Welcome Razzball Nation to this week’s column! Let me say right off the top, this one frightens me just a little. Every week I do my best to curate a player that I believe still has value that has not been utilized and therefore presents an opportunity for a savvy GM to swoop in, buy low and reap the benefits of their investment.
At this point of the season, while it becomes more challenging to uncover this hidden value in a player, it is nearly impossible to find in potential top 10 players. Not because a player of this caliber does not have cold streaks but more because said player’s current GM likely has the patience to ride it out based on the high profile, ADP and/or draft dollars spent on this player.
Great players figure it out. Right?
They usually do, unless they do not and that is where we find ourselves right now at this very moment with one of the league’s premier fantasy contributors.
Welcome to the ultimate blue or red wire moment as this player has the potential to be a dramatic game changer for your team, one way or the other.
Giannis Antetokounmpo
The Greek Freak, as he is affectionately known, has been struggling hard over the past two weeks as the 93rd ranked player on Yahoo and the 195th ranked player over the past week. Giannis was easily taken in the top 10 of nearly every draft and done so with complete confidence in what you were getting. High field goal percentage on high volume (55% on 20 attempts) to anchor your team in that category. This to go along with 30 points per game, 11 rebounds, and 5.5 assists with steals and blocks contributions. You drafted Giannis with the knowledge that you were punting free throws and you built your team accordingly.
So, what went wrong?
One of his strongest categories has become an anchor to his value as his field goal percentage plunged to 45% over the past two weeks and his free throw shooting is down to 65% on the season. In addition, the blocks and steals numbers have fallen away and depressed his value even further.
The value of Giannis is also very format dependent, as he is far more valuable in a points league than in a category league. He finished last season as the 49th player in Yahoo 9-cat roto leagues, which may surprise some people who believe he is a top 10 player no matter the format. Therefore, making a play for Giannis will highly depend on the format of your particular league and the make-up of your team.
There is another risk factor here and it is the health of his knee. This has been an ongoing issue and will continue to be an issue for the remainder of the season and possibly his career. The question becomes: Are you willing to absorb that risk to obtain a player with incredible upside and the ability to catapult your team to championship form as easily as he can sink you if his current problems do not correct themselves?
If you are in the middle of your league standings or lower, he might be worth the swing, as you likely are not in a position to compete without taking a risk on a player with this much potential. While it will still cost you a player who has value on your team now, we have likely never seen Giannis’ value any lower than it currently is.
Giannis can still finish the season as a top 40-50 player in category leagues and much higher in points leagues so sending out a top 70-80 player for him is the epitome of high risk/ high reward.
As always, hit me up in the comments section and let me know your opinion on if Giannis is worth the risk.
As always, good luck out there,
Peace.
