Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports
The Los Angeles’ Lakers Mike D’Antoni has been a fantasy blessing and curse all season — now that he has reinserted Jordan Hill into the starting lineup, fantasy owners would be wise to take heed.
In today’s edition of “All Wired Up”, I’ll delve into the fantasy strengths of potential waiver wire gold like Hill and the Dallas Mavericks’ Samuel Dalembert.
» Jordan Hill, PF/C, Los Angeles Lakers (8.2 percent owned on ESPN.com)
28 points (9-15 FG, 10-13 FT), 0 three-pointers, 13 rebounds, 0 assists, 0 steals, 1 block, 0 turnovers vs Magic.
D’Antoni is at it again!
The Los Angeles Lakers’ coach, who has been maddening fantasy owners all season, has changed his ever fickle mind once more. After an extremely productive two week stretch in mid-March, rookie Ryan Kelly has now been unceremoniously yanked from the starting lineup, in favor of the flavor of November, Jordan Hill.
It’s hard to get too mad at D’Antoni though. Whoever starts for his “Blowtime” Lakers, has been a fantasy star throughout the year. And now we have come full circle, with D’Antoni going back to Hill as his favored option at power forward.
Hill has been incredible in the two games since his return from an early March knee injury, averaging 18.5 points, 13.5 rebounds and 2.5 blocks shooting 59.1 percent from the field. Those numbers leave him ranked as the number 15 player in fantasy over the past week on Basketball Monster.com.
When Ryan Kelly was starting, he was a top 50 fantasy option as well, so whoever gets the nod, is a must-own player. With the sort of numbers Hill has produced in the two games, there’s no reason not to add him in fantasy leagues, but as soon as he returns to a bench role, feel free to drop him like a hot potato.
The future looks rosy, however. With Pau Gasol sitting out the second half of Sunday’s game due to an equilibrium issue and requiring IV fluids after the game, Hill is going to be relied upon (we think) as a key cog in the Lakers’ frontcourt. Gasol may only miss one game (if any at all), but it sure helps solidify Hill’s value.
Just remember this one fantasy tenet — if a player is starter for the Lakers, you want him on your team.
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Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports
» Samuel Dalembert, C, Dallas Mavericks (1.4 percent owned)
12 points (4-5 FG, 4-6 FT), 0 three-pointers, 15 rebounds, 1 assist, 0 steals, 7 blocks, 0 turnovers vs Nets.
This makes it two days in a row that I’m talking up the fantasy wares of guys I would’ve considered untouchable earlier this season. Yesterday, it was Richard Jefferson. Today it’s the big Haitian, Samuel Dalembert.
The center position in Dallas has the been the epitome of a fantasy mess basically all season. With the minutes split fairly evenly between Dalembert, Brandan Wright and DeJuan Blair, it’s been extremely hard to recommend adding any one guy as a fantasy option.
But Dalembert is starting to separate himself from the pack slightly, and even when he’s not getting big minutes, he’s still providing some very appealing fantasy value.
Dalembert has now grabbed double digit rebounds in the past three games and has blocked 15 shots in the past six games. Over the past two weeks, his averages of 7.3 points, 8.3 rebounds and 2.1 blocks on 59.4 percent shooting in just 21.6 minutes, leave him ranked 87th on Basketball Monster.com.
Those numbers, and that ranking, mean that Dalembert should be considered in nearly all leagues and although you probably will be able to find some more consistency from another player in 10 team leagues, in 12 team leagues, Dalembert should be a nice guy to add.
If you are looking for a boost in field goal percentage, boards and blocks, have a look at Sammy D and he may be able to get you over the line.