I have sporadically mentioned in these articles how much I admire Gregg Popovic. Not only for his coaching ability, love for the game, and competitiveness, but also for his personality. The guy is a quote machine, always providing something clever/funny/deep to comment, depending on the situation. And after a game-winning performance by DeMar Derozan against the Raptors, he had this to say.
DeRozan got the star treatment on his return in Toronto but Pop was quick to bring him back to earth in his own unique way. It really makes you think about the culture of the San Antonio organization as a whole and appreciate their commitment to success through teamwork.
Regarding last week’s suggestions, Bradley Beal returned, but this hasn’t slowed down both Ish Smith and Jordan Mcrae, who continued their productive streaks. Sekou Doumbouya also looks like a big hit, as Blake Griffin should be out for the rest of the season and Daniel Gafford is a start-worthy player as long as Wendell Carter Jr. is out.
Buy
Darius Garland: After a very rocky start to the season, both in terms of real life and fantasy performance, Darius Garland is enjoying a great month of basketball. He is averaging 15/2.1/2.1/4.3/1/0/2.4 on 46.7% shooting during that span and has been steadily improving his shot selection and ball distribution.He even had a double-double in his last game and is worth a look for PG needy owners, with a great outlook for the rest of the season (42% owned).
Omari Spellman: He has quietly been a top 50 player during the last two weeks, behind averages of 13.7/2.1/4.9/1.6/1.4/0.6/1.1 and all this while playing only 23 minutes. The comparisons to Draymond Green are obvious and with the Warriors going nowhere, there is a high chance the original Green gets shut down at some point. It’s your last call to try and grab him off the wire, as he won’t be available for much longer (39% owned).
Mikal Bridges: His playing time so far has been down from last year (22.7 compared to 29.5) but lately he has improved his play, particularly on the defensive end. If he can carve out a larger role over the likes of underperforming Dario Saric, then his value will only further increase. He is more of a roto-friendly guy due to his low turnovers and great percentages, but if your team punts points or assists he is a sneakily valuable add (39% owned).
Reggie Bullock: This is more of a deeper league suggestion, but Reggie Bullock has been a top 100 player since returning from his injury. His main contributions are his 1.9 triples and 1.7 steals so he is worth a streaming look at the very least, until the Knicks move into full player development mode (4% owned).
Sell
Spencer Dinwiddie: Kyrie Irving returned to action with a bang, making 10/11 shots in just 21 minutes and subsequently shrank Dinwiddie’s time to just 25 minutes. He was already struggling during the last month, shooting 41% and committing 3.3 turnovers (ranked 242nd) and if you think Irving’s shoulder will hold firm until the end of the season, it’s time to start including Spencer in trade proposals, sooner rather than later.
Gorgui Dieng What an unexpected fantasy run it’s been for Dieng, since Karl-Anthony Towns went down with his injury. Dieng took over and has been a top 40 player as the starting center for the Timberwolves, with great shooting percentages, low turnovers, and career high 1.9 triples. However, KAT is nearing a return and that will unfortunately force Mr. Dieng back to fantasy irrelevancy. If there is a time to try and trade him, it’s now, although that would be hard in a league with well-informed owners, so be prepared to drop him when Towns makes a comeback.
