With all of the fantasy advice out there, is it ever really possible to sell high?
Everyone from the newbies to the expert players knows that Andrew Bogut is playing well. And playing a lot. And that he has a closet full of expensive suits to show for all the time he’s spent on the end of benches.
And we all have the file on the Australian Bogey Man. He’s had some amazing runs of board-n-block brilliance, albiet runs that have been more damaged than a “Crocodile Dundee” sequel. Stress fractures, awful falls, weird treatments and a mega-trade involving Kwame Brown (ew) have weighed down the bright spots in Bogut’s career like a Bloomin’ Onion that sits in your belly for days and won’t come out.
But things have turned around. He had that huge 14-point, 21-board playoff game against the Lakers last year. He received a three-year contract extension that blew everyone’s mind except for Bill Walton, who stood somewhere nodding with pride.
So here we are. Bogut has 11-plus boards in five straight games and is averaging more than 2 bpg in the last week. So the thinking is sell him off before he gets injured again.
I say run him into the ground. I say a Bogut in hand is worth two boarders in the bush.
And I say out west in the 415, where the land is harsh and bare, lives a mighty hunter named Andrew Bogut, who can dance like Fred Astaire.
If you know where that line comes from, you grew up watching way too many mediocre ’80s movies, and even worse you might have mental problems. Have someone look into that.
Jordan Hill – He’s been all over the place. Big game, back down to earth, big game, back down to earth. That 24-point, 17-rebound effort against Denver looked real nice, but I’d rather trade away a guy like this than a guy like Bogut. Inconsistency and players with dreads drive me crazy.
Taj Gibson – When he gets minutes, he boards (eight against the Clippers Sunday, eight against the Nuggets earlier this week). Not a bad short-schedule day option if you need help on the glass, plus he might get you a block or two.
Jeff Adrien – Rocky Balboa’s favorite player had a brief early-season emergence while Al Jefferson was nursing his boo-boo. Deep-leaguers gave up when the Bobcats put him back on ice, but he’s continued to stick around in the rotation, even with Al healthy. Yo Adrien is averaging 7.3 rpg and 1.3 bpg in the last week, including 10 rebounds and steal Saturday in Milwaukee.
Carmelo Anthony – Is there any way Melo could ever look tough? The mustache just makes him look like a member of El Debarge, and it would probably take him 10 years to grow a full goatee or beard. He might always look as soft as a marshmallow, but over the last few he’s been tough on the boards, racking up 18 to go with two blocks in his 30-point effort vs. the Pacers and then getting 12 more the other day against the Washington Bullets (We don’t print the real name of that D.C. team here at Boards-N-Blocks).
Thaddeus Young – Hmm … Michael Carter-Williams returns, and then Thaddeus leaves for “personal reasons.” Don’t want to make light of what could be a serious situation, but at least right now it looks a little shady for the 76ers, who were doing a poor job at tanking until Carter-Williams came up with that mysterious foot injury. I have a feeling when Thad gets back he’ll start going off, getting double-digit rebounds to go with nice point totals and some blocks. This, of course, will coincide with Spencer Hawes developing “a sore knee” that will sideline him indefinitely.
Spencer Hawes – Well lookie here! After two games where Spence had absolutely gone off (28-10, 25-12), it was announced he’d be sitting out for Saturday’s game against the Pacers (a loss where Roy Hibbert went nuts) due to a … drum roll please … sore knee! Now he might not play Wednesday in Orlando. How do you know that on Sunday? Hmm indeed!
Roy Hibbert – Still not boarding enough, but still averaging 4.3 blocks per game.
Brook Lopez – Same as above. His return date is fuzzy, and even when he gets back he continues to be more of a blocker than a boarder. The woeful Nets need him more than you do.
Kelly Olynyk/ Jared Sullinger/ Vitor Faverani – I’m with JB on this one. Stay away from Brad Stevens and his three-headed center monster. Sullinger is playing best out of the three of them (15-9-2 against he Hawks in Atlanta), so if you had to pick one, I’d go with Sully.
Blake Griffin – Must be the soccer unis! The Clips, decked out in preposterous powder-blue jerseys with short sleeves, crushed the Derrick Rose-less Bulls by 39 Sunday night behind Blake Griffin and his 15-12-3. Despite having the most annoying commercials in the NBA right now (t-Chris Paul), dude’s have a nice season on the glass (10.7 rpg)
Nikola Vucevic – Some are concerned that he’s not blocking shots, but then again he never blocked shots. The bigger worry is the lack of monster games on the glass. After three games in single digits he finally reached 10 on Sunday vs. the Suns. I still like Nik, but notice I said “like” and not “love.” Wouldn’t be a bad idea to try and deal him after his next 20-rebound game, if there ever is one.
Drummond & Monroe – Are you being pushed around in the paint? Are you entitled to rebounds that you’ve never received? Detroit’s frontcourt law firm is here for you! Drummond continues to dominate, and now Monroe is coming on again, hauling in 11 boards in three of his last four games. Order in the court!
Larry Sanders – They say that no news is good news. In real life, this is true for Larry Sanders, who has made headlines for his wounded thumb, an off-court altercation and the revelation that he was charged with animal cruelty earlier this year. But other than being mentioned in some preposterous Knicks trade rumors (are there any other kind?), us fantasy owners have heard next to nothin’ on his possible return date.
Tim Duncan – A dozen or so points, seven boards and a block per game. Is this the new normal or just Duncan easing his beat-up body into the grind before returning to double-doubles and the occasional explosion? I’d say somewhere in between but leaning toward the former. He’s approaching how David Robinson was in his last season.
Little Big Man of the Week – Russell Westbrook. Is it me or does it seem like players are taking more powders this year? Westbrook was the latest to do so, sitting out Sunday’s blowout win vs. the Jazz. But that’s not why we’re talking about Westbrook here. Once again, the 6-3 guard is grabbing more than five boards per game, and even nabbed a dozen last week against Denver. Let’s take Russ to Toys R Us and get him a little red wagon.
