As many of you have seen, I spend far too much time analyzing Atlanta Hawks rookie point guard Trae Young and the things he does and does not do so well. But the fact is that in one of my roto leagues, I seriously contemplated sitting him this week for
Young scored 20 points in the blowout loss to the Golden State Warriors on Monday but added nary a rebound, steal or 3-pointer (and his defense is non-existent), while Lin continued his efficient play off the bench, returning from a two-game absence to hit his shots, contribute in numerous categories and outplay the rookie.
Lin, wrongly on the most-dropped list as of today because he missed a few recent games, is hardly the lone backup guard I have rostered in fantasy leagues this season. Look at the Dallas Mavericks, where 34-year-old J.J. Barea yet again piles on the assists behind a young guard (Dennis Smith Jr.) with shooting issues. Barea averages 5.9 assists per game, and he surely is not Russell Westbrook, but for those in roto leagues suffering in the category, he is truly valuable. My take on Barea in that league for, oh, about three years running, has been I can usually add the player on free agency when I need an assists hit but when someone else does so, I get angry!
Of course, league format is a big deal here. Some might wonder why I bother discussing players like Lin and Barea, mostly ignored in ESPN standard leagues. Well, perhaps like me, some or many of you participate in deeper formats. Reserve point guards are not simply for handcuffing to the starters, but they can help those in deeper formats for assists or even in points formats. In ESPN points scoring, Barea and Lin average more fantasy points than many more celebrated guard-eligible options, including Smith, Andrew Wiggins, Collin Sexton, Marcus Smart and Tyreke Evans.
People might have laughed at me when I kept recommending Philadelphia 76ers energizer T.J. McConnell last season, but his assists and steals were valuable for fantasy managers, and he hit half his field goal attempts. Young and Smith are not going to hit anywhere close to half their field goal attempts. Neither will Oklahoma City Thunder guard Dennis Schroder, but the former Hawks starter averages 15.5 points with 4.8 assists off the bench, so regardless of his role on Westbrook's team, keep him rostered. We care if he starts or not, but even when he does not, he produces numbers. Lin keeps producing numbers, and I ultimately decided to activate each Hawks guard this week.
Back to the Hawks: They were obviously no match for Stephen Curry and his veteran crew, especially with Young coughing the ball up so many times in the first half. I thought at one point he might achieve the ignominious triple-double with points, assists and turnovers, then I laughed at myself when I realized the assists were the problem there. Young scored in single-digits in six of his past 11 contests, though the schedule played a role, with defensive-minded clubs (Thunder, Celtics, Raptors, Nuggets) among the opponents. The Washington Wizards are up a few times in the next two weeks. Things will improve, but there is also no reason to think Lin cannot keep playing at a high level with him.
Other thoughts
I somehow got into a conversation about the future of Kevin Durant at a recent event and confidently stated he would be coming back to the Warriors after the season. Why would he leave? Well, then the thing with Draymond Green occurred, and that is why Durant could leave. Then again, could Green end up elsewhere? I complained about his underwhelming scoring in a recent column, and we miss the rebounds and assists while he remains out with a toe injury, but perhaps the Warriors want to see what life is like without their center long-term. They do not need the No. 1 West seed. Regardless, do not trade away Durant in your dynasty leagues. I am confident he will produce anywhere.
There might be no immediate statistical winner in the Chicago Bulls coaching shakeup. Simply having a healthy Lauri Markkanen is going to help the offense so much, and while I understand the skepticism about point guard Kris Dunn, just give him a chance when he returns, which could be any day now. Add him now. Markkanen can average 16 points, 8 boards and many 3-pointers. Dunn gets many steals, along with assists. Things are about to get so much better for this offense, but it is quite a sight watching this team attempt to play defense.
One of the things I love about Detroit Pistons center Andre Drummond is how even on the off nights he still racks up some points. OK, so I was disappointed with the six rebounds on Monday. The loss was a blowout. Still, that was 10 fantasy points in ESPN scoring. It is not nothing. It beat Chris Paul.
Do you still think Carmelo Anthony was the only problem with the Houston Rockets? Nope. Seems to me they could use Trevor Ariza back.
I think I received a trade offer of the wrong Bogdanovic a few weeks ago. Let me explain. Bogdan Bogdanovic is a 26-year-old guard for the Sacramento Kings. He is from Serbia. He scores and hits 3-pointers. Bojan Bogdanovic is 29 and a few inches taller, a forward for the Indiana Pacers, from Boznia and Herzegovina. He does the same things well. They are not related. The Kings option is the one fantasy managers want. Each scored 20 points in a weekend matchup when the teams met. The Kings' option is on the most-added list. The Pacers' option is on the other side. This all makes sense to me.
Phoenix Suns star Devin Booker is not likely to play again this week or beyond with a hamstring injury, so it presents opportunity, again, for Elie Okobo. The 20-year-old Frenchman is rough defensively, but I saw one of his starts (he has made two), and he can direct the offense if given the chance. While his shooting numbers do not show it, there is upside there too. I could see 12 points, 5 assists per contest. By the way, perhaps nobody has noticed, but Jamal Crawford, 38, last averaged more than 3.2 assists per game during the Reagan administration, but he has four or more of them in five consecutive games. There is short-term value here.