This article is part of our Rebound & Rant series.
Everything was lining up perfectly for me to win my third championship in four years. I flipped a declining Tyson Chandler to a "bigs challenged" squad for a briefly-slumping John Wall. I made a gutsy three-for-one deal to land James Harden. The NBA trade deadline hit, with deals that gave my guys Rudy Gobert and Isaiah Thomas more playing time. Finally, my No. 1 draft pick, Serge Ibaka, was playing at the height of his game.
Yes, the same Ibaka that was experiencing "knee soreness" and who will now miss a few weeks after having surgery. That's fantasy playoff time! Curses and maledictions – the sky is falling! And Thomas is hurt too, probably not returning until Monday. Add an unlucky division assignment, and my second-best record squad is limping into the wild-card playoff round (missing the much deserved bye week).
My wife is tired of me whining about this, so I'm leaning on you, loyal reader. I suspect you have your own fantasy playoff tales of woe. So let's lift our heads up and scavenge for last-second, desperation free-agent moves. Let me stress the word "desperation." There are no obvious choices out there this late in the season.
Jusuf Nurkic
You may recall that Nurkic hit the scene in early February about a week before Hassan Whiteside caught fire in Miami. The Nugs dealt Timofey Mozgov to Cleveland in part to give Nurkic big minutes. But then a bad ankle injury made him miss eight games; he's now only owned in 22 percent of Yahoo leagues. Well, the 6-foot-11 Balkan Bear returned last Friday and is worth a flier. Sure, the 44 percent field-goal percentage is low for a big man, but this is desperation time. New head coach Melvin Hunt must be wondering what he has with the Bosnian Beast. Let the bear dance! After a few more games, a double-double with at least one block per game is within reach.
Watch the Dirty Nurkic mix it up with Boogie Cousins earlier this season:
Alexey Shved
Have I mentioned the Knicks are awful? (Yes, in every R&R column). Coach Derek Fisher's latest act of desperation has been to insert the 26-year-old heavily-traveled Russian Shved into the starting lineup at point guard. And you know what? It's working! Over his first five starts, he's averaged 17.2 points, 2.4 made three-pointers, six rebounds, 4.4 assists and 0.6 blocks per game. That's useful production, and he's owned in only 37 percent of Yahoo leagues (it was 29 percent late Sunday). To your fantasy team, with love!
The added bonus here is you can yell "SHVED!" at the top of your lungs during filler Knicks' "highlights" on NBA TV. I can't think of any other reason to watch Knicks news and I'm using the term "highlights" very loosely here.
Rodney Hood
Gobert isn't the only Jazz player seizing extra minutes. Rodney Hood has now started the last three games at shooting guard and he's making Duke fans proud. Over those three starts, he's averaging 18.7 points, 60-percent shooting, 3.3 made treys, and 1.7 steals. Hood is owned in only 12% of Yahoo leagues. Go get him.
Brandan Wright
Funny how many folks forget field-goal percentage is a fantasy category. For FG-percentage aficionados, I present Brandon Wright. He's been shooting 66 percent all season, and over the past six games, Wright is averaging 10.2 points, 7.2 rebounds, one block and his always-special 63 percent shooting. He's the least-sexy pick on this list, but you gotta get crafty this time of year. Remember, a 5-4 head-to-head win is just as good as 7-2. With Alex Len again having ankle issues, there is even a chance Wright starts a few games. Wright is playing for next year's contract, so he's motivated. Everyone's desperate!
Nikola Mirotic
How is Niiiiiiiiii-KOLA only owned in 56 percent of Yahoo leagues? Miro The Hero is on FIRE. Over the past 14 days (eight games) he's averaging 19.3 points, 8.0 rebounds, 1.1 blocks and 1.6 made treys per game. With Taj Gibson still out with ankle issues, Mirotic will continue to see big minutes. He may or may not qualify as a "desperation move," but I'm running out of ideas and can't, in good conscious, recommend another Knick (Cole Aldrich).
That's it for my desperation suggestions. Thank you for bearing with my initial whining. Sure, I'm bouncing between third and fifth in the ultra-competitive RotoWire Staff Keeper league. That league is a b*tch. But my heart remains loyal to my 18-year-old grad school league (Shout out, Kellogg!). I owned that trophy for back-to-back seasons not that long ago. Below is a pic of happier times with that trophy. If you can't overly boast on Facebook and elsewhere about winning your league, then why play?
Peace out! SHVED!!!
