Author: TJ Streett

Stock Rising- Trevor Ariza

Trevor Ariza is two games in to his return from a groin injury and he is producing once again. If he can keep from aggravating his injury again, he will be a viable fantasy option in all leagues.

Analysis: Groin injuries can be very tricky and he may not be one-hundred percent but you have to like what you see from him so far. Ariza has topped forty minutes of play in both games since his return and he’s getting to the free throw line(ten times) more often. Ariza will always be a multi category shooting guard/small forward and this year is no different. Ariza has tallied five steals, ten assists and ten rebounds in his last two games and with Eric Gordon out, Ariza should be getting plenty of minutes if healthy.

Obviously, the groin injury coming back to bite Ariza is a major concern but he is available in over half of fantasy leagues. Eric Gordon still has no timetable for his return and that should mean Ariza will be shooting tons of threes like we saw him do from 2009-2011. If healthy he will steal tons of balls, hit threes and supply enough rebounds to negate his poor field goal percentages.

Filip Kuba Is A Must Own

Filip Kuba is averaging over twenty-five minutes of ice time in the month of January and while doing so is becoming one defenseman that you cannot pass on.

Analysis: Filip Kuba has climbed to thirty-eighth in the NHL among all players in average time on ice. Yet, Kuba’s biggest strength over the last few weeks has been his plus/minus. Kuba is plus ten in his last ten games and is plus sixteen for the year. He does have five assists this month but he is dominating those two fantasy categories(ATOI,+/-) at the moment. Kuba is available in over thirty percent of fantasy leagues and don’t expect him to last much longer.

Ottawa has been on fire recently and as the talented team continues to gel, expect Kuba to keep on producing. He will not be of any help in penalty minutes or shots on goal but he provides enough goals and power play points to make him a fantasy asset. Outside of Tyler Myers, Kuba is the hot defenseman on the wire right now. You can count on the ice time being fantastic and the plus/minus will be reliable as he continues on in January.

Last Call On Kemba Walker

After some early season struggles, Kemba Walker is finally putting up some fantasy relevant numbers.

Analysis: Kemba Walker has averaged over thirty minutes per game over his last five contests and with those minutes have come some solid fantasy numbers. Walker has nine steals, five three pointers made and three blocks in that five game span. Throw in a few four plus assist games and over four rebounds per game in his last week of action and you have yourself a nice little fantasy point guard.

Unfortunately, Kemba is shooting under forty percent from the field thus far this year. His scoring and free throw percentage will be fine but as a point guard he will not be a big supplier of assists. At this point, you have to pick him up and ride the hot hand or sell him high. If his minutes remain strong there is no need to worry that he will not continue to hit the threes and steal plenty of balls. Kemba is still available in about twenty-five percent of all leagues but he is one hot commodity right now.

Stick With Ben Gordon

Ben Gordon has not been impressive lately but there are plenty of reasons to stick with the shooting guard.

Analysis: Ben Gordon could only manage nine points on fourteen shots Thursday night. To make matters worse, the nine points came in forty minutes. Gordon has not posted a twelve plus point game in his last five contests. Although his play has been suspect, he’s just too talented of a player to drop from your fantasy squad and you have to stick by him.

On a positive note, Gordon is averaging well over thirty minutes per game and still has a solid stat line when considering his last two weeks of action has been awful. He’s still going to hit one to two three pointers per game and he’s still a virtual lock for a fifteen plus points per game average. Gordon has always been a stellar free throw shooter and he’s averaging a near career high of 3.4 assists per game. Going forward he is a valuable fantasy asset. His slow play as of late is worth putting up with when considering his threes, free throw percentage and points potential are exactly what you need from a lower tier fantasy shooting guard.

Under The Radar- Saku Koivu

After missing three weeks of action with a groin injury, Saku Koivu has been playing very well in his first four games back.

Analysis: Koivu has four assists, one goal, an average of nineteen minutes of ice time and is a plus four in his four games since returning from injury. Koivu is only owned in about twenty percent of fantasy leagues and he is certainly going under the radar at the moment. He started the season without a point in twelve of his first  fifteen games but since he has put up sixteen points in seventeen games.

Koivu isn’t a force on the power play nor does he rack up tons of shots but he is a reliable source of points. His plus eight rating on the year is exceptional when considering Ryan Getzlaf is a minus seventeen and Corey Perry is a minus eleven on the year. Koivu is about as consistent as they come and as far as lower tier fantasy centers go… he’s solid. He’s a great buy low option at this point in the fantasy hockey season.