3. Dewayne Dedmon, C, Atlanta Hawks (31.4% owned)
On most tanking teams, this is the time of year during which Dewayne Dedmon would take a back seat to younger players. The Atlanta Hawks aren’t most tanking teams, though.
Heading into Sunday’s game against the Houston Rockets, Dedmon had averaged 11.8 points on 46.2 percent shooting, 11.0 rebounds, 2.0 assists, 1.5 steals, 1.3 blocks and 1.0 triples in 29.4 minutes over his past four games. He hauled in at least eight rebounds in all four of those contests, including three straight double-digit outings, and had nine or more points in each of those games as well.
Even though the Rockets routed the Hawks on Sunday, Dedmon still played 30 minutes, finishing with six points on 3-of-7 shooting, seven rebounds, one assist and one block. He ranked fifth on the team in shot attempts, but he trailed only rookie big man John Collins in rebounds and joined Collins as the only Atlanta player to block one of Houston’s shots.
Though the Hawks aren’t battling for a playoff spot, head coach Mike Budenholzer may be keeping Dedmon in the rotation to keep him engaged ahead of his decision as to whether he should pick up his $6.3 million player option for next season. Dedmon’s upside is limited since he isn’t going to flirt with 35-plus minutes per game moving forward, but he’ll be a steady source of points, rebounds and blocks nevertheless.
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