We're four days from the All-Star break and 11 days away from the trade deadline. Now's your last call to stash players before next Thursday seals the fate of many teams. It also means we're going to see some funky lineups as players with the slightest injury take the next two games off. Try not to fall prey to outstanding stat lines because there's too much unknown that will transpire over the fortnight. Case in point: Chris Kaman was accumulating a bunch of stats two years ago when Pau Gasol dealt with vertigo prior to the trade deadline. Some people felt the need to roster Kaman should Gasol get traded, but it never panned out and Kaman reverted back to a reserve with limited appeal.
SUNDAY NOTES
Kenneth Faried is playing fewer minutes under Michael Malone than he did under Brian Shaw. That's a fact. Admittedly, he's been limited by injuries this season, highlighted by a scary neck issue that could have left him paralyzed. After scoring 10 points in yesterday's first quarter, he was limited to four points on four attempts the rest of the game, playing 26 minutes total. Faried's shooting 72 percent in February while grabbing a monthly low of 7.3 rebounds this month. His minutes have been capped because coach Malone has preferred Darrell Arthur (quad) in the fourth quarter lately, and even an injury couldn't keep Malone from using Danilo Gallinari at the four spot in crunch time yesterday, benching Faried the entire quarter. Faried's defensive inadequacies force Malone's hand, and that's why you shouldn't expect Faried to vault into 30-minute territory.
Carmelo Anthony has been shut down each of the past two seasons after the Knicks' playoff hopes evaporated. He will likely be shut down at some point this season due to lingering knee soreness. Act accordingly. Derrick Williams leads the Knicks with 25 percent usage rate when Anthony is off the court, but he's a superficial scorer, and Kristaps Porzingis holds a 23.8 percent usage rate without Anthony, a similar number when joined by Anthony, via NBAwowy.com. Lance Thomas (concussion) will likely start when the time comes, but he's a better basketball player than fantasy contributor. Arron Afflalo leads the Knicks with 18.1 points and 38.5 minutes per game in the seven contests Anthony sat this year. An extended Anthony absence won't necessarily speed up the offense because Afflalo is responsible for the slowest pace (94.5) when playing and the highest pace when on the bench (98).
Trade talks have done wonders for Jeff Teague's production. In the last eight games, Teague amassed team-highs of 18.1 points, 5.4 assists, 1.8 steals, and 50 percent three-point shooting. The resurgence aligns with Kyle Korver's recent surge from long distance, a weapon that opens up the offense. Teague's play has limited Dennis Schroder's opportunity, one that hinges on the outcome of the trade deadline. Schroder's 13 minutes was his fewest of 2016, and it's only an 11-day wait before his rest-of-season fate is learned. Sometimes when it makes too much sense for a trade to occur, they often go unrequited. I suspect both will remain on the roster beyond the deadline, but I've also stashed Schroder in a rotisserie league in case I'm wrong.
All five Magic starters played at least 33 minutes. Evan Fournier started for the injured Tobias Harris (ankle) and scored 21 points in a team-high 43 minutes. Elfrid Payton recorded double-digit assists for the first time since January 22nd.
Aaron Gordon produced his best all-around performance with 11 points, 14 rebounds, four assist, four blocks, and two steals in 34 minutes. He's struggled with efficiency since joining the starting lineup, but his counting stats and potential second-half upside are enough to roster him.
Nikola Vucevic has 87 turnovers and 81 free-throw attempts this season. On Sunday, he made more than 50 percent of his shots for the first time in a month. In that time, Elfrid Payton found himself coming off the bench and Aaron Gordon replaced Channing Frye in the starting lineup. Sending Frye and Evan Fournier to the bench has severely impacted Vucevic's ability to convert shots. With Frye on the court, Vucevic shoots 55 percent from the field; without Frye, that number drops to 46 percent. The efficiency is similar based on Fournier's presence in the lineup. As you might deduce, replacing two of the Magic's most accurate floor spacers with Victor Oladipo and Gordon shrinks the floor and leads to more contested shots, especially in the mid-range where Vucevic thrives.
The Kings allowed a season-high 128 points to the Celtics in what may be coach George Karl's last stand. Rudy Gay (ankle) and Ben McLemore (wrist) may not play until after the All-Star break, and their absence on Sunday was noticeable. James Anderson played 18 minutes as the starting small forward, and it was Omri Casspi who benefitted most with 13 points in 29 minutes. Six different Kings scored at least 13 points and Rajon Rondo handed out 15 assists. In his last 23 games recording at least 15 assists, Rondo's teams are 7-16. DeMarcus Cousins accrued his league-leading 11th technical foul, averaging one every 3.91 games played. He's a near lock to reach 16 techs and earn an automatic suspension. That is to say, it's unlikely Cousins plays in all 29 Kings' games post-All-Star break, and it's likely he misses at least one game during the fantasy playoffs for disciplinary reasons, so assume he doesn't compete in all 12 games during Week 21-23.
In a game that offered very little defense, Avery Bradley provided 25 points, Jared Sullinger added 21 points, and Tyler Zeller scored a season-high 17 points. Evan Turner's nine assists led the team and he continues to pile up assists as the team's second-unit playmaker. Zeller's trying to revive his career prior to the trade deadline in a loaded frontcourt, and Turner is cemented as a solid fantasy option who's averaging 5.8 assists over the last 12 games.
Jae Crowder suffered a shin injury last Monday during practice and sprained his right ankle last Wednesday against the Pistons. Tough as nails, Crowder has played through both ailments and it's submarined his production. He's shooting 38.6 percent from the field and 22 percent on threes over the last seven games while focusing mainly on the defensive end. Now's your best chance to buy low on Crowder before he heals over the All-Star break.
Wesley Johnson has weaseled his way into standard league relevancy. Since the beginning of January, he's averaging 1.8 steals, 0.9 blocks, and 2.0 three-pointers in 24.1 minutes per game as the backup power forward. Two years ago as the Lakers starting power forward, Johnson was one of two players to average at least one steal, block, and three-pointer per game. His 0.8 turnovers over the last 17 games has inflated his nine-category rank, and he doesn't shoot well enough from the field or line to bank on him in rotisserie leagues. I'm not dismissing his value; he's proven worthy of a roster spot, especially with Blake Griffin (hand) out for the foreseeable future. Just one back-to-back set means he'll be competing with Paul Pierce every night this month for minutes, so don't expect a flood of playing time due to Pierce rest days.
Austin Rivers (hand) is expected to miss at least one month. That increases time for Jamal Crawford and Lance Stephenson, two players who've offered solid fantasy help recently. Crawford has scored at least 20 points in five of his last six games while converting 93 percent of his free throws since the beginning of January. In fact, he leads the Clippers in fourth-quarter minutes at 9.4 over the last 17 games. Stephenson, the ultimate wildcard, has made 79 percent of his shots over the last five games, an unsustainable mark. This is worth monitoring, especially should anything happen to Pablo Prigioni.
Dwyane Wade and Goran Dragic combined for 34 points, eight rebounds, and eight assists. Hassan Whiteside didn't block a shot but he registered 10 points and 10 rebounds for the second straight game. Luol Deng scored 15 points for the fifth time in the last six games, but the rest of his portfolio doesn't warrant consideration. However, it's worth noting the Heat play the most quality games (games on nights with fewer than half the league playing) for the rest of the season, meaning you can sneak him into your active lineup more often than someone like Jeremy Lin or Courtney Lee. Alternatively, the Heat plays one game this week, muting talks of streaming Deng when you can use that spot to stash a player.
Justise Winslow continues to gobble up rebounds off the bench, impressive considering he's playing more minutes with Whiteside of late. He's the consolation prize if you coveted and missed out on Michael Kidd-Gilchrist.