Fantasy Basketball: Terrence Ross Decline
The month of January has not been kind to fantasy basketball owners with Toronto Raptors guard Terrence Ross. It reached another level Sunday with Ross being benched after a scoreless first half against the New Orleans Pelicans. Ross played only 11 minutes, was 0-for-3 from the field with one rebound and not a box score stat anywhere else.
He’s averaging eight points with two rebounds and less than a one block, one assist and one steal per game. Ross’ shooting splits sit at 34/33/100, but the free throw percentage of 100 percent holds virtually no value because he takes less than one a game.
During this time there hasn’t been a substantial uptick to any of his replacements. Greivis Vasquez and Louis Williams are both hovering around their season numbers. Vasquez got the start in the second half yesterday and finished off the game with 16 points and nine assists with four threes. If he can get himself into more consistent minutes, Vasquez is a guy I’ve always liked in fantasy hoops.
Other notes from a light Sunday of action:
- Channing Frye still doing his thing: Overall it hasn’t been a terrific year for Frye, but the three-pointers are still there. If you can afford to deal with having a specialist on your team to help you in a single-category, Frye still has value. On the season he’s hitting two from deep per game, the same exact number he did last season and is actually shooting with a higher percentage (39 percent to 37 percent).
- Kawhi Leonard‘s return: It’s been two games back for Leonard and he’s doing his typical things. Most importantly, Leonard has played 31 and 30 minutes in the two games. He’s averaged 16 points, 6.5 rebounds, three assists and 2.5 steals. The shooting percentages from both the field overall and three should get better as he regains his legs. A positive start for Kawhi owners.
Random Martin Luther King Day NBA Predictions
Since it was such a light night some sure to be awful predictions for today. I’m not good at these so ignore me and do nothing involving money with what I say.
- Memphis Grizzlies forward Zach Randolph goes off against a poor defending Dirk Nowitizki and his non-nondescript backups.
- The Hawks slow down a scorching hot Brandon Jennings of the Pistons.
- Keep an eye out to see if Kevin Martin returns for the Minnesota Timberwolves. He’s listed as questionable.
- Ride the Cleveland Cavaliers/Chicago Bulls game hard in daily leagues. Both teams can be exploited on that end.
- If DeMarcus Cousins plays (questionable), he will have a better line than LaMarcus Aldridge.