Welcome, Razzball family! I am in the kitchen cooking up a tasty feature for you this week that will have you feeling like you just won “a milli, a milli, a milli, a milli, a milli.”
Early season performances can be the catalyst to setting the tone for your season. Your ability to snag a player playing below ADP with a pathway to increased value is the sweet spot to make you say “uhh, na, nah, na, nah.”
I hope by now that you were able to take advantage of one of my previous suggestions and get yourself some stock in Jayson Tatum or Damian Lillard. While Lillard did and, still does carry an element of risk with his abdominal issue, the premise being you were likely able to get a first-round talent at a discounted rate helps to mitigate that risk.
This week we look into the production of a player who in my opinion, is only a few minor tweaks away from becoming the player managers drafted within the top 40 and possibly higher depending on the format. My guess is he will not qualify as an underperformer for too much longer but before we get ahead of ourselves let’s “back that azz up” and take a trip to the French Quarter.
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It has not been all beads and marching bands since Brandon Ingram returned from a five-game absence due to a hip injury. Over the past two games, Ingram has shot a combined five for 27 from the field, absolutely pummeling his managers in that category. Over the past two weeks, he has put up averages of:
34.7% field goal, 1.5 three’s, 17.8 points, 5.8 rebounds, and 4.3 assists
Ingram has ZERO steals in six straight games and only two blocks during that span, awful. While he has never been a defensive stalwart, it is conceivable to think those numbers rise closer to his average from last season where he was 0.7 steals and 0.6 blocks per contest. The free throw percentage is holding strong at 91% on 5.5 attempts per game and is certainly supporting his current value of 84 overall on the season.
When looking at last season’s final rank of 34 in yahoo there is reason for optimism that Brandon can again become that caliber of player. It seems his shooting woes are to blame as he is hitting 0.8 fewer threes and connecting on 41.6% from the field for the season, down from the 46.6% last season.
Is it possible the hip injury is lingering and causing the shot to be off? Possibly, but this is where you navigate risk/ reward. There will always be an element of risk involved but without it, these opportunities cease to exist.
This version of Brandon Ingram is not what his owners believed they were drafting and might be growing impatient on his return to form. Zion is not walking onto the court at the Smoothie King Center anytime soon so this is the time for Ingram to flex his muscle as the Alpha on a team devoid of any chances for a winning season. He is the type of player you buy low on today in order to sell high tomorrow before the inevitable shut down in the second half of the season when the Pelicans “rest” their star players with playoff hopes officially dashed.
That New Orleans Bounce will be back in Ingram’s step, just be sure he is on your squad when it happens.
Bling, bling.
As always, hit me up in the comments section below with your questions and/ or feedback.
Good Luck,
Peace.
