Fantasy Basketball: Andrew Bogut Slowly Regaining Form

It’s a really slow week for the NBA waiver wire, meaning big men become the focus due to consistent rebounding. This includes a top center trying to regain his footing after an injury that kept him out of action for a significant portion of the season.

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Andrew Bogut (GS C, 37.5% of leagues): Bogut suffered a knee injury on December 8 that kept him out almost exactly a month. Since his return, he’s certainly started off slowly, only scoring double digits once in 11 games. Bogut isn’t necessarily an offensive powerhouse, especially on a team with Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson, but even his rebound numbers haven’t been “Bogut-like.” In those aforementioned 11 games, he has only grabbed more than 8 rebounds twice. This is coming from a guy who averaged 9.4 rebounds in November and 10.0 rebounds in 2013-14. However, one noticeable reason why Bogut might be underperforming at the moment is his minutes. In January, Bogut averaged 22.5 minutes per game; almost 4 minutes less than pre-injury. That doesn’t seem like a huge difference, but consider this: in 13 double-digit rebounding games this year, Bogut has played more than 27 minutes in 10 of them. He needs minutes to produce, and I think head coach Steve Kerr is trying to ease Bogut back into action because there’s no doubt that he will be an integral piece in the Warriors’ playoff run. In February and March, I would expect to see Bogut’s minutes slightly increase and thus, his production.

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Timofey Mozgov (Cle C, 35.3% of leagues): Since acquiring Mozgov from Denver, the Cavaliers are 10-3. Obviously, Mozgov isn’t the focal point of the team, but it’s certainly a noticeable change. He has started in 12 of the 13 games as Tristan Thompson has been moved to a bench role. It’s obviously hard to score in an offense that features LeBron James and Kyrie Irving, but Mozgov has surprisingly scored in double figures in 7 games. That number is actually greater than the number of double-digit rebound games he has amounted. Don’t confuse that though, Mozgov has still averaged 8.5 rebounds in Cleveland, but that number is still third on the team! Cleveland ranks 22nd in the league in opposing field goal percentage and 19th in total rebounding, but Mozgov, Thompson, and Kevin Love are still near tops in rebounds. Other than those three and James, one other player averages more than 3 rebounds. Basically only these 4 players consistently grab boards. The Cavs average 42.7 rebounds per game, so there’s no real danger in Mozgov being excluded from rebounds. His 7’1″ frame will be a huge presence under the basket, and as long as head coach David Blatt continues using him, Mozgov will be fantasy relevant.

Nikola Pekovic (Min C, 48.3% of leagues): It’s been an injury-filled season for Pekovic and the rest of the Timberwolves as he has only played in 16 games. If there’s anything positive in Minnesota, it’s that they’re in line to get their stars back in action. Pekovic and Kevin Martin are both back from long-term injuries and Ricky Rubio returned Monday in limited minutes. The question now is what to do with Gorgui Dieng. In the 7 games that Pekovic played in January, Dieng outrebounded Pekovic 74-44. 30 rebounds in 7 games is a HUGE difference. And a lack of minutes isn’t even the reason as Pekovic has averaged 27.3. But Pekovic is a much bigger offensive threat. I wouldn’t be surprised to see them out on the court at the same time consistently. Eventually, the T’wolves may look elsewhere come trade deadline time. However, Pekovic is in line to earn $12.1 million this year and still has 4 years left on his contract. He can obviously opt out, but that’s still a hefty contract for an interested team to take on. It’s a possibility, but I wouldn’t bank on it. For now, Pekovic is a good mix of offense and defense for any team.

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Wayne Ellington (LAL SG, 22.3% of leagues): The Lakers are obviously going nowhere in 2015, and Kobe Bryant’s torn rotator cuff doesn’t help (or maybe it does given his .373 field goal percentage). In the 5 games since Bryant’s last game, Ellington has averaged 34.6 minutes and 16.4 points. Nick Young only fully played in one of those games, so you have to figure that he’ll immediately start slinging up shots from anywhere on the court upon his return, especially without Bryant out there. The Lakers have a different starting lineup seemingly every night, so Ellington could very well be seeing the bench in February. But his performance in Bryant’s absence has caught Byron Scott’s eye, so don’t be surprised if Ellington is right there with Young tossing up any shot that seems remotely open.

Guys I’ve mentioned previously who are still worth a pickup: Langston Galloway (NY PG, 22.0% of leagues); Rudy Gobert (Uta C, 37.9% of leagues); Donatas Motiejunas (Hou PF, 26.4% of leagues); Elfrid Payton (Orl PG, 43.4% of leagues)

Guys I would be comfortable dropping or trading: Tobias Harris (trade)(Orl SF/PF, 77.4% of leagues); Danny Green (unnecessary unless you need 3’s)(SA SG, 62.0% of leagues); Jeff Green (Mem SF, 77.2% of leagues); Nicolas Batum (Por SF, 74.9% of leagues)

Next: Should You Pick Up Tim Hardaway, Jr.?

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