Another All Star game, another meaningless game with no effort from either side and a lot of ball watching in defense, as illustrated by the featured article image, and that is generating less and less interest every year. Despite a positive omen with the competitiveness of the Rising Stars game and assurances from Adam Silver that the competitiveness levels will be restored and even a visit to the All-Star Lockers from Andre Iguodala, Larry Bird and Julius Erving to stress the important of the All Star game the result was a 211 – 186 win for the East squad. You do not need Sherlock Holmes’ deductive skills to observe that there was no defense played whatsoever and it’s a shame that we don’t get to watch the best players in the world actually “play” anymore during the All-Star week. To visualize it, here is a clip of the difference in defensive effort from 1993 to 2023.
And another one from the more recent 2003 All-Star game.
Not sure what the solution is, but I for once have little incentive anymore to stay up all night with the European time difference to watch this.
Bonus clip from the Mavericks vs Cavaliers yesterday, with one of the most insane game finishes in recent memory capped by an almost full court buzzer beater by Max Strus. A roller coaster of emotions that sports can offer abundantly.
Buy
De’Andre Hunter: Trae Young will miss the next 4 weeks and despite the fact that there is no clear replacement, in terms of fantasy value, De’Andre Hunter has seen a significant boost in terms of minutes and usage, sans Young. His shooting is well above his career averages but if you like a scoring boost he can provide this from the wire (52% owned).
Gradey Dick: I will resist the obvious temptation to make puns with Dick’s name and will instead focus on his fantasy value, which is on a steady rise after the All star break. His main statistical strength currently is triples, but with the Raptors’ season going nowhere and with Gary Trent Jr’s contract expiring, I can see Dick starting soon. It helps that this week the Raptors play in low volume days so put some Dick in your life, at least as a temporary streamer for this week (12% owned). And yes, the temptation was too strong to resist, I admit it…
Marvin Bagley: I find it hard to believe I am including Marvin Bagley in anything but the “Sell” column, but it is undeniable that his trade to Washington and more importantly the trade of Daniel Gafford away form the Wizards has rejuvenated his value. He has started all of the games after the Gafford trade and is averaging 11.4 points, 9 rebounds, 0.9 steals and 1.3 blocks on 48.6% and 72/7% from the field and line respectively. That’s good for top80 in per game value and despite having his ranking boosted by his 0.7 turnovers he can be a good boost of big man stats with relative safe role for the rest of the season and is still available in half of Yahoo leagues (51% owned).
Sell
Daniel Gafford: It is a tough pill to swallow, but the reality is that his trade to the Mavericks destroyed Daniel Gafford’s fantasy value, especially due to the reduced playing time. He was averaging 27 minutes per game in Washington, with a lot of 30+ games mixed in, but his playing time has dropped to 18 minutes on average, moving him outside the top 220 in per game value for that duration. Barring an injury, I can’t see a path for standard league relevance and with the fantasy playoffs approaching or already under way, I think a drop is in order (81% owned).
