This article is part of our Rebound & Rant series.
I like how Yahoo insists on showing a player's pre-season rank throughout the year. Unlike the current rank, this shows where Yahoo and RotoWire (we supply many of their projections) ranked players over the summer, before the season began. It's a wonderful way to find the big disappointments. Big-name busts usually lack trade value – everyone knows they are playing poorly. So, if these busts are on your roster, you are usually stuck with them. Then the decision becomes, "Do I drop this bust for free-agent fodder, or do I continue wasting time hoping this bust turns things around?" I wonder if the powerful RotoWire Editorial Team will allow me to use the word "bust" this often?
Let's review a few 2015-16 busts and debate their abilities to turn things around with roughly 37 games remaining:
LaMarcus Aldridge
Everyone knew that Aldridge's shot attempts would probably go down when he joined the Spurs. He ended the 2014-15 season ranked 12th in average game production (nine-category league). We had him dropping to 17th for his first season with the Spurs, but midway through the season, LMA is ranked 65th. Ouch! Why the drop off?
Well, last year he took 19.9 shot attempts per game and this year he's down to 13.4 – a much steeper drop than expected. Many assumed it would take L-Train a month or two to feel comfortable in San Antonio, but recent back spasms slowed him down just as his shot attempts were starting to climb. With
I like how Yahoo insists on showing a player's pre-season rank throughout the year. Unlike the current rank, this shows where Yahoo and RotoWire (we supply many of their projections) ranked players over the summer, before the season began. It's a wonderful way to find the big disappointments. Big-name busts usually lack trade value – everyone knows they are playing poorly. So, if these busts are on your roster, you are usually stuck with them. Then the decision becomes, "Do I drop this bust for free-agent fodder, or do I continue wasting time hoping this bust turns things around?" I wonder if the powerful RotoWire Editorial Team will allow me to use the word "bust" this often?
Let's review a few 2015-16 busts and debate their abilities to turn things around with roughly 37 games remaining:
LaMarcus Aldridge
Everyone knew that Aldridge's shot attempts would probably go down when he joined the Spurs. He ended the 2014-15 season ranked 12th in average game production (nine-category league). We had him dropping to 17th for his first season with the Spurs, but midway through the season, LMA is ranked 65th. Ouch! Why the drop off?
Well, last year he took 19.9 shot attempts per game and this year he's down to 13.4 – a much steeper drop than expected. Many assumed it would take L-Train a month or two to feel comfortable in San Antonio, but recent back spasms slowed him down just as his shot attempts were starting to climb. With the Spurs at 38-7, I see no reason why head coach Gregg Popovich would drastically change the offense to get LMA more looks. Expect Aldridge's free-throw percentage to maybe creep up a point, but otherwise, he's going to keep putting up late fourth-round value production. Things are so bad, LMA disabled his Twitter and Instagram accounts.
Chandler Parsons
The Fantasy Sports Trade Association recently held their annual winter meeting in Dallas, with the events ending at the American Airlines Center for a Mavericks-Timberwolves game. During the game, the Mavs showed a HYSTERICAL jumbotron video call "ZooChandler." It was a priceless Zoolander parody, with Parsons and Dirk Nowitzki headlining as the competing male models. See it for yourself, and don't miss Zaza Puchulia:
Unfortunately, the hilarity of that bit doesn't make Parsons' fantasy owners feel any better. Parsons' preseason rank of 57 is looks pretty optimistic versus his current 156th. He clearly took longer to return to 100 percent after having offseason knee surgery. He's missed eight games and is playing five fewer minutes per game relative to last season.
But there is hope and, frankly, The Beautiful One can only get better. Parsons is back to 35+ minutes per game over his last nine, with double-digit scoring in each of his last five games, including 30 and 31-point efforts. In fact, over the last 14 days, Parsons ranks 23rd in average game production. Fantasy owners should laugh at the video, enjoy his recent turnaround and do their best to forget November and December.
Nerlens Noel
Do NOT Trust The Process. Sadly, the young Noel is only learning how to lose while wasting his youth in Philadelphia. His free throw shooting is down from 60.9 percent last year to 57.5 percent this year. His turnovers are up 26 percent despite his minutes actually going down. (BTW, I'm a BIG fan of using turnovers as a category in fantasy hoops. Learn fundamentals, people!). Pre-season ranks had Noel at 23rd, but through 40 games he's ranked 74th. Sadly, expect more of the same, unless newly acquired Ish Smith helps turn Philly into a half-decent offense. Man, how bad is your offense when improvement hinges on Ish Smith?
Victor Oladipo
Oladipo is still a DFS darling because when he goes off, HE GOES OFF. Still, season-long owners can't be happy about his moves in and out of the starting lineup. He's missed four games so far, had 17 games where he's played fewer than 30 minutes, and he's come off the bench 20 times. Despite his pre-season rank of 34th, his in-season production has him at 70th through 40 games. This is a frustrating team with too many tweeners.
However, Oladipo owners can relax a bit because he's turning things around. Through the past 14 days, he's ranked 25th in average-game production. The Magic are playing horribly, losing 10 of their last 11 games. But Oladipo is heating up and is back as a lock in the starting lineup. For January, Oladipo is shooting over 50 percent from the field. Get those trade offers out there now before Mr. 540 owners realize he's hot. Clearly, this handshake warm-up is what's improving his game:
That's it for me, ballers – ADIOS AMIGOS!!!
