The Wire Troll: Lasso Rasho?
With Herija away for the next couple of weeks, I’ll be taking over the Troll for the time being. Anyways, I have to head off to a Grey Cup party shortly, so will make this snappy. No, I really don’t give a flying fuck about the CFL, but it’s a good excuse to drink some beers (not that I need an excuse). Anyways, let’s rock.
Centres
In deeper leagues, keep your eyes on Matt Bonner of the San Antonio Spurs. On a depleted Spurs’ team, he’s getting more touches this year, and over the past five games is averaging almost 10 PPG. He doesn’t get the kind of boards and blocks you’d normally associate with a big man, but as a bonus, Bonner is a fine source of treys. He’s also shooting better this season than at any point since his rookie season with the Raptors.
Chris Wilcox has been a major disappointment so far, and was someone I had dump in the early going. Sure, a knee injury didn’t help matters, but Wilcox is back now, and is starting to gain traction. Saturday, he recorded his first double-double of the year, scoring 10 points in the fourth quarter aline, so if you need a big man, take another look. He’ll likely regain a job in the starting five this week, I would presume.
I’m loving what I’m seeing from Rasho Nesterovic in Indiana lately. He’s fit in really well on the Pacers and is getting plenty of burn as the starting centre – a job he doesn’t look ready to relinquish. He’s shooting a career-best 80 per cent from the line, and has been scoring and rebounding well, especially in the last couple of weeks, including a 13-point night on Saturday. I slept on this one, and lost out in my league; don’t do the same.
Forwards
It’s almost time to add Martell Webster. The stress fracture in his foot that required surgery has healed enough to the point where he’ll begin practicing this week and will travel with the Trail Blazers on their road trip that begins next week. Webster is aiming for a return to action on December 5, so if you need help with 3-pointers, he’s your man. Let’s also hope that Webster’s FT shooting continues to rebound closer to where it was during his rookie season. At any rate, if you have room to hide the swingman for another week and a half or so, go for it.
With the Jazz suffering from a rash of recent injuries, C.J. Miles has taken his game to a new level and is definitely worth consideration in deeper fantasy leagues. In fact, things are so bad in Utah, that Miles and shooting guard Ronnie Brewer are the only two players on the team to start all 14 games so far. Given some decent PT (averaging over 28 MPG in the last five), Miles has responded nicely, showing a strong shooting touch (50 per cent). He’s a decent source of 3-pointers, nailing at least one in each of his last eight games, and he’s been lights out from the line (15-of-16 in the last five). Throw in a two-steal game Saturday, a 10-rebound effort Friday, and five-assist showings in both of them, and Miles has been doing a bit of almost everything (including scoring, although his nine-point game Saturday snapped a streak of four games in a row with at least a dozen points).
Has Shane Battier been dropped from your league? With him expected to make his season debut within the next couple of weeks, it might be worth checking your waiver wire. The normally durable defensive stalwart is capable of doing a little bit of everything, so if you need a jack of all trades, Battier could fit the bill.
Others to consider: Andrea Bargnani has been handed the SF job and is finally showing a bit of consistency; Linas Kleiza is only a viable option in deeper leagues at this time, but he’s scored at least 10 points in four of the last five games. If he can get more touches, he’ll be worth owning; Donte’ Green is now starting at the three in Sacramento for the injured Kevin Martin and I’d at least watch him. He scored 15 points on Wednesday.
Guards
Ramon Sessions has thrived with Michael Redd sidelined, but it’s looking more and more like he’ll be able to retain this value even when Redd returns, so consider adding him. He’s reached double figures in scoring every game this month, and is seeing heavy PT (40 minutes Saturday). Sessions followed up his first double-double of the season on Friday with a team-high 18-point effort Saturday, including a 10-for-10 showing from the line. He added four assists, but we could certainly do without the five turnovers. On the plus side, with six steals in his last four games, he’s helping you there as well.
Have you noticed that D.J. Augustin has taken over from Matt Carroll at the two-guard in Charlotte in the absence of Jason Richardson? Like most rookies, you can expect him to have inconsistent shooting nights like Saturday’s 4-for-13 effort, but Augustin really looked solid this week, scoring 21 points with four assists, four boards and a steal on Tuesday and then going crazy Friday with seven three-pointers en route to 26 points and seven dimes. He potted another dozen points Saturday and seems to have won Larry Brown’s confidence – for the time being. What happens when J-Rich returns is anyone’s guess. Does Augustin push starting PG Raymond Felton to the bench? It might be worth picking him up to find out.
Delonte West has taken control of the two-guard spot in Cleveland and has been scoring well and delivering from outside. Saturday, he nailed 7-of-12 for 19 points in 35 minutes to help the Cavs take out the Hawks. I’ve toyed with picking him up all season, as he continues to get scooped and dropped in my league, but if he keeps scoring like he did Saturday, he won’t be reappearing on the wire anytime soon.
Others to consider: Anthony Morrow was the waiver wire darling of the week, but he’s already cooling with just seven points on Friday; Daequan Cook went cold Saturday, but in the previous six games, he averaged almost three treys per contest; Rasual Butler has been starting at SG for the Hornets with Morris Peterson out, and he’s reached double digits in scoring in two of his three starts, so is at least worth monitoring; I picked up Cuttino Mobley this week, and while the trade hurt me in the short term (with him missing a couple of games in transition), this one has a chance to pay off big time if he lands the two-guard job in New York; With Mobley leaving, Eric Gordon is worth taking a risk on back in LA. He’s not shooting well, but the potential, and increased PT, make him intriguing; Maurice Evans is putting up some nice scoring numbers off the Hawk bench recently. If you help with treys, he could do the trick.
