Kyle Lowry- One of the biggest surprises of the fantasy season, Lowry is probably one of the main reasons a lot of teams are in the fantasy playoffs. But with the playoffs upon us, Kyle Lowry is still more than a week away from workouts let alone game action. It is time to cut bait on Lowry, and look at his back up Goran Dragic who is still only 67% owned in Yahoo! Leagues. In the last two weeks Dragic has been averaging 48% shooting, 15.7 points and almost 10 assists a game. While Lowry might have helped you get to the playoffs, Dragic might help you win them.
Stephen Curry – A preseason top 10 fantasy pick, Curry has been great this season…. when he has been healthy. Curry has only played in 26 of his teams 47 games this season, a disappointing number for owners who knew Curry was an injury risk, but didn’t expect him to miss this many games. There have been talks that the Golden State Warriors would shut Curry down for the rest of the season because of his injured foot, but Curry is expected to get a second opinion on his foot soon. My advice is to wait a little bit longer before cutting him, as a decision on whether Curry will play again this season is expected soon. If you must drop him Klay Thompson, Nate Robinson, or even Chris Jenkins in deeper leagues, would make a good pickup.
Nikola Pekovic – Another huge fantasy surprise this season, Pekovic became the starting center for the Timberwolves in early February and never looked back. Pekovic has averaged close to 14 points on 56% shooting, to go along with 7.4 rebounds, and almost a block a game this season. However with news of an ankle injury, and the fact that he will likely be out a week, possibly more, it may be time to cut bait on Pekovic if you need the roster space in the first round of your playoffs. Derrick Favors of Utah would be a good replacement. Over the past two weeks, he has only played about 24 minutes a game, but has shot the ball well (56%) and has averaged 11.6 points and almost 9 rebounds a game.
Gordon Hayward – One of the best kept fantasy secrets, Hayward is only 47% owned in Yahoo! leagues, and has been a top 40 player these past two weeks. With injuries to Josh Howard and Raja Bell, Hayward has been locked into a starting spot getting more than 30 minutes a game. Hayward has been a stat stuffer averaging over 13 points on 45% shooting, 5 rebounds, 3 assists, a steal, and a block a game. He would be a great pickup for most teams during the fantasy playoffs who need the kind of all around statistics Hayward brings.
Mike Dunleavy – This is a player I have been going back and forth on, mainly because of moderate inconsistency lately with the Bucks addition of Monta Ellis. But over the past month, Dunleavy has averaged 15.5 points a game on 53% shooting, 2 threes, almost 4 rebounds and 3 assists a game. He is still only 43% owned in Yahoo! leagues, and is definitely worth taking a look at for any team that could use a good shooter during the playoffs, especially from deep.
Brandon Bass – After a few injuries and a recent cold spell, Brandon Bass was dropped by many teams and is still only owned in 60% of Yahoo! leagues. Bass has been playing well as of late averaging almost 13 points on 47% shooting, 6.5 rebounds, and a block a game. With the loss Chris Wilcox and Jermaine O’neal, the Celtics are thin on big men. They were expected to go after New Orleans Hornets big man Chris Kaman, but it looks as if the Hornets are going to keep Kaman. This means Bass should get an extended run for the Celtics, and he should be on your fantasy radar.
