It’s the bye week for baseball right now, and if you’ve been following my pitching rankings, you’ll know that I’m ankle-deep in getting ready for the baseball season. Which has completely messed with my internal calendar, and I was stunned to find out that yes, indeed, it is April. Or March 390th, 2020, I can’t really tell anymore. Point is, there are only a few weeks left of the NBA season. A bunch of my basketball teams were decimated by injuries this year — my RazzJam team barely made it two weeks before 3/4 of my top picks were out. So, I’m out of the running in all my basketball leagues and I’m more or less OK with that. But you, my friend, are hopefully still in the running. So! Let’s get you the players you need to make your roster whole.
Enter Bogdan Bogdanovic. Now, that’s Bog with a “G,” the guy on the Atlanta Hawks, not Bojan with a “J,” who’s on the Utah Jazz. The Hawks are competing with about seven other teams for a playoff spot, which means they’re trying to win. And Bogdan is the starting small forward on the Hawks, and he’s putting up nearly 30 minutes a game. So! Let’s check out how he can help your team.
Availability: He’s rostered in 51% of Yahoo Leagues. Now, that’s a bit more rostered than I usually cover, but that’s OK. I’m on a journey of self-discovery right now, and the world is my oyster. 1/2 of you can pick him up. The rest of you, well, you’ve got a 40% chance to pick up Bojan — the other Bogdanovic — as well. So, go get one of them!
Bogdan’s Bones: All right, there’s a catch. The guy’s got a bum knee and has missed a ton of games this year. But he’s played the entire month of March and put up nearly 30 minutes a game despite his joints. I bet you couldn’t last 30 minutes on your joints.
Field Goal %: There’s been one pattern I’ve been rapping about recently: recency bias. Over his last seven games, Bogdanovic has shot .506% overall with a ridiculous .432% from Trés Town with nearly 3 per game. That’s given him about 15 points per game with a whomping .500+ FG% from the SG/SF/PF spot, which is rare for a B-team player. Usually, that rate is seen among either the elite players or centers, so you should see this score as a way to balance your team and remedy weak FG% teams.
Usage: 21%! Wow! With 27 minutes per game recently and a 21% usage rate to go with it, you’re seeing a nice floor. Combined with his sharpshooter skills right now, you’re seeing the potential for a high ceiling.
Dimes and D: 1.4 steals per game over the last seven as well as three assists per game. I could write that up as 3-and-D because the dude is killing it in steals and trés, but I’m going with the Dimes and Ds because I’m bending the paradigm.
Fantasy Takeaway: If you’re still reading this fantasy basketball column at this point in the year, you’re just like the Hawks: you’re trying to get into the playoffs. Sometimes, there are players who are just hanging out on the wire that can help you, and Bogdan Bogdanovic is one of those guys. Yeah, he comes with a risk, but so does everybody. My teams lost their top players, so there’s not much I can do to fix that. But maybe you’ve got some players with strong bones, and you’re still good to go. Bogdan is a part that might fix your puzzle and help you to the playoffs.
