The introduction today will not be so basketball-focused, as Enes Kanter pulled a “Ron Artest → Metta World Peace” on us and legally changed his name to Enes Kanter Freedom, with Freedom being his surname moving forward. I am not going to analyze Freedom’s political views as everyone can deduce their own conclusions. I’m just going to mention that the issues he tries to bring in the spotlight are worthy of being investigated.
However, this name change and the potential for great wordplay that it produces sent me down an internet rabbit hole, in search of relevant wordplay that could happen or has happened in the past and found some excellent hidden gems. Without comment, the highlights are:
- -The Boston Celtics are in talks to trade Freedom for Love
- The Boston Celtics have traded Freedom for cash considerations
- Commissioner Stern suspends World Peace
And my personal favorite that is a real headline:
Raptors get Gay in Threeway
I am sure you can also come up with some great examples yourselves, if you do, share them in the comments below.
Regarding last week’s suggestions, Brandon Ingram is breaking out of his early-season funk with three great games this past week, so the buy-low window is closing rapidly. Kevin Huerter on the other hand has been underwhelming, but I’m still holding with all the injuries in the Atlanta backcourt, while Jarred Vanderbilt performed exactly as advertised. On the “Sell” front, Jordan Poole continued his hot streak and extended the opportunity to move him for a good return, before Klay Thompson resumes his spot in the starting 5, while Steven Adams continued his mediocre performances and remains an option only for punt ft% and/or points builds.
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Buy
Alec Burks – Immanuel Quickley: Tom Thibodeau made the bold decision to remove Kemba Walker from his rotation altogether, starting with yesterday’s game against Brooklyn. While it is debatable if this is the correct basketball decision (Walker is not washed up and could still provide a spark from the bench) it is not debatable that you should rush to pick up Alec Burks from the wire. He will be the starting point guard moving forward and was already ranked inside the top 100 in per-game value, so he should have a great outlook for the rest of the season. Hopefully, he is still available in your league (57% owned) but if you do miss on him, Immanuel Quickley is also worth a look as he played 38 minutes and has proven that he can contribute when given enough playing time (23% owned).
De’Anthony Melton– Tyus Jones: The second suggestion is also involving a pair, a direct result of Ja Morant’s injury. The bad news for Morant and subsequently for his owners is that Memphis is notorious for their lack of transparency regarding injury updates, as they announced he has a left knee sprain and will be out for “a few weeks”.
In medical terms, a sprain alone is not a clear indication of the severity of the injury so until we hear more, both Melton and Jones get a boost. Melton is the better across-the-board contributor among the two, while Jones can help your team more in the assists department, but I would be adding them in that order (51% – 26% owned respectively).
Garrison Mathews: An unexpected fantasy winner from Jalen Green’s injury, Mathews has taken full advantage of the extended opportunity and scored 19 and 20 points with 10 triples in the two games he has started. His main contributions stop there, but he is definitely worth a look as a streamer until Green returns and is available in the majority of leagues (10% owned).
Sell
Terry Rozier: Rozier had a painfully slow start to the season, with multiple games under 10 points, but his last two weeks have been really fun to watch, as he is averaging 21.9/3.5/3.8/3.9/1.5/0.6/0.9 on 49.6%/81% shooting, good for 13th in per-game value over that span. The key stat to notice apart from the red hot shooting is the very low turnovers and that is inflating his value even further. He is bound for a regression to the mean in terms of fg% so I think this is a perfect opportunity to find a beneficial trade if you could swap him for a more steady top 20 player, as I think Rozier is more of a top 40-60 player long term.
Jalen Suggs: Suggs’ rookie season has been a typical one for young players, in terms of stats. Some great games, some good games but mainly inconsistency, high turnovers, and really bad shooting percentages, as he is still getting adjusted to better and longer defenders. He is ranked 268th in per-game value and unfortunately sprained his right thumb, which means 5-6 weeks on the sidelines on average. All in all, while I do like his long-term potential, Markelle Fultz will also return in the meantime and there is no reason for him to occupy a roster spot in so many leagues as he is currently owned (57% owned).
