It’s Friday and your fantasy basketball team is probably in the midst of a playoff push. Or at least it is if you’ve been taking my advice the past few months.
But this week may be a tight one for you (I don’t know if it is – any week can be tight). If so, you have three more days of basketball to turn it around and plenty of two-game players left to make an impact.
Lets take a look at the best options. A few weeks back, I sold you hard on Jared Dudley. He came on strong for the Suns and if you picked him up when he got hot, you got a month of legitimate fantasy production off of the waiver wire. You’re welcome.
But Dudley, thanks to a few minor injuries and the fact that he’s just not an elite player, is fading. It’s time to part ways with Dudley, but as his contributions on the Suns diminish, someone has to pick up the slack.
Enter Shannon Brown.
Brown has picked up his scoring of late, hitting double-digits in five straight games before scoring just nine on Thursday night against the Clippers. He’s also picking up steals like he’s Rickey Henderson, with six straight games with at least one, and more than one in five of them. That type of defensive production over the weekend can single-handedly close a small gap in steals between you and your opponent, and he will also hit a few threes for you in the process.
If you still need more steals, or if Brown isn’t available in your league, take a look at Grizzlies guard Tony Allen. Unlike Brown, Allen won’t help you in many other ways, but if you just need steals, he’ll be even more helpful.
If it’s blocks you need, check out Bismack Biyombo, who should be amiable in your league because, well, he kind of stinks. He doesn’t score at all, or even try for that matter, but he’s still collecting blocks, and recently at an even more furious pace. The one-dimensional Bobcat has 11 blocks over his past two games, and is averaging almost two per game on the season. As long as he’s getting minutes, he’s blocking shots—and he’ll get his fair share of rebounds as well.
If you’re looking for points, well it’s going to be tough sledding for a while, but there is one temporary option. With Luol Deng out, the Bulls have turned to second-year forward Jimmy Butler to pick up the scoring load. Butler has responded with double-digit points in four straight games. He only has value as long as Deng is out, but he’s making the most of his opportunity while he has it, and perhaps you should too.
