Give Charlotte Hornets SF/PF Miles Bridges credit for an incredibly surprising season, but those awesome numbers are clearly changing lately mainly because the team's starting guards are shooting considerably more.
Bridges enters this week averaging only 16.1 PPG and 5.0 RPG over seven February games, shooting 43% from the field, and while it may just be a blip or perhaps he is tired or secretly hurt, it seems rather clear how Charlotte's offense adjusted in recent weeks.
February numbers:
Bridges: 16.1 PPG, 13.1 FG attempts per game (15.3 in January)
LaMelo Ball: 24.1 PPG, 18.3 FG attempts per game (16.4 in January)
Terry Rozier: 22.7 PPG, 19.6 FG attempts per game (15.9 in January)
Look, few figured Bridges would average close to 20.0 PPG for the entire season, an extreme jump in his fourth NBA campaign from the 12.7 PPG from last season. We can both applaud him for his excellent work but also view him as someone to trade away for fantasy basketball because his current numbers do not quite match his misleading full-season ones.
I called Bridges a sell-high option several months ago, perhaps controversially, and he just kept on producing big stats. However, the more recent stats are inconsistent and lacking the same prior usage.
Ball is the team's best player, without question, and he has surely become more assertive as a shooter in recent weeks, and for good reason. He is shooting better! Ball is hitting 46.4% of 3-pointers in February, while Rozier is averaging 10.9 3-pointers for the month. The dynamics of the Charlotte offense are different now, and perhaps Bridges had no chance. With SF Gordon Hayward (ankle) out again, and SF/PF Kelly Oubre firing away every time he gets the basketball, the Hornets have three fellows launching a ton of 3-pointers. Bridges is shooting 20.6% on 3-pointers this month. There you have it.
Bridges still ranks among our top 20 on the full-season Player Rater and in points formats, so the asking price in any trade should be considerable. He is also averaging better than a steal and block per game the past three weeks, so it is not as if things have totally fallen apart. I choose to rely more on recent trends than full-season ones by this point of a season, however, and everyone looks at scoring, rebounding and usage (well, they should). Use the lofty Bridges season numbers as proof of how awesome is and conveniently leave out the February ones. It is neither lying nor deceitful.
I saw a recent trade in one of my leagues in which Bridges went for three lesser players, and my first thought was, eh, not a fan of that. Not saying that a fantasy manager must get the best player in the deal every time, but there better be a good reason if you are not. Perhaps you need depth, or a certain statistical category. Then I looked closer. Perhaps that manager saw what I did and had not really noticed about Bridges. Now is a wise time to move on and, in retrospect, that manager made a wise trade.
Ideally, I would move Bridges for a safer, more reliable and ascending player, and for roto leagues, one offering statistics you need to move up. In one of my leagues, I am using literally half my active roster spots for centers who shoot and rebound well and hit their shots, because that is where my team can move up. I have enough assists. I am giving up in 3-pointers. Identify the categories you need and go hard after them.
The NBA trading deadline is over but, for fantasy, you still have until Wednesday, Feb, 23 at 12 p.m. ET to make your big moves! Do not wait! Here is the latest edition of the Trade Index.
Trade for
James Harden, PG/SG, Philadelphia 76ers: I tweeted this when I gleefully saw last week's mammoth trade, but, if you can make a fantasy trade in which you acquire a top-10 player (and Harden still is) for far lesser, limited players and meaningless draft picks, you do it every time. Go for the win now. Worry about the future later. Flags fly forever. I do not care what Harden's real-life contract is in three years. I care that he remains a dominant player and the 76ers have a legit chance at winning something the next few seasons. Fantasy managers should always have this mindset. Harden is not hurt. He just did not want to play in Brooklyn anymore. He will mesh beautifully with Joel Embiid. Go get him.
Brandon Clarke, PF/C, Memphis Grizzlies: Not the first time I favorably called him out, but Clarke continues to progress each month, from 4.2 PPG in October, to 8.8 PPG in November, to 10.4 PPG in December, to 12.5 PPG in January, to 13.6 PPG in February. He has shot at least 60% from the field each month since October. He averages 7.4 RPG this month. He can block a shot. He is available in more than 50% of ESPN standard leagues. Go get him!
Trade away
Zach LaVine, SG/SF, Chicago Bulls: Perhaps we get more clarity on LaVine's sore left knee any minute and the news could be positive, in theory. Could happen. The more likely news is that LaVine is going to need to miss considerable time and fantasy managers will not be pleased. Even if the Bulls and doctors clear LaVine to play right after the All-Star break, be mildly concerned. The Eastern Conference is deep and I doubt teams believe the team seeds mean too much. The Bulls should be patient here and focus on the playoffs.
Deandre Ayton, C, Phoenix Suns: Man, he sure looked great against the Milwaukee Bucks last week, draining 12-of-14 field goals and scoring 27 points in a rout. Then again, Ayton boasts just OK numbers since the start of January, averaging 15.1 PPG and 8.2 RPG and shooting well, albeit without blocks, but he has missed quite a few games this season and the Suns have little motivation to push him. This team can rest players as they sail to the West's top seed, and they have the top center trio in the sport. JaVale McGee actually ranks better than Ayton on the Player Rater for the past month. Bismack Biyombo shined when he got the chance to play. Ayton has missed multiple games in consecutive fashion four times already this season. There may be more.