A blooper moment will be the feature of the introduction this week, because you know those are my favorites. This one comes from Minnesota but features Ivica Zubac trapped inside a circle of cheerleaders performing their timeout dance routine.
And this ladies and gentlemen is exactly the kind of energy I have at this stage of my life in parties. In fact, I think I look exactly like this in the rare occasions I go to a nightclub. You can see Ivica’s awkwardness in his body language and he just wants the dancing to be over. Exactly like me.
And to close the introduction, another interesting NBA record was broken this week in Miami, where the Heat shot and, most importantly, made all 40 of their attempts from the free throw line against the Thunder. They eventually won by one point, which came from a Jimmy Butler free throw, who was 23/23 from the line!
Regarding last week’s suggestions, Kelly Olynyk unfortunately suffered an injury that will sideline him for the coming weeks, while Jalen Williams continued impressing and I hope you already picked him up. Jalen McDaniels has also been productive and is a standard league player as long as Gordon Hayward is out. Finally, on the “Sell” front, Gary Trent Jr. continues his hot streak and thus his sell high window continues to be open for savvy fantasy managers.
Buy
Desmond Bane: His return from injury has been a slow one as he is shooting just 37.5% from the field during the last month and this presents a great opportunity to try and buy low on him. If you ignore his percentages and the declined steal rate, his stats are very similar to last year, when he ended the season ranked 36th in per game value. I think it is only a matter of time before he increases his efficiency, so send your buy low offers now.
Royce O’Neale: Despite not being a flashy choice, O’Neale is most likely the main beneficiary from the Kevin Durant injury and that might increase his usage in the short term. He already provides good triples (2.3), defense (0.9 steals, 0.8 blocks), and assists (4.2) but I think he can improve his points if given more scoring opportunities and is a great target until KD returns (42% owned). T.J. Warren also has a chance to see increased minutes and the Nets might look for him to provide some of the scoring they will miss from Durant, so he is worth a look in deeper leagues (28% owned)
Patrick Williams: Williams finds himself in a very similar situation with the one described above with O’Neale. He’s a low usage, 3-and-D player that should get more opportunities in the short term, this time due to DeMar DeRozan’s injury. He is also worth a look if O’Neale is taken, as he offers similar stats without the good assists of Royce, and that’s why he is available in more leagues (33% owned).
Sell
Jordan Clarkson: A player that was overlooked by many in this year’s drafts, Clarkson has been part of the surprising season that Utah is having and is scoring at a career-high rate with 20.7 points per game, while also registering 4.5 assists per game. The reason he is featured as a “Sell” suggestion is the fact that he is shooting 49% from the field during the last month, which is a major increase from his career average. Although he fits some punt FG% and/or punt block teams really nicely, now is the perfect period to gauge the transfer interest in him and try to get a top 100 player in return.
