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The New Orleans Pelicans are on a bit of a roll lately, and second-year point guard Brian Roberts has been a key contributor in improving the teams’ fortunes.
In today’s edition of “All Wired Up”, I’ll delve into the fantasy strengths of potential waiver wire gold like Roberts and the Milwaukee Bucks’ Ramon Sessions.
» Brian Roberts, PG, New Orleans Pelicans (5.0 percent owned on ESPN.com)
17 points (6-11 FG, 2-2 FT), 3 three-pointers, 3 rebounds, 6 assists, 1 steal, 1 block, 3 turnovers vs Nets.
Brian Roberts is in the same category as other underrated fantasy players, like P.J. Tucker and DeMarre Carroll, n that if you asked a fairly knowledgable NBA fan what team he played for, you’d get a decent amount of blank looks in response.
Roberts is the starting point guard for the team with arguably the best big man (at least, most exciting) in the NBA — Anthony Davis — and has been since January 10th. Yet, where is the love?
It’s definitely not there in fantasy circles at least.
When Jrue Holiday went down with a stress reaction/fracture in his leg in early January, I was calling for owners to swoop on Roberts as he would be the starter for a big chunk of time. It turns out that big chunk of time is the rest of the season, as Holiday was officially ruled out for the year a few weeks back.
But Roberts has remained on the majority of waiver-wires despite the fact that he has been consistent in his form and production in the Pelicans’ offense.
We know that Davis is the Pelicans’ best player. We know that Tyreke Evans also has a lot more talent. As does Eric Gordon. But aside from that, are there really many other better options on the New Orleans squad?
In the last two weeks, Roberts has averaged 13.4 points, 1.1 three-pointers, 4.3 assists and 1.0 steals in 32 minutes a game. He is also perfect from the line in that time, going 18-of-18. That leaves Roberts ranked 81st on Basketball Monster.com for that time.
With the fantasy playoffs now in full swing, you can’t really afford not to grab Roberts. The Pelicans are surging, Roberts is playing career-best ball, it all adds up!
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Benny Sieu-USA TODAY Sports
» Ramon Sessions, PG, Milwaukee Bucks (21.6 percent owned)
28 points (13-21 FG, 0-0 FT), 2 three-pointers, 6 rebounds, 7 assists, 0 steals, 0 blocks, 1 turnover vs Clippers.
Sessions made his first start in a Bucks uniform on Monday night, and boy did he make it count.
When Nate Wolters went down with a season ending hand injury, coach Larry Drew initially went with Giannis Antetokounmpo to replace him in the starting lineup. But in true Drew fashion, he made a switch after just one game and started Sessions next to Brandon Knight.
Sessions took to the role like a duck to water, scoring a season high 28 points in 44 minutes. But even when he has been playing the third guard role, Sessions has been a really reliable fantasy option up in Milwaukee — and there aren’t many Bucks that you can say that about.
In the 17 games he has played for the Bucks, Sessions is averaging 14.9 points, 3.2 rebounds, 3.9 assists and 0.5 steals and is shooting an incredible 49.1 percent from the field and 84.4 percent from the charity stripe. That’s good for number 113 on Basketball Monster.com’s rankings.
What does that mean for your fantasy team? If Drew sticks with Sessions starting at shooting guard, he’s a must-add in all formats. Heck, he’s probably a must-add even if he comes off the bench, particularly if you are looking for a scoring boost with great percentages. Don’t expect Sessions to hit many triples, but he will get you some decent assist numbers as well and in this do-or-die time, his consistency is a major plus.
Have a look if Sessions can help your playoff squad — odds are, he’ll give you a nice boost.