Start 'Em & Sit 'Em is our weekly look at players around the NBA we feel could help or hurt your Fantasy squad based upon matchups and other factors. Don't expect to read about why you should start LeBron James or why you should sit Brian Scalabrine. In this space, we will try to help you make the call on players you could be on the fence about while also pointing out some players you may not have thought about sitting, but should consider doing so.
Start of the Week
The Pacers will be looking to somebody to step up for the next month or so while Danny Granger sits out with a foot injury. So will many Fantasy owners.
The good news is that owners won't have to look too far for a replacement.
Since returning from a major injury of his own on Nov. 27, Mike Dunleavy Jr. has only been able to contribute in limited amounts. That's all about to change. With the Pacers ready to give him an increased role in the very near future, we consider Dunleavy (who is active in under 40 percent of CBSSports.com leagues) the Start of the Week for Fantasy Week 8 (Dec. 14-20).
In his first seven games back from a major knee injury that sidelined him for nearly a year, Dunleavy was understandably held back. The plan was to hold him under 25 minutes per game until the team felt comfortable enough to give him more playing time. In those games, Dunleavy still managed to show flashes of the player who averaged 19.1 points, 5.2 rebounds and 3.5 assists over 82 games in his last healthy season back in 2007-08.
Even with limited playing time, Dunleavy was able to score at least 10 points in all but one of the games and looked like he'd become a reliable starter in Fantasy leagues again at some point down the line. Ready or not, that point has arrived.
Dunleavy's production increased in each of the first three games that Granger has sat out. He scored 10 points with 2 rebounds in 21 minutes on Dec. 9 against Portland. He followed that up with 15 points, 4 rebounds and 4 assists on Dec. 11 against New Jersey and -- in the clearest sign that he's ready to contribute -- he managed 24 points, 5 assists and 2 rebounds on Dec. 12 at Washington.
The best news coming out of the Washington game for Dunleavy was not the overall numbers, however. It was the fact that he played 27 minutes. Those minutes were not just a season-high mark for Dunleavy. It was the first time since his return that he reached the 25-minute mark and it serves as an indication to himself, the team and to Fantasy owners that he's now healthy enough to take on a bigger role.
Sit of the Week
Our Sit of the Week for Fantasy Week 8 is a player that has been very helpful to Fantasy owners recently, but who has too many factors stacked against him for the upcoming scoring period.
Luke Ridnour has been able to put up very useful numbers over the last month. The biggest reason has had to do with the continuing absence of Michael Redd, who returned from his knee injury Saturday night against Chicago.
In that game, Ridnour scored 20 points to go with 3 rebounds and 2 assists. He did so in just 22 minutes and he did it while playing with a partially dislocated non-shooting elbow.
Ridnour has been limited to under 25 minutes per game in the two games since suffering the injury, and while he's still managed to put up good numbers in those games (he also had 15 points, 6 assists vs. Toronto) counting on him to score at the nearly point-per-minute rate he's playing at right now could be asking for a bit much.
| | ||
| Player | Start % | |
| 1. | Jonny Flynn, Timberwolves | 54 |
| 2. | Brendan Haywood, Wizards | 46 |
| 3. | Al Thornton, Clippers | 26 |
| 4. | Dahntay Jones, Pacers | 40 |
| 5. | Andre Miller, Trail Blazers | 52 |
| 6. | Kenyon Martin, Nuggets | 38 |
| 7. | Jonas Jerebko, Clippers | 7 |
| 8. | J.R. Smith, Nuggets | 50 |
| 9. | Courtney Lee, Nets | 44 |
| 10. | Matt Bonner, Spurs | 8 |
Add to that the fact the Bucks will be looking to give Redd more minutes alongside Rookie of the Year candidate Brandon Jennings as Redd gets healthier, plus the fact that the Bucks are one of just eight teams that don't play four games in Week 8 and you've got the makings of a sharp decline in production coming very quickly.
Guards
Start 'Em
Allen Iverson (GS, CLE, @BOS, LAC): A.I. is a little banged up after his first week back with the Sixers, but he should be able to play on despite having fluid drained from his knee Sunday and having been diagnosed with a stress reaction in his fibula over the weekend. He was a player we recommended sitting going into his first week due to the possibility of him being rusty and he was for the first two games of his return to Philly. But on Friday against Houston, he showed what he may be able to offer Fantasy owners while Lou Williams is out with a broken jaw. He scored 20 points with 5 rebounds and 3 assists in 35 minutes on the floor. If he isn't held out, and we don't expect he will be, he should have a solid four-game week. He'll start the week by facing a Warriors team that allows the most points per game in the NBA (111.4).
Jonny Flynn (@UTA, LAC, SAC, @BOS): Flynn is averaging 13.0 points 5.8 assists and 2.2 rebounds over his last five games and will play a favorable four-game slate this week. Among his four opponents in Week 8 is a Kings team that allows 105.4 points per game, good for fifth most in the NBA. He was held to 8 points against the Kings this week, but that was because he shot just 4 for 14 from the field. The fact that he got 14 shots in that game is more along the lines of what should be expected against the Kings this week. With any more efficiency, he should be in for a solid performance and should make for a solid No. 3 or 4 guard option.
Sleeper alert: Dahntay Jones (@ORL, CHA, @MEM, @SA): Just like Dunleavy, Jones is a player who should benefit from the absence of Granger. His playing time was on the verge of dwindling as Dunleavy's health increased, but now he will continue to see 30-plus minutes per game and should play a similar role to what he played in November when he averaged 17.5 points, 4.2 rebounds and 2.4 assists. He hasn't been consistent in recent games, but Jones has a four-game slate that includes a game against a Grizzlies team that allows 105.0 points per game.
Sit 'Em
Anthony Morrow (@PHI, SA, WAS): In late November, stretching into the first two games of December, Morrow was establishing himself as a strong offensive presence for one of the higher scoring teams in the league. He scored 18 or more points in three straight games prior to taking a two-game leave of absence for personal reasons. This past week, however, he came back to Earth. He scored a combined 18 points with 10 rebounds and 5 assists in three games and appears to be headed in the wrong direction. The emergence of C.J. Watson is not going to help matters and could lead to more inconsistent results out of Morrow, who plays just three games this week.
Ray Allen (@MEM, PHI, MIN): Allen is averaging his lowest totals since his rookie year this season and his production in recent games has been mediocre at best. He is averaging 13.4 points and 4.0 rebounds over his last five games, which is not enough to carry in most cumulative formats this week as the Celtics play three games while 22 teams play four games.
Bust Alert: Jason Richardson (SA, @POR, WAS): Just like Allen, Richardson's numbers are down across the board this season. He has been held to under 15 points in four of seven games in the month of December and his matchups in Week 8 are not very appealing. He'll play just three games and two of his three opponents allow under 97 points per game.
Forwards
Start 'Em
Al Thornton (WAS, @MIN, @NY, @PHI): Thornton has gotten better as the season has gone on. His season averages (13.8 points, 4.7 rebounds and 1.2 assists) aren't much to look at, but he's slowly bringing those numbers up. Fantasy owners should expect something more along the lines of what he's been averaging the last two weeks (17.4 points and 6.6 rebounds). With all four of his games this week against teams that have allowed at least 101 points per game, it is not out of the realm of possibility to expect numbers even better than that this week.
Carl Landry (DET, @DEN, @DAL, OKC): The big man may be one of the more underrated players in Fantasy hoops right now. He is averaging 19.0 points and 7.2 rebounds per game in the month of December and has become a vital part of the team's front court. He's also the team's biggest presence off the bench and yet is still only active in under 65 percent of CBSSports.com leagues. A four-game week is as good of a week as any to activate him.
Sleeper alert: Boris Diaw (NY, @IND, UTA, @NY): Diaw is not following up on the production he offered Fantasy owners after getting traded to Charlotte last season. The addition of Stephen Jackson threatened to take a lot of his Fantasy appeal, but he's been able to show some flashes of the well-rounded Fantasy option he has been in the past over the last few games. He is still getting good minutes and is seeing double-digit shot attempts per game. That will be important this week in what could be a very favorable four-game slate that includes three games against opponents that allow 100-plus points per game. He will twice face a Knicks team that allows the third most points in the NBA per game (106.8).
Sit 'Em
Udonis Haslem (TOR, ORL, POR): The Heat have a very unfavorable week ahead if you look at the matchups. They play just three games and, as mentioned above, there are only eight teams in the league that don't play four games this week. Two of those games come against top-10 defensive teams in the Magic and Trail Blazers.
Ersan Ilyasova (LAL, @CLE, SAC): Ilyasova has been inconsistent over the past month and is currently on an upswing. He's back to putting up good scoring numbers to go with around 7-8 rebounds per game. His three-point shot has been falling, and all has been going well for him. However, in the games in which he had been struggling recently, a lot of the reason stemmed from getting into foul trouble. He could have similar problems against teams with very active bigs this week in the Lakers and Cavaliers. In cumulative leagues, the three-game slate doesn't make him very appealing.
Bust Alert: Shawn Marion (NO, @OKC, HOU, CLE): Marion's 15 points and 15 rebounds Saturday against Charlotte may seem like an indication that he could be ready to return to his old form, but we don't think that's the case. Marion pulled off the big stat line on a night when the Mavs decided to rest Josh Howard on the back end of a back-to-back set. With no back-to-back sets in Week 8, Howard should play a full week, which will likely lead to inconsistent results out of Marion.
Centers
Start 'Em
Brendan Haywood (@LAC, @SAC, @GS, @PHO): The Wizards have perhaps the best matchups in the NBA this week. The Kings, Warriors and Suns allow over 105 points per game and the Wizards should play a much more uptempo game this week, which will lead to more shot attempts and more overall numbers for all players, including Haywood. He has been able to keep his production level around 10 points and 10 rebounds even after the return of Antawn Jamison, but this week he could have one of his highest-scoring weeks of the season.
Jermaine O'Neal (TOR, ORL, POR): O'Neal returned from a personal leave of absence over the weekend and while the Heat play just three games in Week 8, he should still put up numbers worthy of a No. 2 center in most leagues. He will play three teams he has already played well against this season. Against the Raptors on Nov. 20, he managed 17 points with 4 rebounds and 3 assists. Against the Magic on Nov. 25, he managed 13 points with 16 rebounds and Dec. 1 against the Trail Blazers, he managed 14 points, 5 rebounds and 4 assists. If he just manages to repeat those lines this week, with all three games at home, he'll be in for a very solid week.
Sleeper alert: Shaquille O'Neal (NJ, @PHI, MIL, @DAL): The Big Diesel has been far from dominant this season and Fantasy owners have reacted to that. He is active in just 49 percent of CBSSports.com leagues and considering the 10.4 points and 6.8 rebounds he is averaging over his last five games, we can't blame them. However, with the Cavaliers playing against some bigs he can push around this week, we expect he'll see enough looks in the paint to accumulate enough numbers to be considered a viable No. 2 center this week in most cumulative formats.
Sit 'Em
Spencer Hawes (@POR, WAS, @MIN, @MIL): The Kings continue to get little production out of Hawes this season and Fantasy owners can't seem to get a handle on him. He is averaging 9.6 points and 5.2 rebounds over his last five games and has gotten under 10 shots in the offense in three of his last four games. He's far too erratic to trust in standard-sized leagues, regardless of the format.
Channing Frye (SA, @POR, WAS): Frye got off to a hot start in his first season with the Suns, but he's cooled off significantly since. In December, he is averaging just 9.3 points per game with 6.0 rebounds and will face two teams that allow under 97 points per game in a three-game week.
Bust Alert: Joel Przybilla (SAC, PHO, @ORL, @MIA): Many Fantasy owners have bought into Przybilla following the season-ending injury to Greg Oden. However, we think the expectations may be a bit optimistic. He scored 12 points to go with 8 rebounds on Dec. 9 at Indiana, but overall is averaging just 6.4 points to go with 9.8 rebounds. In 2007-08, a year in which he started 67 games with Greg Oden missing the entire season, he averaged 4.8 points and 8.4 rebounds. We expect something more along those lines and Fantasy owners outside of deeper category-based leagues won't get much use out of that type of production.
Do you have a Fantasy hoops question for our staff? You can e-mail us at DMFantasyHoops@cbs.com. Be sure to put Attn: Start 'Em and Sit 'Em in the subject field. Please include your full name, hometown and state. You can also now follow Sergio on Twitter (@CBSGonzalez).
