more from the recent (and completely expected) injury to Vince “Glass Joe” Carter. Both will have an opportunity to earn their minutes and both will see their production go up. If you have the room, grab them both to be safe and drop one later on.
Desagna Diop
The unhealthy Eric Dampier has opened the door for this rebounding horse. He is now playing 25+ minutes a game and will be the Reggie Evans of the Western Conference. With 8+ rebs a game and almost 3bpg, he deserves a spot on your bench until Dampier gets back.
Jeff Green
With Kevin Durant garnering everyone’s attention, Green is quietly getting accustomed to the NBA game and is being given the minutes to put up above average fantasy numbers. We don’t really know where his upside is just yet, so he is a great pickup at this point. (11ppg, 4rebs, 48%fg)
Steve Blake
Not much of a fantasy player at all, however he can really help a team in need of assists. It’s rare to find a guy on the free agent list that averages more than 5apg. Still though, Im a little disapointed that he made the cut here.
Buy-Low/Sell-High
This weeks Buy-Low player is the aforementioned, Jermaine ONeal.
It is very simple to explain this choice. HE WILL PLAY MORE, period. If you look at this guy’s career in Indiana, you will see that his fantasy production is much better than a lot of gms think. He is a number one scorer that is among the top 5 in blocks, and is a double-double threat every night. This is not a very common asset to have, and right now is where his stock is at its lowest. Many foolish GMs believe that Dunleavey’s great start means the end of ONeals dominance. BS. If you think Jermaine ONeal will have a fairly healthy year from this point on, then send your offers now and you will reap the rewards in the end.
Check back in on Wednesday/Thursday to find out who my first “Sell-High” player will be.
Happy Birthday to me.
Greener said,
November 14, 2007 at 3:32 pm
Not quite sure I understand the logic behind having O’neil and Wallace as “buy low” guys. Both of these player are easily gone by round 5. Do you really think anybody would give up on such a high draft pick so early in the season?
Still waiting for decent advise.
mrbrentcarter said,
November 14, 2007 at 8:05 pm
You obviously are misinterpreting the idea behind the “Buy-Low” tag that I have given Wallace and O’Neal. Now your point is that GMs will not give up on these guys. That may be true and it may not, however, one thing is for sure… If you were trying to trade for these 2 before the season, you would surely have to give up more than you would now. There is enough doubt in place, because of the Pacers new “stars” (Dunleavy and Granger), that O’Neal may not have the opportunity to be the fantasy star he was last year. In Charlotte, the same is happening with Wallace because of Jason Richardson’s arrival. This doubt, along with their slow starts has caused their stock to fall. In my opinion, their stock will only rise from here on out, so if you are looking to pick up a star player then these are two you should consider.
Lets look at it this way, guys like McGrady, Durant, Redd, Carmelo, Josh Howard and Kevin Martin were all drafted just before or just after O’Neal and Wallace in most fantasy drafts. Of those players, who would be easier to trade for than O’Neal and Wallace at this point?
Based on that alone, they are “Buy-Low” players. Now if you still disagree and think that they hold the same value as they did in the preseason, than I’m going to have to go ahead and suggest some basic training with a focus on logic (and possible brain surgery) because I just don’t see where you’d be coming from.
Thanks for the questions and if you haven’t received any “good advice” yet, I’m going to have to also prescribe the “hooked on phonics” package so we can get you literate. That way you can read the sleepers I have posted and use them to your advantage.
Thanks Again!!!
Greener said,
November 26, 2007 at 5:57 pm
I think your analysis is flawed because you were looking at the “buy low” tag from the perspective of the person looking to aquire Oneil and wallace. That person certainly wouldnt offer as much as they would at the beginning of the year, but that doesnt make them a buy low player. Again, any GM with any brain would not give up on such a high draft pick after 10 games or less, and would therefore expect top dollar back for these players. This gap between the perceived values of oneil/wallace between the 2 deal-makers would make Wallace and Oneil the most difficult players to trade for.
Still waiting for decent advice (especially because you havent written anything new in a week! What kind of shit blog is this?)
Matt said,
December 12, 2007 at 4:40 pm
Hey Carter,
I took your advice on Maggette but I am not sure I made the right deal. I traded Luol Deng and Kelenna Azubuikie(because Stephen Jackson is back and his numbers are dropping) for Corey Maggette and Antoine Wright. I am just not so sure now I made the right move?
mrbrentcarter said,
December 12, 2007 at 5:40 pm
Matt,
I think you got the best player in the deal, but don’t forget that a few weeks ago I had “The Bulls” as a buy-low. So expect Deng’s production to go up as well as Maggette’s. Azuibuke is a better option than Wright, but this deal should be a wash, and your one Vince Carter injury away from winning the deal. If your league has daily roster moves than you probably want to try grab a better option than Wright off the FA list or via trade. If it is weekly than he shouldn’t have a huge impact anyways. Thanks for the question, and let me know if I can help at all in the future.
wlmeds said,
January 11, 2008 at 11:57 pm
hey carter, steal any cars lately?