Fantasy Related But Good Info.........
Sleeper City
I'm not really even sure where to start or finish with the last Waiver Wired column of the season, but there are enough injuries and shut-down scenarios that there are certainly some sleepers out there for consideration.
But before I get into specific players, I'd like to just throw an idea out there about when the fantasy basketball season should end. In my main league, I set the season to run through the end of Week 23, skipping the final full week of the season, as well as the partial Week 25. It worked out well this year (and I'm not just saying that because I won), as many of the shutdowns took place in Week 24, while most of the guys who were supposed to play in Week 23 actually showed up. If you're insistent on running it all the way until the end, I strongly suggest you lop off Week 25, which is more unpredictable than Week 17 in the NFL. Just a thought.
Let's just take a look at a few teams having "issues" that might offer some diamonds in the rough over the final couple games. The Lakers and Knicks play just once, while everyone else goes twice between Monday and Wednesday.
Bobcats
The Cats are officially eliminated from the playoffs so
D.J. Augustin, who started on Saturday, could start the final two games at shooting guard. If you need to find a replacement for
Deron Williams, Augustin could be the way to go. He had 15 points and eight assists in Saturday's start and there could be more where that came from. He should also be a solid source of 3-pointers with 15 of them in his last six games.
Warriors
Anthony Morrow,
C.J. Watson,
Kelenna Azubuike,
Anthony Randolph,
Andris Biedrins,
Ronny Turiaf and
Rob Kurz are the only healthy players available for the Warriors right now. Kurz is shaky, but the other guys are probably all worth owning right now. And having said that, Kurz still managed to score 21 on Saturday, while Watson had a career-high 38 (to go along with seven boards and nine assists) in a surprising win over Jazz. All of these players look like safe plays right now, although you have to weigh your options carefully if you're considering Kurz.
Pacers
Roy Hibbert has been very effective lately with nine points, eight boards and four blocks in his last game, and averaged 17 points and eight boards in his previous three.
Brandon Rush continues to start and play well, as does
Jarrett Jack, while a guy like
Josh McRoberts could get some nice run if you're in a super-deep league.
Heat
Michael Beasley should continue to start with
Jamario Moon's groin hurting, and should be a safe play in almost any league. If he's available in yours, grab him.
Bucks
Luke Ridnour started at point guard on Saturday and hit 8-of-8 shots and 2-of-2 3-pointers for 18 points and eight assists in a win over the Thunder. Go ahead and grab him if you need a point guard, and give
Joe Alexander a look in deep leagues. Alexander is not a sure bet, but I can't think of a single reason why Scott Skiles would not give the rookie a ton of minutes over the last two games.
Nets
Devin Harris' season could be over with a shoulder injury, although he says he wants to play on Monday. I don't know why the Nets would even bother sending him out there, but you never know. In any case,
Chris Douglas-Roberts and
Keyon Dooling are must-starts right now, while
Ryan Anderson is averaging 14.5 points and three 3-pointers in his last two games.
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Thunder
In deep leagues, guys like
Earl Watson and
Kyle Weaver are suddenly worth a look. Weaver started at shooting guard for the Thunder on Saturday and had 12 points and nine rebounds. He should stick with
Thabo Sefolosha's season over. Watson suddenly is back in the mix after being out of the rotation for a few weeks, while guard
Shaun Livingston and forward
D.J. White are also worth a look in deeper leagues.
Suns
The Suns' starters have sort of been shut down, although they have remained in the starting lineup.
Grant Hill looks semi-safe, but
Steve Nash, Shaquille O'Neal,
[URL="http://fantasyfootball.usatoday.com/content/playerpages/player_main.asp?sport=NBA&id=1551"]Jason Richardson[/URL] and
Matt Barnes are all shaky. Guys like
Leandro Barbosa,
Louis Amundson,
Jared Dudley and
Goran Dragic all have potential, while
Alando Tucker is even worth a look. But really, fantasy owners are rolling the dice by messing with most of these guys.
Jazz
Deron Williams left Saturday's with an oblique strain, which is a tough injury. He's listed as day-to-day, but I wouldn't be at all surprised if he is out for the final two games, and he could even remain iffy for the start of the playoffs.
Brevin Knight will probably run the offense over the final two games, but I can't say I really trust him. If your league is deep enough that the words 'Brevin' & 'Knight' don't scare you to death, you might want to think about picking him up.
Magic
Courtney Lee,
Mickael Pietrus,
Tony Battie and
Marcin Gortat are all worth a look this week.
Rashard Lewis (knee) will play in one more game (at best) and
Hedo Turkoglu suffered a nasty-looking ankle injury on Saturday night. I have these players ranked in the order I would recommend picking them up, although Gortat could be a sneaky play if Stan Van Gundy decides to give
Dwight Howard a day off. Gortat had 13 points, 16 rebounds and three blocks in one of his two starts in place of Howard this season.
Wizards
Dominic McGuire is suddenly feeling it again after he had eight points, 11 boards, five assists, two steals and three blocks in his last game. I don't know if he'll do it again this week, but he's probably worth a roll of the dice if you're in a pinch.
Pistons
Will Bynum has proven to be a reliable fantasy player lately, scoring 20 or more in six of his last 13 games. He hit two 3-pointers on April 10, but keep in mind that he's hit a total of just three of them on the season. If you need points and assists off your wire, he might be a solid play. In addition, with
Antonio McDyess expected to get a day off in one of the last two,
Jason Maxiell is also a possibility, although a somewhat risky one.
Clippers
Brian Skinner is averaging 11 points, 12 boards and 2.5 blocks over his last four games, but had just 4-6-2 in his last one. With
Chris Kaman and
Marcus Camby (still) presumably back for the Clippers, Skinner is not a sure bet. But he should get plenty of minutes and could have a couple more big lines to finish up the year – especially with
Al Thornton on the shelf.
That's A Wrap
And that's a wrap on the 2008-09 edition of Waiver Wired. I hope we were able to give you some sound advice and you were able to grab a few sleepers to help you win your league. I'll be back with some post-season fantasy awards and real playoff predictions, along with some NBA Mock Drafts over the next couple weeks. In addition, we should at least have a weekly fantasy column to keep you up to date with what's happening in the offseason, so keep checking in throughout the summer. I appreciate you all visiting Rotoworld so regularly, and it's you guys that keep me going despite the season being so long. We'll have Daily Dose running on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday, while I think Matt Stroup will bring things to a close with a look at next season on Thursday.
</TD></TR><TR vAlign=top><TD class=subHead vAlign=top colSpan=3>Melo due back Monday after hospital visit </TD></TR><TR vAlign=top><TD class=vaLabel colSpan=3>Carmelo Anthony - F - DEN - Apr. 12</TD></TR><TR><TD vAlign=top colSpan=3>Carmelo Anthony played against the Lakers on Thursday and was then hospitalized with a stomach virus, but should be back in action on Monday against the Kings.
