NBA Midweek Report: Week 14 (Volatile Assets)

1. fick·le

ˈfik(ə)l/

adjective

adjective: fickle; comparative adjective: fickler; superlative adjective: ficklest

1. 1. changing frequently, especially as regards one's loyalties, interests, or affection.

"Web patrons are a notoriously fickle lot, bouncing from one site to another on a whim"

Fickle assets.

They’re the worst.

One game you’ve got a Top 25 player, the next you’ve got a Top 250 player.

Ever had a guy that you added one week, then dropped the next week, then added again a couple weeks later, then dropped after another 3 weeks?

John Henson owners, I feel your pain. (More on him later.)

Today’s article is devoted to volatile assets.

Let’s start.

Naw, we won’t.

See what I did there?

Returns:

Terrence Jones, HOU, SF/PF

I’m not gonna lie: I thought the kid was out for the year.

He’s missed so much playing time, I forgot he was even an option.

Then he surprisingly returned Wednesday night against the Mavs, and had a pretty decent game back: 21 minutes, 10 points, 4/8 from the field, 1 3PM, 5 rebounds and a block.

Dude hadn’t played since November 3^rd.

As I had him ranked in the Top 100 before the season started, he’s a MUST-ADD if he’s still kicking around in your FA pool.

He’s a multi-cat beast, and at age 23, there’s lots of room to grow.

The only issue is the crowded swing situation in Houston.

While he goes back and forth between power forward and small forward, the Rockets have a couple other guys who do the same thing: Donatas Motiejunas and Josh Smith.

There’s also this guy named Dwight Howard who is always a question mark to play on any given day.

If TJ gets the minutes – and I personally think he will – this is the rare player who can help you in basically every category. He’s not a great FT shooter, but this is no DeAndre Jordan either. Jones shoots a respectable 66.7% from the charity stripe this season, and at only 1.2 FTA this season per game, he won’t affect this column much either way.

If anything, Terrence’s return signals waning futures for Motiejunas and Josh Smith. As Terrence gets back into game shape, he’s going to start stealing their usage. It might be time to "sell high", as they say.

Intrigued:

Anthony Tolliver, DET, SF/PF

After a couple weeks of multi-cat goodness, Tolliver gave us a stinker against the Sixers last night.

He didn’t even record a single point.

The last couple weeks, he’s been getting you points, 3s, rebounds and steals. And he’s a career 78.2% free throw shooter.

But getting zero points is pretty bad.

The Pistons are a bit risky in the post-Jennings era. D.J. Augustin started out with a bang, but simply isn’t as dynamic as Brandon Jennings. NBA defenses are learning how to stop Augustin, and that’s going to affect the entire team. The crappy Philadelphia 76ers held the Pistons to 69 points. That’s both a testament to Philly’s improving defense, but also a warning flag to Pistons owners: There could be dark days ahead…

So Tolliver looks good in deep leagues to me, but he’s far from a guarantee.

Losing mojo:

John Henson, MIL, PF/C

John Henson perfectly encapsulates the volatile player: He’s had multiple games with 5 blocks this season, and multiple games where he played 5 minutes.

With Larry Sanders going crazy, Henson should get more PT. But Jason Kidd clearly doesn’t believe in him. Maybe there’s a trade coming?

Henson’s upside is immense, and his advanced stats indicate one of the best shot blockers in the NBA.

But without minutes, it’s tough to make an impact in the Fantasy world.

He rarely plays over 20 MPG these days, and he’s simply not going to help you in standard leagues until he crosses that threshold.

But in deep leagues/dynasties, I believe this is still a hold: I mean, the kid was born in 1990.

Trey Burke, UTA, PG

With Alec Burks out for the year, Trey started to get hot.

Then he got relegated to the bench – for basically no reason.

Utah has nothing to play for, but seem to want to get the overwhelmed Dante Exum a starting job. Exum has looked like the quintessential deer in headlights, and has barely produced. But Burke’s development is still getting compromised…

He’s still getting minutes, but his shooting % has been pretty terrible the last couple weeks.

Check out the FG/FGA from the past few games: 4/15, 7/20, 7/13, 4/11, 1/10, 4/15, 7/19.

That’s what happens when you graduate from Kobe Bryant University.

Boy is absolutely KILLING your field goal % right now. (And mine too, as I own him in 2 leagues.)

His monthly splits look the same in January as every other month (hasn’t shot over 40% in ANY month this year), but he’s been especially brutal the last couple weeks. With fewer offensive options on Utah, this could be the result of NBA scouting. As one of Utah’s only legitimate scoring options, this inefficiency could persist all season…

I don’t think he’s a drop, but he’s not the Prom King either.

It may be time to adopt a "Punt FG%" strategy.

In summation, the love/hate players are likely the only ones potentially available to you in free agency right now.

They could be worth an add, but just as likely you’ll get a message from a previous owner saying: "I told you so."

I hate those guys.

Bobman