Player News – Page 46 – FantasySP Blog

Stock Rising- Jermaine O’Neal

Jermaine O’Neal was a rebounding machine in the month of February, averaging 8.5 boards per in just 21 minutes of action per game.

Analysis: Yes, 8.5 rebounds per game is nice but O’Neal is playing even better as of late. He’s averaging 10.4 RPG in his last seven contests. O’Neal is also averaging 2.2 BPG in that seven game span while shooting over fifty percent from the field. He has not done fantasy owners any favors in the last two years but his numbers cannot be ignored right now. His minutes are up in the mid-twenties recently and he can handle those minutes, he’s still only thirty-four years old.

O’Neal is still available in 80% of fantasy leagues and we all know there isn’t much depth at center in fantasy basketball. For a big man he isn’t bad at the line either. He’s shooting 81% from the free throw line this year and is 71% for his career. He outperformed Roy Hibbert, Robin Lopez, Tristan Thompson and Nene in the month of February. The great part is that he’s playing his best ball entering this month and he’s widely available.

Deep League Help- Henderson

Gerald Henderson is averaging 33 minutes per game in his four games since the All-Star break.

Analysis: With his increased playing time Henderson is putting up some solid numbers. He is averaging 16.25 PPG and 6.25 RPG since the All-Star break. For the month of February Henderson is averaging 15.2 PPG, 5.1 RPG, 0.9 SPG and is shooting 82% from the stripe in over 30 minutes per game. For a shooting guard his five plus boards per game this month really is a strength considering he’s only hitting 0.5 threes per game this season.

Henderson makes a solid deep league addition as he is available in 40-60% of fantasy leagues. His field goal percentage is pedestrian but as a shooting guard he’s only going to hurt you a bit in the three point department. Henderson is a two guard but he does have small forward position eligibility in most leagues which is always a bonus. At the moment he is a better fantasy option than more heavily owned guys like Ray Allen and Kyle Korver.

Up next for Gerald is the Clippers Tuesday night followed by the Jazz on Friday.

Buying Low- Ales Hemsky

Ales Hemsky isn’t a household name but he continues to quietly produce on a mediocre team.

Analysis: The oft-injured Czech native has stayed healthy thus far this year yet he still isn’t getting much love from fantasy owners. Hemsky has 10 points in 16 games this year while averaging 16 minutes of ice time per game. While those aren’t especially great numbers he is among the top thirty in scoring and fourth in goals among right wingers. He also has 6 power play points this year which is elite no doubt but he does have some negative aspects to his fantasy game. Hemsky doesn’t quite shoot as much as he should, his plus/minus will not be great and he has never been one to take tons of penalties although he is respectable in that area.

Hemsky ranks ahead of Nail Yakupov and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins in terms of fantasy production this year yet he is available in 50-70% of fantasy leagues. If he remains healthy he is a viable source of points on the right wing who will continue to get tons of minutes on the power play.

Buying Low- Dougie Hamilton

Dougie Hamilton got back on track with a goal and an assist against Buffalo after a six game scoreless stretch.

Analysis: You have to be patient in fantasy hockey and especially with defensemen with tons of offensive upside. Dougie Hamilton is only nineteen years old but he is a special player. He’s been well over a point per game player in the OHL over the past two years and his transition to the NHL has been as expected. Hamilton has 6 points in 12 games this year and he is averaging nearly nineteen minutes of ice time per game. He’s getting his fair share of power play minutes as well, however, Hamilton’s biggest fantasy flaw is that he has zero penalty minutes thus far this year.

Hamilton is one of the most heavily dropped fantasy players at the moment but it may be a mistake dropping him so early in the season. His offensive upside is tremendous and his plus/minus will improve when Boston starts to score more(2.6 goals/game). He’s available in 30-50% of fantasy leagues but when he catches fire again you won’t be finding him on the wire.

Jeff Green Is Surging

Jeff Green is getting tons of minutes over the last three weeks coming off the Boston bench.

Analysis: Green is averaging 31.6 minutes per game over his last week of action. In this five game span he’s averaging 14.0 PPG, 4.4 RPG, 1.4 BPG and he’s shooting 47% from the field. He’s always been the athletic small forward/power forward that can contribute in the rebound, steal and block departments but other aspects of his game are coming along. He’s shooting 92% from the stripe over the last week and is shooting 81% from the stripe this year, up 4% from his career average of 77%. With his increased playing time his rebounds are starting to creep back up into the five per game range. We also cannot forget that he does hit nearly one three per game.

Jeff Green is available in 50-75% of fantasy leagues nationwide. Any player with his type of athleticism that is getting thirty plus minutes per game makes an intriguing add. He’s contributing in seven of eight fantasy categories and over the last two weeks he is outperforming Kyle Korver, Martell Webster, Taj Gibson and Tiago Splitter.