FRESH PICKINGS
Al-Farouq Aminu (19 percent owned in Yahoo!, 22 percent owned in ESPN)
Aside from a rather ugly month of December, Aminu has put together a pretty solid fantasy season. He was one of the hottest pickups in the beginning of the year and has once again become worthy of a roster spot. Over his last five games he’s been a beast on the boards, averaging 11.4 rebounds, along with 6.4 points, 2.2 steals and 1.2 blocks. He won’t help your scoring out too much, but for a team in need of a cheap source of defensive stats, Aminu is your guy.
John Henson (Seven percent owned in Y!, five percent in ESPN)
John Henson is a player just dripping with fantasy potential. Once considered a top college prospect, Henson spent three years at North Carolina perfecting his rebounding and shotblocking. While he still has to add some muscle and work on his offensive game in order to be a force in the NBA, his 7-6 wingspan allows him to swat shots away with ease and new Milwaukee coach Jim Boylan is a fan of his game. In 2013, Henson is putting up 11.3 points, 8.9 rebounds and 1.3 blocks over seven games, and is worth a pickup and perhaps stashing until he starts logging consistent major time.
Tiago Splitter (20 percent owned in Y!, 17 percent in ESPN)
Tiago Splitter has been solid since taking over as a starter in mid-December, but has been especially hot of late. Over his last five games, he’s averaging 11.4 points on 64 percent shooting from the field, with 7.6 rebounds and 1.0 blocks. He’s not going to wow you in any categories, but is one of the safer pickups you can make. If he continues to start and can average 30-plus minutes per game, Splitter will be sticking on a lot of fantasy rosters.
Earl Clark (Nine percent owned in Y!, four percent in ESPN)
Goodbye, Jordan Hill. Hello, Earl Clark. Hill is undergoing season-ending hip surgery and with Pau Gasol and Dwight Howard also on the shelf last week, Clark has been gobbling up all the minutes. In that four-game span, he averaged 12.5 points, 10.8 rebounds, 3.3 assists and 1.8 blocks, while starting the last two. Clark’s hot play will be short lived though, as Pau will return sooner rather than later, relegating him back to the bench (and Howard is already back). However, for the upcoming week, Clark is a cheap option with lots of upside.
Iman Shumpert (Six percent owned in Y!, two percent in ESPN)
Iman Shumpert has been cleared to return for Thursday’s tilt in London and although things are going to get crowded in the Knicks backcourt, he still holds some short term value. In his rookie season, Shumpert averaged 9.5 points, 3.2 rebounds, 2.8 assists, 0.8 threes and 1.7 steals in just under 30 minutes. While he probably won’t be playing 30 minutes a night anytime soon, Shumpert can still boost your steals and will have to bring the ball up the court a bit until Raymond Felton returns from injury. Shumpert’s not going to set the world on fire, but is worth the add in deeper leagues.
LAST CALL
These guys were mentioned in last week’s edition. Go grab them if they’re still around.
John Wall
Came back Saturday night. His minutes will probably be limited for a week or two, but if for some reason he’s still on your waiver wire, go get him now.
Matt Barnes
Barnes is playing just as hot as his team is right now.
Isaiah Thomas
As long as he keeps receiving starter’s minutes, he’ll be worthy of a roster spot.
John Salmons
Salmons should still be roster worthy until Tyreke Evans takes back some production.
INJURIES
These players will be out for an extended period of time, but if an impatient owner cuts them and you can afford to sit on an injury for a while, they are well worth the wait.
Andrew Bynum (should be back in a month or two)
Derrick Rose (should be back in a month or two)
Pau Gasol (day-to-day, but needs to pass a concussion test)
Raymond Felton (should be back within the month)
Glen Davis (should be back in a few weeks)
Danny Granger (should be back in a month or two)
Kevin Love (out at least six weeks)
Anderson Varejao (out at least six weeks)
Andrea Bargnani (should be back in a month)
What’s the most important stat you need more of on your fantasy team right now?
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