Perhaps only I find it interesting how easy it is to find rebounds on the waiver wire. If you look at the top 50 PPG leaders, good luck finding anyone other than Bojan Bogdanovic available in more than 20% of ESPN leagues. While Bogdanovic is fine, he does little else for a fantasy team and may end up a diminished sixth man for a contender. If you are looking for assists, Mike Conley is the only top-15 ranked point guard available in 20% of ESPN leagues. However, if you need rebounding help, it's clearly out there.
Ivica Zubac (70.7% rostered) and Steven Adams (46.3% rostered) are among 12 players that have averaged double-digit rebounds this season. Mason Plumlee (25.9% rostered), Isaiah Stewart (19.8% rostered), Jarred Vanderbilt (30.5% rostered) and Mitchell Robinson (58.1% rostered) each offer more than 8 RPG and are all productive and available.
What this tells me is that fantasy managers overlook rebounding, when those skilled in this endeavor also tend to shoot well from the field and block the occasional shot (especially Robinson). Vanderbilt is a perfect example of a useful fantasy option being overlooked because he doesn't score as much. He has averaged 8.8 PPG, but his 8.3 RPG, 1.2 SPG and 60% FG matter quite a bit as well. Vanderbilt has averaged 26.8 fantasy points per game for points-based scoring, which is not among the top 100, but not everyone on your team needs to be that high anyway.
Utah's excellent and surprising start to the season is largely a sweet memory now, as the Jazz had lost eight of 11 games before Tuesday's win over the Pelicans. Perhaps the team starts winning again with Conley back on the court and it will be interesting to see how Jazz coach Will Hardy continues to integrate rookie C Walker Kessler. I have discussed Kessler on numerous occasions, mainly for roto formats, but he's also a great fit for points leagues as well. He's a legit 7-footer who blocked and rebounded for Auburn and North Carolina and is clearly not at all overwhelmed by the NBA level.
Kessler started a few games last week, but he may not need to in order to prove himself to fantasy managers. He enters Thursday's game against the Pelicans averaging a double-double in December, with 2.7 BPG while shooting 75% from the field. I think he's very similar to Hawks C Clint Capela, but with more room for growth. Kessler has scored more than 30 fantasy points in five of his past six games this month and his playing time is only going to rise. Get him now if you still can.
Other random thoughts
I nearly wrote about my fantasy love for Suns SF Mikal Bridges today, but then he went and missed an incomprehensible 20-of-24 field goal attempts in Tuesday's loss to the Rockets. And it's not like the Rockets had a prime Dennis Rodman guarding him, either. Bridges just had one of those nights. The fact he kept shooting hurt fantasy managers, but I suppose you want your players shooting, not being passive. Bridges still scored 19 fantasy points, well under his average, but not nothing. He had 46 fantasy points the prior game. This is his best fantasy season so far, and upside remains for scoring and rebounding. He should be at 18 PPG and 7 RPG. Regardless, now is actually a good time to see if the Bridges investor in your league wants to part with him. Bridges gets better each season.
While Vanderbilt and Kessler are rebounders many of us can still get, let's give props to Milwaukee Bucks PF/C Bobby Portis. There are 31 qualified players averaging 8 RPG, and Portis (82.3% rostered) is the only one doing so regularly off his team's bench. That fascinates me. Portis has started only seven of 27 games, but has averaged 9.8 RPG as a reserve, and I'm pleased to say I invested in him in several leagues back in October. I did so because I was skeptical the Bucks would get much from Brook Lopez. I was wrong there, as Lopez is having a terrific season and is actually the only Bucks player among the top 40 on the Player Rater. Anyway, I appreciate Portis and Lopez.
One may be wondering where Giannis Antetokounmpo shows up on the Player Rater since we all acknowledge he is one of the top-5 options in any points or roto draft, if not the first option. This is about his free throw shooting, which is spiraling out of control for roto managers. I find it hard to believe such an amazing talent, who shows no signs of aging, boredom or any other skill reduction, can be so inconsistent shooting free throws each year, and he gets to the line more than anyone in the sport.
Giannis shot better than 70% for five years until dropping to 63% in 2019-20. He rebounded some when the Bucks won it all in 2021 and got back past 72% last season. But now, he's at 62.8% and is hurting fantasy managers more than ever. The aforementioned Plumlee is the only one of 120 qualifiers who is worse from the line, and he's shooting his freebies left-handed. Giannis shows up at No. 59 on the Rater. If he shot 72%, as Mavericks star Luka Doncic does, he'd be top 10 in roto, as he is in points. Don't always believe the Player Rater. It's fun and it's a guide for roto and I look it constantly, but it does not define value for players who are far out of the ordinary in a specific category, good or bad.
It is really hard to believe the Warriors are 2-13 in road games, though that is a bit misleading because half their losses were close ones. Opponents are hitting an unusual and unsustainable percentage of 3-pointers against them. However, for fantasy purposes, I wonder if individual numbers are vastly different away from Chase Center, as fantasy managers may want to consider sitting Warriors players when they play on the road. The answer is: No. Curry dominates anywhere, and has averaged more points, rebounds and assists on the road. Klay Thompson is better at home, but not great anywhere. Andrew Wiggins is much better at home but why doesn't he rebound on the road? Draymond Green shoots much better on the road. This is all variance, and we only have a small sample size, it's nothing a fantasy manager should overthink. Curry is the only Warrior among the top 50 on the Rater anyway and, in this case, it's accurate, because no other player on the team belongs in the top 50 in drafts.
Jimmy Butler is also outside the top 50 on the Rater because he has missed so many games this year. He sat on Wednesday night for right knee injury management and the Heat have more losses than wins, but I suspect they are not concerned yet. I thought about making the case for Butler as the Eastern Conference version of Kawhi Leonard because his stats are fantastic, but Butler misses so many games that he frustrates fantasy managers anyway. He has averaged 21.7 PPG, 6.7 RPG and 5.9 APG this season, with steals and good shooting. The last season he played in 60 games was 2019 when he was on the Timberwolves and 76ers. Leonard was like this prior to tearing his ACL. Both are still valuable, even today, but I just don't want to deal with it.