Despite a strong temptation to once again hail the show Stephen Curry is blessing us with for another season, I decided to talk in the usual introduction about the infamous Nikola Jokic – Markieff Morris incident. If you have been living under a rock, or you have my internet connection, here is the video
I’m not going to focus on whether Jokic was right or wrong to retaliate in such a way, just wanted to mention that his brothers’ reaction of creating a Twitter account just to answer to Marcus Morris and dare the twins to not mess with their brother is one of the “Balkcanest” moves I have seen in the NBA and as a Greek myself I could easily see it happen with a Greek player as well. What is important is that the Jokic Brothers vs the Morris Brothers is officially on and I can’t wait for the next chapters.
Regarding last week’s suggestions both Lethal Weapons (Frank Kaminski and Javale McGee) were great streaming plays but can be safely dropped with Deandre Ayton back in action, while Jrue Holiday improved his play and can be no longer viewed as a buy-low. Daniel Theis had an ok week for streaming as well and regarding the sell candidates, both Chris Boucher and De’Andre Hunter proved me right as they continue to provide no value in standard leagues, while Cole Anthony continues his hot streak and I continue to see him as an excellent sell-very-high, if I may create this term.
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Buy
Jalen Brunson: I don’t usually include players that are owned in more than 60% of Yahoo leagues, but I’ll make an exception here, both because I got a question for him last time and because I think he is a must-add in 100% of leagues, with news that Luka Doncic will miss time with a left knee injury. Brunson was already balling and was inside the top 100 but he will only be better now with an expected increase in usage (67% owned).
Chimezie Metu: I’m not saying he is a must-add in 12-teamers but Sacramento has been looking for an answer for the 4-spot and Metu might just be the player they need. He can stretch the floor adequately, can rebound and protect the rim and most importantly, his immediate contender for the starting position is Maurice Harkless.
Give him a long look if the above categories appeal to you and be prepared to grab him if he continues appearances like his last two games (30% owned).
Talen Horton-Tucker: I wish I could publish this article two days earlier so I could advise you to grab Horton-Tucker for the Lakers’ games this week, most of which were without LeBron James. Now Lebron is expected to return soon but that does not destroy Horton-Tucker’s fantasy value, it merely caps its ceiling. There are a lot of minutes available at the wings and he is one of the few young players on a very old Lakers roster so I like him as an add while he is still available (53% owned).
Kevin Love: I don’t have misguided and hopeful thoughts that Kevin Love will return to his fantasy dominant form of the previous decade but with both Evan Mobley and Jarrett Allen out, this is the week to use him as a streamer as the Cavaliers have to give him respectable minutes at the center spot. Bonus points as you will get to say to your fantasy buddies that you beat them using old man Love, which makes adding him all the more enticing (36% owned).
Sell
Thaddeus Young: He has been performing admirably and filled in the void by Jakob Poeltl’s protocol-related absence and offers a great veteran presence for the rebuilding Spurs. However, the big Austrian is expected back as early as tomorrow and I have to point out that Young was out of the rotation with Poeltl active. Try and extract some trade value from him but be ready to drop if the situation is similar to the one that was unfolding at the start of the season (57% owned).
Joe Ingles: After five consecutive years of finishing inside the top 150 in per-game value, Father Time seems to have finally caught up with Joe Ingles. He looks a step slower and he was already a step slower to begin with and his counting stats are down across the board. He is still one of my favorite players for his cerebral play and excellent reading of the pick and roll and is an awesome teammate, beloved by all.
More about the other guy on the above GIF in a bit. Still, I have to advise you to drop Ingles for a hot pickup and only use him when someone from the Jazz backcourt is injured (38% owned).
Jordan Clarkson: If I told you to guess the most impactful player for the fg% category this year in a negative way, the first and the correct answer would be Jayson Tatum. However, I’m not sure the negative impact of Clarkson’s shooting this year is fully understood, as he is the fourth-worst player in that regard. The triples and the points are nice, but unless you are punting fg% there is no reason to carry such a heavy burden in your field goal percentage, so I would look to trade him to a team that indeed punts fg% or to an owner that does not read Razzball.
