The Covid situation and more specifically the Omicron variant has forced most NBA teams to sign players on 10-day deals, in order to fulfil the minimum roster requirement and avoid postponement of games. Most of those players come from the G-League, some from European Championships but the one signing that caught my eye was the return of Joe Johnson to the Celtics at 40 years old. Exactly 20 years ago, the Celtics drafted Iso Joe with the 10th pick and that age gap is the largest one in NBA history. Of course, what would be more fitting than him making a basket in his return with his usual isolation play.
One minor note on the Covid subject, before we move on to the usual fantasy advice. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar has his own blog where he posts pieces with a wide range of topics, but his article on December 27th is one of the most well thought out and reasoned ones I have seen in long time, with clearly explained arguments and connection between them. The subject is LeBron’s social media posts regarding the virus and I encourage you all to give it a read here.
Regarding last week’s suggestions Dorian Finney-Smith is on a tear and I hope you added him on time, Gary Harris is also playing the best basketball he has played the last three years, so he was another great add. On the contrary, Talen Horton-Tucker has flopped, despite heavy minutes and Onyeka Okongwu missed most of last week due to protocols. On the “Sell” front, the sell-high window is still open for Evan Fournier, but was shut for Garrison Mathews as he also entered the protocols and Houston will be healthy once he clears them.
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Buy
Marcus Morris: Morris needed the perfect storm of absences to get back some confidence and return to fantasy relevance, but he is doing it with a bang. Both Paul George and Nicolas Batum are currently sidelined, with the former expected to miss a significant amount of time. Enter Morris, who has scored exactly 24 points in each of his last three games and looks like a great add if you need those elusive points from the waiver wire (53% owned).
Nicolas Claxton: I know LaMarcus Aldridge has cleared protocols and will probably return to the starting lineup but Claxton’s latest games demand an add to see how many minutes he has earned due to his elevated play. If he can maintain a 25-minute role then he will have major value for the rest of the season (32% owned).
Omer Yurtseven: Now that is a name I wasn’t expecting to see in the column any time soon, but absences can create opportunities and Yurtseven definitely took advantage of his. With both Bam Adebayo and Dewayne Dedmon unavailable, Yurtseven is the only available center for Miami and is averaging 13 rebounds in his last six games. He is a safe bet for big man stats until the Heat get healthy again.
Fun fact, he is also exactly Yurt-Seven feet tall..
Sorry for that, I couldn’t contain myself. (52% owned).
Sell
Desmond Bane: I have enjoyed Bane’s excellent season in many leagues that I scooped him from the wire and I know it is tough to part with him, the way he is currently performing. However, his breakout happened without Ja Morant and now Dillon Brooks is also sidelined. I am worried that when the Grizzlies return to full strength, there won’t be enough usage to go around for Bane to maintain his value. Of course, I am not suggesting to get rid of him for any top 100 player, but he is currently performing at top 30 level for the last month, so a swap for any safer top 40-50 player looks beneficial in the long run.
Spencer Dinwiddie: It is easy to understand this suggestion, which is simultaneously why it might be hard to pull off a “Sell” in this case, but Dinwiddie is lately playing like an actual basketball player, albeit sans Bradley Beal. Beal is nearing a return that will most probably return Dinwiddie to the fantasy shadow realm, where he is residing for most of the season. I would take any top 130 player in a heartbeat for Dinwiddie, as I believe he might be droppable in one or two weeks.
