This article is part of our NBA Waiver Wire series.
The Rockets re-acquired Josh Smith today, in a trade that also involved a couple of European ballplayers you've never heard of and who are about as likely to suit up in an NBA game as I am.
Smith wasn't a good fit with the Clippers; he couldn't even get regular playing time while Blake Griffin was out. And that's sort of ironic, as Smith ditched the Rockets for Los Angeles specifically because he thought he'd have the opportunity to play more.
That opportunity may come - in an ironic twist - now that he's a Rocket again.
On paper, the power forward/center logjam that led Smith to seek greener pastures still exists. Dwight Howard will play the bulk of the center minutes. Clint Capela has emerged as a nice complement to Howard and has been starting at the four, with Terrence Jones and Donatas Motiejunas in the mix. But Jones has been disappointing and Motiejunas is sidelined indefinitely with a back injury. It wouldn't be at all surprising to see Smith's MPG leap back up into the same 27-28 range he posted last season.
And if that's the case, Smith could be a sneaky-good play. When he's right, Smith has a unique ability to stuff the box score, posting contributions in just about every column.
Devin Kharpertian has coined a term for the statistical feat of posting a number in every column of the box score: the anti-trillion. (See, a guy who plays one minute and posts zeros across the
The Rockets re-acquired Josh Smith today, in a trade that also involved a couple of European ballplayers you've never heard of and who are about as likely to suit up in an NBA game as I am.
Smith wasn't a good fit with the Clippers; he couldn't even get regular playing time while Blake Griffin was out. And that's sort of ironic, as Smith ditched the Rockets for Los Angeles specifically because he thought he'd have the opportunity to play more.
That opportunity may come - in an ironic twist - now that he's a Rocket again.
On paper, the power forward/center logjam that led Smith to seek greener pastures still exists. Dwight Howard will play the bulk of the center minutes. Clint Capela has emerged as a nice complement to Howard and has been starting at the four, with Terrence Jones and Donatas Motiejunas in the mix. But Jones has been disappointing and Motiejunas is sidelined indefinitely with a back injury. It wouldn't be at all surprising to see Smith's MPG leap back up into the same 27-28 range he posted last season.
And if that's the case, Smith could be a sneaky-good play. When he's right, Smith has a unique ability to stuff the box score, posting contributions in just about every column.
Devin Kharpertian has coined a term for the statistical feat of posting a number in every column of the box score: the anti-trillion. (See, a guy who plays one minute and posts zeros across the board has a box score line of 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 - which looks like one trillion. So an anti-trillion is the opposite of that. Math humor, guys. Embrace it.) As Kharpertian points out, players who turn that particular statistical trick tend to be otherworldly superstars...
Or Josh Smith.
Smith is owned in just 11 percent of Yahoo leagues right now, and is well worth a look if you've got a roster spot open.
Incidentally - most of the other players who post anti-trillions on any kind of a regular basis are 100 percent owned or close to it: Paul Millsap, James Harden, Jimmy Butler, Kawhi Leonard, LeBron James and Draymond Green have posted the most since the 2013-14 season. But there are lots of others - read Devin's article for the full list. Two players with "anti trillion" potential are available in lots of leagues… Robert Covington (75 percent) has posted 12 anti-trillions in his career to date. And Emanuel Mudiay (59 percent) has the requisite skill set to to do the same, especially if he improves his shooting.
Picks for the Week
(All the usual caveats apply. Percent owned stats are from Yahoo.)
Kentavious Caldwell-Pope (76 percent) - He's best-known as a shooter, but Caldwell-Pope has developed into a complete player this season. He's been especially good lately, averaging 1.5 steals, 4.3 rebounds, with 17.5 points on 48.9 percent shooting from the floor in the month of January. The fact that Stan Van Gundy has been playing a shorter rotation doesn't hurt, either.
Devin Booker (45 percent) - Rookie shooter is playing very well, especially given the fact that he's just 19 years old and has been facing some of the league's stingiest defenses. With Eric Bledsoe sidelined, Booker's percent-owned should be much higher.
Jusuf Nurkic (40 percent) - Mike Malone appears to be bringing Nurkic along slowly as he works his way back from knee and ankle injuries, but make no mistake - he'll take over the regular center job before long.
T.J. Warren (27 percent) - Could be a nice short-term play thanks to all the injuries that have hit the Suns' frontcourt. The second-year pro scored 18 points and was 2-2 from three in Thursday's loss to San Antonio.
Norris Cole (17 percent) - Most thought Jrue Holiday (84 percent) would get first crack at Eric Gordon's starting spot, but on Thursday the honor went to Cole, who responded with 12 points, 8 boards and 7 dimes in 31 minutes.
Boban Marjanovic (4 percent) - San Antonio has one of the league's deepest frontcourts, but Marjanovic is making a serious push to get regular playing time. He's worth a look in deep leagues even if he only plays in blowouts; the Spurs blow out lots of teams.
Jeff Ayres (0 percent) - Journeyman big was called up from the D-League to take Josh Smith's spot on the Clippers' roster. Smith wasn't playing much, and Ayres probably won't either, but Blake Griffin is still on the shelf and stranger things have happened.
