Fantasy Basketball Review: Week 9 (12-22 – 12-28)

By Pete Rampino in Fantasy, Featured ⋅ December 30, 2008 at 5:17am ⋅ Post a comment

The holidays and the fantasy football championships had me very distracted last week and as a result, my basketball leagues suffered. I lost one league 8-1 as a result of leaving players on the bench all week. This is one of the most common and classic sins of a fantasy sports player. Like many before me, I will learn from my mistake and go forth with better knowledge of my wrongdoings.

Injury Roundup

Jordan Farmar (PG,SG), L.A Lakers: The Lakers Guard suffered a knee injury during a game against Miami and it turned out to be worse than expected. Farmar is going to miss at least 8 weeks after undergoing surgery to repair his left knee.

T.J. Ford (PG), Indiana Pacers: Ford has missed two straight games with back spasms. He is not expected to play in Tuesday’s game.

Caron Butler (SF), Washington Wizards: Butler missed his first game of the season on Saturday with some swelling in his ankle. It was later discovered that he sprained his ankle and it is unknown when he will return.

Three Rising Stars

Jermaine O’Neal (PF,C), Toronto Raptors: O’Neal has been on a tear recently and averaged 25.3 points last week including a season high 36 against the Kings. O’Neal added 7.3 reb, 2.0 steals, and 3.3 blocks to his totals along with a FG% of 60.7%.

Gerald Wallace (SF,PF), Charlotte Bobcats: Wallace has been battling injuries for most of December but has come alive in recent days. Last week he scored 21.3 points on 65.6% shooting. Wallace also had an impressive 10.0 reb to go with 1.3 blocks and 1.3 three’s.

Jameer Nelson (PG), Orlando Magic: Nelson put up more than respectable numbers with 64.7% shooting and 18.7 points in three games. His other stats rounded out nicely with 4.3 reb, 6.0 assists, and 1.7 steals. The highlight of it all was his ability behind the arc. Nelson was 12-17 from three-point land.

Three Fading Stars

Michael Redd (SG,SF), Milwaukee Bucks: Redd has had a down season compared to previous years. He has gone from 22.7 ppg to 18.5 ppg and his FG% is below 40.0%. Last week he shot 30.6% with a below average 15.5 points. His three’s are also taking a hit as he only made 0.5 of them last week.

Andris Biedrins (C), Golden State Warriors: Biedrins has failed to reach double-digit points in four straight games (6.5 ppg) and his percentages were down right awful. His FG% was only 38.7% and even worse was his FT shooting which was 13.3%. He’d be better off just doing a diaper shot at the foul line.

Dwight Howard (C), Orlando Magic: Howard’s dominating days don’t appear to be showing themselves lately. We all know his FT shooting is supposed to suck (43.5% last week) but, his FG% also took a hit in three games last week with 39.5%. The 13.3 points and 10.3 reb are good for a lot of players but for Howard, they are a disappointment.

Players To Pick Up

Tyrus Thomas (SF,PF), Chicago Bulls: Only 33% owned in Yahoo! leagues, Thomas showed value last week with 12.3 points and 9.0 reb on 50.0% shooting. His 2.3 steals and 2.0 blocks added depth to his value.

Daequan Cook (PG,SG), Miami Heat: Cook was an unheralded source of offense last week with 14.7 points on 46.9% shooting that was boosted by a very impressive and valuable 3.7 three’s per game.

Kosta Koufos (PF,C), Utah Jazz: With both Carlos Boozer and now Paul Milsap injured, Koufos has started two straight games. The rookie averaged 12.7 points including a career high 18 and he did it on 56.7% shooting. He also churned out 5.3 reb and 1.0 blocks in his temporary role as starter.

Sports of Boston Friends and Family League

I suffered a 5-4 loss to our friend Dev and I now sit in 4th place. It was a hectic holiday week for me and I only checked my rosters twice. Never make that mistake!
Shotgun from The BlueWorkhorse also suffered a 5-4 loss but, he still remains in 1st place.
The difference between 3rd place and 9th place is only 3 games so, everyone is still in it in this league.
Not a lot of free agent action taking place recently as James Posey, Luis Scola, and Anderson Varejo have found new homes.
Someone make a trade!

Tags: Andris Biedrins, Caron Butler, Dwight Howard, Fantasy, Fantasy Basketball Review, Gerald Wallace, Jameer Nelson, Jermaine O'Neal, Jordan Farmar, Michael Redd, T.J. Ford