Dylan Stephenson

Dirk Nowitzki is Still Putting Up Great Numbers

Dirk appears to be more machine than man as he continues to put up ridiculous fantasy numbers season after season, despite his advancing age.

Analysis: Once again Dirk is easily a top 10 fantasy pick in all leagues. He’s getting older but hasn’t lost any of his effectiveness. I believe if Dirk wanted to he could hit his fade-away jumper until he was in his 50s, nobody can defend it. While Dirk missed a stretch of this season and came back a little slow, he seems to be back to full speed once again. Dirk’s points are down a little but he has made improvements in other facets of his game that make up for the little scoring drop. He is shooting career highs in both field goal percentage and three point percentage, at 52% and 43% respectively. With Dallas tied for the second best record in the league, and Dirk having arguably his best teammates ever, he is more motivated than ever. Dallas is set to make a legitimate championship run this season and Dirk will take the lead just as he normally does.

Projection: Dirk continues to get it done in a variety of ways and you should capitalize on his stats if you’re lucky enough to get him. Tonight Dirk destroyed the Raptors shooting 11-20, good for 31 points, and grabbed 13 boards. Pretty good for a 32 year old European.

Shooting Bricks With Jose Calderon

We all know Jose Calderon can dish out plenty of assists, but is the rest of his game stable enough to be a potent fantasy option.

Analysis: Jose is actually having a career year in terms of assists, but can’t seem to find his shooting stroke. In his last 10 games Jose is shooting a horrid 29% from the field. However in the same 10 game stretch he is averaging almost 12 assists a game. Beautiful assist numbers contrasted by hideous shooting. The shooting is a strange occurrence because Jose has consistently shot close to 50% every season in the NBA, minus his rookie season. I expect Jose will eventually break out of his slump, but it is still cause for concern. Jose is grabbing some steals this season too, averaging a career high in that category. Jose has never been a high volume shooter so his shooting stats won’t hurt your team too much. After being completely overrated during last year’s fantasy season, Jose’s stock has come back down to earth.

Projection: If you need assists then pick up Jose because he will provide you them in bunches. On a positive note Jose had his first great shooting night in a while, tonight against Dallas, with 15 points on 7-10 shooting. One good game doesn’t necessarily mean he’s broken out of his slump, but it is a step in the right direction. Jose is a good fantasy point guard option this season even with terrible shooting percentages. When his shooting comes back, which it will, Jose will be a great pickup.

The Polish Hammer, Marcin Gortat

Marcin Gortat is finally getting some minutes while playing with a great point guard in Steve Nash, but will he keep up his recent production?

Analysis: Gortat was a great backup for Dwight Howard in Orlando, but he was never given the chance to shine there. Not surprising considering he was playing behind the best center in the game today. Recently he has been on quite a tear with his new big minute role on the Sun’s roster. In his last game against the Raptors Gortat brought down 11 boards, 17 points, and 1 block while only missing two shots and playing 34 minutes. Gortat is averaging 10 more minutes with the Suns and I think this number is only going to increase. Gortat runs a great pick and roll with Nash and actually has great finish around the rim. As he and Nash get more and more comfortable Gortat will become a must have player in every league. I don’t think we should expect Nash to turn him into the next Amar’e Stoudemire, but he can certainly put up some stats.

Projection: Playing with Nash and getting more minutes than ever before has Gortat in his happy place, and I only see his production getting better. The one disappointing feature has been Gortat’s lack of blocks. He is averaging 10 more minutes but his blocks have only gone up .2 per game. This hurts his fantasy value, but I expect his blocks to go up the more familiar he gets with the Phoenix system.

What is Happening with Deron Williams?

The Jerry Sloan situation was pretty messed up but never in my wildest dreams think that Utah would trade away their star player.

Analysis: Deron has been one of the top point guards in the league this season, putting up his best number yet. Before the trade Deron was averaging over 21 points and almost 10 assists a game. Throw in his respectable shooting percentages for a point guard and Deron is easily a top 10 fantasy player in this league. New Jersey does not have the talent on its roster that Utah had and I expect this to impact Deron in a few different ways. I expect Deron will improve his scoring, because he no longer has Andrei Kirilenko, Paul Millsap, and Al Jefferson on his team to pass to, and will thus take more of his own shots. I don’t think his assists will drop that significantly either, mostly because of Brook Lopez. While Lopez’s rebounding has fallen off the map his scoring has gone up a little more and I expect it to climb even further with Deron dishing out assists. I still don’t know why Utah gave up such a star player when he still had 2 years left on his contract, but the Sloan situation and the trade suggest that perhaps something is amiss with the great point guard.

Projection: I think as the season progresses we’ll hear more about the Deron/Sloan situation and I don’t think it will shine a nice light on Deron. However he will continue to put up the stats he always has, and with his ability to stay on the court, owners of Deron Williams have nothing to fear.

Brandon Roy is Playing Without Knees

Brandon Roy returned to the Trail Blazers’ lineup last night and the question now is, what to do with him?

Analysis: If you were unfortunate enough to pick up Roy in this horrible injury plagued season then I really feel for you. He normally puts up reasonable fantasy numbers and doesn’t hurt you in any particular category. In the previous two years Roy has averaged over 20 points per game, 4 boards, and 4 assists, while not hurting you with his percentages. This year has not been good at all, as losing his knees has obviously affected his performance. He is shooting less than 40% on the season, which is horrible even among high shooting guards.To top it off last night’s game was only his 24th appearance of the season, making him less injured than Greg Oden, but not many other players. You can’t ever doubt Roy’s heart, because boy does he play with a lot of passion, but was he really ready to come back? Something seems to be amiss with the Portland training staff, because they just can’t seem to keep their key guys healthy. With their injury history they should attempt to steal the Phoenix Suns training staff who keep an elderly Steve Nash going strong. Brandon Roy is only 26 years old, so hopefully we haven’t seen the last of him, but knees play some importance in this game of basketball.

Projection: Portland has been doing just fine with LaMarcus Aldridge becoming their new go to guy, and I’m not sure why they rushed Roy back. If you can convince one of your league mates to trade for Roy, then do it, but otherwise in most leagues a waiver wire pickup is a better option right now. Roy’s knees aren’t getting any better and besides there will be even less touches going around for Portland with Gerald Wallace joining the club.