Photo Credit: Kim Klement-US PRESSWIRE

12 Weeks in and we are starting to grind through the middle chunk of the season hoping we can find a way to slowly nip away at teams who are losing their interest keeping up with their daily fix of NBA Fantasy. But that’s not you of course, because you’re a full-blooded fantasy fan, and that’s why you’re reading this! You’re here to win, and we’re here to help you achieve that. So let’s get straight into this week’s edition of USSDU’s NBA Fantasy.

My Add/Drops

Added: Glen Davis

Dropped: Robin Lopez

Lopez was basically my fill-in for Davis for the time he was sidelined with his shoulder injury. I didn’t really have much of a field of choice in the free agency, especially big men as they are really hard to come by, but I stuck with Lopez and he ended up being pretty serviceable for me. Davis isn’t back quite yet, but he’s starting to travel with the team which is a good sign. I was cautious as to how long I could wait before being too late to pick him up, so I went in this week and snuck him under the radar (like I hyped him up before the season started). Hopefully he comes back just as strong and turns in great performances just like the beginning of the season.

Trades Proposed To Me

One trade proposed which was a small one on many levels, both ability and height wise.

Send: Jordan Crawford

Receive: Louis Williams

I declined this trade as Crawford is still seeing solid time off the bench and is using it to great ability. Although not ripping out triple doubles like a few weeks back, Crawford has been a nice contributor to the Wiz line-up. He’ll still have valuable minutes while John Wall sees himself back into the team, as Wall liked playing with him during patches last year when he was healthy.

Trades I Proposed

The trade that I proposed has only recently gone through to the opposing GM, and therefore am still waiting for a response:

Send: Nikola Vucevic, Jordan Crawford and Joe Johnson

Receive: Carlos Boozer and Omer Asik

Not quite sure if I’ve offered too much for those two players or if I’ve offered too little. My opposing General Manager here also had DeMarcus Cousins so I was thinking about throwing him in the mix instead of Boozer, however decided against it thinking he may not accept the trade.

Let me know your thoughts on this one guys, please make a comment at the end of the article in the ‘comments’ section.

Studs (Stats are Last 7 Days)

Kevin Durant: 32.5ppg, 6.8rpg, 5.5apg, 57%FG.

Chris Paul: 14.5ppg, 16apg, 50%FG, 100%FT, 3spg.

Paul George: 22.7ppg, 11.3rpg, 4spg, 3 three’s a game.

J.J. Redick: 22.3ppg, 4.7 three’s a game, 4apg.

Isaiah Thomas: 20.3ppg, 4.3apg, 2.3 three’s a game, 46%FG.

Kenneth Faried: 15ppg, 13.3rpg, 58%FG.

Greg Monroe: 19ppg, 11rpg, 60%FG.

Stephen Curry: 25ppg, 4.7 three’s a game, 4apg, 54%FG.

Duds (Stats are Last 7 Days)

Marcus Thornton: 14mpg, 2.5ppg, 0.5rpg, 1apg, 18%FG.

Ricky Rubio: 21.3mpg, 2.8ppg, 5apg, 0.8rpg.

George Hill: 33.3mpg, 9.5ppg, 3.8apg, 3rpg, 37%FG.

JaVale McGee: 16.7mpg, 5.7ppg, 3.7rpg, 23%FG.

Kevin Martin: 30mpg, 11.5ppg, 2.8rpg, 0.8apg, 31%FG.

Pick Me Ups

Isaiah Thomas: Thomas had 34 points in a blowout loss to the Heat the other day…..and you’re still trying to tell me that coach doesn’t want to hand over the reins of the team to him. You’ve got to be kidding yourselves. This guy is a great thing for the Kings; he just has to have the opportunity to put it on display. Grab him now before he’s gone, he’ll be one to watch for the remainder of the season. Owned in 58.8% of leagues.

Ben Gordon: Gordon has been on something of a hot streak, finding double digits in eight games since coming back from his sore knee. The vital stat is, Gordon has only played eight games since returning! He’s averaging 19.6 points, 1.2 steals and 1.4 3-pointers while shooting over 50% from the floor in the last five games.

Landry Fields: He’s back in the Raptors starting line-up now which is something good to see for fantasy owners. He has played well coming back from injury especially in the past couple of games where he’s averaged 9 points, 11 rebounds and 1.5 steals.  He’s playing 38 minutes on average in the last few games therefore he should continue to be playing long stretches of time. This is a great thing for owners as the more time on the court; the stats will find their way. Oh and by the way, don’t expect that 11.0 rebound count to keep going; he’s playing with some tall timber in that team.

Ersan Ilyasova: Ahhh yes. Ersan Ilyasova. You’re probably thinking, is this guy serious? You’re telling me to pick up Ersan this season. Well, yes, he’s definitely one of the most inconsistent players this season. However, new coach, new system (sort of) and his minutes are staying as they have been (hovering around 26/27mpg in his last four games).  He’s averaging 10.5 points, 5.8 rebounds, 2.0 assists, 1.3 steals, 1 block and 1.0 3-pointer in his past 5 games. Not something to be proud of to have sitting in your line-up, but it slowly looks like he could be sorting some things out and he’ll find his touch soon enough.

Glen Davis: I mentioned Davis earlier, because I too picked him up. He’s starting to travel with the team so he should be back on the court sometime this month. He was a great asset to any fantasy team before he went down, averaging 16 points and 8 rebounds a contest. Something to keep an eye on in your league.

Derrick Williams: Williams is one of those players I recommend even though he’s coming off the bench. You don’t see me do this often, but if you’re in a deeper league, he is a great option. He is playing some nice basketball slowly starting to turn that potential into nightly performances in the NBA as he’s seeing 22 minutes per game over his last five, while averaging 13.2 points, 5.0 boards, 0.8 steals and 1.0 3-pointers per game in that period.  Sometimes his rebounding goes up and down, but you learn to live with that so be happy when he pulls in double digits. Going forward he’s a solid pick up with Kevin Love out indefinitely.

Let us know your thoughts! Also let us know how you’re traveling in your leagues and which aspects of our articles have helped you the most. Hey you never know, if we get a big liking for a certain part we may expand it!