Ok, so I’ll admit that I’m really stretching this, just so I can write the name Metta World Peace. However! The artist formerly known as Ron Artest is averaging over a 3, steal and a block per game so far. That’s fantasy gold if you ask me! On top of that, he’s started when Kobe Bryant misses time, and Kobe is likely to miss a lot of time… From a basketball standpoint, his shot is looking good, and he actually dropped 4 trey-balls in his last start. Basically, I’m not telling you to run out and grab World Peace, but I’m not telling you not to either… Make sense? Good, didn’t think so!
For this weeks article, I’m not going to separate by category, since not a huge amount has changed from the first two weeks. If you want to see the first couple weeks of recommended pickups, check the links: Here and Here! Just follow those as the main recommendations based on category, and this will simply be a few guys that have stood out this week! (I’ll get back to the category format next week, there just isn’t enough new in every category to do that this week.)
That being said, lets get it started!
- Nick Young – SG/SF – 20% – Mentioned before, but the questionable health of Kobe makes him a much more viable pickup. Grab him if you want 3s, points, swag, laughs, and a whole lot of ugly shots.
- Dion Waiters – SG/SF – 14% – Kevin Durant has strained his hamstring and is supposed to be out at least 7-10 days. This leaves Waiters as a very viable option in the meantime. Hamstring injuries can become chronic, so he definitely is a guy to keep an eye on.
- Marcus Thornton – SG – 42% – The Rockets appear to be committed to the smaller lineup. This relegates Terrence Jones to bench duty, and gives Little Buckets a place among the starters. Even if he is moved to the bench, Thornton should maintain fantasy relevance as a key scorer in the lineup.
- Dwight Powell – PF – 20% – This kid brings solid defense and a great motor to the table. It’s exactly what Dallas needs to give a spark to the aging lineup. Powell has been extremely productive scoring and boarding, in limited time, and an injury to Zaza will make him a must own in any league.
- Nemanja Bjelica – PF – 41% – One of my preseason sleepers! Bjelica has gotten significant playing time a lot faster than I thought he would. Boards, 3s, and an occasional block. Unfortunately, due to the weekly nature of this article, I missed being one of the first to foretell the coming of the man who shall not be named… Mostly because I can’t pronounce it…
- Ish Smith – PG – 15% – More of a stream play, but an effective one while Jrue Holiday can’t play in back to backs. At the very least, he’s a great DFS play.
- Doug McDermott – SF – 11% – Thragnof! Grab him if you need 3s! Rumor has it, this kid can shoot a little… I’m not quite sure what role he’ll have when Dunleavy returns, but he’s going to be a hard guy to take out of the rotation, if he keeps this up.
- Cory Joseph – PG – 4% – The REL bias is real! This is for all you deep leaguers out there. DeMarre has been struggling with Plantar Fasciitis and CoJo has been the main beneficiary. If Carroll ends up out for a while, then CoJo starts to be worth a look in most leagues. I’d just keep an eye on him for now though. Plantar is known to take players out for a while.
| Must Own |
| T.J. McConnell – PG – 38% |
| Jeremy Lin – PG – 44% |
| Marcus Thornton – SG – 42% |
| Nemanja Bjelica – PF – 41% |
For those of you wondering, I’m still a firm believer in Aaron Gordon and a firm disbeliever in Gorgui Dieng. Gordon will be an up and down ride, but I believe it will pay off in the second half. He has just shown too many flashes of greatness to give up this quickly.
Question: Would anyone be interested if I set up a twitter account dedicated to pickups? That way, I could send recommendations out in real-time, instead of just once a week.
