I’m sorry to lead today’s Add/Drop with a player that will neither be added nor dropped in most leagues. Sometimes when one is struck with a chilling thought, one must rattle the cage of protocol from time to time. We all may have grossly overestimated Chris Bosh‘s fantasy value as a member of the Miami Heat. And I’m sorry for referring to Chris Bosh as “my baby” in the title of this post. I meant to refer to him a “a baby.” Also, I’m sorry to have led this lead with an apology. Oh, and you’re sorry if you’ve never heard the White Stripes perform the song after which this post was named. Anyway, it hit me while watching Lamardashian destroy fools for a fifth straight game that for one reason or another (dude’s shooting .700 percent from the field) after five games as the third wheel on the Heat, Bosh has already sunk into the role of role player. He’s averaging 13 ppg (1.4 ppg more than James Jones) and there’s little indication that there’s something wrong. He doesn’t look particularly lost in the new offense, because … there isn’t much of one to speak of. Things might be more dire than expected for Bosh. I’m trying not to overreact to five games. We’re only through 6 percent of the season. I know, I know. But Bosh went from one of the three best bigs in the game to a sturdy player outside the top 50. This is why watching Lamar Odom last night and throughout the last 10 days has reminded me so much of Bosh. They’re both outstanding players who are comfortable in the shadows. When Odom starts, he’s a a career 15.5/9.5/4.5 guy who will get a block, steal and/or trey every game. He’s a beast that has worked best as a sixth man. Why won’t this same fate befall Bosh? If you can’t lead, you follow. Odom, like Bosh, is the third best player on one of the best teams in the league. He’s comfortable not being “the man” on the squad despite the occasional rankle and carries a skill set that doesn’t generally translate well to fantasy. Maybe it’s nothing. Maybe Bosh drops 40 tonight and I make this post disappear like it never existed. Maybe it happens, or maybe the 24/11 Canadian Bosh is the only thing disappearing around here. For the pessemists among you, I’d start shopping Bosh around while people still think he’ll average 20/10 or even 18/8 for the Heat. Here’s some other adds and drops to get you through the weekend:
ADD
Al Thornton – He’s scoring big minutes in D.C. right now and providing decent rebound, block and turnover numbers. He’s not the best SF in the league, he’s not even the best Al in the league, but he can help a lot of owners in medium-sized leagues that have room for more than three good Als.
C.J. Miles – After a rough two-game start, Utah’s backup SF is averaging 20 points and four treys in under 25 mpgs in his last two. Now, couple that with your feelings on Andrei Kirilenko remaining healthy all season and you’ve got yourself a nice little pick-up.
Grant Hill – I keep my mustard right on the top shelf on the door of the refrigerator I’ve kept it there for years. In my life, the mustard goes in the same spot – always. Every once in a while, despite my knowledge of where I keep the mustard, I can’t find it. My eyes glaze over it, like when correctly spelled words just look wrong. I know the mustard is there, but I need to pause to be able to see it. Well, it’s been 10 days now. You’ve paused long enough to realize that Grant Hill is where he always is: 12.5/6/1.5/1/1. Now grab him and spread him all over your fantasy team.
Eric Bledsoe – I never saw this kid play for Kentucky, or maybe I did but he only registered as “not John Wall.” Either way, I just don’t know what this kid can do. I do know what he’s done since Baron Davis went down with a knee cist (dyass kneecist!): .524/.500/1.5/13/4.5/5.5/2/2/3. What have you got to lose?
Louis Williams – This is a moderate recommendation as Lou-de-Loop is an up and down kind of player. But right now, he’s up. Ride ‘im.
James Jones – I try to avoid one trick ponies whenever possible, but Jones’ one trick is really, really quite impressive. More impressive than the tattooed girl I met during Mardi Gras with the yo-yos and roller skates. If you need substantial threes, James is your man. If you ever want to vomit automatically after seeing yo-yos, go to Mardi Gras.
Toney Douglas -Already went over him earlier today. Oh you skimmed it, did you? Well skim it slower this time because the guy still offers more than nothing. In fact, he offers more than James Jones.
Hakim Warrick -Warrick won’t do much else besides rebound and drop some points. Then again, Turkoglu won’t do much else beside flounder and disappoint.
Glen Davis – Four questions for you: 1) How healthy is Shaq right now? 2) How healthy is Jermaine O’Neal, like, ever? 3) When is Kendrick Perkins returning? 4) So who will cover for the messes identified in questions 1-3? If you own any of the three Celtics mentioned here, drop them and add Davis.
DROP
Hedo Turkoglu – What about a 17.8 PER in ’07, 14.8 PER in ’08, 13.3 PER last season and an 11.7 PER in this one do you not understand?
Darko Milicic – I went 0-for-6 just typing his name.
Baron Davis – Drop him like a bad habit. I should clarify that bad habits are often dropped only after complicated dedication and rational progression of due diligence – not carefree immediacy as is often represented by people telling someone to drop anything like a bad habit. So maybe there should be no dropping. Attempt a release, but aim to get something more than the dust left in an empty box of Sno-Caps for him.
Marcus Thornton – So far this season he’s been out of sync, out of the rotation, out of shape and if Marco Belinelli explodes, he could be out of fantasy caché.
