As an owner of both Adrian Peterson and Michael Vick, with Sunday's game between the Vikings and Eagles moved to Tuesday night, my football championship won't be decided until then. As for basketball, I'm hoping that the suspensions to
JaVale McGee and
Andray Blatche don't cost me too badly in a few leagues on Sunday. LeBron and Durantula are turning it on as the first third of the season has come to an end. I Hope you all are enjoying your time off. Let's get to the Wire.
Want to be the first to know about breaking injury news and lineup changes on Monday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and Sunday?
Follow me on TwitterGuardsKirk Hinrich,
Nick Young Wizards
Both of these guys were on the list last week and both put up big numbers over the past seven days. And both of them should still be owned in almost all leagues. Especially with
John Wall's injury status. Even when he's healthy, both Hinrich and Young are going to get plenty of run.
Ty Lawson PG Nuggets
The kid is still putting up solid numbers despite the return of
Chauncey Billups, getting run at shooting guard as well as point. Could end up being the best point guard out of his class if he ever gets a full-time shot, and with Billups still dealing with a wrist injury, is worth grabbing in most leagues.
Jared Dudley G/F Suns
Dudley has been killing it while
Vince Carter rests his sore knee, which should cost him to miss another week. Dudley is averaging a ridiculous 30 points, 8.5 rebounds and five 3-pointers over his last two games, and while it's hard to imagine him keeping this up for much longer, he's worth at least a short-term grab with Carter still not ready to play.
Keyon Dooling,
Earl Boykins PG Bucks
Dooling has been somewhat unspectacular filling in for
Brandon Jennings, but has been serviceable, averaging 10 points, 4.5 assists, a steal and a 3-pointer in his four starts this season.
Earl Boykins is also worth a look, but hasn't been doing much outside of scoring.
James Harden SG Thunder
Harden scored 21 on Saturday, has hit double figures in seven straight and is averaging 14 points and 1.4 steals in December. His double-digit scoring streak should come to an end soon, but he's playing well enough to be owned in all leagues right now.
J.R. Smith SG Nuggets
Smith is back in favor of George Karl, at least for now, and had played very well in his previous four games before struggling on Christmas Day with a six-point effort. He's a great source of threes and could keep his value if and when
Carmelo Anthony is traded.
Marcus Thornton SG Hornets
Thornton is suddenly relevant again, scoring 18 or 19 points in three of his last five games. He's getting some extra run due to the
Willie Green's tragic absence, but is finally out of the doghouse. How long he'll stay out of it is anyone's guess and keep in mind that he's not super reliable right now. But he is at least worth a look in most leagues.
Gary Neal G Spurs
The clock is ticking on Neal with
George Hill due back from a foot injury any day now, but it's hard to ignore the fact he's scored 11, 22, 22 and 16 points in his last four games, to go along with 11 3-pointers.
ForwardsTyrus Thomas PF Bobcats
Larry Brown is out, Paul Silas is in and ready to run, run and then run some more. If there was ever a situation that called for setting
Tyrus Thomas free, this is it. The potential for points, rebounds, steals and blocks is high, and he hits free throws. Of course, he's still Ty Thomas, meaning he will likely be too inconsistent in addition to failing to meet expectations, but he is worth a flier in every league until we see how this will play out.
Glen Davis PF Celtics
Davis has been very consistent for a month now and while there's nothing exciting about him, he's putting up solid numbers in points and boards, and won't hurt you anywhere.
Kenyon Martin PF Nuggets
Martin is finally back from knee surgery and while he hasn't done much in his two games, he should only get better from here, as long as he can stay healthy. Of course, if he could stay healthy, he wouldn't be on waivers right now, but that's not the point. He's worth picking up in almost all leagues, but only if you're not worried about him having a setback to his old knees.
Linas Kleiza G/ F Raptors
Sonny Weems has been out for several games with a back injury, giving Kleiza a chance to return to the starting lineup. Given the fact that he's scored 18, 26 and 19 points in his last three should be enough reason to pick him up, but when you add in that he's averaging nine boards and 2.5 threes over that stretch, it's hard to believe Weems will still have a job when he returns. We'll soon find out.
Keep reading for more Forwards, as well as the Centers.
As an owner of both Adrian Peterson and Michael Vick, with Sunday's game between the Vikings and Eagles moved to Tuesday night, my football championship won't be decided until then. As for basketball, I'm hoping that the suspensions to
JaVale McGee and
Andray Blatche don't cost me too badly in a few leagues on Sunday. LeBron and Durantula are turning it on as the first third of the season has come to an end. I Hope you all are enjoying your time off. Let's get to the Wire.
Want to be the first to know about breaking injury news and lineup changes on Monday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and Sunday?
Follow me on TwitterGuardsKirk Hinrich,
Nick Young Wizards
Both of these guys were on the list last week and both put up big numbers over the past seven days. And both of them should still be owned in almost all leagues. Especially with
John Wall's injury status. Even when he's healthy, both Hinrich and Young are going to get plenty of run.
Ty Lawson PG Nuggets
The kid is still putting up solid numbers despite the return of
Chauncey Billups, getting run at shooting guard as well as point. Could end up being the best point guard out of his class if he ever gets a full-time shot, and with Billups still dealing with a wrist injury, is worth grabbing in most leagues.
Jared Dudley G/F Suns
Dudley has been killing it while
Vince Carter rests his sore knee, which should cost him to miss another week. Dudley is averaging a ridiculous 30 points, 8.5 rebounds and five 3-pointers over his last two games, and while it's hard to imagine him keeping this up for much longer, he's worth at least a short-term grab with Carter still not ready to play.
Keyon Dooling,
Earl Boykins PG Bucks
Dooling has been somewhat unspectacular filling in for
Brandon Jennings, but has been serviceable, averaging 10 points, 4.5 assists, a steal and a 3-pointer in his four starts this season.
Earl Boykins is also worth a look, but hasn't been doing much outside of scoring.
James Harden SG Thunder
Harden scored 21 on Saturday, has hit double figures in seven straight and is averaging 14 points and 1.4 steals in December. His double-digit scoring streak should come to an end soon, but he's playing well enough to be owned in all leagues right now.
J.R. Smith SG Nuggets
Smith is back in favor of George Karl, at least for now, and had played very well in his previous four games before struggling on Christmas Day with a six-point effort. He's a great source of threes and could keep his value if and when
Carmelo Anthony is traded.
Marcus Thornton SG Hornets
Thornton is suddenly relevant again, scoring 18 or 19 points in three of his last five games. He's getting some extra run due to the
Willie Green's tragic absence, but is finally out of the doghouse. How long he'll stay out of it is anyone's guess and keep in mind that he's not super reliable right now. But he is at least worth a look in most leagues.
Gary Neal G Spurs
The clock is ticking on Neal with
George Hill due back from a foot injury any day now, but it's hard to ignore the fact he's scored 11, 22, 22 and 16 points in his last four games, to go along with 11 3-pointers.
ForwardsTyrus Thomas PF Bobcats
Larry Brown is out, Paul Silas is in and ready to run, run and then run some more. If there was ever a situation that called for setting
Tyrus Thomas free, this is it. The potential for points, rebounds, steals and blocks is high, and he hits free throws. Of course, he's still Ty Thomas, meaning he will likely be too inconsistent in addition to failing to meet expectations, but he is worth a flier in every league until we see how this will play out.
Glen Davis PF Celtics
Davis has been very consistent for a month now and while there's nothing exciting about him, he's putting up solid numbers in points and boards, and won't hurt you anywhere.
Kenyon Martin PF Nuggets
Martin is finally back from knee surgery and while he hasn't done much in his two games, he should only get better from here, as long as he can stay healthy. Of course, if he could stay healthy, he wouldn't be on waivers right now, but that's not the point. He's worth picking up in almost all leagues, but only if you're not worried about him having a setback to his old knees.
Linas Kleiza G/ F Raptors
Sonny Weems has been out for several games with a back injury, giving Kleiza a chance to return to the starting lineup. Given the fact that he's scored 18, 26 and 19 points in his last three should be enough reason to pick him up, but when you add in that he's averaging nine boards and 2.5 threes over that stretch, it's hard to believe Weems will still have a job when he returns. We'll soon find out.
Keep reading for more Forwards, as well as the Centers.
Marvin Williams F Hawks
Marvin's hit double digits in six of his last eight games, but has also been racking up boards, steals and 3-pointers. He's getting some extra run with
Jamal Crawford out with a back injury, but Crawf should be back at some point in the near future. Even so, Marvin's still worth a look.
Nicolas Batum G/F Blazers
With
Brandon Roy's future so cloudy, it's time to give Batum another look. He's been an inconsistent mess this season, but had 18 points and 10 boards on Christmas Day. It's not guaranteed he will start doing that on a nightly basis, but at some point you have to think he's going to realize that being aggressive is going to start paying off.
Martell Webster G/F Wolves
Webster has played in six games for the Wolves this season, scoring 17, 11, 19, 12, 18 and 16 points in each of them. He's also rebounding, handing out a couple dimes on most nights, and has knocked down 10 3-pointers on the season. Yes, I'm kind of waiting for the other shoe to fall on Webster, but so far he has looked like a very good player for the Wolves.
Mike Miller G/F Heat I am not picking up Miller in any leagues. In fact, I'm not even paying that much attention to him. If you need threes in a Roto league, he might hit a ton of them. But because there are barely enough balls to go around for the Super Friends, I just don't see how Miller's going to get the ball enough to be a consistent fantasy performer. Maybe I'm wrong, but I'm just not feeling Miller (or
Mehmet Okur, for that matter).
CentersChris Kaman,
DeAndre Jordan C Clippers
DeAndre Jordan is playing very well, but will definitely take a hit when
Chris Kaman returns.
Blake Griffin is stealing all the rebounds in L.A., while Kaman's name is now being kicked around in trade rumors. He'll be back soon from an ankle injury and should be put back into the mix for the Clippers. Don't expect All-Star production, but if you have a roster spot available and some patience, give him a look. As for Jordan, he's still worth owning for another week, or until you see Kaman back on the court.
Serge Ibaka F/C Thunder
Ibaka's on this list every single week, so I have to keep the streak alive.
Nenad Krstic returned to action on Christmas Day, pushing Ibaka back to the bench, where he managed four points, six rebounds and three blocks. He's been pretty inconsistent all season, but remains a reliable source of boards and blocks, if you can handle the off scoring nights.
Brandon Bass F/C Magic
Bass worked out very well for those of you who stuck with him this week after the big trade. He returned to the starting lineup and posted lines of 21 & 9, and 17 & 6 in his last two games. I have no idea how long he'll keep it going, but now that the Magic have no one to back up
Dwight Howard, Bass should start at PF and then get extra minutes as the backup C. He's also led his team in minutes played in two straight games, and I think I'm going to stick with him until we see how this plays out. And the icing on the cake will be if he plays enough center to actually qualify there in some leagues, but I'm not holding my breath on that one.
Marcin Gortat F/C Suns
I still think Gortat and
Robin Lopez are going to split time this season and it's possible Lopez is the guy to own. But again, we're all waiting to see what Gortat will do with 25-30 minutes per game. I don't know when we'll see that happen, but in any case, he's probably still worth stashing away if you've got room on your bench.
Samuel Dalembert C Kings
Sammy D is back in the starting lineup (for now) and had 13 points, 12 boards, a steal and two blocks. Look, Paul Westphal simply doesn't know how to manage this team and despite the season being 1/3 over, and the fact they have just five wins, still has no set rotation.
DeMarcus Cousins is back in the doghouse and could end up in the D-League or on the bench after his one-game suspension for the 'choke hold,' but either way, it's hard to trust anyone on this team. But if you're desperate for a center, now might be the right time to jump on Sammy's bandwagon. Just beware that he wasn't even worth owning prior to his last game.
Tiago Splitter F/C Spurs
Splitter, who was a preseason favorite of our, as well as most other fantasy sites, is finally making some noise. He's averaging 11.5 points and seven boards in his last two games and may finally be on the verge of getting 20 minutes tonight. If it happens, he's at least worth keeping an eye on.
Mehmet Okur F/C Jazz
I am not picking up Okur and haven't even put him on my radar. He's going to come off the bench and shouldn't be more than a 3-point specialist. It would probably take an injury to a starter to make him worth starting, but he's at least worth keeping an eye on now that he's playing again.