Working the Wire: Wells getting more time in New Orleans
Kudos to you if you're still reading fantasy hoops articles this late in the season. That means you're either still in the hunt or you're a completely insane fantasy freak who can't get enough hoops, like myself. This week, we'll cater to those who are still in the hunt, as there are still plenty of high-quality pickups out on the wire. In the next few weeks, we'll continue to suggest pickups but we'll also start to help out those freaks by looking at this season's trends and what they might mean for next season and beyond.
Jerry Stackhouse, SG/SF and Brandon Bass, PF, Mavericks (14.4 percent owned and 5.3 percent owned, respectively): By now I'm sure you've heard about Dirk Nowitzki's "lower left leg injury", and at the time of this publication, it is still unknown how long Dirk will be out. From the looks of it, I'd say Dirk is out for at least two weeks, maybe more. This is not good for the Mavs, and even worse for Nowitzki's fantasy owners.
Luckily, this is one of those injuries that will lead to multiple waiver-wire additions. For scoring, 3-pointers and free-throw percentage, Jerry Stackhouse is your man. Stack was already putting up semi-useful fantasy stats with 10.5 points, 1.1 3-pointers and a 91.6 free-throw percentage in the month of March. Now that Dirk is out, he'll be asked to pick up the slack on the offensive end and should be able to tack on another five points per game due to the injury. Expect somewhere around 15-16 points with 1.2-1.5 3-pointers per game while Dirk heals.
Bass is one of my favorite youngsters. He's an undersized power forward (in terms of height, at least), but what he lacks in size he more than makes up for with strength, tenacity and athleticism. I'm convinced that Bass will be a star in this league at some point, and he'll get a great opportunity to show us his skills with Nowitzki sidelined. Bass can help fantasy owners in a variety of ways. He can score, rebound and block shots while shooting nearly 50 percent from the floor and 80 percent from the line. Bass should easily receive 25-plus minutes per game in Dirk's absence, making him a great high-upside waiver-wire addition.
Bonzi Wells, SG, Hornets (3.3 percent owned): We had thought that Wells would eventually replace Morris Peterson in the starting lineup for the Hornets, and suddenly that's looking like a real possibility as Bonzi has averaged 18.7 points, 3.0 rebounds and 3.7 steals in 26.7 minutes in his past three games. During that time, Peterson has seen just 18.7 minutes of action, and even though he may still technically be the starter, Wells has passed Mo Pete on the depth chart in terms of minutes. You can't expect consistency out of Mr. Wells -- it's never been his strong suit -- but you can expect some real nice steal and rebounding numbers from the guard slot going forward.
Rashad McCants, SG, Timberwolves (71.4 percent owned ): Last week, we talked Ryan Gomes (who's still a great addition); this week we'll discuss another hot-and-cold player in Minnesota, Rashad McCants. McCants is having a nice month (16.5 points, 0.9 steals, 2.1 3-pointers per game) but I was surprised to find that McCants is owned in 71.4 percent of ESPN leagues as he's only recently turned his game up a notch, and he's nowhere to be found on the most-added list. This leads me to believe that many have held on to McCants since his nice run at the end of February. Given his inconsistency problems, I have to think that many who own him are probably wondering if it's worth keeping him around for the remainder of the season. I think so, especially considering how well McCants has adjusted to his sixth-man role in Minnesota. Finally having a set role in the offense can do wonders for a player's consistency, and that might be exactly what's going on with McCants right now. Because he's already owned in a bunch of leagues, I won't tell you to go out and grab him off the wire, but if you own him, don't drop him as you may be sitting pretty for the remainder of the season.
Joel Przybilla, C, Trail Blazers (5.5 percent owned): A lot of people are going to be high on Przybilla after his monster 14-point, 25-rebound effort Saturday night, but be careful if you're expecting anything other than rebounds and blocks. Przybilla has not proven to be a consistent scorer in the league, so don't expect many more 14-point nights in the near future. Still, he has grabbed 10 or more rebounds in three of his past five games and is a consistent shot-blocking threat on a night-to-night basis. Solid big-man stats are hard to come by these days, so adding Przybilla may not be the worst idea in the world.
Nick Collison, PF, SuperSonics (24.6 percent owned): Collison has had on-and-off value for most of the season. Recently, he's been more "off" than "on", but he should be able to turn that around while Chris Wilcox sits with a right pinkie injury. Wilcox is listed as day-to-day, but the pinkie could affect him the rest of the way, and Collison should be the main beneficiary in Seattle. Collison has posted two double-doubles in his past three games, and will be a potential double-double threat every night as long as Wilcox is sidelined. Remember, Collison averaged 10.5 points and 10.5 rebounds per game in the month of January.
It's important not to overreact to one big game, but Spencer Hawes' (2.0 percent owned) 19-point, 12-rebound, 3-block effort Saturday night had to have turned some heads. Hawes hasn't seen much of the court this season, but he's played fairly well when given extended minutes. Hawes has seen only 20-plus minutes in eight games this season. In those contests, he's averaged 10.5 points, 6.4 rebounds and 1.6 blocks. Looking at those numbers, if Brad Miller's elbow bursitis continues to give him problems, Hawes could be one of fantasy's best pickups for the stretch run.
Speaking of the Sacramento Kings, please don't drop Beno Udrih just because he's missed a few games with a back injury. Udrih has been dropped in 20 percent of fantasy leagues this week and I can't seem to figure out why. Word is that Udrih will return to the court sometime this week, and I don't think you want a guy who's averaging 15.9 points, 3.5 rebounds, 6.2 assists, 0.7 steals and 0.6 3-pointers since the All-Star break hanging around on the wire, do you?
Those of you waiting for an Elton Brand sighting may want to give up now and start thinking about Jermaine O'Neal (59.0 percent owned) instead. Both are long shots to return to action, but O'Neal seems to be closer than Brand. Plus, the Pacers could actually use his services right now as they are in a battle with the Nets and Hawks for the final playoff spot in the East. He's a risky acquisition, but he certainly could offer some value in the last few weeks of the season.
Don't look now, but Smush Parker (1.3 percent owned) is averaging 29.0 minutes in his past three games. Brevin Knight is out with a leg injury (what else is new?) and Dan Dickau simply isn't very good. Smush should, therefore, see the majority of minutes at the point for the Clippers. I've always liked Smush's fantasy game, as he's the type of player who can put up steals and 3-pointers in bulk when he has it going. Recently, he's been able to dish out some dimes as well, with 8.3 points, 6.7 assists, 1.3 steals and 0.7 3-pointers in his past three games. He's still a gamble due to the presence of Knight and Dickau, but I'm actually pretty optimistic about Smush's value going forward.
I'm always searching for players who have recently seen a spike in minutes, and Wilson Chandler (0.4 percent owned) fits the bill in New York. During his past five games, Chandler has seen his minutes jump to 28.4 per game and has averaged 10.0 points, 5.8 rebounds and a steal per game during that span. Those in deeper leagues should follow his progress closely just in case he starts putting up viable fantasy stats in the near future.
I know a lot of people are going to jump on the Jeff Green bandwagon after his 23-point, 7-rebound performance Saturday night, but I'm not so optimistic about his chances for providing anything other than a few big scoring nights. Green is already getting enough minutes to be productive; he's just not doing much with them. Consider this: In the month of March, Green has averaged just 12.3 points, 3.5 rebounds, 2.4 assists, 0.8 steals, 0.7 blocks and 0.8 3-pointers despite seeing 30.9 minutes per game.
Brian McKitish is a fantasy baseball and basketball analyst for ESPN.com.
