What’s up, fantasy freaks? Great to be back with you after an insane night of hoops. I had planned on this blog coming out earlier on Wednesday evening, but the action was so intense I couldn’t take my eyes off of it. From the Pacers winning in Chicago to the Mavs’ ring ceremony to Love and Rubio beating the champs to overtime in Philadelphia … and Utah … to the Lakers getting even with the Clippers … Wednesday was an NBA night to remember.
As we downshift into the fantasy of it all, I decided to take a break from waiver watching so I/we could focus on five buy-low candidates. Trust me, freaks, there are oodles of frustrated fantasy owners out there just waiting for the right trade offer. We are one month into the regular season, time enough to draw conclusions on players and the perfect time to make a bold move.
Carmelo Anthony
Carmelo was top 10 on the 8-cat rankings after two weeks, but he’s been dragged down to 26th because of wrist and ankle injuries, as well as the Knicks’ offensive struggles. ‘Melo had a one-point game on Monday, followed up by a dirty 15 (36%) on Tuesday in another bad Knicks’ loss. This period of time around which we speak may very well go down as the greatest buy-low opportunity in the fantasy existence of one, Carmelo Anthony. Do not hesitate. Act now … before ‘Melo erupts — perhaps as early as Friday against LeBron and the Heat.
Amar’e Stoudemire
After ranking 5th on the 8-cat charts last season, Amar’e has plummeted to 69th this season thanks to a scoring average of “only” 17.8 and a measly 0.5 blocks per game. I feared Amare’s shot blocking would suffer with the addition of Tyson Chandler and those fears have been realized. What’s really dragging down his value is 43 percent shooting from the field. However, that percentage, as well as his scoring average, will increase dramatically when/if Baron Davis gets healthy.
Pau Gasol
After dropping 23-10-4 on the Clippers in a big win for the Lakers, the buy low ship may have sailed away from Pau. But just in case his fantasy owner is still sleeping, make a trade offer with the thought that Pau’s numbers are right on time with the exception of 16.2 ppg. The best is yet to come from Pau, whose current 8-cat ranking of 29th gets better by the game.
Dirk Nowitzki
The Finals MVP is on the shelf for at least a couple more games to rest his knee, and the team has said he may miss more time, if necessary. It doesn’t sound good for Dirk in the short-term, or even the medium-term, as we may not get full Dirk until after the All-Star break. However, if you think this competitor is going to mail in the entire season, then you haven’t been paying attention to his Hall of Fame career. Dirk has been a top-10 fantasy monster for the last decade and he currently ranks 61st thanks to just 17.5 points and 5.4 rebounds per game. Trade for Dirk now and reap the benefits during the fantasy playoffs.
Danny Granger
DG fell in all of my drafts and I scooped him up in three of them: League Freak (8-cat), my bro’s 5-cat league, and NBA TV’s 20-team, 8-cat league. Granger’s 8-cat ranking has slumped to 62nd, but he is starting to show signs of returning to top 20 fantasy form. Thanks in large part to his 22 and 9 with 3 threes in Wednesday’s win over the Bulls, Granger ranks 20th on the 8-cat chart over the past week. Granger is one of two players (Kevin Durant is the other) averaging at least one block, steal, and three, so go buy low …
For more NBA.com Fantasy coverage, check out the all-new Fantasy section.
