Photo Credit: Brace Hemmelgarn-USA TODAY Sports

Week 16 has hit us already which means the All Star break is coming upon us very quickly. A lot less jibber jabber this week for our introduction I think as we shall get straight into the facts of this week’s NBA fantasy world.

My Add/Drops

Only the one add for me this week and that was forced due to injury. However it was sort of an ideal time for one of my players to go down because I had my eye on a player in the free agency list so I was monitoring him even before my player went down injured.

Dropped: Andre Drummond

Added: Earl Clark

Drummond has unfortunately been ruled out for 4-6 weeks due to his bad back. Clark on the other hand, was one I had my eye on as he was only dropped from an opposition team less than a week ago so I looked to pounce. Although I had my doubts early on when Clark was slotted into the Lakers line-up (due to my bias to Orlando and last year he was hopeless in a Magic outfit), he has proved me wrong and I rewarded him with an addition to my fantasy team. Now don’t let me down Earl!

Failed Trades

As this week was a quiet week, I tried a trade towards the latter part of the week in order to try and boost my team, while trying to keep it a fair proposal.

Send: Greivis Vasquez and J.J. Hickson

Receive: Rudy Gay and John Wall

Ok, firstly I know you guys are going to look at me stupid asking me: Why are you suddenly throwing Vasquez away when you have talked him up all season? Yes yes, I know, and I apologise to Greivis for doing this to him, but I had him on a high so I was using him with his high trade value, especially after his first career triple double.

Hickson is a double double machine so he was the other player included trying to even up the trade as I was after Rudy Gay thinking he could take off in Toronto. Wall was just the stuffer into the trade as he’s not the greatest point guard in the world right now (fantasy wise) so he was what I was willing to take on if I could land Gay.

Studs (Stats are Last 7 Days)

Rudy Gay: 25.7ppg, 7rpg, 4spg, 90FT%.

Jeff Teague: 20.8ppg, 8.5apg, 2.3 three’s a game, 57FG%.

Greg Monroe: 20.5ppg, 12rpg, 2.8apg, 57FG%.

Ricky Rubio: 12.8ppg, 10.8apg, 2.8rpg, 1.5spg.

Omer Asik: 13.5ppg, 14.3ppg, 51FG%.

Nikola Vucevic: 17.3ppg, 13.3rpg, 2.5apg, 1spg, 1bpg, 48FG%.

Duds (Stats are Last 7 Days)

Jonas Valanciunas: 5.3ppg, 4.7rpg.

Jason Kidd: 3.3ppg, 3apg, 2.7rpg, 18FG%.

Tayshaun Prince: 7.7ppg, 4rpg, 3.7apg, 33FG%.

JaVale McGee: 10.3ppg, 4.7rpg.

Dirk Nowitzki: 13.7ppg, 5.7rpg, 31FG%.

Pick Me Ups

Earl Clark (LAL): With Pau Gasol out for basically the rest of the season, Clark is now a must add player in all leagues. Solidifying the power forward spot for the Lakers, Clark will now provide double digit points and more than likely double digit rebounds. One to pounce on ASAP!

Nate Robinson (CHI): Believe I mentioned Nate the Great last week but obviously some didn’t pick up on his great couple of weeks. With Hinrich still continuing to miss time, Robinson is backing it all up averaging 17 points and 8 assists over the past week. Still a bunch of leagues available with Nate on the sidelines, let’s hope it’s yours.

Nick Young (PHI): With Jason Richardson done for the year, Young becomes the starting shooting guard for the Sixers. With not much depth for the Sixers at this position, Young should start to put up some numbers that fantasy owners will enjoy. However be warned, it can be hard to trust him because he can be really inconsistent.

Byron Mullens (CHA): As Mullens comes back from injury, now is a good time to have an under the radar pick up. Not many people tend to include Bobcats players, generally because they think they aren’t much good. But the lesser ranked teams are usually the best fantasy pick-ups and Mullens can provide you with points, rebounds and three pointers.

Spencer Hawes (PHI): Hawes has been playing some nice basketball as of late and has deserved the mention in our USSDU fantasy article. Averaging 14.7ppg and 11rpg, Hawes is a handy replacement if you’re still weeping over Thad Young.