Buy Low, Sell High: Fantasy Week 18

Buy Low:
Mo Williams is emotional. We know this from his heartbroken comments after LeBron James left Cleveland. Now that he’s in Los Angeles playing with the Clippers (read: with Blake Griffin), the skies look a lot sunnier for Williams, who looks primed for a mini-comeback during the remainder of the season. We’ve seen how revitalizing playing with Griffin was for Baron Davis – expect the same magic to happen for Williams.

Kris Humphries was a quiet winner in the Nets’ acquisition of Deron Williams. The starting power forward spot that’s been vacated by Derrick Favors is all his now, and this is what Humphries has done in 27 games as a starter this season: 8.5 points, 10.7 rebounds, 1.1 assists, 0.5 steals, 1.5 blocks, 50.3 percent from the field and 70.9 percent from the free-throw line – and all this in just 27:36 per game. His minutes will likely top 30 minutes on most nights, which makes Humphries extremely appealing at the moment. If he’s owned in your league, try to pry him from his owner’s hands before he starts capitalizing on his favorable situation.

Beno Udrih is in charge of the Kings’ depleted backcourt while Tyreke Evans rests his ailing foot. And, well, this buy-low recommendation is as simple as that. Though his minutes and production might be limited in blowout losses, expect Udrih to really help his fantasy owners make a hard push for the playoffs, and maybe beyond.

Daniel Gibson has had a forgettable month so far, partly due to injury and partly due to personal matters. And while on the face of things, Baron Davis‘ arrival in Cleveland would seem to dash any hope for a big turnaround for Gibson during the remainder of the season, there’s a very good chance that Davis will rack up DNPs because of his bum wrist (and unhappiness with being shipped out of Los Angeles). There’s still plenty of room for Gibson to produce good numbers down the stretch.

Nene is the mainstay of that Nuggets frontcourt, and with the distraction that was Carmelo Anthony out of town and with word that the organization is trying to ink him to an extension, it’s clear that Nene can have a lot more peace of mind now than he’s had in a long, long time. He’s not surrounded by a good number of solid three-point snipers, including Danilo Gallinari, Arron Afflalo, J.R. Smith, Wilson Chandler, Al Harrington, Ty Lawson and Raymond Felton. If he stays healthy, Nene should have a strong finish to his 2010-11 season.

Stephen Jackson, Eric Gordon, Emeka Okafor and any other productive fantasy players who are injured should be considered buy-low candidates.

Sell High:
Carmelo Anthony‘s name has always been bigger than his fantasy value, and with all the hoopla surrounding his Broadway name and his role in that fast-paced D’Antoni offense, there could be a bigger disconnect now than there’s been in quite some time. If you can deal Anthony away to an opponent who’s more of a casual fantasy basketball fan, you can probably get really nice value in return.

Peja Stojakovic has found new life in Dallas. In his last four games, Stojakovic has nailed 12 three-pointers. While there’s nothing wrong with holding onto him for his specialty, his owners might want to at least explore the possibility of dealing him away before his achy back starts acting up again. Especially if you don’t really need threes, see if Peja can fetch you a player who contributes in categories that you actually need.

Gerald Wallace has landed in Portland, where he’ll be playing in a deeper rotation than he was in Charlotte. He’ll also have to play more power forward, which isn’t as ideal for Wallace as playing small forward is. Since he was finally getting some traction this month as a Bobcat, it might be wise to sell Wallace off before we see just how lower his ceiling is as a Trail Blazer.

Jamal Crawford has come off the bench in all the Hawks’ games this season, so Kirk Hinrich‘s arrival in Atlanta and his presumed job as the starting point guard there doesn’t seem to affect Crawford much at all. However, while the now-departed Mike Bibby was solely a point guard with major defensive deficiencies, Hinrich is a combo guard who plays better defense. All this means that there might be a tad fewer minutes for Crawford in that rotation.

Deron Williams has played more than five seasons in a very steady Utah Jazz system. Now he has to adjust to a completely new situation under coach Avery Johnson, who apparently isn’t the easiest guy for point guards to get along with. Add to this Williams’ apparent less-than-giddy attitude about landing in New Jersey and there’s a good chance that Williams won’t be as consistent as he was for the Jazz. Expect an adjustment period for Williams, which could be bad news for his owners who are really fighting for a playoff spot in their leagues. However, the Nets’ playoff schedule is among the strongest in the league, so if you can’t or don’t want to move Williams, there’s that.

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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