Buy Low, Sell High: Fantasy Week 14

Buy Low:
Dirk Nowitzki is struggling with his shot lately, shooting just 38 percent from the floor in January (as of Thursday night), a far cry from the 55 percent he was shooting from the field in his 12 games in December. Diggler’s too good to keep this up (or is it down?), so count on him to bounce back very shortly. Get him on the cheap before that happens.

Marc Gasol is finally looking like the player his owners expected him to be when they drafted him in the fourth round of most drafts. His last few games have yielded solid results and while it might be too late to truly buy low on him, if you can find one of his owners who still doesn’t trust Little Gasol’s fantasy value, see if you can swipe him away before he potentially maintains this kind of production in the second half of the season.

Paul Millsap is dealing with a bum thumb, which explains his stinker of a game on Wednesday. But he appears set on playing through it, which is sort of good news if you’re trying to buy low on him. His production will remain mediocre until that thumb heals, but with the All-Star break close, Millsap should pay off in a few weeks. If you have the high standing in your league and the patience to wait on him, Millsap should make for a good buy-low move.

Anthony Morrow is back from his hamstring injury and had a decent game on Wednesday night, finishing with 19 points, three three-pointers and four rebounds. He’ll take back his starting gig soon enough and should be a good source of steady threes (without the expected low field-goal percentage) once he does.

Wilson Chandler has hit a minor slump lately, thanks in part to coach Mike D’Antoni‘s apparent indecision regarding whether to start Ronny Turiaf or Chandler. However, in a radio interview Thursday evening, D’Antoni hinted at the idea that Turiaf is best off the bench, given the limited minutes he’s capable of playing well with. This is a bit of implied good news for Chandler, who has a good shot at regaining the magic he had in the first half of his awesome season.

Chris Bosh, Joakim Noah, Eric Gordon and any other productive fantasy players who are injured should be considered buy-low candidates.

Sell High:
Devin Harris looks like he’s found his groove this season, averaging 14.5 points, 2.3 rebounds, 9.2 assists, 1.5 steals and 2.3 turnovers since Jan. 17. That said, this has the smell of something that’s too good to be true – a cold streak, another injury or a realized trade rumor could easily derail Harris’ hot streak. His owners would do well to deal him for a player with fewer threats to his value.

J.J. Hickson is finally showing that he can rebound the ball – every other game. Seriously. Look at his last nine games and you’ll see that he’s literally trading off double-doubles with clunkers. Though he’s averaging 13.5 points, 10.7 rebounds and 1.1 blocks so far in January, Hickson is also shooting just 39 percent from the field and 61 percent from the line. He’s an enticing player, given his safe minutes and high ceiling, but his weaknesses are glaring. Expect his focus to fade in and out for the rest of the way. If his owners want more a more reliable player in his stead, now is the time to make a trade.

DeMar DeRozan is having quite a month, averaging 20.6 points on 48 percent shooting from the field and 86 percent from the line. The problem is that he doesn’t do much else. DeRozan is smoke and mirrors, but his strong offense might be just valuable enough to another owner to get you a better all-around player in exchange for the Raptor.

Rashard Lewis continues to have a solid resurgence in January. Not only is he shooting a higher-than-usual 47.5 percent from the field, but Lewis is also grabbing 7.3 rebounds, noticeably higher than his 5.7 average for his career. The concern here is his knee, which has caused him pain recently. DNPs are likely in his future, so his owners could do themselves some good by selling him off sooner than later.

Amir Johnson has played well this month. Though his numbers haven’t been eye-popping, they have been pretty steady. The problem is that Reggie Evans is set to return in about three weeks. That, along with the slight emergence of Ed Davis, poses a real threat to Johnson’s minutes and fantasy value. His days of reliable value are likely numbered.

Throughout the season, be sure to leave your questions, comments, concerns, trade offers, roster problems and more in the comments below.

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