Thu Oct 22 07:30pm EDT
We're approaching the final weekend before the NBA regular season tips off, meaning there will be a flurry of draft activity in the coming days. With that in mind, let's take a look at percent-owned numbers in Yahoo! leagues as of Thursday and identify immediate pick-ups to to consider, as well as last-round notables and Watch List recommendations.
The Best of What's Left - players currently rostered in 60% of leagues or less
• D.J.
Augustin(notes) (CHA - PG,SG) 56% owned
The news of Raja
Bell's injury should have sent you immediately to the wire to scan for
Augustin. If you haven't previously, then go take a look now... Bell's
misfortune means great things for Augustin's fantasy impact, whether he starts
or not. In the 24 games where he saw at least 30 minutes as a rookie, he
averaged 16.5 points on 43 percent shooting, 2.2 threes, 5 assists, 1 steal,
and 4.3 free throw attempts (while shooting 92%). I'd easily roster Augustin
over Jamal Crawford(notes), who is currently 84-percent owned.
• Channing Frye(notes) (PHO -
PF,C) 34% owned
So let me get this straight - a three-point shooting center that has been named
the starter in the Suns' run-and-gun system is owned in just over one-third of leagues? Move quickly in the event that he's currently available in your
league... Frye has made half of his threes in the preseason (1.9 makes per
game) and chipped in 12.7 points, 4.4 boards, and 1.2 steals-plus-blocks in 26
minutes per game. His situation alone means you should roster him now and see
what happens later.
• Anthony Morrow(notes) (GSW -
SG,SF) 35% owned
Don
Nelson is leaning towards giving a starting gig (SG) to Morrow, and
efficient volume offense would no doubt be the result of such a move. In his 17
starts as a rookie last season, he averaged 16.7 points on 48 percent shooting,
2.2 threes, 4.6 boards, 1.1 steals, and just 1.4 turnovers in 35 minutes. The
typical disclaimer regarding Nellie's whims applies here, but his stellar
preseason production (20.3 points, 3.3 treys, percentages of 56/54/96)
should help inspire some confidence. I'd roster him well ahead of someone like
Peja Stojakovic(notes) (76% owned).
• Yi Jianlian(notes) (NJN - PF) 49%
owned
I can't necessarily blame you for being scared of Yi's career shooting
percentage of 40 percent. What you need to be aware of, however, is that
efforts over the summer to improve his post game and keep him closer to the
basket appear to be manifesting themselves in his preseason performance. He's
attempted just two threes in six games, helping his shooting percentage stay
at a relatively-high 45 percent, and his averages in 25 minutes aren't too
shabby (11.2 points, 7 rebounds, 1.3 steals, 0.7 blocks). You want growth
potential at the end of your bench, and Yi offers exactly that, as the Nets
want nothing more than for him to succeed.
• Ryan
Gomes(notes) (MIN - SF,PF) 39% owned
Gomes figures to be the biggest beneficiary in the wake of the
Kevin Love injury. His steady-but-unspectacular line took on new offensive
life in last season's second half (16.3 points, 1.3 threes after the break),
and that trend will need to continue for this desperately thin roster. Although
there aren't a lot of defensive stats to be had here, the boards at least
should come up a bit as he plays more power forward.
• Roy Hibbert(notes) (IND - C) 55%
owned
Hibbert was reasonably effective as a starter in his rookie season (9 points,
4.1 boards, 1.2 blocks) when you consider that foul trouble limited him to just
17 minutes per in those 42 games. He has followed up a
big-time summer with a very solid preseason (13.2 points, 5.8 boards, 3.7
blocks in 25 minutes). Although the foul trouble isn't going to go away
completely, the 23-year-old has very solid fantasy potential in one of the
league's most friendly systems.
• Andres Nocioni(notes) (SAC -
SF,PF) 18% owned
Nocioni is going to play plenty while Francisco Garcia
is sidelined, whether he starts or not. In 23 games down the stretch for
the Kings last season, Noc averaged 13.7 points, 2 threes, 6 boards, and 1.3
steals-plus-blocks in 31 minutes. I'd roster Nocioni in favor of players like
Corey Maggette(notes) (76% owned) and Al Thornton(notes) (72%).
• Brendan Haywood(notes) (WAS -
C) 52% owned
It's easy to forget about Haywood since he only appeared in six games last
season, but it's not like he wasn't productive in those six games (9.7 points,
7.3 boards, 2.5 blocks). His numbers in 80 games from 2007-08 are indicative of
his skill-set (10.6 points on 53 percent shooting, 7.2 boards, 1.7 blocks in 28
minutes) and he can provide excellent back-of-the-rotation help if you need a
bump in big-man stats.
• Antonio McDyess(notes) (SAS -
PF,C) 52% owned
'Dyess won't top 30 minutes per game this season, but he's never needed
that much playing time to be successful in the first place. Over the past three
seasons, in 27 minutes per game, he's averaged 8.8 points, 8 boards, 1.5
steals-plus-blocks, and a microscopic 0.9 turnovers. There's not tremendous
upside here, but there's also little-to-no downside.
Other Notables - Watch List nominees for standard leagues and/or deeper-league options
• Brandon Jennings(notes) (MIL -
PG) 38% owned
While his 34-percent shooting and 2.8 turnovers in the preseason is a reminder
that Jennings still has a ways to go, it's abundantly clear that he's already
among the most dynamic players on the Bucks' roster. It's only a matter of time
before he's playing more than Luke Ridnour(notes), and that may even be from the
outset.
• Kelenna
Azubuike(notes) (GSW - SG,SF) 49% owned
While it appears that Azubuike will begin the season as a reserve, he still
has solid glue guy potential, particularly if the Stephen Jackson(notes) "situation"
gets even more out of hand. In 32 minutes per game overall last season,
Azubuike averaged 14.4 points on 46 percent shooting, 1.3 threes, 5 boards, 1.5
steals-plus-blocks, and 81-percent foul shooting.
• Anthony Parker(notes) (CLE -
SG,SF) 25% owned
Parker is set to reprise his role as a glue guy extraordinaire for as long as
Delonte West's(notes) status
remains in limbo. In 235 games over the past three seasons, Parker has
accumulated the following line in 33 minutes per game: 11.9 points on 46
percent shooting, 1.5 threes, 4 boards, 2.6 assists, just 1.2 turnovers, 1.1
steals, and 83-percent foul shooting.
• Danilo Gallinari(notes) (NY -
SF) 21% owned
All the off-season signs were positive regarding Gallinari, but then he
showed up to camp far from "game shape" and has shot 31 percent thus
far in the preseason. He'll
come off the bench to start the season and may not have much of an impact
early, as he continues to work on his conditioning, but he's absolutely someone
to track as the season progresses.
• Drew Gooden(notes) (DAL -
PF,C) 23% owned
Gooden will split the starts at center with Erick Dampier(notes), meaning he's
technically a match-up play, but he should at least be a good one. There are
plenty of boards available on this team of jump-shooters, and he's averaged
12.3 points, 8.5 boards, and 1.5 steals-plus-blocks in 396 career starts.
• Andersen Varejao (CLE -
PF,C) 34% owned
Just a friendly reminder that Varejao is still the starter and still looking at
roughly 30 minutes per game. In 29 minutes per game last season, he averaged
8.6 points on 54 percent shooting, 7.2 boards, 0.9 steals, 0.8 blocks and just
1 turnover per game.
• Corey Brewer(notes) (MIN -
SG,SF) 8% owned
Brewer has emerged as a near-lock to start with a strong preseason (14.3
points, 4.3 boards, 1.8 steals). An up-tempo system is clearly the best fit for
him, as he's still a very raw offensive player - it should be noted that he's
shooting just 37 percent from the floor in preseason games. He's in a fantastic
position in terms of opportunity, however, so that shouldn't be ignored.
• Hakim Warrick(notes) (MIL -
SF,PF) 33% owned
Warrick's fantasy contributions don't run deep, but his proven ability to at
least score the ball is somewhat unique on the Bucks' roster as of this point.
His per-30 minute averages over the past three seasons include 14.4 points on
51-percent shooting and 6 boards.
• Chris Douglas-Roberts(notes)
(NJN - PG,SG) 8% owned
Terrence Williams(notes) got the early buzz, but it's CDR that has likely played
his way into
the starting lineup during the preseason, averaging 18.5 points on 51-percent
shooting in six games. Don't bank on many supporting stats after some offense, however - his per-36 minute averages as a rookie last season
included 0.2 threes, 3.1 boards, 3.2 assists, and 0.7 steals.
• Andray Blatche(notes) (WAS -
PF,C) 18% owned
Blatche is at least worth watching while Antawn Jamison(notes) works his way back
from his shoulder injury. The
latest on Jamison is good, however, and there's only real upside here if
Jamison has some kind of major setback.
• DeJuan Blair(notes) (SAS -
SF,PF) 17% owned
I'd be doing you all a disservice if I didn't at least point out Blair's
preseason production, which includes 14.7 points, 8.2 boards, and 1.7 steals in
just 18 minutes per game. While he may have already pushed the issue in terms
of some consistent minutes, there won't be a lot available behind Tim Duncan(notes)
and Antonio McDyess night-in and night-out.
• Carl Landry(notes) (HOU -
SF,PF) 16% owned
While Chuck Hayes'(notes) defense may earn him the starting spot alongside Luis Scola(notes),
Landry's energy and production will ensure that he gets his fair share of the
minutes, as well. In the 40 career games that he's seen at least 23 minutes of
playing time, Landry has averaged 11.9 points on 60-percent shooting and 6.1
boards.
• Julian Wright(notes) (NOR -
SF,PF) 15% owned
The 22-year-old has struggled in the preseason, but the team would like
nothing more than to keep him in the starting lineup and limit Peja
Stojakovic's minutes. His per-30 minute averages through the first two seasons
of his career include 5.7 boards, 1.4 steals, and 0.7 blocks.
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Strong starts for fantasy pitchers
Posted Apr 10 2013
Posted Apr 10 2013
Posted Apr 10 2013
Edited By Doug Farrar
Edited By 'Duk
Edited By Kelly Dwyer
Edited By Greg Wyshynski
Edited By Matt Hinton
Edited By Jeff Eisenberg
Edited By Jay Busbee
Edited By Jay Busbee
Edited By Steve Cofield
Edited By Chris Chase
Edited By Chris Chase
Edited By Brooks Peck
Edited By Andy Behrens
Edited By Cameron Smith
Edited By Mark J. Miller