Hughes enjoying life in Chicago
I didn't think Larry Hughes would get a lot of playing time in Chicago, but it seems I was wrong. Hughes dropped 23 on his former team Sunday, logging a whopping 43 minutes. Hughes is averaging 35 minutes in his past four games, with starts in the past two. With Chris Duhon now entirely out of the rotation, Hughes' role on the Bulls isn't necessarily a mirage, and the Bulls' ball-movement offense is doing wonders for his numbers (19.0 points, 4.2 assists, 1.6 3-pointers).
Delonte West has been another beneficiary of a trade, as his 36 percent boost in ownership can attest to. But that still leaves nearly 40 percent of leagues with West available. West had a solid all-around game Sunday, with nine points, five rebounds, four assists, two blocks and a steal in 38 minutes. Outside of steals and blocks, West doesn't have much potential in any specific category, but as an all-around point guard, West is appealing.
Erick Dampier is going to be battling foul trouble in nearly every game, but is virtually guaranteed to approach or surpass 30 minutes per game with Dallas lacking an actual backup center. That can randomly produce games like Damp's 16 points and 17 rebounds against the Lakers on Sunday, although he fouled out after 31 minutes of play. Act quickly; his ownership shot up more than 50 percent this past week.
The Nets scored just 83 points against the Spurs, but had three players with 18-plus points. The most intriguing was newcomer Devin Harris, who scored 21 for the second straight game, and hit 4 of 8 3s, surprising for a player who rarely shot it from beyond the arc with the Mavericks. If he can add 3s to his game, he becomes quite the valuable point guard -- a high-scoring guard with a positive field goal percentage because he can get to the line consistently (5.0 free throw attempts per game).
Al Horford has really taken off recently and with 14 points and 11 rebounds against the Celtics, that marks his fourth straight double-double. Josh Childress has been seeing more minutes recently (33 on Sunday) at the expense of Marvin Williams (20). With the addition of Mike Bibby, the Hawks don't need so much scoring in the lineup, and Childress gives the lineup balance. If I owned Williams, I would be worried.
Chris Wilcox is on one of his hot streaks, and went off again for 18 points and 15 boards against the Timberwolves. Wilcox hasn't really had too much foul trouble all season (2.8 fouls per game in 27 minutes), so his recent boost in minutes (42 logged on Sunday) can be sustained. Nick Collison has also been playing well recently despite limited time; he had 14 points and eight rebounds Sunday. More importantly, he had 33 minutes, 13 more than starter Johan Petro. Collison has shown he can produce even as a backup, and he will see more minutes than a normal backup because the starter is, well, Johan Petro.
Another player not to overlook is Randy Foye, who played 33 minutes versus the Sonics and had 13 points, five assists, four boards and zero turnovers. His performance in recent games, save for his 1-for-9 performance in Cleveland, has indicated he may be ready to contribute and is recovered from any lingering effects from his injury. On a team desperate for playmakers, Foye's potential should be gambled on.
Defensively, at least, with the presence of Dikembe Mutombo, the Rockets should be just as, if not more so, tough defensively. The Nuggets as a team scored just 89 points, so fantasy owners should keep that in mind: it's often worth sitting your players against the especially tough defensive teams. Speaking of, Mutombo had three blocks and five rebounds in 24 minutes; rookie Carl Landry also had a solid 12 points and five boards. But Luis Scola's 18 points and 14 rebounds is what screams potential. Without Yao, shots are open for some Rockets' role player to take, and Scola is a solid bet to be that guy.
With 25 points and one turnover Sunday, Beno Udrih now has 73 points and just two turnovers in his last three games. That's quite a roll for a point guard to be on, and Udrih's good shooting percentage and low turnovers seem legit.
The return of James Jones (30 minutes versus the Warriors on Sunday) hasn't affected Travis Outlaw's minutes or production, as his 17 points in 30 minutes show. In fact, it has been Martell Webster's minutes which have been cut (15 minutes), which makes sense since Jones and Webster do similar things.
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