Fantasy Analysis: Allen Iverson Returns to the Sixers
Allen Iverson stomped his way out of Memphis, “retired” and now finds himself in an ideal situation back in Philly, where he’ll take over starting point guard duties. Let’s take a gander at the fantasy fallout:
- Iverson has somehow managed to land in the best possible situation for himself. He’s going to start (with a huge chip on his shoulder, no less) and will be playing in a city that he loves just as much, if not more, than it loves him. A.I. could easily put up 20+ points, 6 assists and 1.5 steals in 35+ minutes a game for the Sixers. You should’ve picked him up by now but if your league’s asleep and Iverson’s still available, scoop him up immediately.
- Lou Williams was on an absolute tear before he went down with his jaw injury, which will keep him out for another two months or so. As if that wasn’t enough to damage his fantasy value, Iverson’s presence only spells more doom. Expect Iverson to keep his starting job for the remainder of the season, which likely means Williams will come off the bench as the Sixers’ sixth man since a starting backcourt of A.I. and Williams (6’0” and 6’1”, respectively) would be terribly undersized. He’ll still have relevant fantasy value, but owners who are holding onto him have to be prepared for diminished production.
- Andre Iguodala appears to have a good deal of value to lose here and his owners are probably regretting not selling high on him last week, but there’s hope for him yet. The last full season he played alongside Iverson was in 2005-06, Iguodala’s second year in the league. He averaged 12/6/3 along with 1.7 steals and got 8.4 shots per game, while Iverson averaged 33 points and hoisted 25.3 shots per game. However, Iverson’s days of shooting so many shots per contest are well behind him now and Iguodala has matured into a player that demands a prominent role in any offense. A.I.9. will score a bit less and could hand out fewer assists (and probably turnovers) with Iverson in town, but the rest of his value should remain intact.
- Elton Brand and Samuel Dalembert won’t be too affected by the addition of Iverson. They could take some time to adjust to playing with him, but neither big man needs to score much to be valuable fantasy assets. There’s a chance that if Brand struggles with his offense that his other stats will suffer as well, since his strong rebounding and defensive games this season came when he scored 17+ points, but his owners shouldn’t panic. He only needs around 12 shots to put up a decent number of points and he should be able to get those even with Iverson around.
- Thaddeus Young probably stands to lose a fair amount of value with Iverson’s arrival. His value is based almost entirely on his ability to score, grab a few boards and hit some threes. Young will probably see fewer shots but will still be good for a three and some rebounds every game but won’t have as much value or consistency as he’s had in the past week and a half.
- Jrue Holiday and Willie Green have done their part in filling in for Williams but are now relegated to the far fringes of fantasy relevance.
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December 2nd, 2009 at 12:01 pm
POPPI GEE says:
Dang it, dang it, dang it I had dude and dropped him cause he just wans’t given me numbers in Philly.
Still Good Doctor if I am able to get him should I drop Blake Griffin and pick up The Answer?
December 2nd, 2009 at 12:06 pm
The Fantasy Doctor says:
@POPPI GEE: Iverson’s definitely going to give you more immediate and reliable results. It really depends on how patient you are and what stats your team would benefit most from, but I’d lean toward picking up A.I.
December 2nd, 2009 at 12:20 pm
mememememe says:
should i drop Aaron brooks or ersan ilyasova for AI? Im winning in rebounds and blocks by a landslide almost everytime. but its pretty close when it comes to steals and assists.
AI is kind of scary with %’s and TO’s..
December 2nd, 2009 at 12:24 pm
Joe says:
Doc someone dropped Spencer Hawes who I would like to claim off waivers.
My players to drop would be Anthony Randolph or Thaddeus Young.
I’m first in scoring and need FG% and FT% badly.
Also if I don’t get Hawes,
Rip Hamilton, Ben Wallace, Kenyon Martin, Shaq, Dalembert, Jason Williams and Courtney Lee are available.
Any of them worth dropping Thaddeus or Anthony for?
Thanks
December 2nd, 2009 at 12:24 pm
will says:
should I deal AI for Rondo?
December 2nd, 2009 at 12:24 pm
The Fantasy Doctor says:
@mememememe: Consider swapping out Ilyasova before Brooks for A.I.
December 2nd, 2009 at 12:29 pm
The Fantasy Doctor says:
@Joe: I support a swap for Hawes.
Of the others you’ve listed, Dalembert, Williams, Martin, Lee and Wallace could be better to own right now than Randolph, but no one can blame you for hanging onto him to see how 2010 works out for him.
December 2nd, 2009 at 12:56 pm
POPPI GEE says:
Preshate it Doc!
December 2nd, 2009 at 1:17 pm
Amar says:
picked up yesterday, now lets wait and see what he does
December 2nd, 2009 at 1:38 pm
Sal says:
Hi Doc,
This is my current roster below. Should I drop Randolph for Anthony Morrow to fill my SG spot since Williams went down, or depend on Ginobili? Also, should I hold onto both Gasol and Bynum or trade one of them? Thanks.
PG Baron Davis (LAC – PG)
SG –empty–
G Tony Parker (SA – PG)
SF Jeff Green (OKC – SF,PF)
PF Joakim Noah (Chi – PF,C)
F Jason Thompson (Sac – SF,PF)
F –empty–
C Andrew Bynum (LAL – C)
BN Anthony Randolph (GS – PF) INJ
BN Pau Gasol (LAL – PF,C)
BN Louis Williams (Phi – PG,SG) INJ
BN Manu Ginobili (SA – SG)
December 2nd, 2009 at 1:41 pm
Fraz says:
I scooped him up this morning while my league slept. Couldn’t believe he was still available.
@FantasyDoc: Question, you think Rudy Fernandez will get a bigger role with the mess that is Portland right now? Lotta sites are saying they are going to shake things up in Portland. Do you think that will have a positive effect for Rudy?
December 2nd, 2009 at 1:57 pm
The Fantasy Doctor says:
@Sal: Definitely make that swap for Morrow.
It’s totally fine to hang onto both Gasol and Bynum. They’ll both be solid on almost every night and you have insurance in case either has an off night.
December 2nd, 2009 at 2:01 pm
The Fantasy Doctor says:
@Fraz: It’s tough to see him getting significant minutes on a consistent basis in that backcourt, but he could pick things up eventually. Don’t get too excited about any major shift in fantasy value just yet.
December 2nd, 2009 at 2:30 pm
Danny D says:
I’m so stoked he’s back. I drafted him in the 5th round this year with confidence that, within 20 games, he’d be in a situation to give me value for the season. And that’s looking spot-on.
I wonder why you left Speights off the analysis. He was killing it before the injury and might be the type of power player that AI can work with.
December 2nd, 2009 at 2:51 pm
McLovin says:
Hey Doc,
What type of player should I be looking to trade Monta Ellis for…I am thinking of selling high on him and am wondering who I should target
December 2nd, 2009 at 3:13 pm
Brandis says:
I think Iverson should’ve never left the 76′ers to begin with. It seems like he was just trying to do something different when he left the team in the beginning but that wasn’t the best thing for him to do and he probably got confused in his situation. But yea.. I think he should’ve never even did that because he ended up right where he started. It seems like the Sixers is the team that was meant for him to be on.
December 2nd, 2009 at 3:29 pm
kevin k says:
GOOOOOOO AI PROVE THEM HATERS ESPECIALLY THESE FOOS AT DIME
December 2nd, 2009 at 3:31 pm
BRoy says:
Hey DoC,
I was wondering who I should pick up and drop. I’ve been struggling on blocks, rebounds and steal.
Free Agents:
R.Wallace,P.Millsap,M.Beasley,B.Diaw,S.O’neal,W.Chandler,
G.Hill,K.Martin and B.Wallace
PG Billups
SG Pierce
SF G.Wallace
PF Nowitzki
C M.Gasol
Util R.Lewis
BN E.Gordon
BN A.Miller
BN Bogut
BN Deng
BN CDR
BN Iverson(recent pickup)
December 2nd, 2009 at 3:52 pm
rembert says:
Hi Doc.
I took Anthony Randolph in the 9th round and have not been happy so far. Now that he’s injured, should I drop him? I’m still hoping at the bottom of my heart that Nelson and the other coaches stop being such stupid dbags and start playing him over Moore and Radmanovic, but I don’t know if I should keep waiting it out. Some of the free agents that I would consider dropping him for are: Birdman, Andre Miller, Brewer, Harden, Dampier, and Jarret Jack.
What do you think?
December 2nd, 2009 at 4:03 pm
The Fantasy Doctor says:
@McLovin: Aim high and target the likes of Nash, Pierce, maybe even Wade, though a two-for-two would work better with him.
J-Rich, Billups, D-Will, Kidd, Ariza and Eric Gordon would be more in realistic range.
December 2nd, 2009 at 4:06 pm
The Fantasy Doctor says:
@BRoy: CDR is probably your best drop, followed by Miller. Big Ben fist the bill perfectly for you, but he’ll kill your FT%. If that “K” stands for Kenyon, give him a look, too. Millsap and ‘Sheed could be decent options, though they’d require some serious patience.
December 2nd, 2009 at 4:08 pm
The Fantasy Doctor says:
@rembert: You’re definitely not alone. Brewer (Corey or Ronnie), Harden and Birdman look like the best swap options right now. I’d consider holding onto Randolph for now, since the options you have aren’t astoundingly good. If you need immediate help, however, consider those players.
December 2nd, 2009 at 4:38 pm
Jason says:
Hey Doc, thanks for your advice, I was able to get both AI and T-MAC! Here’s my lineup:
PG: Brandon Jennings, Jameer Nelson, Allen Iverson
SG: Brandon Roy, Tracy McGrady
SF: Carmelo Anthony, Luol Deng
PF: Ersan Ilyasova, Carl Landry
C: Andrew Bogut, Elton Brand, Luis Scola, Drew Gooden
What position do you think I should be looking to improve the most (H2H, I usually win in pts, and losing in rebounds, sometimes assists)? I’m thinking about dropping Gooden, so who should I pick up instead?
Here’s the decent agents available: CDR, Josh Howard, Andris Biedrins, Nate Robinson, Jason Williams, Dahntay Jones
December 2nd, 2009 at 5:38 pm
The Fantasy Doctor says:
@Jason: I’m digging your PF spot.
You might do well to shore up your SG spot in the case that T-Mac fails you.
Gooden is probably the most droppable player on your squad at this point, but he’s worth holding onto. If you’re going to drop him, consider J-Will, Jones and Nate. Biedrins and J-Ho are appealing, but only if you’re patient enough to wait for their full recovery.
December 2nd, 2009 at 7:51 pm
Scoob says:
Effin AI. Lou Williams was holding me down too….
December 2nd, 2009 at 7:53 pm
BRoy says:
Is trading away R.lewis, cDR and billups for Nash and al harrington a bad choice?
December 2nd, 2009 at 8:00 pm
The Fantasy Doctor says:
@BRoy: Probably not the best, but not the worst you could do.
December 3rd, 2009 at 4:07 am
Peli says:
Doc. I got Kevin Martin on ice.
Am I wise to trade him for AI? The deal is on the table, it has been proposed to me. Do I accept is the question
December 3rd, 2009 at 5:23 am
Sweet English says:
Doc i already did it because my league was SLEEPING and Iverson was still on the FA list so i had to pick him up. I could have dropped Wilson Chandler or Andrey Blatche for Iverson. I’m STACKED at C, so i dropped blatche. Good move? should i have dropped wilson in a like-for-like? I’m doin pretty well in Blocks, but now im worried i will slide down that leaderboard.
December 3rd, 2009 at 10:16 am
The Fantasy Doctor says:
@Peli: Hm, tempting. Martin will be a much better fantasy player once he returns so if your team can stay afloat until then, I’d lean toward declining the offer.
December 3rd, 2009 at 10:17 am
The Fantasy Doctor says:
@Sweet English: Good swap. Blatche has been very underwhelming lately. Keep an eye on your blocks, since there will probably be some good sources of blocks on your waiver wire if you end up needing help.
December 3rd, 2009 at 11:09 pm
G ola says:
PG Jose Calderon, Rajon Rondo, (PG/SG Allen Iverson)
SG Kobe Bryant, (SG/SF Luol Deng, Andre Iguodala)
SF Richard Jefferson (SF/PF Shawn Marion)
PF Kevin Garnett
PF/C Chris Bosh, Emeka Okafor
Available in the league are Ray Allen, Chaning Frye, Danilo galinari just to name a few should i leave my roster as is????
December 4th, 2009 at 12:24 am
The Fantasy Doctor says:
@G ola: You might want to consider swapping out RJ for Allen, Gallo or Frye, in that order.
December 6th, 2009 at 3:21 pm
Tomar says:
Would it be smart to drop Ginobili for A.I.? what do you think doc?