Injured Players In The Top Ten Most Searched You Can Consider Dropping
Andris Biedrins – If you have a deep bench or a place on your roster to store your injured players, the best move is to hold Biedrins and hope he returns later in the fantasy playoffs. If you have a normal-sized roster, you should drop Biedrins and pick up anyone on that might help your team this week or next week. I know it is hard to drop Andris, but I really think it is the right play. If it makes you feel better, I just dropped him in my ten-team league. Think of it this way: Biedrins might help your team for one week (the final week of the fantasy season), but that won't matter much if your team gets knocked out of the playoffs this week or next week. Play to win now (within reason…don't go dropping Mehmet Okur just because he missed one game with a finger-poked eyeball). There is one other smart rule to follow: avoid all players coached by Nellie. Which brings me to my next point…
Jamal Crawford. – Crawford and his coach Don "Nellie" Nelson are currently engaged in a battle of wits, a test of wills. Who will win? I don't know. Probably Nellie. In the meantime, fantasy owners lose. So instead of having Crawford and his uncertainty (and 41% FG%) clogging up your bench, go out and get someone who can help you win now. This is the playoffs. Go for broke.
Leandro Barbosa – You aren't going to start him this week. You aren't going to start him next week (when his team plays five (5!) games). You might be able to start him for the final week of the season (April 6th – 17th). But then again, you might not. Drop Barbosa and get a sure thing off the wire. I just did it in my league.
Allen Iverson – Detroit is a complete mess. Iverson is tempting to hold (or pick up off the wire), but the truth is there are a number of other players that might be on your waiver wire that could help you more. In fact, I'm going to discuss a bunch of them below. Stay tuned.
Injured Players That You Should Keep (For Now)
Dwyane Wade – Wade is playing excellent basketball right now. He is reportedly dealing with sore knees, but the team is going to hold him out of practices for the rest of the season to help keep him fresh.
Kevin Garnett – I'd start Garnett this week in weekly leagues. Sure, his minutes might be reduced, but 20-30 minutes from Garnett are better than most bench options. And, if you get lucky, Garnett might return to his typical workload this week. So playing Garnett should work out for you. If it backfires, you can't fault yourself for starting a healthy Kevin Garnett.
Devin Harris – Anyone else get the sense that Harris' injury is more serious than the Nets are letting on? I hope I'm wrong. Harris might play on Friday against the Lakers. The good news is that his team in the playoff hunt, so if he can play he will play.
Richard Hamilton – Rip has missed four games and will probably miss a fifth. He should play two or three games this week. This doesn't help weekly leaguers, but you should have Rip back for your playoff matchup next week.
Manu Ginobili – My Manu optimism from last week didn't help Manu get his butt back on the court. Sounds like he feels he is ready to play, but his coach is holding him back. His coach, it seems, understands that the regular season of the NBA is rather meaningless for a team like the Spurs. He wants Manu healthy for the playoffs. We, however, want Manu playing for OUR playoffs. Manu has been practicing with the team, so I think we seem Manu play in one or two games this week.
Caron Butler – Guys who are day-to-day rarely miss five games. Caron has. He might miss a few more. Or, he might start as early as Monday. We'll know more after his Monday shootaround.
A Few Guys Who Might Be On Your Waiver Wire
Remember when Ramon Sessions suddenly became crazy good for the last few weeks of the 2008 season? One of these players might end up being the Ramon Sessions of 2009:
(Note: it is possible that the phrase "Ramon Sessions of 2009" is already become clichéd. I know I've heard it a few times already. Sorry if my use of this cliché offended your sensibilities.)
Thabo Sefolosha – It is important to keep in mind that Thabo's numbers from earlier this month might have been inflated from Thabo needing to pick up the slack with Durant sitting out a few games, but Thabo is still a viable option in most leagues.
Spencer Hawes – Dude just had a near triple double. Plus, he's a second-year player and so you don't have to worry about him hitting a rookie wall.
Trevor Ariza – I just dropped Corey Maggette in one league to pick him up. I'm pretty high on his chances of being a fantasy force for the rest of the season. His steal totals alone will help you win your playoff matchups. I wonder if he's available, though. Probably not, right? Hopefully you were able to get him.
Sam Dalembert – Folks in head-to-head leagues should figure out which categories they want to target in their playoff matchups. If you find you need helping beefing up your rebounds, blocks, and a low turnover rate, Samuel might be your man.
Renaldo Balkman – Only 5% owned, but he's quietly put 10 points and 10 rebounds over the last 8 games (in 24 minutes). Denver is only going to play Kenyon Martin in the first half of games, and so Balkman should continue to get consistent minutes. He was unusable in the past because he would frequently ride the bench, but he's played in five straight at press time.
Brandon Wright – I'm not super keen on Wright, Arron Afflalo, or Keyon Dooling, but if you have to pick one, go with Wright, as his coach is crazy enough to suddenly start playing him 40 minutes a night.
Jamario Moon – Moon's minutes have increased to 30 minutes per game in March. His stats haven't been that great, but because Moon does a little of everything, all it would take is for him to suddenly start hitting for 10-15 points a game for him to be very valuable. Moon is certainly someone to keep an eye on. Same for Dominic McGuire.
Francisco Garcia – Garcia's finger injury scared off a lot of owners, but it is possible that Garcia gets into a groove and becomes the MVP of your team. He has had really good stretches in the past.
Chris Andersen – If Andersen were suddenly to start getting consistent minutes, can you imagine the block totals he would rack up?
Andray Blatche – A post-injury sleeper, if you will. He's been playing well of late, and if he ever starts getting more than 27 minutes a game, he might be able to help your team quite a bit.
Louis Williams – Another guy who could do some damage if he were to suddenly start getting more than 25 minutes per game.
Steve Novak – Sometimes guys getting 20 minutes per game in March get 35 minutes per game in April. Keep an eye on this three-point specialist, especially if you are in a daily league.
Kyle Korver – He's got a five-game week next week. Try to get any Jazz player, but Korver is one of the few that might actually be on the wire. And if he were to suddenly get more playing time, he'd be fantasy playoff gold.
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