The league is pretty stacked with quality Centers, but every so often, one has the need to scour the lower model machines to see if they can find value. Tiago Splitter had 3 blocks last night, but otherwise finished with a pedestrian 7 points, 3 boards and a steal. That’s in 27 minutes as a starter, mind you. Yeah, the Knicks played good defense, but Tiago has only been averaging 8+ PPG over the past 2 weeks anyway, and it doesn’t explain away the lack of rebounds. Still, he is the starter, and absent one start this month, he has been playing over 20+ MPG for three weeks. His median (yeah, that’s right, math geeks) points/rebounds in December was 10/6. In deep leagues, and at 15%, he’s worth the add. Before we move into the Buy/Sell portion of today’s program, let’s look at a few performances from last night:
Stephen Jackson – After taking a three point attempt, he stepped on a waiter (Jrue story) and hurt his ankle. He left the game and did not return. If he misses any extended period of time, it’s hard to say who benefits, as coach Gregg Popovich could favor anyone at any time, and also because the Spurs already have a pretty good distribution of minutes for their guards.
Amar’e Stoudemire – He saw increased minutes, but otherwise finished with a lackluster 10 points, 2 rebounds and a steal. I don’t think anyone expected him to come back and start producing double doubles, but if someone in your league gets antsy, you know what to do.
J.R. Smith – Yesterday, I said sometimes you have to stop waiting for the other shoe to drop and just embrace a powerhouse season. Smith is in the midst of an outstanding year, going for 20 points, 5 boards, 3 assists, a steal and a block.
Kosta Koufos – Just when it looked like things were slowing down for Konstantine (no double digit rebounds since Christmas and no double digit blocks or points since Boxing Day), he went and grabbed 16 points, 7 rebounds, an assist, 4 steals and 2 blocks. Okay, so, he still hasn’t reached 10 or more boards, but it’s nice to see an otherwise positive production out of the Greece-y bum.
Alexy Shved – On the night, he had 17 points, 4 rebounds, 4 assists and an unsightly 5 turnovers. I would include him in today’s Buy section, but I hate to be repetitive. I would include him in today’s Buy section, but I hate to be repetitive. And this leads us into this week’s buy and sell…
…but before we do that, I wanted to inform you that James will no longer be writing for us. You could say that Heaven has another angel, but that would be dumb. Are you someone’s grandma? Anyway, James may rejoin us at some point down the road, but at least for the rest of the season, other obligations have taken him away from us. Unfortunately, that means we will be sharing more time together, much to your chagrin. Anyway, here’s the Buy/Sell:
Buy
Mike Dunleavy – Over the past month, Mike Dunleavy has earned 13 PPG, 4 RPG, 2 APG and 2 3PG. He is eliligible in that scarcest of positions, SF, and yet his ownership numbers are below 50%.
Carlos Delfino – He’s only 9% owned in Yahoo leagues, but he has better value than that in deeper leagues. Since December, he has been averaging 9 PPG, 2 3PG and 3 RPG and 3 APG. That’s solid for a shooting guard/small forward hybrid bench player. He’s Diet Dunleavy, which tastes like regular Dunleavy but isn’t as filling.
Ty Lawson – Yahoo had him originally ranked as a top 15 player, and he hasn’t exactly lived up to that billing. You may be able to get him a from an owner who wanted more from the hype. Lawson is still a good play for assists and a three.
Paul Millsap – He has not played more than 30 minutes in three weeks. See if you can get him on the cheap from a panicked owner. He is still averaging 13+ PPG and handsome amount of assists for a PF, and who knows, maybe things start to click again and he meets original expectations.
Sell
DeMar DeRozan – I love DeMar, but he is playing out of his mind, averaging 25 PPG over the past three performances. I would capitalize on his recent surge if you had the opportunity.
Andrei Kirilenko – Like his nicknamesake, AK47 has been a steady and reliable piece of Soviet engineering, but he’s also north of 30 and has made only 2 threes in the month of December. He’s also been playing his highest MPG since the 05-06 season. I’m not saying he’s going to break down, but he has been known to suffer from injuries, not even counting last season. By the way, last night, Kirilenko had 14 points (1-2 from downtown), 4 rebounds, 3 assists and a powerful 3 blocks. You won’t die if you don’t move him, but consider your options.
Andre Drummond – Despite an increase in minutes, points and rebounds, he has a horrendous FT%, the worst in the league. If you can move him for a different piece, I would do so. His value is high right now, and the blocks and boards make him enticing. I would use him as a piece to move for an upgrade at a different position, such as shooting guard. Use your discretion, kid, and wear a rubber.
