Razzball Nation, once again it’s on! We are well into our fantasy season and if you are in a rotisserie format, you may find yourself on the outside looking in on a run to championship glory. Perhaps you are among the league leaders and looking for opportunities to improve your roster without going through a complete overhaul. No matter where you stand, in this column you will find opportunity and, if you’ve been following my suggestions up to this point, in all likelihood you have experienced an element of success.
As always, the players highlighted here are not going to save your team from purgatory if you did not draft particularly well or have been bit hard by the injury and/or Covid-related absences. Instead, I promote under-the-radar moves for the shrewd GM who can take advantage of frustrated owners who may be prepared to move on from a player with potential at a discount.
These types of moves allow the opportunity to transform your roster. Doing so through the addition of a player playing below their ADP with a path to reach or surpass it. One of the best feelings is when an underperformer finds their footing while securely entrenched on your roster after you traded for them.
Today we are in the North, the place I affectionately call home. Taking the familiar drive down the 401 eastbound to the 427 south to the Gardiner Expressway, exit York street and hang a right on Raptor Way. Park in the underground garage and make my way into the sold-out Scotiabank Arena. Oh, how I miss those days. Instead, my alternative is to watch them play home games in Tampa Bay from the comfort of my sofa.
Let us take our seats and get an up-close look at this week’s player from the 2019 World Champions.
OG Anunoby
The wing position has long been one whereby, the distance between the elite players and the rest of the field are separated by an ocean-wide margin. The drop off after the first two rounds for high-end small forwards is a steep one but here we are with an opportunity to snag a player with top 50 potential and a nice glue-guy for your roster.
This true OG is not going to blow you away with his scoring as he posts a moderate 13.9 points per game on the season. No my friends, it is not the buckets that should have you salivating, it is the stocks (steals and blocks) that are fantasy gold and OG delivers that right to your front step. On the season, OG is ranked at 52 on Yahoo, shooting 47.5% from the field, 75.5% from the line, and contributing 2.2 threes, six rebounds, and 1.5 assists. Solid but nothing to write home about with the aforementioned 13.9 points.
It is the 1.8 steals that you are after and the 0.7 blocks. These defensive stats can have a dramatic effect on your roster. Over the past week, the blocks have increased to 1.3 per contest, which I believe are close to sustainable and valuable as they are a scarce category. During that same time frame, OG is ranked at 183 on Yahoo behind averages of 10 points, 5.7 rebounds, 1 assist, and 0.3 steals.
You do not need a crystal ball to envision the path to value and the potential that exists for the savvy owner to make their move for OG. It is difficult to find this unique skill set of threes, steals, and blocks floating on the wire and rarely do you find this type of player in a position to be acquired at a discount. OG is working his way back from a strained calf injury and I attribute that to his slow return to form.
Now is the time to float your offers out and test his owner’s patience.
You down with Anunoby (Yeah you know me).
Hit me in the comments section and good luck.
Peace.
