The eighth installment of the fantasy buzz is here! For those who don't know: While I will attempt to make recommendations based on all types of fantasy leagues, I will only be speaking to what is known as "advanced scoring" when it comes to actual fantasy production as I find standard scoring and 9 Category leagues to be boring. That being said, let's dive into the performances of our squad this past week, break down my predictions from last week and look ahead to the next week of games!
The Cats played 3 games this past week: the Clippers on Wednesday, the Knicks on Friday and the Bulls on Saturday. Some players have dropped out of the rotation and/or are having very minimal fantasy impact and so I will leave them out of the discussion. Here's how our boys performed:
Kemba Walker: Still hasn't made it back on the court. Be patient, fantasy owners. He will be back soon and will hopefully be back with a vengeance!
Gerald Henderson: averaged 19 fantasy points across those 3 games with decent games against the Clippers and Bulls (28 and 24 fantasy points, respectively) but he also managed a complete dud against the Knicks, managing only 5 fantasy points in 32 minutes of court action. Obviously I was only 2 for 3 on last week's predictions as I recommended starting him in all 3 games.
Michael Kidd-Gilchrist: averaged only 13 fantasy points across those 3 games with no standout performances. He never saw more than 25 minutes on the court in any of the three games and is still trying to get his conditioning back after the long injury absence. He has a fantasy friendly game with his steals, blocks and rebounds but his scoring leaves a lot to be desired. I recommended sitting him in all 3 games last week and I hope you listened!
Josh McRoberts: kept his strong production streak going, averaging 24 fantasy points across those 3 games with his most impressive performance coming from a 33 fantasy point outing versus the Clippers. Last week I recommended starting him versus the Clippers and Bulls but sitting him versus the Knicks. Well, he managed 33 against the Clippers, but 19 in both the other games. So we'll just call that one a wash…
Al Jefferson: kept his monster streak going, averaging an impressive 50 points across those 3 games with his best performance coming off a 61 point outing against the Bulls. He has always been one of, if not THE, best low post scorers in the league and he has truly emerged as the go to scorer for the Cats regardless of who is defending him.
Ramon Sessions: averaged 24 points across those 3 games with his best performance coming from his 28 point game against the Bulls. He has done a more than adequate job filling in for the injured Walker and he will continue to be heavily relied upon both as a scorer and the initiator of the offense.
Looking ahead, the Bobcats play three games this week: the Nuggets on Wednesday, the Lakers on Friday and the Suns on Saturday. Here are some recommendations of who to get in your lineup:
1. Ramon Sessions: A direct copy and paste from last week's recommendations: Sessions now earns the same honor that Walker has been enjoying the last several weeks: he is a must start player unless you are simply loaded with other options at PG. He will see all the minutes he can handle while Walker is out and has already shown that he is capable of running the offense. He is not as consistent of a scorer as Walker, but he gets assists and rebounds and he excels at getting to the free throw line, so he can offer some extra points in leagues that reward FT percentage.
2. Gerald Henderson: Henderson makes for a decent start in all 3 games, but his recent inconsistency makes him a maddening player to own in fantasy. Until he gets his groove back I'd recommend sitting him if you have a better option. He has a favorable match up against the Lakers, but both the Nuggets and Suns are in the league's top 10 versus opposing SGs.
3. Michael Kidd-Gilchrist: It is impossible to recommend MKG as a starter until his court time increases and he manages to find at least some semblance of a shooting touch. Keep sitting him unless you are beyond desperate for a starter.
4. Josh McRoberts: roll him out there for all three games unless you have a bona fide better option. The Nuggets and Lakers are both awful versus opposing PFs and while the Suns are in the top 10 versus opposing PFs, the lack of any other player stepping up in Kemba's absence has seen McRoberts shoulder a surprising amount of the scoring responsibility. Ride the hot streak until the wheels fall off!
5. Al Jefferson: Yet another direct copy and paste from last week: Jefferson has been on fire and there's no reason to think that's going to stop anytime soon. If you have a better option at center then you are truly the envy of everyone in your league as there is just no reason to sit Jefferson on any given night. Continue to roll him out there and hope that he continues this past week's dominance.
That's all for this week! I will be back next week to review the fantasy performances of our players, point out where my predictions went wrong and/or right and recommend some players for the next week's games. Until then, good luck, have fun and GO BOBCATS!
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