With the trade deadline past and teams now more or less set for the rest of the year (with some exceptions of course…JIMMER!!!), we’ve reached the point in the fantasy season when your team really needs to start making moves. In most leagues, the playoffs are only six or seven weeks away and they’ll be here before you know it.
Luckily for you, I’m here to offer my infinite wisdom on which players are becoming more valuable and which are losing value as the season wears on.
Let’s get started. We’re trying to defend the people of Gotham in this week’s trends.
Dylan Sinn is a freelance contributor for CraveOnline Sports. You can follow him on Twitter @DylanSinn or “like” CraveOnline Sports on Facebook.
Photo Credit: Getty
Fantasy bball up-down March 4
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Deron Williams PG – Brooklyn
First of all, if you spent a first- or second-round pick on D-Will in your fantasy draft, I’d like you to know I’m pouring one out for you. Next, if you’re still holding onto him in the hopes that he’ll return to form, it’s probably time to cut your losses. Williams hasn’t averaged more than 15 points per game in any month this season and dished out just five assists per game in February. His shooting has been off as well, as he knocked down just 42 percent of shots last month...This might be the perfect time to trade the former Illinois star, as he dropped 30 points on the Lakers last Saturday, his first such game of the season. Try to use his name recognition to get yourself some more valuable pieces for the stretch run of your season. Williams is still battling injuries, too, so you might want to trade him soon before he misses more time and kills all of his value.
Arrow Pointing: DOWN
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Evan Turner SF – Indiana
Turner is undoubtedly in a better situation as a role player with the Pacers than he was as The Man on a terrible Sixers team. However, it must be pointed out that he will in all likelihood lose some of his fantasy value with Indiana. With Philly, he averaged 34.4 minutes per game, and has only averaged 25 in his first three games with his new team....Obviously, that will increase as he adapts to a new system, but he still won’t be called on to make as many plays, so he certainly won’t average 17 points per game as he did in Philadelphia, nor will he grab six boards each game. He has been a stat-sheet stuffer all season, and he will probably still put up decent numbers, but his fantasy worth has definitely taken a hit.
Arrow Pointing: DOWN
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Kent Bazemore SG – Los Angeles Lakers
Bazemore came to the Lakers from Golden State in the trade that sent Steve Blake to the Dubs (and wasn’t approved by GM Kobe). Since he’s landed in LA, the second-year guard has set a new career high in points three times. That’s not a typo. He’s only been with the Lakers for five games total!...In those five games, Bazemore has averaged 16 points per game, including a 23-point performance against the top-ranked Pacers defense last Tuesday. He seems to be thriving in Mike D’Antoni’s offense and has taken minutes from the previously sizzling Kendall Marshall. Pick him up if you’re really in need of scoring or if you’re in a daily league.
Arrow Pointing: UP
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Taj Gibson PF – Chicago
Even before the team signed Jimmer, things were happening in the Windy City. The Bulls are 17-8 since they traded all-star forward Luol Deng and have moved into a tie with Toronto for the third seed in the East. Although Joakim Noah has gotten most of the publicity, Gibson has quietly been playing the best basketball of his five-year career....The former USC star averaged 17 points and eight boards in February, and has topped the 20-point mark three times in the last four games. That includes a monster 20-15 effort in a win over Dallas on Friday. He’s seen his minutes increase from 24 per game in November to 32 in February and has raised his game accordingly.
Arrow Pointing: Up
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Terrence Jones PF – Houston
Jones has been one of the most pleasant surprises in the league this year, after spending much of last year in the D-League working on his game. On a team laden with stars like Dwight Howard, James Harden and even Chandler Parsons, Jones will certainly have games where he fades into the background...Recently, however, he’s been a vital cog in the Houston machine. He averaged 16 points, 10 rebounds and two blocks in January and has showed some range on his shot of late, hitting 33 percent of his threes in February. He carried the Rockets to a win over Detroit with a 22-point, 10-rebound effort in his most recent game and it seems likely he’ll be a major factor down the stretch as Houston fights for playoff position.
Arrow Pointing: UP
