Fantasy Doctor, NBA / Nov 25, 2010 / 12:00 pm

It’s A Fantasy Thanksgiving: Turkeys and Gratitude

By

LeBron James

LeBron James

The glorious day of feasting we call Thanksgiving is upon us, which means it’s time to pause and reflect on the players that fantasy owners should be thankful for so far this season. But before we get into all that feel-good stuff, let’s list the players that have gobbled their way to turkey (i.e., bust) status with nearly a fifth of the 2010-11 NBA regular season in the books.

The 2010-11 All-Turkey Fantasy Team (So Far):
PG – Chauncey Billups: a trade seems like his best chance at recovering value at this point
SG – O.J. Mayo: his season so far smells like something worse than a mere slump
SF – Trevor Ariza: not even CP3 can save Ariza from his shooting woes
PF – Anthony Randolph: he’s busting so hard, fantasy owners may never trust him again
C – Robin Lopez: even before the knee sprain, he was downright dreadful

Bench:
- J.J. Hickson: doesn’t do much besides score
- LeBron James: top-35 numbers aren’t enough from a guy taken in the top three
- Rashard Lewis: if this is blackjack, he’s hitting with 20 — his terrible descent continues
- Marcus Thornton: promise from last season has faded thanks to his defensive struggles
- Mo Williams: groin issues aside, he’s failed to take the reins of the LeBron-less Cavs
- Brook Lopez: showing signs lately, but nowhere near the top-15 guy owners expected
- Tyreke Evans: all shooting percentages are down, along with points/rebounds/assists
- Joe Johnson: roller coaster who had better find his way before the “bust” label sticks
- Troy Murphy: injuries, coach are partly to blame, but he’s still been a huge letdown
- J.R. Smith: losing minutes to Gary Forbes, not a reliable source of anything

Now that we’ve got that off our chests, let’s shift back into the mode of giving thanks and acknowledge some players who have given their fantasy owners much to be grateful for so far this season.

The 2010-11 All-Gratitude Fantasy Team (So Far):
PG – Raymond Felton: he’s taking full advantage of that Knicks offense
SG – Manu Ginobili: playing out of his mind, but is it sustainable?
SF – Michael Beasley: finally making himself very relevant for fantasy purposes
PF – Paul Millsap: cooled off a bit, but he still boasts top-10 averages so far
C – Roy Hibbert: breakthrough season is in full swing, playing like a top-40 stud

Bench:
- Darko Milicic: stop rubbing your eyes — Manna is truly showing signs of life
- Luis Scola: wasn’t able to maintain his torrid start, but still a stud and is even blocking shots
- Serge Ibaka: stepped up big-time in Jeff Green‘s absence, ideal big-man averages
- Daniel Gibson: not only hitting threes, putting up great all-around numbers
- Kris Humphries: nobody saw him coming, has been a rock-solid meat-and-potatoes big man
- Kevin Garnett: reports of his improved health were no joke — he’s putting up top-25 numbers
- Tony Parker: dishing and thieving at career-high levels
- John Wall: exceeding expectations with top-15 value, strong assists, steals and threes
- Dorell Wright: began the season white-hot, slowed down but still nice mix of threes/steals/blocks
- Tyson Chandler: pleasant surprise, is even shooting 80 percent from the free-throw line

What do you think? Express your thanks for the players who have helped your fantasy teams so far this season.

Throughout the season, be sure to leave your questions, comments, concerns, trade offers, roster problems and more in the comments below.

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  • GSP

    Hi Doc,

    Happy Thanksgiving! Always love your great opinions and insight. Need your help to assess a potential trade:

    Incoming: Joakim Noah, Jrue Holiday
    Outgoing: Manu Ginobili, Beno Udrih

    Jrue is an upgrade over Beno, which I think offsets the fact that Manu >> Noah. I know Joakims value is going to take a hit once Booze is back, and also that Manu is having a career year. Do you think this is a good deal for me, or should I be asking for more in return?

  • IGP

    I have Bron, Brook Lopez and Ariza on my team. Dropped Ariza though.

  • kwan

    Can you give me some insight on Bosh vs Love (I have both)?

    I think Bosh is a big sell-high immediately because of his success while DWade is struggling, but it’ll only be for a while and he’ll go back to 15/7/2/1/1 once the team returns to normal?

    Love for me is obviously big double doubles every night, threes are nice, NO blocks/steals, but his biggest value for me is his ft% at ridiculous levels at high volumes. With the random resurrection of Darko, and a rock-solid Beasly, what do you think the status of KLove is?

    Who is better to keep looking towards the rest of the season?

  • JT

    Doc,

    What to do with Eric Bledsoe?

  • http://www.onthenet.biz Khalvin

    Thankful for Chris Paul!!
    He is carrying my squad :)

  • BrickLayer

    Happy Thanksgiving Doc,

    quick one for you, i am trying to sell high on melo – is this a good idea? i am trying to get durant for him.

    Durant’s owner is after my melo and jeff green, who should i target besides durant on his team – options are:

    j crawford
    r jefferson
    duncan
    murphy
    roy
    aaron brooks
    okur

    i am trying to punt assists in a 14 team H2H league.
    Cheers

  • http://dimemag.com Austin Burton

    Doc, thanks for the advice on the Ibaka/Gibson-for-Mayo deal. I’m trying to climb out of the basement! The “draft and trade for players I like” strategy kinda backfired.

  • Ashmit

    Doc, really need your help (I’m in last place in one of my leagues!)

    PG: Deron Williams, Mo Williams, Andre Miller, Baron Davis
    SG: Joe Johnson, OJ Mayo, Arron Afflalo
    SF: Andrei Kirilenko
    PF: Amare Stoudemire, David West, Drew Gooden
    C: Andrew Bogut, Serge Ibaka, Kris Humphries

    Any advice to help change my fortunes would be appreciated.

  • Kevin H

    Hey Doc,

    I ended up not taking the previous Kidd deal. So he sent me another offer this time he’s sending his iggy, tyreke and Nene for my okafor, kidd, jackson. The deal is legit but I’m worried about 3’s. Whats your opinion Doc?

  • http://dimemag.com/author/the-fantasy-doctor/ The Fantasy Doctor

    @GSP: Happy Thanksgiving to you, too! Thanks for the kind words, and thanks for reading. I like the deal for you. Yes, Noah will take a hit, but he’ll still be solid. And swapping out Beno for Jrue is a big upgrade. Also, it’s good that you’re selling high on Manu, whose historically shaky health remains a concern down the stretch.

    @kwan: Love is definitely the guy to keep if you had to choose between the two. Bosh seems to have found his groove, though yes, Wade’s struggles have helped there. If you want to deal one away, Bosh is the guy.

    @JT: Hold onto him and see how Baron Davis’ return pans out. It’s too late to sell high, though if Davis goes out again there will be another opportunity.

    @BrickLayer: Yes, good move. I’d try to get Brooks in return.

    @Austin Burton: Yeah, that’s always a risky strategy. But when it works, it’s awesome. I hope the climb up goes well for you!

    @Ashmit: I’d try to deal away your risky guys — Davis, Bogut, Mo — when they put together some nice lines. Tough stuff with JJ and Mayo. You have plenty of depth so try to package two or even three of your guys to get players who are more reliable. If you’re in a H2H league, consider punting threes and bulking up your frontline.

    @Kevin H: See my comment in the 11.24 post.

  • cdiz

    Doc,

    Whats up with Kirilenko should I trade him?
    Also im trying to trade Bargs for a legit PG who can I target?

  • Mike “Yahoo! Exclusive” Mihalow

    My team has 3 of the starters on the “2010-11 All-Gratitude Fantasy Team”, along with one guy one the bench. Just how I auto-drafted them.

  • fits

    Doc,

    I need your thoughts on this trade:
    T.Outlaw, D.Collison for A.Iguodala, R.Sessions?
    I get Outlaw and Collison. Too low or fair enough? I could also get Collison and Jamison, but I don’t feel too good on Jamison’s condition.

  • fits

    I forgot. Here’s my lineup anyway.

    G Nash, Sessions, Head
    G Ginobili, K.Martin, CJ Miles
    F L.James, A.Iguodala, C.Brewer
    F J.Green, T.Thomas, H.Warrick
    C N.Hilario, S.Ibaka, A.Bynum

    Thought? Thanks doc!

  • http://dimemag.com/author/the-fantasy-doctor/ The Fantasy Doctor

    @cdiz: He’ll find his way again soon, so if you want to trade him away, wait till he puts together some solid lines again. For Il Mago, guys like Devin Harris, Gilbert Arenas, D.J. Augustin, Jrue Holiday or Darren Collison might be worth a look.

    @fits: It’d be fairer for Jamison and Collison, though your concerns about his health are justified. Outlaw and Collison might be a bit less than what you could be getting, but it’s fair enough.

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