This article is part of our Rebound & Rant series.
In the last Rebound & Rant we trolled the bad teams of the East, digging for Fantasy gold. Why? Because it's the bad teams with ever-changing starting lineups that often produce gems like the 76ers' Robert Covington and now Isaiah Canaan.
That last column was three weeks ago (sorry to my loyal readers), and a lot has changed. So let's stop wasting time and examine the really bad teams out West.
Minnesota Timberwolves
The return of Kevin Garnett is nice for T-Wolves fans, but fantasy-wise it's a stinker. Sure, he'll probably make a great player-coach, but there is no way he should be stealing minutes from Gorgui Dieng, who was averaging a productive 33 minutes per game as a starter. But with the Big Ticket starting, Dieng is down to 29 minutes per game with a reduction in points and rebounds.
The good news? You probably noticed that Ricky Rubio has played in 14 of the last 15 games, averaging 11.6 points, 8.9 assists, 5.9 rebounds, two steals, 0.8 three-pointers per game, plus 84 percent shooting from the free-throw line. Other than his 34 percent field-goal percentage, he's killing it. Remember this for daily and for next season.
Also for daily, Rubio is playing much better at home, averaging an additional two points, one rebound, one assist and shooting five percentage points higher versus road games. Unfortunately, with the return of Rubio, Garnett and Nikola Pekovic, fantasy up-and-comers like Dieng, Zach Levine, and out-for-the-year Shabazz Muhammad (finger)
In the last Rebound & Rant we trolled the bad teams of the East, digging for Fantasy gold. Why? Because it's the bad teams with ever-changing starting lineups that often produce gems like the 76ers' Robert Covington and now Isaiah Canaan.
That last column was three weeks ago (sorry to my loyal readers), and a lot has changed. So let's stop wasting time and examine the really bad teams out West.
Minnesota Timberwolves
The return of Kevin Garnett is nice for T-Wolves fans, but fantasy-wise it's a stinker. Sure, he'll probably make a great player-coach, but there is no way he should be stealing minutes from Gorgui Dieng, who was averaging a productive 33 minutes per game as a starter. But with the Big Ticket starting, Dieng is down to 29 minutes per game with a reduction in points and rebounds.
The good news? You probably noticed that Ricky Rubio has played in 14 of the last 15 games, averaging 11.6 points, 8.9 assists, 5.9 rebounds, two steals, 0.8 three-pointers per game, plus 84 percent shooting from the free-throw line. Other than his 34 percent field-goal percentage, he's killing it. Remember this for daily and for next season.
Also for daily, Rubio is playing much better at home, averaging an additional two points, one rebound, one assist and shooting five percentage points higher versus road games. Unfortunately, with the return of Rubio, Garnett and Nikola Pekovic, fantasy up-and-comers like Dieng, Zach Levine, and out-for-the-year Shabazz Muhammad (finger) all take a step or two (or three) back.
In case you missed it, here is KG's return introduction and tribute video in Minnesota:
I like the Celtics one better.
Los Angeles Lakers
Everyone saw this coming, right? Please tell me you weren't expecting 80+ games from Kobe Bryant. This team is horrible and I'm, admittedly, enjoying their misery.
Bryant's departure and Nick Young's knee injury has created a nice opportunity for Wayne Ellington. As a starter, the six-year veteran is averaging 12.7 points, 1.5 three-pointers and 4.1 rebounds in 32 minutes per game while shooting 88 percent from the line. Not bad for someone nowhere on the fantasy radar back in December.
The other "gem" here is Jordan Clarkson. He's now started 19 games, averaging 30 minutes, 14.4 points, 4.1 assists, and 0.9 made treys as a starter with acceptable 46 percent field goal percentage. It's too late to get Clarkson for your season-long leagues, but keep him in mind for daily formats. Last Friday he had a career-high 25 points, with six assists and four boards as gravy.
Because it shows how low the Laker organization has dropped, please re-watch this clip of Kobe's reaction to the Lakers inappropriate celebration of snapping their eight-game losing streak (start at 1:30):
Sacramento Kings
This team wouldn't be as bad if they had just kept Mike Malone as coach. But I digress. With Darren Collison now out for the year, the man to keep your eye on is new-starter Ray McCallum. So far, the results are mixed: over 10 starts, McCallum is averaging 11.5 points, 4.2 assists and 1.0 steals per game. If you need point guard help, Isaiah Canaan in Philly probably has more upside.
Denver Nuggets
R&R readers know that I wasted far too much ink on The Rooster, Danilo Gallinari. And yet, just when I was about to write him off, he's finally crowing proudly! With Arron Afflalo now in Portland, The Rooster is suddenly leading the woeful Nuggets in shot attempts. I kid you not! Over the last five games, Gallinari is averaging 15.2 points, 4.8 rebounds, 1.4 steals and 2.8 made treys per game. The shooting percentage is still low (40 percent), but he's consistently hitting over 90 percent of his free throws.
Utah Jazz
If you need me to tell you about Rudy Golbert, you just are not spending enough time on RotoWire. With Enes "No-D" Kanter now in OKC, Golbert is, as expected, blowing up. In his last nine "Enes-free" starts, he's averaging 13.2 rebounds, 2.9 blocks and 9.7 points in 33 minutes per game. He's a stud that hopefully you grabbed in January.
Unlike the happy scenario at center, Utah's shooting guard situation has stunk ever since Alec Burks got hurt in December. Joe Ingles, who looks like an extra from Hoosiers, has started a shocking 26 games but hasn't produced much beyond a paltry 5.7 points in 26 minutes per game. Fellow rookie Rodney Hood is playing even worse.
That's it for the awful teams in the West. The retched Celtics versus Sixers game that inspired these last two columns was still fun to attend. That said, things are getting odd at the TD Garden. The "fan cam" runs almost non-stop throughout the game. But odder still are the advertisements in the men's room just above the urinals. I'm not making this up and I risked taking out my iPhone near a toilet to take this photo for you:
If you call Dr. David, please tell 'em the Rebound & Rant sent you! Peace out!
