The week has resumed and we are back in full swing. Formalities out of the way, I'd like to start with some Free Agents
THT - He's been tossed around our league for a while, but with Sexton out he's taken starting minutes and he's on one. Pretty high potential to be a diminishing asset if Sexton doesn't come back anytime soon (it's a hamstring and they're not trying to win, so you do the math) but for at least two weeks he'll put up big, legal numbers
Devonte' Graham - My guy is right back where he belongs: getting huge minutes and being an absolute bucket for a terrible team. The Spurs got rid of a good deal of their depth, but Devin Vassell is allegedly on his way back, so even the start that Graham garnered last night shouldn't scare you off. Although, if the Jazz aren't trying to win games, the Spurs are actively not showing up to the arena. So go after Graham, but don't be mad at me in a few weeks if I tell you he's ineligible
Ayo Dosunmu - Eligibility is in question (see below) but I think he'll move to the bench behind Beverly. If you pick him up, expect a Go/No Go text from me
TyTy Washington Jr - Now's the time to take that swing on a rookie on a bad team. The Rockets are in free fall, Green and Porter Jr are out, and TyTy's been getting good minutes lately. Also feel free to grab whoever the hell Josh Christopher is
AJ Griffin - My old friend. With John Collins out with a concussion, and you know, with the whole firing the coach thing, somebody's gonna get more minutes. I'm betting on Griffin over Johnson. The main issue is Saddiq Bey, who will be taking the majority of those minutes I'd have to think. So Griffin is more of a fringe pickup
Moses Brown - Zubac is out, which means Brown should slot into the backup Center role tonight behind Plumdog. Likely a one-off, but if you need the boost, go for it
Fun Things to Look For
Tonight we have a couple of very fun lineups coming together. Let's take a closer look
Russ - Obviously we have to start with Russ to the Clippers. They'd been doing really well with Mann in the starting lineup, but you don't publicly cry out for your old buddy to join your team just to put him on the bench. As an aside: we had entered a stage in the NBA where crazy bad trades weren't happening as often as they were in the early aughts, but we are right back in the thick of it now. Within two weeks, Kyrie and Russ both found new teams. Don't get me wrong, I would so much rather bet on Russ than ever bring Kyrie anywhere near my building, but I'd also rather leave them both alone. Genuine question: does Ty Lue quit if this blows up? He's already mad about the load management he has to keep up with, he's got one of the more frustrating and impossible to read superstars in the game on his team, they just got rid of Reggie Jackson, all he ever wants to do is play five out but they went and got him blundering Mason Plumlee, they've laid a frustrated Absolute Turnstile on Defense Bones Hyland at his feet, and now they've doubled their media coverage with one of the most talked-about players in the league. Shit, man, I'd quit. Okay, where was I? The lineup, yes. Anyway, keep an eye on Russ starting and what that means for Mann and the quasi-guards who fill out the rest of this roster
KLove - The Cavs secretly divorced Kevin in the night like Joseph (second time I've made that reference; it will always be funny) which saved them a good deal of money, but allowed the perfect team in their conference to pick him up. The Heat make a living off of two things: absolutely nailing the draft, and rejuvenating old dudes' careers. There's some rumbling about whether they'll start Love over Martin, but I doubt it. Martin's been solid for them all year. And while I'm still not sure he's the right choice for them in a serious playoff game, he's played his way into Spo's heart. Love should provide this team with everything they need: a floor-spacing big man to backup Bam. Genuinely excited to see him flourish. He's 34, which is only 29 in Miami years
The Bucks - Speaking of old dudes. I'm worried to pick up Ingles or Crowder until I see how the rotation works out because there's a very real chance they eat into each other's minutes like an NFL team with two running backs. That being said, they didn't bring Crowder in just to dink around and get 5-10 minutes here and there. Their bench has slowly become very deep, and with Bobby Portis coming back it's time to see who earns the big minutes. I don't think they'd start Crowder, certainly not anytime soon, but we cannot underestimate how much Bud loves his old dudes. We've got Pat, Allen, Crowder, and Ingles all shuffling around at similar spots, so just keep your eye on everything Milwaukee are doing
Pat Bev - I talked about him earlier this week, but my god, the Bulls. 2.5 games back from the fucking 'Zards, sitting in 11th, losers of 6 in a row, they are the perfect team for Pat Bev. I expect him to start, because what they've been doing clearly hasn't been working. Which leaves Iso Ayo available. Tough year for the sophomore hoopers. Ayo's been up and down, Bones lost the trust of his organization. They should both come to Charlotte
No comments:
Post a Comment