 | Carmelo Anthony may not be an All-Star yet, but he's still putting up solid stats. Greg Nelson/SI |
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By Dennis Velasco, Special to SI.com, DroppingDimes.com
Stat's All Folks will be a week-to-week stock market look at the standard cumulative categories -- points, assists, rebounds, three-pointers made, steals, and blocks. I'll be calling out the "bulls" and "bears" in each category, in order to help you assess your portfolio of players on your fantasy basketball team(s) and whether you should sell, hold, and/or diversify your assets.
Note that you won't always see the superstar player written about in this column, otherwise it would be LeBron James or Steve Nash every week. So, check out who's bullish and who's bearish coming into the week.
Statistics are from Jan. 26-Feb. 1.
POINTS
BULLISH
Carmelo Anthony, SF, Denver Nuggets
Last Week's Numbers of Note: 4 G; 29.5 PPG; 44.1 FG%; 76.2 FT%
To all the Western Conference head coaches who did not choose Anthony as an All-Star reserve, I agree with you. That one punch and immediate backpedal against the Knicks was enough to sully all the hard work Melo had put forth in cleaning his rep. But, this is fantasy and whether you love him or hate him in real life, it doesn't matter here. What also doesn't matter is that Allen Iverson is now on the same team, because Melo is still getting his looks and scoring near his seasonal average since returning from suspension -- 30 ppg in six games. In fantasy, you shouldn't snub Melo, even with The Answer in Denver.
Other Blue-Chippers for the Week
Kobe Bryant, SG, Los Angeles Lakers: 3 G; 35.3 PPG
Dwyane Wade, PG/SG, Miami Heat: 4 G; 32.5 PPG
Joe Johnson, PG/SG, Atlanta Hawks: 4 G; 30.5 PPG
Keep An Eye On
Gerald Wallace, SG/SF/PF, Charlotte Bobcats: 4 G; 26.0 PPG
Al Harrington, SF/PF/C, Golden State Warriors: 3 G; 20.7 PPG
Manu Ginobili, SG, San Antonio Spurs: 4 G; 20.0 PPG
BEARISH
Stephen Jackson, SG/SF, Golden State Warriors
Last Week's Numbers of Note: 3 G; 13.3 PPG; 55.6 FG%; 75.0 FT%
After a less than innocent stay with the Pacers, Jackson needed a change of scenery. He had an impressive debut with the Warriors, sinking five triples on his way to finishing with 29 points against Cleveland, but has been inconsistent since. In his next five games, Jackson scored 13, 7, 17, 6, and 17 points. Talk about yo-yoing. Considering that Jason Richardson will be back soon, it's going to throw a wrench into the rotation and the up-and-down performance of Jackson could continue. Or it could become consistent. Consistently bad. If you can move Jackson, I'd do so now while the iron is lukewarm.
Other Duds for the Week
Tayshaun Prince, SF, Detroit Pistons: 4 G; 12.3 PPG
Zydrunas Ilgauskas, C, Cleveland Cavaliers: 4 G; 8.0 PPG
Wally Szczerbiak, SG/SF, Boston Celtics: 3 G; 7.3 PPG
Buyer Beware
Jamal Crawford, SG, New York Knicks: 4 G; 30.8 PPG
Kirk Hinrich, PG/SG, Chicago Bulls: 2 G; 25.5 PPG
Austin Croshere, PF, Dallas Mavericks: 2 G; 17.0 PPG
