Daily Fantasy Diagnosis: 12.31
Beast of the Night: LeBron James celebrated his 25th birthday by going off for 48 points, 10 boards, 6 assists, 2 steals and 2 blocks. He added 4 threes and 3 turnovers while shooting 65 percent (15-23) from the floor and 88 percent (14-16) from the line. This was a nice present for his fantasy owners.
Noteworthy Lines:
Josh Smith – 4-11 FG (36%), 3-4 FT (75%), 11 Pts, 6 Reb, 5 Ast, 1 Blk, 2 TO; He’s fallen off a bit from his furious start to the season. Trade for him if you want, but Smith might not get much better than he’s been in December.
Roy Hibbert – 8-14 FG (57%), 9-10 FT (90%), 25 Pts, 13 Reb, 2 Ast, 1 Stl, 1 Blk, 4 TO; The points were a career-high for Hibbert, who has been solid in two consecutive games. He came off the bench for both of those but it’s unlikely that he’ll continue to play behind Solomon Jones for much longer.
David Lee – 12-20 FG (60%), 24 Pts, 15 Reb, 8 Ast, 2 Stl, 2 Blk, 2 TO; This was his best overall line of the season so far. Lee will remain a fantasy stud in 2010.
Yi Jianlian – 9-16 FG (56%), 4-6 FT (67%), 22 Pts, 6 Reb, 2 Stl, 2 Blk, 1 TO; Maybe getting a huge gash on his lip was just the kind of wake-up call he needed to get things going. Given his history of inconsistency, it might be smart to sell high on Yi, but he doesn’t have much competition for minutes in New Jersey and has a good shot at keeping this up.
Al Jefferson – 10-15 FG (67%), 1-3 FT (33%), 21 Pts, 9 Reb, 4 Ast, 1 Stl, 5 Blk, 2 TO; He’s been a bust so far this season but continues to progress bit by bit.
Kevin Love – 5-12 FG (42%), 5-9 FT (56%), 2 3ptm, 17 Pts, 11 Reb, 9 Ast, 3 Stl, 1 TO; [Insert play on his last name here.] The assists were a bonus last night but Love has proven himself to be a fantasy beast since returning earlier this month.
Channing Frye – 9-15 FG (60%), 2-2 FT (100%), 6 3ptm, 26 Pts, 10 Reb, 2 Ast, 2 Stl, 2 Blk, 2 TO; The points were a season-high and the threes tied a season-high for Frye. He’ll remain a bit inconsistent the rest of the way but is still a weekly starter in most leagues.
Allen Iverson – 6-14 FG (43%), 6-6 FT (100%), 2 3ptm, 20 Pts, 5 Reb, 3 Ast, 3 Stl, 2 TO; This was A.I.’s best line of the season and the fact that Lou Williams managed to put up a strong game (22 points, 2 threes, 4 rebounds, 4 assists, 1 steal) alongside Iverson is a promising sign.
Eric Gordon – 8-11 FG (73%), 5-7 FT (71%), 3 3ptm, 24 Pts, 1 Reb, 6 Ast, 5 Stl, 4 TO; He was a great buy-low candidate coming into this one but that opportunity could be gone now.
Waiver Wire Appeal:
Luther Head – 30 Pts, 4 3ptm, 7 Reb, 1 Ast, 2 Stl, 1 Blk, 4 TO; He started last night for the mess that is the Pacers and if he continues to do so, Head could be a nice pickup.
Keyon Dooling – 12 Pts, 1 3ptm, 1 Reb, 1 Ast, 2 Stl; This might not last once Rafer Alston returns but for now, Dooling is doling out some solid stats.
Udonis Haslem – 10 Pts, 9 Reb, 1 Ast, 1 Blk, 2 TO; That’s four straight solid games for Haslem.
Tony Allen – 12 Pts, 7 Reb, 6 Ast, 3 Stl, 4 TO; He’s filling in quite adequately for Paul Pierce.
Donte Greene – 21 Pts, 1 3ptm, 6 Reb, 5 Ast, 2 Blk, 5 TO; He’s capable of contributing in all categories when given proper minutes.
Jerryd Bayless – 14 Pts, 1 3ptm, 2 Reb, 8 Ast, 1 Stl, 2 TO; Inconsistent but relevant in deeper leagues.
Injuries:
Kevin Garnett (leg): could be out for a spell
Glen Davis (ankle): day-to-day
Josh Howard (hamstring): tweaked it Sunday, check his status
LaMarcus Aldridge (ankle): sprained it last night, monitor his status
Hedo Turkoglu (knee): bruised it last night, day-to-day
For Tonight:
Dirk Nowitzki should have no problem torching an undersized Rockets’ frontcourt, but the speedy Aaron Brooks should give Jason Kidd all he can handle.
There should be a nice backcourt battle between the Sixers and the Clippers in Los Angeles.
December 31st, 2009 at 1:44 pm
control says:
Glenn Davis has any value in leagues that don’t have the categories “tears shed”, “kids abused” and “hot dogs ate”?
Not even worth mentioning the guy fucked his ankle, probably rolled it using a kid as a speed bump.
December 31st, 2009 at 2:02 pm
Kevin says:
Hey Doc,
So I went with your advice, and I think I just got two solid deals
I traded my Troy Murphy, Baron Davis and Dejuan Blair FOR Brook Lopez, Brandon Jennings and Anthony Morrow
ALSO, traded my Jarret Jack and Delonte West for Jose Calderon,
What grade would you give on those 2 trades? What value do you think I could get for Morrow, like playerwise.
December 31st, 2009 at 3:20 pm
larry needs help says:
Would anyone be interested in taking over my squad? i’m unable to put in the time that i need to manage my team competitively. And if anyone is seriously interested in turning my team around hit me up on my e-mail:
larrylaker1000@yahoo.com
only if you seriously want to manage the team though. Hopefully somebody wants to challenge themself.
here’s how the league (head-to-head) is set up:
(PG, SG, G, SF, PF, F, C, C, UTIL, UTIL, with 5 bench players) rosters can be changed everyday.
here’s my squad:
Chris Paul, Stephen Jackson, Jason Richardson, Mike Dunleavy, Andrei Kirilenko, Hedo Turkoglu, Zydrunas Ilgauskas, Chris Kaman, Devin Harris, Baron Davis, Larry Hughes, Spencer Hawes, Josh Howard, Jose Calderon, Luc Richard Mbah a Moute.
I’m currently 11th out of 12 teams. top six get playoff berths. hit me up
December 31st, 2009 at 3:40 pm
The Fantasy Doctor says:
@Kevin: I’d give your first deal a “B” and your second an “A-.”
Right now, Morrow is only good for a player like Jared Dudley, JJ Barea, Omri Casspi or CDR. If you can buy low, Ben Gordon, Rodney Stuckey and Jason Terry are possibilities.
December 31st, 2009 at 3:43 pm
dagwaller says:
@ Fantasy Doc and anyone else:
I’ve been proposed a trade.
I get: Marc Gasol and Steve Blake
He gets: Russell Westbrook and Andray Blatche
Now, this might seem like small potatoes, but up til a few weeks ago, my Center corps was fine, with Dwight Howard, Joel Przybilla, and Erick Dampier holding things down. I even felt comfortable enough with JPVG (Joel Przybilla the Vanilla Gorilla) as my second C that I traded Damp for Jason Kidd, with other pieces.
Needless to say, my Center position is F’ed up, if I’m using Andray Blatche as my second Center.
But if I have Russell Westbrook and Jason Kidd as my two best PGs, at 5.6 and 4.9 boards a game, do I even need to trade for a C? I checked, and Gasol is declining after a great November, but Steve Blake is ranked higher in our fantasy system right now than even Westbrook. Then again, should I worry about a Blazers trade involving J Bay, Miller, Blake…?!
December 31st, 2009 at 3:43 pm
dagwaller says:
@ Fantasy Doc and anyone else:
I’ve been proposed a trade.
I get: Marc Gasol and Steve Blake
He gets: Russell Westbrook and Andray Blatche
Now, this might seem like small potatoes, but up til a few weeks ago, my Center corps was fine, with Dwight Howard, Joel Przybilla, and Erick Dampier holding things down. I even felt comfortable enough with JPVG (Joel Przybilla the Vanilla Gorilla) as my second C that I traded Damp for Jason Kidd, with other pieces.
Needless to say, my Center position is F’ed up, if I’m using Andray Blatche as my second Center.
But if I have Russell Westbrook and Jason Kidd as my two best PGs, at 5.6 and 4.9 boards a game, do I even need to trade for a C? I checked, and Gasol is declining after a great November, but Steve Blake is ranked higher in our fantasy system right now than even Westbrook. Then again, should I worry about a Blazers trade involving J Bay, Miller, Blake…?!
December 31st, 2009 at 3:50 pm
The Fantasy Doctor says:
@dagwaller: Pretty solid trade for you. Gasol is a stronger fantasy player overall than Westbrook, if your league takes into account FG% and TOs. Blatche could see more run in the near future if coach Saunders makes good on his threat to shake things up a bit in D.C., but he and Blake are virtually even.
If you have another decent PG to tag along with Kidd, pull the trigger on this deal. If not, you may have a tougher decision on your hands but I’d lean toward going for this one.
December 31st, 2009 at 4:02 pm
dagwaller says:
Thanks, I think that I will. FG% isn’t taken into account, but TOs are…
…I do have Tony Parker on the team as well, so I technically SHOULD have a quality backup PG, but…well, yea.
December 31st, 2009 at 5:20 pm
nick says:
thoughts on this trade i was offered.
recieve: melo and al thorton.
give up: al jefferson and gilbert arenas.
personally i think its too much to give up based on the way arenas has been playing of late and the potential of big al. your thoughts?
December 31st, 2009 at 5:41 pm
dagwaller says:
From what I’ve observed, Melo is having a big year, while Gil might be taking a cut in minutes soon (Flip’s comments and Mike Miller’s return) and Big Al has been Medium Al all this year. Then again, Blake Griffin is coming back, which’d probably put a hurt on Thornton’s value…
December 31st, 2009 at 6:21 pm
The Fantasy Doctor says:
@nick: You’re right – that’s too much to give up.
December 31st, 2009 at 6:24 pm
Nick says:
Doc,
One more trade offer:
Flynn + Udrih for Baron.
I would get the double package. I like Baron a lot (i’m steady in assists), I could use the more points, but it worries me that I won’t be getting that many more points while taking up 2 roster spots with Flynn + Udrih. Davis is solid (especially of late) in assists, and the points come inconsistently. One more thing — keep in mind I’m heavily lacking in steals.
Take it or leave it?
And a very happy new year, my new fantasy adviser.
p.s. What if I could work Frye + Udrih for Davis? I could use 3’s too.
other avaliable players on his roster: J Will, C. Lee, A. Miller, M. Ginobli , R. Hamilton, C. Brewer…
December 31st, 2009 at 7:36 pm
Kevin says:
Keep Davis, everything bad about him (FG%) is up in December and shouldnt dip too much, it looks like he’s found his niche with the Clippers.
Besides Udrih will be completely useless soon as Kmart is back in a couple weeks
And also, Davis is a good source of steals
December 31st, 2009 at 9:06 pm
The Fantasy Doctor says:
@Nick: I agree with @Kevin, totally. Unless K-Mart gets dealt to another team, Udrih is good to sell high, not take on right now. Frye + Udrih is more appealing, but still not totally worth it.
If you could nab Frye and Ginobili, that might be something worth considering.
December 31st, 2009 at 11:34 pm
jwest says:
Hey Doc what do you think of this trade:
I get:Steve Nash, Marc Gasol, and Louis Williams
For my: Baron Davis and Kevin Garnett
or I get:Russell Westbrook and David Lee
For my Baron Davis and KG
or lastly I get: Chauncey Billups, Bogut, and Granger(who’s been injured)
For my: KG and B-Diddy.
Thanks Doc…
December 31st, 2009 at 11:42 pm
The Fantasy Doctor says:
@jwest: I love the first one, am neutral on the second and am not so enthralled with the third.
December 31st, 2009 at 11:45 pm
jwest says:
thanks doc! happy new year! im thinking if i should let go of KG (bec. of health issues) and Baron(due to FG%, TO)… Should I really do it? or am I just jumping the gun?
January 1st, 2010 at 12:13 am
The Fantasy Doctor says:
@jwest: Reasonable concerns for both. Definitely try to shop KG, though you’re going to get little in return at this point. BD will be solid the rest of the way, but yes, he has glaring weaknesses.
Happy New Year to you too!
January 1st, 2010 at 7:40 am
Duck says:
Doc and anyone else reading, I need your help.
I got an offer of Zach Randolph, Rudy Gay, and Hedo Turkoglu/J.R. Smith (I get my choice)
for my
Tim Duncan, Vince Carter, and Ray Allen.
Any thoughts? Thanks.
January 1st, 2010 at 9:47 am
The Fantasy Doctor says:
@Duck: Decent offer, especially since all three of your players will likely get good rest during the time of fantasy playoffs. But it’s really tough to essentially trade TD for Z-Bo. Duncan’s been a beast so far and you’ll miss his blocks.
I’d probably prefer Hedo, but his recent knee ailments are worrisome. While Smith is probably going to pick things up, he hasn’t really shown much promise lately.
Though it’s appealing, I’d lean toward turning it down.