Is it just me or are NBA players getting softer and softer? It seems like every five minutes I’m getting an injury notification on my phone for one of my teams.
And I don’t know about you, but I’m getting tired of it. My gut tells me that you are too.
With all these injuries this season, sometimes we got to make the hard choice and drop an injured player because all your IL spots are filled, or trade away a star player because you can’t afford to wait on him to return. We’re getting near the half-way point of the fantasy season, and before we know it, the fantasy playoffs will be bearing down on us. Don’t make the mistake of holding onto an injured or underperforming player for too long.
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Players to Buy
Clint Capela (PF/C – HOU)
This season has been Clint Capela’s coming out party. He was already a solid fantasy big man last year, but this season he has ascended to the ranks of the elite. Capela is averaging 14.0 points, 11.3 rebounds, 0.7 steals, and 1.8 blocks on 69.4% shooting.
Those numbers go up to 16.2 points, 11.0 rebounds, and 2.0 blocks on an insane 81.1% from the floor. The up-tempo Mike D’Antoni offense is perfect for a player like Capela. He gets a lot of open looks in the paint and plenty of easy dunks off a James Harden drive and dish.
He might not have the elite, household name, but Capela’s play has certainly been elite this season. It’s time to start valuing him like he’s playing. With the offensive system that he’s in, there’s no reason to think this high level of play stops any time soon. He’s bordering on top-25 value overall this season and is still trending up.
If you’re fed up with waiting for someone like Hassan Whiteside or Paul Milsap to return, dealing them for Capela makes a whole lot of sense. You might even be able to get a sweetened thrown in the deal, too. Believe in Capela. He’s for real, folks.
Alex Len (PF/C – PHO)
He’s back! This time better be for good, too. In his last two games, Len has caught fire to the tune of 13.0 points, 16.5 rebounds, 5.0 assists, 1.0 steals, and 1.0 blocks.
Yes, he also has turned the ball over eight times in these two games, but come on, baby steps. It’s never been a question of talent with Len, only a matter of playing time. When the Suns give him 25+ minutes a night, good things tend to happen.
Giving Greg Monroe and Tyson Chandler a lot of minutes makes no sense for a rebuilding Suns team. It looks like they’re beginning to realize that too. If Len is still sitting on your waiver wire, change that immediately.
He has top-100 upside for the remainder of the season or until Phoenix gets dumb with their rotations again. Let’s cross our fingers and hope it’s the former.
Isaiah Canaan (PG – PHO)
Let’s just stay right in Phoenix, shall we? The Suns were desperate for some guard help, so they put out a help wanted sign, and luckily for them, Isaiah Canaan happened to be walking by.
After acquiring Canaan with the injury hardship exemption, Phoenix threw him right into the fire, and he hasn’t disappointed. In his two games so far, Canaan has averaged 16.0 points, 4.5 rebounds, 6.5 assists, 1.5 steals, and 1.5 three-pointers on 60% shooting and 91.7% from the line.
Canaan might have just gotten to Phoenix, but it looks like he’s staying for the foreseeable future. If you need a point guard, give him a long look due to his contributions in points, assists, steals, and three-pointers. He should hold solid late-round value until Devin Booker returns at least.
Players to Sell
Brook Lopez (C – LAL)
There’s still some time, but it’s looking like Lopez’s streak of eight straight seasons of 17+ PPG will end this season. The 10-year veteran has struggled mightily in his first season in Hollywood and his minutes have been dwindling over the last couple weeks. For the season, he’s only averaging 12.8 points and 4.3 rebounds on 44.4% shooting.
All of those are career lows. Yeah, the 1.6 blocks are nice, but that’s about all he’s got going for him right now.
Oh, and did I mention he’s hurt too? An ankle sprain will keep him out of action for the new few weeks. For someone that was losing time to younger big men on the roster, this injury couldn’t come at a more inopportune time.
Guys like Julius Randle, Kyle Kuzma, Larry Nance Jr, and Brandon Ingram are hogging a lot of the frontcourt minutes and can you blame Luke Walton for giving these guys bigger minutes? They’re the future of this team, not Brook Lopez. You can probably still get something for him via trade, but if no one bites, I wouldn’t call anyone crazy for dropping him.
Marcus Smart (PG – BOS)
I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again. Every NBA team needs a Marcus Smart type player on their roster. However, in the fantasy basketball world, he’s a hot mess right now.
Over the last two weeks, he’s averaging 8.0 points, 2.0 rebounds, and 4.6 assists. On top of that, his shooting percentages remain atrocious, and he’s turning the ball over 3.8 times per game. That might be okay for Russell Westbrook or James Harden, but not for a guy like Smart.
I hate to use stupid puns, but he’s just not playing Smart basketball right now. Oh, what am I kidding, I love using dumb puns.
There are probably several better options sitting on your waiver wire that won’t destroy your averages. It’d be smart to give them a try over Marcus.
Jahlil Okafor (C – BKN)
People need to stop thinking Okafor is going to magically return to his rookie season numbers, or even anything close to those for that matter. He’s just not a good player. I repeat, he’s not a good player.
He should never have been taken with the third overall pick and the only reason he was able to post solid numbers during his rookie season was that the 76ers were mainly a G-League caliber team. Just take a look at this roster, it’s pathetic. They won only 10 games that season, which is the third fewest in NBA history.
As time has gone by, the 76ers have added several players much better than Okafor, making him go from a starter to a benchwarmer, and then to fantasy irrelevance. He was barely the third center in Philadelphia for crying out loud. On top of all that, he’s not in great playing shape and even recently admitted he’s not ready to play significant minutes right now.
He’s not even close to being on the standard league radar and isn’t even on the deep-league radar for me right now. You can find much better.
Eric Cross is a featured writer at FantasyPros. For more from Eric, check out his archive and follow him @EricCross04.
