Dose: Elfrid Payton Time?

As usual we’re pulling double-duty here with the Dose and the Bruski Breakdown, and the latter should be out sometime around mid-day if not sooner. So we’ll hit the high points here and then go deep in the Breakdown after a somewhat slow 10-game Big Wednesday.

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THE BIG NUMBERS

BUSTED

INJURIES

Mike Conley rolled his right ankle and left the arena in a walking boot after getting tangled up with a cameraman. He played through it a little bit and came back out at halftime to see if the camera guy was hurt, and nobody seems to be overly worked up about this. He’ll be day-to-day going forward and this is indeed the same ankle that has dogged him for over a year, so don’t be surprised if he sees some time off with Beno Udrih (six points, three rebounds, two assists, one steal, 18 minutes) and Nick Calathes (five points, three assists, four steals, 12 minutes) as capable fill-ins in both fantasy and reality. Unless we hear some news that separates the two of them, I’ll take a shot in the dark and say I like Calathes over Udrih in a one-game shot.

Anthony Davis tweaked his toe and said he expects to be fine for Friday’s game against the Sixers, but the Pelicans would be nuts to let him risk further injury given the opponent. Owners should be on alert for a possible game off.

Joakim Noah suffered a right ankle injury and did not return, which means the remaining frontcourt guys all can make a case to be in lineups going forward. Nikola Mirotic showed why with 12 points on 2-of-8 shooting (including two threes), four rebounds, three steals and one block in just 17 minutes, as did Taj Gibson with 12 points, six rebounds and two blocks in his 32 minutes.

Mirotic is the type of property you want to move on when he has a short-term window because he won’t hurt you while you roll the dice on a window opening up, and to a lesser degree Gibson does the same thing but he has his own (slumping) standalone low-end value.

Dwyane Wade did not play last night due to his hamstring, as expected, and the other big guns did their things with Luol Deng going for 19 & 7 and Chris Bosh putting up 26 & 7 in their loss to the Warriors. Mario Chalmers was overmatched but still put up numbers with seven points, two rebounds, five assists and three steals despite hitting just 2-of-9 shots. Like I said yesterday you’d have to pay me to have me drop Chalmers, who isn’t very good, but stands to be the last guy standing if and when all the vets decide it’s not worth grinding it out for an eight-seed.

For more injury news check out our injury page.

WELCOME BACK

Welcome back Lance Stephenson. You played 18 minutes and scored eight points on 3-of-8 shooting with one rebound and two assists, but one can only hope that you have been whispering in P.J. Hairston’s ear about how to flop. Stephenson has even less leash than he did to start the year, and conversely the Hornets want him to rehabilitate his trade value, but his fantasy game requires heavy volume out of the popcorn categories (PTs/REBs/ASTs) to offset his other deficiencies. I’m not optimistic he can do that and needless to say for me this isn’t a snap into a Slim Jim moment.

The real welcome in fantasy leagues is for DeMar DeRozan, who picked up right where he left off with 20 points, four rebounds, three assists, one steal and one block in 29 minutes. I had higher hopes for him this year than the results he had been providing before he went down to a groin injury, and perhaps the time off gave him a chance to re-evaluate the areas he had been struggling with before he went down. Owners might want to see if his current owner is fed up with the injury and the lack of a breakout so far, because ignoring the time off better days are likely to be ahead.

PICKUPS

Hassan Whiteside isn’t the next coming of Shaq or anything, but he is more than capable of putting up the 10 and 12 he had last night with three blocks on any given night. Stop what you’re doing and grab him if your league ignored all past add recommendations.

Elfrid Payton hit 5-of-11 shots for 15 points, six rebounds, four assists and two steals in a nice win over the Rockets, and he has held his own as a low-end value in 12-team standard leagues over the last month. He has hit 62.5 percent of his free throws over that span, a major improvement over his sub-50 percent mark prior to that. He has also managed to stay off the line, attempting just 1.6 freebies per game.

His minutes aren’t likely to increase too much from the 30 mpg he has played over that 15-game sample, but it stands to reason that he will improve as the year goes on, at least until he faces the rookie wall. He has seemingly turned the corner on typical rookie struggles, and the potential mid-round upside for the rest of the year makes him a nice add.

Jrue Holiday (ankle) did not play last night and Eric Gordon took advantage, scoring 12 points with four rebounds, five assists, one steal and two threes in 34 minutes of action. Gordon has a puncher’s chance of cracking the top-100 while Holiday is out and injuries are never really clear-cut situations in New Orleans. Don’t drop any solid late-round values but otherwise he’s worth a short-term pickup.

Robert Covington missed last night’s game due to a shoulder injury and he’s day-to-day, but the bigger news is that Tony Wroten’s knee reportedly doesn’t look good. Wroten has had a hard time staying on the floor and the Sixers rotation is about to open up a bit, and right now that appears to mean the main cogs are going to get all the minutes – which is great for most fantasy owners.

Larry Drew signed a 10-day contract and one has to think that makes him the equivalent of a sailor in Vegas when he arrives on the scene, but owners will want to start looking up and down the roster for the next great Sixers pickup. Right now the best they have to offer are Hollis Thompson (nine points, one three, two steals, 24 minutes), Henry Sims (eight points, seven boards, one block) and Luc Richard Mbah a Moute (three points, two steals). Needless to say that’s not saying much right now.

Chris Kaman went for 15 and 11 in 27 minutes last night and all it took was some distance between the birth of his child and now to make him a late-round value. He has a nice window with Robin Lopez out for a while still and he should be owned in standard formats.

THE MIDDLE

Jeff Green made his Memphis debut and scored 10 points with three rebounds and two assists in 27 minutes off the bench. I don’t think the Grizzlies’ squad is bulletproof from having another guy come in and be productive, particularly because they’re not that deep. But Green is going to have his work cut out for him and if you’re looking at a high-level free agent you have to make the move. A guy with speculative mid-round upside needs to be looked at on a case-by-case basis.

Teammate Courtney Lee has been about as quiet as one can be and he finally got loose for 18 points on 7-of-10 shooting with three treys and three assists. He had been hanging around the bottom of the top-200 over the last month but still has a top 75-100 valuation when on the floor this year, highlighting how a little burst in productivity can ignite his fantasy game.

The outing moves his two-week split to a late-round position, as well, so all of the numbers say pick him up and the only thing saying no is that he’s been a ghost for almost a month. I almost always grab guys with solid numbers who are sitting at the bottom of a trough in production, and I’d need to be stacked not to add him in standard formats.

Bismack Biyombo got loose for 12 points, 15 boards and five blocks and Al Jefferson isn’t exactly close to a return, but excluding this performance he hasn’t been worth owning in 12-14 team formats since Big Al went down. A pickup here means you’re desperate for a big man.

Jae Crowder couldn’t build off his career night and managed just seven points, two rebounds and a turnover in 20 minutes against the Hawks. He’s a top 140-190 value in just 18.0 mpg over his last 15 games, which means he could be an interesting asset if given any real playing time. Until he can string together two bigger-minute performances in a row, he’s just a lottery ticket type with mid-round upside.

Tyler Zeller has been as bad as one can be in fantasy leagues over the past two weeks, and last night he managed just two points, five boards and three assists. I just can’t part with a guy playing so badly and still returning solid late-round value over the past 15 games, speaking to what a bounce-back will look like as he and Kelly Olynyk (12 points, eight boards) continue to see-saw with their production.

DROPS

With DeMar DeRozan back in the fold it is going to be a tough road to hoe for all of their other wing assets. James Johnson played 15 minutes with five points, two rebounds and two assists, and Terrence Ross was rotten with two points on 1-of-4 shooting and that’s it in 18 minutes. Greivis Vasquez put up a not-so-unusual dud with two points, three rebounds and two assists in 24 minutes, and Lou Williams was the lone victor with 19 points on 6-of-12 shooting with four triples, two assists and a steal in 24 minutes. Owners can feel free to cut all of them (not DeRozan obviously) for any decent free agent in 12-team formats, though Williams might be able to hang onto some low-end value.

Gerald Henderson scored 11 points on 4-of-12 shooting with four rebounds, two assists, one steal and one block in 30 minutes. He wasn’t a recommended add even when he was rolling, and with Lance Stephenson back owners can move along.

I feel like I’ve given Josh Smith enough time before summarily burying him for now, and last night he hit 2-of-11 shots for five points, 10 boards, five assists and one block in 24 minutes off the bench. It’s not his worst line and at the same time he still looks terrible on the floor, his fantasy deficiencies aren’t going away, and he’s not doing the one thing that could save his value. That is, of course, to stop shooting and focus solely on defense. Bombs away on those drops, folks.