Thompson Gun

Pickup: Jason Thompson

I've been posting about Kings players often, although they are the 3rd worst defensive team in the league, they still rank 13th overall on offense with 98.98 PPG.

The Kings are missing a true inside presence and are in the midst of developing their young interior bigs Spencer Hawes and Jason Thompson in order to get them seasoned for next year.

Thompson is a very capable young gun rookie and has gone under the radar across fantasy basketball leagues.

Thompson Starting Stats: 54% FG, 77% FT, 12.6 ppg/7.3 boards/.7 stls/.4 blocks

The block and steal numbers may not be there yet, but Thompson has accumulated 5 steals in his last 5 games. Thompson has good footwork and post moves, he also follows up his own misses and crashes the offensive rebounds better than any current rookie bar Kevin Love.

If you're looking for a solid big in 12+ mixed basketball fantasy leagues, Jason Thompson is a solid source of FG, FT, and rebounds.

The Boogey Man is back

Buy Low

Andrew Bogut:

The boogey man is back after a long hiatus on the D/L.

Although Bogut only shoots 57% from FT, he also has a very strong impact on your FG at 57%. Bogut barely takes enough Free throw attempts to truly effect your free throw %. Averaging a little under 3 FT a game and making 1.6 of his attempts, if you're surrounded with decent-high FT%, buy low on Bogut while you still can.

In two games since his return from injury Bogut has accumulated: 22 points/14 rebounds/4 assists/3 steals/3 blocks on 62% shooting. Put those numbers into perspective once you realize those stats came in just 32 minutes total.

See what I mean? Why are you still reading this? go make some trade offers.

o dayum for odom

Buy Low:

Yes, it's true, Odom's had probably the worst subpar season for a name value player of any player drafted.

With averages of 9.4 pts, 6.2 rebounds, 2.4 assists, 1.1 steals, and 1.1 blocks, I can see why it would be easy to overlook Odom. Don't be fooled by the stats, Bynum recently went down with a bad looking knee injury which is going to cost him 8-12 weeks and possibly some fantasy basketball owners basketball seasons.

Remember, Odom has been playing the role of 6th man and has been averaging a career low 7.4 FGA in only 26 minutes. His per minute stats look fantastic, with Gasol's shift back to center, expect Phil Jackson to move Odom into the starting lineup and return to his per 30 minute stats.

Odom is a poor man's Lebron James, he'll help you in every single category and that's extremely valuable out of the SF position where you rarely find swing men able to rebound at a high rate, assist, steal, block, and shoot the occasional 3 pointer.

In the first game after Bynum went down, Odom finished the same game with a nice line of 13 pts, 6 boards, 3 assists, 2 stls, and 1 blk in 30 minutes.

Snatch him away from an unsuspecting owner and watch your fantasy season turn around, if you don't try and trade for him now, his value will be too high in a few weeks from now.

Flip The Switch

Pickups of the week:

Flip Murray: has recently gone on a torrid stretch, scoring over double digits points in the last 8 games. In January, Flip is averaging 14.4 points, 2.6 boards, 1.8 assists, 1.2 steals and 1.3 3's on 50% shooting, and 78% FT. Not bad for a guy who's nearly unowned in 98% of basketball leagues. Flip is averaging a season high 26 min per game. Although Horford is out, his inevitable return will not effect Flip's rise in minutes. Coach Mike Woodson has been extremely impressed with Flip's ability to score at will and be Atlanta's 6th man. Mo Evans has done a less than impressive job in the role, and Atlanta clearly lacks the available depth to compete at a high level. Expect Flip's ascension to the 6th man throne to continue, and pick him up in deep leagues (and possibly 14 man under leagues as well).

Mike Conley:
Coach Lionel Hollins has done owners who took a chance and drafted Mike Conley a favor. Hollins has stated he'd like Conley to push the ball on every opportunity, Memphis has a guard heavy style which features a back court of Conley, and Mayo along with athletic small forward Rudy Gay. The opportunity to succeed has always been there for Conley, but Iavaroni was forcing his own play calling upon Conley.

A player such as conley is dependent upon his own play calling ability, and that's what provides him with confidence. Commercial Appeal reported coach Lionel Hollins is fully supporting Mike Conley. "He told me how much freedom I'll have and what he's expecting," Conley said, smiling. "He wants me to put the jets on and push the ball." Hollins has said that the team's style change may not be totally evident Tuesday night when the Nuggets come to Memphis. But Hollins made clear his short-term plans involve the Grizzlies' second-year point guard. Hollins, a former All-Star guard, intends to push Conley and see if the 21-year-old can produce. That means Conley will direct the show with the responsibility of calling sets and making plays without looking over his shoulder.

So let's get down to the stats shall we?

In the 3 games since Hollins has taken over as head coach, Conley is averaging 11.3 points, 3 rebounds, 6.6 assists, 1 stl, 1.3 treys with mediocore shooting %'s. Take into account, his 1st game under Hollins, Conley was facing the best point guard defender in the NBA, Billups. In his last 2 games, he's been torrid vs both LA, and OKC. Expect Conley's hot production to continue for the rest of the season, and pat yourself on the back if you held onto him, or snagged him off your fantasy basketball waiver wire quickly enough. It's rare to find point guards who can contribute in every single category, his stats as of late would put him amongst the elite fantasy basketball company of PGs such as Billups, Baron Davis, Calderon, Kidd, and Paul.

Anytime you have a player sitting on the waiver wire with a ceiling as high as Chris Paul, don't waste a second

Spencer Hawes:
Now you may ask yourself, what has Hawes done to be deserving of this accolade?
It's simple, Brad Miller is once again injured, and Kenny Nat isn't far from realizing this is a lost season, and Brad Miller is in no way, shape, or form, able to contribute to a rebuilding team.

Although Reggie Theus's ridiculous firing by the Maloof brothers due to underachievement effected Hawes play, Brad Miller was easily the sole reason for Hawes decline, along with his short stint on the DL with a rib injury.

In the 1st game since Brad Miller's injury, hawes put together a nice line of 13/7/3 and 3 blocks. Hawes has the unique ability to put up Rasheed's 1+ stl, 1+ blocks, 1+ 3 out of the center position when he's getting minutes. Don't let a rebuilding situation and oozing potential sit on your waiver wire, grab him now.

Deep Leagues:

Joey Graham:
Don't look now, but Joey's starting to get minutes. Joey possesses freakish athleticism, and still at the tender age of 26, Toronto needs to develop him at the small forward position. Moon's lack of offensive firepower has opened the door for Graham.

Sam Mitchell barely used Joey Graham regardless of whether he was "Good Joey/Bad Joey" as Raptors fans refer to him. Graham has recently been utilized more in the post, and has been putting the ball on the deck. Although he's still wildly inconsistent, Graham is worth a look in deeper leagues. He has the potential to break out for a stretch of games and help you out in rebounds, FG, FT%, and a few steals to boot.

In garbage time today, Joey posted a line of: 14/12 2 stls, and 1 blk on 50% FG. Keep your eye on him for now, but don't cut any studs for inconsistency. Look for Triano to continue the rebuilding process in Toronto in what is now looking like a lost season for our beloved Raptors.