Have you ever had a player in a fantasy league who you just can’t quit for some reason, who you fully acknowledge is really flawed and imperfect and maybe isn’t even any good, and yet for some reason they always find their way onto your fantasy team year after year? For me that’s Scoot Henderson.
The 22-year-old Blazers guard is in the midst of yet another meh season after coming back from an injury. His shooting isn’t good, he turns the ball over too much, he’s allergic to steals, and his minutes are capped because he’s coming off the bench. When I look at Scoot, I see someone who’s probably never going to be more than a Collin Sexton-type player in the NBA, a guy who can put up nice counting stats for you if you put them in the right situation, but who otherwise is never going to be much of an actual, league-changing presence in the NBA.
And yet… there he is, on my fantasy team yet again. Why? Because I’m a sucker for potential, and because I know that even if a lot of his stats are empty calories due to his aforementioned turnover and shooting woes, he’s still capable of giving you 15-5-5 on any night, which not only isn’t bad at all for someone who you can easily find on the waiver wire, it’s pretty darn good.
Is Scoot Henderson more someone who you’d rather be on someone else’s fantasy team because of their deficiencies than your own? Yes. Can I recommend people go out and add him? Not really. But even with all his drawbacks, Scoot can be useful for the right fantasy manager in the right situation, and so long as that’s the case, he’s someone I’m going to keep gravitating towards, even as I heartily concede that he’s not all that great and that he might be hurting my fantasy team more than he’s actually helping it.
Other notes from this weekend:
Neemias Queta was sensational on Sunday, dominating the 76ers with 27 points, 17 rebounds, 2 assists and 3 blocks in just 27 minutes. The presence of Nikola Vucevic (who had 11 points and 12 rebounds respectively) has done little to deter him, and while this level of production is an obvious outlier, Queta has more than justified being rostered in 12-team leagues from here on out.
Danny Wolf had the best game of his career on Sunday, collecting 23 points, 9 rebounds, 5 assists and 2 steals in 27 minutes. There’s silly season potential here, but the presence of Nic Claxton, Day’Ron Sharpe and Noah Clowney all ahead of him makes him a bad stash unless the deck clears more for him.
Myles Turner had 8 points, 7 rebounds and a block against the Cavs Sunday. He’s in the midst of a pretty disappointing season, but he’s not a bad player to buy low on if you need blocks.
Olivier-Maxence Prosper had a decent showing against the Pacers, going for 17 points on 8-9 shooting with 3 assists and 2 rebounds. With Zach Edey done for the year, OMP should finish the year in the Grizzlies’ starting lineup, but his lack of secondary stats really only make him suited for deep league fantasy rosters right now.
Jonathan Kuminga had another great game with the Hawks, going for 20 points, 7 rebounds and three assists in 25 minutes off the bench. He’s averaging 21.3 points, 7.7 rebounds, 3.3 assists and 1.7 assists since joining Atlanta, and while those numbers probably aren’t sustainable so long as he’s not starting, it looks like he could be a genuine difference-maker in fantasy leagues from here on out. He’s a run-don’t-walk add on the off chance he’s still available and you’re in a 12-team league.
Tristan da Silva went for 19 points, 6 rebounds, 2 assists and 2 steals in 37 minutes against the Detroit. He’s not a bad short term streamer so long as Franz Wagner is out, though there are bound to be options with higher upside than him.
Andre Drummond accumulated 10 points, 12 rebounds, 4 assists and 4 steals in a spot start against the Celtics. Joel Embiid is poised to miss at least another game too, making Drummond an excellent add if you’re looking for a big man to stream on Tuesday.
Jeremiah Fears put up his second great game in a row on Sunday, producing 28 points, 4 assists and 3 rebounds in 26 minutes off the bench. Fears has had an extremely inconsistent season and the return of Dejounte Murray doesn’t help his stock, but the potential is absolutely there for him to be a steady, must-roster player at some point. (Unlike Jordan Poole, who didn’t even get off the bench on Sunday.)
Julian Champagnie put up a dud in the Spurs blowout to the Knicks, producing only 3 points and 4 rebounds in 24 minutes after scoring 26 points in his previous game. Champagnie is not a bad add at all if you’re strictly looking for threes, particularly because he almost never turns the ball over which means he’s never going to hurt you. But the lack of consistency scoring-wise will frustrate most managers.
In 42 minutes, Nique Clifford put up 26 points, 7 rebounds and 4 assists against the Lakers. With Zach LaVine out for the year and Keegan Murray unfortunately suffering yet another injury, Clifford – who at the moment is only sparsely-owned in fantasy leagues – is capable of being a major difference-maker from here on out, especially on the defensive end (he had 6 steals and 4 steals in consecutive games recently). He may not give you scoring like this too often, but he’s a strong player to invest in right now.
Moussa Diabate continued his strong play of late, putting up 13 points, 11 rebounds and 5 assists in 33 minutes for the surging Hornets. He can be expected to put up double-double-ish numbers the rest of the way.
Kyshawn George put up 14 points in 15 minutes for the Wizards on Saturday. After a fantastic start to the season, George has fallen off in a pretty substantive way in every area, but most concerningly in playing time. He hasn’t played more than 26 minutes in a game since January, and that makes him someone to strongly consider dropping or at least trying to sell low on.
