“Wahhhhhhh, I’m Jarrett Jack!”
He’s. Just. So. Sad! Cheer up, buttercup! Deron Williams is just plain terrible these days… Which means starting minutes!
Even though he didn’t set the world on fire last night (16/3/2/1/0), Jack seems to have a stronghold on the Nets starting PG spot. With the range for treys (one 3PTM the past three games) and a great FT%, Jack is a must-own in all leagues for me. However, there is a major concern. The Showcase Showdown! Brooklyn is trying to pawn Williams off like a bad case of gonorrhea, and sometimes you have to coax out the virus before it goes away! Hah – let’s hope that’s not true, totally making that up (cough, cough…). With another bajillion dollars left on D-Will’s contract, the injury-riddled walking kankle is a tough sell. Then again, maybe keeping him off the bench will protect him from another injury making him go from normally hard to sell to “leave him on the curb and hope someone takes him” hard to sell. Regardless, most teams even in 10ers should have room for Jack, as I think it’s likely he starts the rest of the season for the soon-to-be rebuilding Nets. And there’s no one else that’s even waiting in the wings… So pick up Jack where you can if he’s still out there, if only to cheer him up! Here’s what else went down last night in Fantasy Basketball action:
Rimgate – Washington at Houston was delayed 35 minutes due to a crooked rim, noticed a few seconds after tipoff. “Hey Dwight Howard, we need you for a rim job!” Even Superman couldn’t bend it back in place. I didn’t do much reading on it, but wouldn’t the team warming up on that side have noticed? Then there’s conspiracy theories that the odd rain delay last year in DC when Houston was in town was 35 minutes as well. Ummmm, what? So they bent the rim in Houston just to “show the Wizards up?” “You got us, nice prank guys!”
Bradley Beal – “Can’t feel my face! No, seriously guys, I hit my head on the rim…” 10-10 FT shooting 9-17 including 5-11 3PTM for a 33/5/3 line. While the steals boost has been nice, we haven’t talked about Beal much. He’s taken a small step back this year rather than forward – who knows, maybe the broken wrist threw him off course this season…
Kris Humphries – Had some nice games after getting demoted, but then went all -ut awful last night. 0-6 FG and 4 fouls in 12 minutes. Kanye is a Rockets fan! Case solved.
Josh Smith – Oh man, am I glad I traded him in the REL! 23 minutes of projectile vomit. 1-6 FG (0-1 3PTM – yes, another missed 3-pointer – and 1-4 FT) 3/4/0/1/0 with 4 TO. Might be the most brutal 23 minutes a starter has given us all year. Michael Carter-Williams is like, “Wahhhhh I’m MCW!” To drop Smoove, or not to drop Smoove… That is the question. 10ers – unless a desperate need for out-of-position steals and assists – I’m moving on. 12ers it depends on who is out there.
Corey Brewer – Might rather own Brewer, as sad as that sounds… 15/0/3/2/1 hitting 2 treys in 28 6th man minutes.
Jimmy Butler – MVP! MVP! No seriously though… Wow, OK, my bad everyone I was late to the party. Since when is it cool to be EARLY to the party?!?! 27/9/1/4/1 last night, and while I have been cautioning he was due for a little regression, it’s not like I didn’t love him on draft day. Hard to not consider him at the end of the first round if we were drafting for the rest of the year today.
Nikola Mirotic – There was a report Chicago was trying him at some SF, but he’s just not athletic enough on D to keep up with most NBA 3s. Only 11 minutes last night, and while awesome when he gets run, he’s only worth owning in 14ers or deeper right now.
Lavoy Allen – Dammit Youth Movement in REL! If you’re reading, can we be on a first name basis yet? I tried trading Austin Rivers for Ya Boy, Lavoy and got a straight up “Nuh Uh Girlfriend!” 6/8/5/0/4 and criminally underrated this year. Roy Hibbert had 4 fouls in 16 minutes, and after looking perhaps overly-jaded in preseason, Hibbert playing horrific yet again is making my 113 rank look fairly appropriate.
Jared Dudley – The world makes no sense! How is Milk Duds remotely relevant?!?! 17/9/2/1/0 last night, hit 5-10 FG, 5-5 FT, 2-4 from downtown, all with no TO. 6 straight usable games with a steal/trey in each one, and 2+ 3PTM in 5 of those 6. 14-team worthy? Probably… But as a very short-term guy, and I can’t see using him in 12ers but then again, I recommended Jerryd Bayless as a stream last night and Dudley was miles better in twice the minutes.
John Henson – Back-to-back 5-block games. 21 minutes of “Oh yeah, I should be playing him more” – Jason Kidd.
Al Jefferson – I almost made the lead about his groin, but it was too sad on too many levels… Came out in the 4th quarter due to the strained groin he suffered a few games back, and looking like some DNPs could follow to get it right.
Marvin Williams – One of the oddest lines of the season… 8/14/3/3/0, yes, 14 REBOUNDS! For Marvin Williams?!?! Dudley & Williams, confounding fantasy owners one league at a time… Hit his usual couple of treys, and since starting PF Cody Zeller could shift to C, Williams has some short-term appeal while Big Al has a big ouchie.
Kemba Walker – The weirdness just keeps coming! 4 blocks last night in a 28/1/4/2/4 game. Brandon Knight had 8 TO and 3 shots blocked, yet the Bucks still won in OT… “Wahhhhh, I’m a Hornets fan!”
Victor Oladipo – A nice bounceback game (22/2/4/3/0) but 5 TO and still not changing my mind that I’m selling for almost anything. As I mentioned yesterday, facilitating is through Elfrid Payton (8 assists) and scoring is through Tobias Harris (14 shots) and Nikola Vucevic (17), both taking more attempts than Oladipo’s 12 last night.
Luol Deng – With Chris Bosh back, went back to being Luol Deng…
Danny Granger – 6 treys for 21 Pts last night and now 18+ points the past two games. Uhhhhh, chicken???
Mason Plumlee – Hack-a-Plum! 10-16 FT, both career-highs. I guess 63% isn’t too bad! 22/4/1/3/1 and like Jarrett Jack, the incumbent starter behind him is atrocious. Brook Lopez for 11/6/0/0/0 is fine I guess, but Mason is freed! He’s a freemason!
Rudy Gobert – Monsieur Elbow! You can’t stop the Frenchy! Playing with his elbows more violently than the Texas A&M’s coaching staff! 11/13/2/1/0 in 25 fantastic minutes, hitting 5-7 FG and 1-1 FT. No blocks, but I had completely missed he was on a 9-game multi-block streak! JaVale McGee-esque! 4 of those 9 games were under 20-minutes, which I’m mostly bringing up to underscore I still don’t 100% buy his viability given the role. Which is unfortunate. In that 9-game stretch, Gobert racked up 24 blocks. Enes Kanter has 23… wait for it… blocks AND STEALS COMBINED on the YEAR. Wowzer.
Alec Burks – Out again with a cold shoulder. I’m pretty sure that’s something they teach you to do in D.A.R.E. too… The looming surgery in the offseason may loom into this year if it keeps giving him issues. Rodney Hood started in his spot, with one of his better lines on the year of 9/7/5/2/1 with a trey. Deep league owners should be sure and check under the Hood.
Blake Griffin – Rainbow alert! 24/6/7/2/3 but 6 TO. Coming into last night, he was the 59th ranked player on Yahoo. Remember a month ago when I said I was worried!?
Streamers/Cheap DraftKings Picks:
Rudy Gobert (32% owned) – I know I just said I don’t 100% trust him long-term in shallowers, but if you have an open spot on the heavy slate tonight, he’s worth a Twirl against the Twolves. Twill get a lot of minutes against a team with no backup C; likely twill be some Jeff Adrien run in there which is a major mismatch. Plus Gorgui Dieng rolled his ankle last Saturday, and might be a little sore even though it’s not on the Twinjury report.
Kyle O’Quinn (19% owned) – What does an Irishman need to do to get minutes?! Well, he needs a big front line to go against him, and DET fits that to a T with Greg Monroe at the 4. When teams are going small even in the slightest, the Magic are putting Evan Fournier at the 3 and Tobias at the 4, which won’t work against Andre Drummond and the Moose. KOQ’s gonna break back out tonight.
So I’m back tomorrow, but off for New Year’s Day and January 2nd. Then we’re finally through the Holidays and back to the 5-a-week schedule! Be sure and start stocking up on some champagne/crown & cokes!
