Sits and Starts
Point Guard
Sit Kyle Lowry: After a big open to the season, Lowry hurt his ankle and missed 6 games. Since he has returned, he is shooting 37.3% and is slowly losing minutes having played less than 28 for three straight games. Things don’t get any easier with a long road trip through the Western Conference.
Start George Hill: the Pacers have quietly turned things around. They are still generally a mess on offense but Hill has definitely settled in as the second option behind David West. He is averaging career high in pts, reb and assists and has upped his averages over his last 5 games to 16.6 pts, 4.8 reb and 6.4 ast.
Shooting Guard
Sit O.J. Mayo: Last week I got one right by highlighting that Mayo’s shooting was too good to be true and he followed it up going 1 for 10 from 3 and 11 for 34 overall. Things seem to be falling apart in Dallas with a tough road slate for the week ahead and Mayo’s shooting numbers still need to regress a little more.
Start Rodney Stuckey: he is narrowing the band between his good and bad games in his combo guard role off the bench. With two games against the defensively challenged Cavs, and one against Nate Robinson, he should have little problem getting to the rim and drawing fouls.
Small Forward
Sit Kyle Korver: Korver is able to get hot from 3 and put-up some nice scoring numbers but he contributes little else to the fantasy scoresheet. After 5 good games in 6 in Week 4, he was a popular add but last week he cooled off going 5 for 17 and missing a game due to a bad back. I expect the poor shooting to continue into this week as he goes against the far more athletic Andre Iguodala and Trevor Ariza before travelling to face the league’s best defence, Memphis.
Power Forward
Sit Pau Gasol: Gasol reported this week that he has knee tendinitis and is playing with pain. While it didn’t sound serious enough for time off, something is amiss with his shot – 36.6 FG% over his last 5 games. As a result, he is losing time to the white hot Antawn Jamison. The other numbers are generally in line, but I won’t be surprised if he sits a game or two this week.
Start Byron Mullens: A personal favorite of mine after the pre-season, he has basically run hot and cold so far this year. He is one Bobcat who is unlikely to be affected by the return of Gerald Henderson. In fact Henderson’s ability to penetrate should help create space for the big man. POR and @MIL have no one who can match-up against him, while Tim Duncan will be happy to let him launch from deep.
Center
Sit Marcin Gortat: I am not sure what set him off but Gortat is unhappy right now and it reflects in his play. Potential frustrations include not having Steve Nash as his point guard, his belief that Alvin Gentry hates him and the help defense he gets from Michael Beasley and Luis Scola. Anyway, he seems to be angling for a ticket out of town and those aren’t fun rides for fantasy owners. For those trade rumor fans, I believe Oklahoma City is a good fit (he makes the same as Kendrick Perkins and they have the draft picks that the Suns will covet).
Start Kevin Seraphin: the Wizards are bad and it is hard to recommend any of their players but Seraphin is getting a little longer leash and is putting useful fantasy numbers like 13.6 pts, 8.4 reb and 1.2 blk over his past 5 games. His field goal percentage is also likely to rise from its current 46.1% to his career line of 49.8%. I own him on more of my fantasy teams than any other player.
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