NBA Week 7: Top Players Available

Sorry for not posting in a while, I've been pretty busy with homework and stuff (high school sucks), but I have some time now to write so here are some words. Since it's been like a month since my last post, I'll just remind you what the basic structure of this, I find a couple of relatively players who've been good over the past week or so, and I analyze whether or not I think their results are sustainable.

Robert Covington: 76ers Episode VI The Hinkie Strikes Back. The Sixers tanking method of signing a roster of D-Leaguers has gotten Sam Hinkie a lot of flak, but for once, it seems like he struck a gem. Over the past six games, when Covington got his chance to play, Covington is averaging 19.3 points, six rebounds and two threes, in 31.5 minutes per game. Obviously the rebounding is not great from the power forward position, but if you need threes, Robert can help, especially considering that his free throw percentage doesn't handicap you, with 85% shooting in college and the D-League.

Covington is a player trained in the Moreyball system, you shoot threes, and you shoot layups, and that has it's positives and negatives. By being on the outside, Covington isn't in good position to get offensive rebounds , but an undersized player like him probably wouldn't get too many of them anyways. The positive is that when open, good shooters don't miss, and Covington has been able to get open, as almost half of his threes have been with the defender five or more feet away, although a risk is that he won't be so open all season. The 76ers also play at a very fast pace, which will get Covington a lot of extra shots. The number put up by Covington are similar to his numbers in college, the D-League, and in his 34 minute trial with the Rockets last season, so why not pick up the hot hand while it's hot?

Enes Kanter: Since the start of December, Kanter has been showing the talent that made him a top five pick in the draft a couple years ago. Kanter is averaging 16 points, ten rebounds, and a block, with three double-doubles in seven games, and with Derrick Favors out, though not for long, Kanter will get some minutes. Throughout his career, the Jazz have always had a glut of bigs for him to split minutes with, but during this month, Kanter has gotten minutes, and he's been good, with numbers above his career 36 averages, but not so far above it seems like a fluke. As long as he's getting 30 minutes or more a game, play him, he'll get you the counting stats and shoots 51% from the field.

Shabbazz Muhamed: Remember when he was in high school? Everyone said he was going to be a top five pick in the draft, then he got lazy in college, and fell to 13. Now? Shabazz lost 20 pounds over the offseason, and is just out trying everyone. Catch ball, drive ball, shoot ball, score ball, passing isn't in the dictionary, he passes it barely of the times he touches the ball. 67.5% of Shabazz' shots are in the paint, and a majority of his shots are on drives, fast breaks, alleyoops, or put backs. He just tries hard. Depending on your league rules he's a two/three category player, he has points, scoring 18 per game this month, points per minute, as he only plays 25 minutes, and rebounds, which he gets five of a game, which is good from the small forward position.

Jodie Meeks: He's only played three games, and started slow in the first two, but he went off on the Clippers with twenty points, two steals, three threes, and 7 for 7 free throw shooting. Meeks is a scorer, he averaged 15.7 points and two threes with the Lakers last season, and I think that he can do even better in Stan van Gundy's system of drawing the defense in on Drummond, then kicking it out to a shooter, but he's a two category player, and he won't help you with anything else.