Fantasy Basketball: The Week’s Best Pickups (12.03)

FRESH PICKINGS:
Antawn Jamison (38 percent owned in Yahoo!, nine percent in ESPN)
I’m going to ride the Mike D’Antoni wave until it can’t carry me any further. This week, Antawn Jamison is the Laker who is garnering all the attention around fantasy circles. He’s been tearing it up over his last four games, putting up 17.8 points on 58 percent shooting from the field, along with 2.0 treys and 9.5 rebounds. While this pace is almost impossible to keep up at ‘Tawn’s age, he’s your guy if you’re looking for three-pointers out of a big man. D’Antoni also gave him a ringing endorsement, stating, “I’ll ride him. I’ll probably have to kill him. But he can do it.” With tons of minutes and a thin Laker bench, Jamison will thrive in his role.

Kawhi Leonard (49 percent in Y!, 49 percent in ESPN)
My favorite part of Kawhi Leonard’s fantasy prospects is that Gregg Popovich loves him even more than I do. In fantasy, time is money, and Leonard is averaging 28 minutes so far this season after receiving tons of praise from Pop during training camp. Although he has yet to return from injury, he’s due back any day now, so look for him to post consistent production in rebounds, steals and blocks while scoring just enough to outdo whoever is on your waiver wire.

Chauncey Billups (46 percent in Y!, 60 percent in ESPN)
Mr. Big Shot made a surprise return on Wednesday night and although he’s about half the player he used to be, Billups is still plenty useful in fantasy land. His time may be limited for a while, but once he gets in good enough basketball condition, you can rely on him for above average threes and free throw percentage. Consider him a long-term option worth investing in.

Kyle Singler (21 percent in Y!, percent in 14 ESPN)
Kyle Singler, like most former Dukies, is one of the more fundamentally sound players in the league. I recognize that fundamentals get you nowhere in fantasy, but Singler has been putting up some real versatile stat lines since being named starter on November 14. During that span, he’s averaging 11.7 points on 52 percent shooting from the field with 4.0 rebounds, 1.1 treys and just 0.9 turnovers. His shooting guard eligibility allows you to really capitalize on his rebounds and good percentages. He should be owned in all leagues of at least twelve teams.

Richard Hamilton (22 percent in Y!, 35 percent in ESPN)
Somebody had to step up offensively for the Chicago Bulls, and answering the call, of late, has been Rip Hamilton. Over his last four games, the savvy vet is averaging 17.8 points on 46 percent shooting and 2.8 assists. More importantly, in two of those games, he has played over 35 minutes and with a lack of better offensive options, Tom Thibodeau will continue to look Rip’s way.

Andre Drummond (12 percent in Y!, three percent in ESPN)
This one’s probably for deeper leagues only for now, but I love the future fantasy potential of Andre Drummond. Per 36 minutes, he averages 12.8 points on 56 percent shooting with 12.7 rebounds, 1.7 steals and 2.5 blocks. The last impact big man that Detroit drafted, Greg Monroe, didn’t see significant run until after the New Year. Despite their recent stretch of solid basketball, this team won’t be making any noise in the playoff race, so look for Lawrence Frank to play the rook more as the Pistons fall further and further out of the hunt. Until then, Drummond is certainly an intriguing stash.

LAST CALL:
These guys were mentioned in last week’s edition. Go grab them if they’re still around.

Ricky Rubio
Rubio’s target date for return is December 12 so pick him up upon reading this if he’s still available. Even if you don’t need a point guard, his value still makes for a great trade point.

Jeremy Pargo
As long as Kyrie Irving is hurt, Pargo will be fantasy relevant.

INJURIES:
These players will be out for an extended period of time but if an impatient owner cuts them and you can afford to sit on an injury for a while, they are well worth the wait.

Andrew Bynum 

(no set timetable yet)

Kyrie Irving 

(should be back within a couple weeks)


Dirk Nowitzki
 (should be back in the next month)

Anthony Davis 
(should be back within a couple weeks)


Steve Nash 
(should be back within a couple weeks)


Eric Gordon

 (should be back in the next month)

John Wall 
(no set timetable yet)

Ricky Rubio
 (target return date: December 12)

Amar’e Stoudemire 
(target return date: December 25)


Danny Granger (no set timetable yet)



Derrick Rose 
(no set timetable yet)

Who’s been your biggest pickup this season?

Follow Kevin on Twitter at @DaOtherKevSmith.

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