Fantasy Basketball: Warriors’ David Lee, Andre Iguodala game-time decisions Friday
By Seth Klein
David Lee is a game-time decision for Friday’s game vs. the Memphis Grizzlies (Mandatory Credit: Cary Edmondson-USA TODAY Sports)
The Golden State Warriors may be without both David Lee and Andre Iguodala for Friday’s critical matchup vs. the Memphis Grizzlies.
Despite a busy night in the NBA, fantasy basketball owners should be turning their attention to their leagues’ waiver wires in search of replacements.
Warriors’ beat writer Rusty Simmons is reporting that Lee (hamstring) and Iguodala (knee tendinitis) will be game-time decisions vs. the Grizzlies, which could turn out to be one of the most important games of the season for both teams. Golden State leads Memphis by just one game for the sixth seed in the Western Conference:
As expected, David Lee (hamstring) and Andre Iguodala (knee) will be game-time decisions tonight vs. Memphis.
— Rusty Simmons (@JRustySimmons) March 28, 2014
The Warriors haven’t played since last Saturday, which makes the fact that Lee is still ailing a bit concerning. The Warriors’ power forward scored 13 points and grabbed seven boards in the team’s 99-90 loss to the Spurs on March 22, but has been nursing a strained hamstring ever since. Coach Mark Jackson admitted yesterday that he wasn’t sure if Lee could play and may hold him out till Sunday when the Warriors play his old team, the New York Knicks.
The top options to replace Lee via the waiver wire are Marreese Speights and Jermaine O’Neal.
Speights (100 percent available on ESPN.com) doesn’t do much in most cases, but when given extra minutes he’s shown that he can fill up the box score. Per 36 minutes, the 6-foot-10 Speights is averaging 18.6 points, 10.2 rebounds and 1.4 blocks.
O’Neal is also worth a look, especially knowing Andrew Bogut will need all the help he can get defending Marc Gasol. Despite coming off of numerous surgeries, the 17-year vet is having a very good year, averaging 7.5 points, 5.3 boards and 1.0 blocks in just 19.4 minutes per game. O’Neal is owned in 0.5 percent of ESPN.com fantasy basketball leagues.
Iguodala has already missed 15 games this year with various afflictions, so fantasy owners should already know the drill.
Draymond Green is the guy you want to grab if you’re looking for a fill-in. Green has been remarkably versatile lately and it’s shown in the stat sheet.
In March, the second-year pro out of Michigan State is scoring 8.2 points to go along with 5.4 rebounds, 2.8 assists, 1.6 steals, 0.7 blocks, and 0.8 3-pointers. Those numbers have him ranked 99th on Basketball Monster.com over the last month. Green is owned in just 1.1 percent of fantasy leagues.