Joe Ingles has not made a huge impact on the floor this season for the Minnesota Timberwolves, playing more than 10 minutes only 4 times, but he is a beloved teammate and a veteran presence in the locker room. Last week, the respect of the coaches for him was evident, because they decided to give him his first and logically only start of the season at home against New Orleans. The reason was more important than just a tactical decision though.
His whole family travelled from Australia to see him play and the coaching staff decided to give him the starting position, to ensure that he gets minutes and they get the chance to cheer for their dad. It is even more commendable, as the Timberwolves are fighting for a playoff spot, so the game was far from irrelevant. But those are signs of a winning and respecting culture in an organization, so big kudos to them.
Regarding last week’s suggestions, DaQuan Jeffries started strong but has missed some playing time as of late, while Jared Butler provided the assists and steals, as advertised. On the “Sell” front, both Kyle Kuzma and Jonathan Kuminga were worse than mediocre and continue to have no place in standard league rosters.
Buy
Gary Trent Jr: The alarming trend of players getting blood clots has continued in the NBA, with Damian Lillard the latest victim of it in his right calf. He will obviously miss a lot of time and in his absence, Gary Trent Jr has and will absorb some of the usage. Despite not starting, his playing time has been on the rise and is a valuable contributor is triples and steals. The Bucks will need all the offensive help they can get so Trent is a good bet for the closing portion of the season, with 3 games remaining this week (15% owned).
Adem Bona: After missing the last 5 games due to a left ankle sprain, Adem Bona returned to the rotation and continued his defensive contributions with 2 steals and 1 block. He will be a part of the tanking efforts in Philadelphia and can be a difference maker in the stocks department, with above average steals and blocks so give him a look if you are interested in those categories (8% owned).
Kevin Huerter: Despite not getting major playing time right after his trade to the Bulls, Kevin Huerter has managed to carve out a role in Chicago and is ranked inside the top50 in per game value during the last 2 weeks. He can give you a good boost in triples, steals and some assists and is getting all the minutes he can handle so you can use his 2 games this week starting from tomorrow and then stream his spot on Sunday (24% owned).
DeAndre Jordan: What year is it? We must go a lot of seasons back in time to find 2 back to back games with DeAndre Jordan averaging 16 rebounds but this is exactly what happened at the start of this week. The absence of Nikola Jokic is the obvious catalyst here and he remains doubtful for Denver’s next game, but if he is ruled out, old man DeAndre can apparently provide some fantasy goodies so stay on top of the injury news and add him accordingly (8% owned).
This is the last week for this year in terms of fantasy content in the site, thanks again for reading my fantasy rumblings all year long and stay tuned in the offseason for some more fantasy goodies. Kostas out for now.
