RADIO
Spencer Aguiar highlights three fantasy basketball takeaways from the NBA's January 4th slate. This recap focuses on Kyle Anderson, Larry Nance Jr., and Tyus Jones.
Friday's 10-game slate featured a game-winner out in Chicago, a PG-13 performance that very well could have been given an X rating, and a letdown in Hollywood. Since we are on the topic, let's start there. The Los Angeles Lakers fell to the New York Knicks at home by a score of 119-112. With the loss, the Lakers have now lost four of the past five games during LeBron James' absence. Brandon Ingram led the way for the Lakers, scoring 21 points to go along with nine rebounds, three assists and one steal but only converted on 8-for-21 shots from the field. The recent slide has dropped the Lakers to the eighth seed out West, and the downswing could continue with James out at least one more week.
The Oklahoma City Thunder escaped the Portland Trail Blazers 111-109. Paul George scored a game-high 37 points, adding eight rebounds, two assists, one steal and five three-pointers on 10-for-23 shooting. George has now scored 37 points in back-to-back games and has scored at least 36 points in three of the last four contests. The 28-year-old is quietly having the best season of his career, which is remarkable given the gruesome injury he suffered in 2014 during an intra-squad Team USA scrimmage at the Thomas and Mack Center in Las Vegas. While it remains unlikely he would win, George is a dark horse to capture the MVP award this year.
And in the game of the night, the Indiana Pacers needed overtime to advance past the Bulls, capturing the victory 119-116. Victor Oladipo scored nine of the teams final 12 points in overtime, which includes the game-winning three-point basket with 0.3 seconds left on the clock. Oladipo has become one of the most clutch players in the NBA with the game on the line and has transformed the Pacers into must-see television. Our three main fantasy takeaways of the night are still to come, so without further ado, let's take a deeper dive into January 4th.
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Kyle Anderson Posts First Triple-Double
I touched on Kyle Anderson's fantasy worth during last Saturday's article, but the market still hasn't quite caught up to his production. At the time of writing this recap, Anderson is still available in 30 percent of Yahoo leagues and 60 percent of ESPN groups. The majority of his availability most likely comes from points leagues, where the 25-year-old doesn't carry the same value, but he has become roster worthy in just about all settings, especially if you are in a category based league.
On Friday, Anderson posted the first triple-double of his career, scoring 11 points to go along with 11 rebounds, 10 assists and one block in 38 minutes of action. And while the stat-stuffing is impressive, the UCLA product has now provided double-digit scoring in eight of the last nine games, including his last five in a row. Scoring has always been what has held Anderson back from reaching that next level of fantasy return, but the recent stretch does appear to bode well for his long-term prospects.
To be clear, I don't think Anderson has become a guy that should be counted on to score in double-figures nightly, but the increased usage as of late has helped him immensely. If I owned him in a category league, I'd be thrilled with his borderline top-50 production over the past 30 days and would view him as a hold. I always like trying to sell mid-tier players off high, but he isn't going to yield what proper return should be in a trade. As far as points leagues are concerned, he has become a usable commodity and would be adding him if he is still lurking on a waiver wire. However, I don't think he is much more than a fringe top-100 player and would prefer to sell him for a steadier top-100 option if possible. This would include players such as Jeremy Lamb, T.J. Warren, Jeff Teague, Ricky Rubio, Gary Harris and Dennis Schroder. I realize some of these names are more likely than others, but fantasy owners will do strange things after a couple of impressive fantasy performances.
Larry Nance Jr. Has Dwindling Fantasy Value
Fantasy basketball is all about perception and perceived value. A player can still be useful to a fantasy roster, even if they are going through a stage of dwindling production. Larry Nance Jr. fits into that mold perfectly as of right now. He remains roster worthy in all standard leagues, but Tristan Thompson's return on Wednesday mixed with the eventual arrival of Kevin Love back to the lineup from his foot injury has the 26-year-old waning in value by the second.
On Friday, Nance Jr. got the start at power forward alongside Thompson, scoring 10 points while adding nine rebounds, one assist and two steals in 31 minutes of action. The on-court time was a nice bounce back after his 22-minute disappointment during Thompson's return on Wednesday, but Nance Jr. is in a precarious position going forward. He contributes too well across the board to warrant a drop, but once Love can find his way back onto the court, it provides an uncertain rest of the season outlook for the former Wyoming product.
Nance Jr. has produced top-15 value during the last 30 days in nine-category leagues, but his sell-high window does appear to be closed if you haven't already moved him. For that reason, I think including him as a secondary piece in a two-for-one trade is an intriguing option that many might not be considering. He still has enough perceived value to justify acquiring in a lot of fantasy owners minds, even if those same owners wouldn't be as willing to trade for him in a one-for-one trade situation.
Tyus Jones' Run Is Done
With Jeff Teague making his return to the lineup against the Orlando Magic, Tyus Jones was demoted to backup duty on the night. The 22-year-old had played at least 36 minutes during his previous three games, averaging 13.6 points, 2.3 rebounds, 9.0 assists and 3.3 steals in those contests, but his value is all but gone with Teague healthy. Unfortunately for Jones, things are about to get even worse. Derrick Rose is also nearing a return from an ankle injury and will cut into the Duke products time even more.
Jones has a lot of upside to his game, but he isn't on the right team to showcase his talent right now. The run was fun while it lasted, but Jones can be dropped in pretty much all league types. He will be a player worth monitoring if something does happen to Teague or Rose throughout the season, but it is going to be frustrating from a fantasy perspective to watch him widdle away on the Minnesota bench this year.
