Tayshaun Prince is back. Since January 10, he has played more than 30 minutes per game, averaging around 15 points – including a 29 points game – and a little bit of rebounds, assists, steals and threes. His shot percentages are not great, but his turnover is low. No one else in Detroit’s line up can challenge his starting spot for now. His consistency makes him useful for fantasy purpose, and he deserves a spot on most fantasy teams, much more than the current forty-nine percent.
Several other players also deserve to be considered this week:
O.J.Mayo got his groove back. The Jazz seem to know it too. Over the last four games, he has averaged over 25 minutes and around 15 points. The best news for fantasy is that Mayo’s three point attempt improved to around five per game, including a spectacular 6-for-10 effort against the Kings. Although he starts behind Tony Allen, he seems to perform better, and seems to be comfortable being the sixth man for now. Fantasy teams should consider him, at least as a temporary three-point specialist.
Iman Shumpert is second in NBA in steals average. But apparently, only 56 percent of owners feel they could use him. Maybe the rest are afraid of his .429 field-goal percentage and 2.7 turnovers per game over that last seven days. Still, Shumpert’s 2.7 steals per game can help any fantasy team. He also contributed 1.7 threes, 3.7 boards, and 4.7 assists on top. Most teams should consider Shumpert for his upsides, and mend his bad field-goal with other players on the team.
Also, there are several players that team should consider dropping:
Boris Diaw continues to play less. He averaged 19 minutes over the last four games. As a result, all of his contributions have plunged, with the most noticeable being the 2.7 assists per game. Diaw was an all-around player when he played starter minutes, but he has not done so for the past eight games and has not shown any sign of recovery. Rather than wait it out, teams should drop him for now.
Lamar Odom has deteriorated in Dallas. He averaged around 20 minutes a game, but his production has become almost non-existent with 10 points, 4 rebounds and nothing else per game. On top, he shoots extremely poorly with forty-five percent field-goal and just fifty percent free throw. Odom is a liability to the 76 percent of teams who expect his Lakers production to show up. He can be safely dropped as unless he starts to play more minutes, he cannot help any team.
Jared Dudley still plays for over half of all fantasy teams; even if he barely plays for the Suns. He averaged 22 minutes over the last four games and shot just .346 from the field. He barely contributes elsewhere, and even in the three point category, which fantasy owners expect Dudley to perform the best at, he only delivers three attempts per game. Dudley should be dropped now until he makes a drastic improvement.
For fantasy teams, some players should not be dropped right now, but should be watched for performance decline:
Amir Johnson got his minutes reduced by his coach. Fantasy owners should hold on the Johnson, as he has the talent to produce around ten rebounds per game and shoot well. This setback seems only temporary, as Ed Davis has not played well either. Teams should wait a few games and watch the situation develop and not drop him right away.
Byron Mullens’s streak of production at centre seems to have ended. He is still the starting centre for the Bobcats, but his minutes were reduced in the last three games to around 25 minutes per game. As a result, his rebound per game dropped to four. Owners should wait to see if his minutes stays the same or improves to decide if he should be cut or not.
Thank you for reading fantasy basketball report by Xiao. Hopefully this guide will help you to improve your fantasy team this week.
Sources:
Yahoo sports players database