We have already seen a good chunk of the season and can safely see how the stats and teams are shaping up. An interesting topic every year around the NBA is the MVP race and this year it is supposedly a very ambiguous one, with Lebron being Lebron, Embiid and Jokic stepping up, and Durant returning to his pre-injury form. However, the true MVP this year in my mind up to this point is someone that is not being mentioned so often as the aforementioned players and is only ranked 7th in ESPN’s early MVP rankings.
Stephen Curry is carrying the Warriors to the playoffs by averaging 30.1 points per game on a ridiculous 66.9% True Shooting Percentage. Opposing defenses have been often helpless and left standing to watch in awe as Steph dribbles, razzles and dazzles through them, making tough shot after tough shot with insane accuracy. The most mind-boggling stat is that in 2016, Curry won the first unanimous MVP award by averaging……… 30.1 points per game, on a ridiculous 66.9% True Shooting Percentage, the exact same stats that he is currently averaging. The fact that he is only viewed as the 7th candidate for MVP is atrocious in my mind. Plus, he can casually do this at the end of games.
Now if this is not MVP material, I don’t know what is.
Regarding last week’s suggestions, only Jakob Poeltl was a real hit with great performances in LaMarcus Aldridge’s absence. Both Josh Richardson and Taurean Prince got minutes but were underwhelming and I would move on to hotter options from the wire, although Richardson showed more promise. This will be a more “Buy” heavy article than usual, as there have been a lot of potential adds floating in the wire.
Buy
Michael Porter Jr: The strong start Michael Porter Jr. had to the season made all the preseason hype seem vindicated, but he is prone to going in and out of Mike Malone’s doghouse, mainly for his questionable shot selection at times. The last two weeks have been particularly bad for him, as he is ranked just inside the top 150. Now is the perfect time to float some buy-low offers for him, as he remains a top 50 player for the season and is the only player to average over two triples, one steal, and block.
Jae Crowder: He is not the most complete player in fantasy and his scoring is certainly above average, but he is getting significant minutes in Phoenix after returning from his injury. If 2.2 triples, 7 rebounds with only .4 turnovers sound appealing for your build, there is a high chance that Crowder is available in your league (33% owned).
Josh Hart: His 27-point explosion last night is not the rule for Josh Hart, but he is consistently doing a lot of the little things correctly. He is as good as a guard can be in rebounding, with 7.6 rebounds per game and has increased his 3-point output lately with 1.9 triples in the last two weeks. All in all, another great low turnover option from the wire (27% owned).
Dorian Finney-Smith: A name often forgotten in fantasy, DFS is the player with the lowest ownership percentage in the top 100, at just 10% owned in Yahoo leagues. This can be attributed to his scoring (9.1) but his fantasy value lies in his triples (1.9), steals (1.0), good percentages, and only 0.6 turnovers per game. He is an underappreciated fantasy asset as an efficient end of the roster guy that will hurt you nowhere (10% owned).
Grayson Allen: Memphis has a tendency to produce fantasy contributors in players that you wouldn’t expect. This has been the case with Allen this year, as he is currently the 146th player in per-game value and a top 90 one in the last two weeks. In those weeks he is scorching hot from deep, averaging 3.3 triples on 47.3% shooting with 1.0 steal and 1.0 turnover. His value is tied to his hot shooting from deep, but he is a great streamer until he cools off and is getting close to 28 minutes per game (15% owned).
Sell
Blake Griffin: I hope you had already moved on from Blake at some point during the season, but since his 61% ownership suggests otherwise, if you were still holding strong, the news that he will be sidelined until Detroit finds a trade or buys him out is all you need to know. Amazingly, Griffin has not dunked since 2019, which means I can proudly say in real-life conversations that “In the last two years I have the same number of dunks as Blake Griffin and I’m playing significantly less due to coronavirus”.
Now that’s a good ice breaker if I’ve ever seen one. Use it at your own risk…
