Hope everyone enjoyed the leftovers and games this weekend. Here’s a look at the NBA week 11/26-12/2:
Four games: Boston, Cleveland, Dallas, Denver, Golden State, Houston, Indiana, LA Lakers, Milwaukee, Minnesota, New York, Philadelphia, Phoenix, Portland, Orlando, San Antonio, Seattle, Washington.
Three Games: Atlanta, Detroit, LA Clippers, Memphis, Miami, New Jersey, New Orleans, Sacramento, Toronto, Utah.
Two Games: Charlotte, Chicago.
Plug ‘em in, Plug ‘em in:
Antonio Daniels, G: With Gilbert knocked out of action for the winter, Antonio Daniels, AKA “Frozone” from the Incredibles, has posted 12/6/8 with 2 steals and nearly 1 trey per game as a starter. Butler and Jamison will pick up most of the scoring slack left by Arenas, but Daniels will fill out the rest of the stat line nicely. With four games on tap, Frozone is certainly a stronger play than PGs like Kirk Hinrich and Ray Felton who each only take the floor twice this week.
Louis Williams, G: In his last 4 games off the bench, the third-year reserve has averaged 19/3/4 with 2 threes and a theft in 30 mpg. In the meantime, starting PG, Andre Miller is averaging career lows in assists, steals, and FT% and is seeing the fewest minutes per game since his rookie year. If Williams can continue to get 30+ minutes a night, his scoring (especially from the arc) could make him more valuable than the veteran Miller. The Sixers tipoff four times this week, so Williams makes a solid start.
Marko Jaric, GF: The veteran Yugo has started 8 straight contests for the Wolves and appears to be reclaiming some fantasy value. In his last two starts, Jaric has posted 17/3/6 with a trey, 1.5 thefts and 2 blocks. Minnesota still holds a record of 1-10, so there is no reason to keep the veteran in their starting lineup for long. Sebastian Telfair is not a professional basketball player, so it looks like Jaric should be able to keep his starting spot until Randy Foye returns sometime next month. The T-Wolves have a full schedule this week, so get Marko in your lineups to maximize his usefulness.
Andrew Bynum, C: The 20-year-old big has started the last three games for the Lakers, and has 3 double doubles in his last 4 games. He’s still not regularly seeing over 30 minutes a game, but the youngster looks poised to average a double double this year as he continues to develop in his third season in the pros. This is the guy that the Lakers refused to let go in a deal for Jason Kidd. Bynum is a super talent who deserves more action on the court. He’ll get sufficient playing time this week as the Lakers play four times. Don’t hesitate to start him over the likes of Brad Miller and Mehmet Okur.
Jose Calderon, PG: We know all about this Spaniard’s passing skills. He dropped 19/3/14 today against Cleveland. He’s an automatic fantasy start as long as T.J. Ford is sidelined (which is quite often).
Please have a seat:
Stromile Swift, FC: Can we please put this to rest once and for all? Stro has never been a consistent fantasy factor at any point in his career. Cut your ties and don’t look back.
Ben Wallace, C: How ugly can it get for Big Ben? He’s posting 10-year lows in points, rebounds, shooting percentages, and blocks. The last time Wallace was this bad was when both he and Bill Clinton were in Washington.