Photo Credit: Bruce Bennett/ Getty Images

December is nearly gone, which means we are a third through the NBA season. What’s better, is we get to watch the all exciting Christmas Day games….on Boxing Day in Australia! This is the best part about living in Aus watching the NBA, getting to watch these top notch games, the day after you spend Christmas Day with family.

Anyway, that’s not what you’re here for. You’re here to see who you should grab in your fantasy team, and who you should get rid of. Well fear not, we’re still working during the festive period and FTF stats and suggestions are below:

My Add/Drops

Earlier this week I had decided that Tyreke Evans was no good, especially after he went down again after only playing 10 minutes in his only game of the week. Which meant I had to find someone half decent to replace him. Boy will you be excited when you see who I replaced ‘Reke with!

Dropped: Tyreke Evans

Added: Jordan Crawford

A triple double game straight up, then he provided a great scoring option in his next game. Following this was another near triple double game, with the final game of the week was another solid outing. Crawford gave me a huge boost this week, all in 4 Wiz losses.

Trades I Proposed

Send: Greivis Vasquez & Glen Davis

Receive: Jeremy Lin & Zach Randolph

So this trade obviously was when Big Baby was healthy. I believe I proposed the trade last week however it was declined during this week. It really didn’t matter how good the trade was, the fact was that the time ran out of the trade proposal. This means that my opponent didn’t even check his fantasy team for a whole week (or his emails where it automatically sends you a message alerting you that you have a trade proposal).

I would like to hope that all of you out there have no such players in your league that have simply ‘given up’. Although I know this does happen often and I then thank you and keep motivating you to make sure you push through this middle patch of the season.

Fantasy basketball can be hard to maintain but in the end it’s you against your mates, and you really don’t like to see only half your league playing. In the end, what’s the point? The players that are in the teams given up are basically dead as you have no chance of receiving them.

So big thank you to all fantasy players that are still playing! It’s really upsetting to us here at USSDU seeing guys that are just not giving 5 minutes of their day to check their team.

I proposed one more trade along with the one above:

Send: Jameer Nelson, Ricky Rubio & (Injured) Glen Davis

Receive: Darren Collison & Nic Batum

Again, this trade is still sitting in the waiting list because of the same reason, however I may as well let you know now why I wanted this trade to go through (Seeing as it’s going to be declined anyway due to time expiring). I wanted Darren Collison due to the Mavs waiving Fisher and signing Douglas-Roberts. This means Collison gets the starting job and there really isn’t a major back-up. Batum was then the second player I packaged in because I liked his current game.

Picking players to send away was the tough part. I wanted to get rid of Davis’ contract early so I could have a healthy team back (as health was a major part of my bad early play). This meant I had to throw in someone really good and someone average. Ricky Rubio = really good, and Jameer Nelson = a little better than average in fantasy terms.

Trades Proposed To Me:

Only two trades proposed to me this week, by the same team, obviously because this team is still paying attention to the league, so I applaud you Team ‘Hoops I Did It Again’!

Send: Joe Johnson

Receive: Brandon Knight

Wasn’t interested. I’ve haven’t had Joe for that long really, however when I have had him, he’s done nothing wrong for me to want to throw him away. I made a bold decision to trade for him, while he was in a rough patch. Hoped that he’d find his feet in Brooklyn, and it seems that he has. So I’m happy!

Send: Greivis Vasquez

Receive: O.J. Mayo

At this stage, Greivis has such a high fantasy value. His assists and scoring clip comes at a major price, so for me to throw him away would be a tough ask even if it was someone very good. With his value being sky high, Mayo just didn’t seem enough for me to trade him.

Studs (Stats are Last 7 Days):

David Lee (Yes, for another week!): 24.5ppg, 9.8rpg, 6apg, 62%FG.

James Harden: 30ppg, 5.5apg, 4.5rpg, 1.8 3’s, 52%FG.

Paul Pierce: 30.3ppg, 7.7rpg, 4.7apg, 65%FG.

Jarrett Jack: 20.5ppg, 7.5apg, 4rpg, 58%FG.

Jordan Crawford: 21.8ppg, 7.5apg, 5.8rpg, 2.5 3’s, 1.5spg.

Jose Calderon: 15.3ppg, 11.5apg, 5.3rpg, 54%FG.

Larry Sanders: 8ppg, 12.5rpg, 1.8spg, 3.5bpg, 60%FG.

Duds:

Antwan Jamison (Fallen out of the rotation): 13mpg, 0ppg, 3rpg, 2apg.

Kevin Seraphin: 6.5ppg, 4rpg, 22.8mpg, 31%FG.

Ben Gordon: 9.5ppg, 0.5rpg, 0.5apg.

Jonas Valanciunas: 5.5ppg, 3.8rpg.

Jason Terry: 7ppg, 2.3apg, 1.7rpg, 30%FG.

Gordon Hayward: 10ppg, 2.3rpg, 2apg.

Kevin Martin: 13ppg, 1.5rpg, 0.5apg.

Ersan Ilyasova: 5.3ppg, 4.3rpg, 30%FG.

Pick Me Ups:

Jordan Crawford: This one was obviously going to make the list as I was telling you all about his production this week above. If he’s not taken in your league by now, I don’t know what’s wrong with your league. He is a MUST go.

Robin Lopez: With New Orleans lacking a real threat on the offensive end, Lopez is one of a bunch of options on the court for the Hornets. He’s averaging 12.2ppg over the last 15 days, which is pretty standard on the New Orleans team. The real stats that are pointing out at Robin Lopez are the rebounds, the field goal % and the blocks. Averaging 6.3rpg, 59%FG and 2.2bpg, Lopez can be your new center or reserve center who plays in your utility positions.

Jarrett Jack: Owned in 88% of leagues, so chances are he’s already gone in your league. But this number is for good reason. The man is on a mission right now. Jack comes off the bench, and struts his stuff either alongside Stephen Curry or while he’s replacing Curry. 16ppg, 6.3apg and 4.4rpg over the last 2 weeks show what he’s been doing.

Jodie Meeks: Currently owned in 14.2% of leagues. Now listen to me here, this one is a future pick. The Lakers are set to move Kobe to the Small Forward spot, and insert Jodie Meeks into the 2 guard. This gives Meeks more playing time and more of a chance for him to knock down those clutch three’s game after game.

Jason Thompson: This guy is averaging a double double over the last two weeks, yet he’s still untouched in 20% of leagues. 11.3ppg and 10rpg along with 50%FG gives Thompson major upside.

Here at USSDU, we hope that this helps you for yet another week! Team ENBA moved up two spots this week (just in case you’re following the progression of my team) so we’re starting to catch the competition! We hope you have a very Merry Christmas, and a great New Year!