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 Did you miss me?
Unfortunately mid-terms got the best of me last week and I failed for the first time since starting this experiment of column writing to turn in my article. Fortunately, there wasn’t much to mention anyway. This week, though, there are seven guys on this list, all which can give you a boost in the first official week of fantasy basketball playoffs. And I’ll speak for all of us when I say, it’s about damn time! Nick Young (15% Yahoo! Ownership) With Caron Butler fighting the seemingly never-ending injury bug, there are minutes-a-plenty to spread around the Washington backcourt, and no one has benefited more than Nick Young. In the last seven games, including the one that Butler went down, Young has averaged 15 points, 1.1 treys and 0.9 steals. Buyer beware, those are really the only counting stats he helps with. Coach Tapscott has ruled Butler out of action till the end of the week, but with his injury history it wouldn’t be shocking to see his season shut down early.
Keyon Dooling (15% Yahoo! Ownership) If you’re not already on board, you really missed out. Dooling put up outstanding numbers in Devin Harris’ absence – 15.8 PPG, 1.3 3PG, 6.5 APG, 3.8 RPG and 1 SPG, along with a 61 FG% and 80 FT%. With the Nets in the playoff hunt look for them to get Harris back on the court ASAP, which could be as early as Friday against the Lakers. But until that time, get Dooling in your lineup.
Brandan Wright (8% Yahoo! Ownership) The kid out of UNC is back and he’s come to play. I may be a little biased because I was at last Friday’s game against the Sixers when he went off for a career high 25 points, but I have reason to be because he showed flashes of the player us Warriors fans hope to see in the near future. Fantasy wise, he’s always a gamble and has been labeled inconsistent, which is mostly not his fault but a result of sporadic playing time. In his last three games he’s averaged 28 minutes and to only my surprise his scoring has been rather inconsistent – 11, 25 and four point totals. But where he has been consistent is in providing fantasy value, whether it is with contributions on the glass or blocking shots. The guy currently second in my hometown league held on to Wright all year, including his two and a half month layoff. Other than telling you how weak my league is, it shows there are still some believers out there. Now as we head into playoff time, his unwavering loyalty, as crazy as it seems, may have paid off.
Lou Williams (29% Yahoo! Ownership) Before Monday’s disappointing nine point performance, if you wanted to speak of consistency, you could look at Sweet Lou’s last four games -- 26 minutes, 18 points, 1 trey, 5 assists, 1 steal 30 minutes, 20 points, 2 treys, 6 assists, 5 steals 28 minutes, 21 points, 3 treys, 3 assists, 2 steals 27 minutes, 18 points, 1 trey, 6 assists, 1 steal I’m not sure why he’s received the boost in playing time. It can’t be just to spurn his development, because the Sixers are in the midst of a battle for playoff seeding. Maybe just plain old fashioned good play has shown his  coach the light. Either way you hatch it, his minutes are on the rise and the veteran, Willie Green’s, are on the decline.
Trevor Ariza (50% Yahoo! Ownership) After a 17-point blowout at the hands of Portland, Lakers forward Luke Walton told Phil Jackson he thought the team would benefit more if he came off the bench and crowd-favorite Trevor Ariza was put in the starting lineup. Since that point the Lakers are 5 -1 and Ariza has been on a tear. Seeing an extra seven minutes of PT a night, he’s averaged 15.2 PPG, 1.7 3PG, 5.2 RPG and a whopping 2.7 steals per game in that time.
Brandon Rush (3% Yahoo! Ownership) Rush was inserted into the starting lineup Saturday in place of T.J. Ford, and helped snap the Pacers’ five game losing streak, playing nearly 40 minutes in the process. According to the Indianapolis Star that is the role Rush will be in for the time being. He’s shown improvement over the last two weeks, according to Coach O’Brien, and if he can hold onto the starting job, he can do fantasy owners quite a bit of good heading into the playoffs. He helps mostly with points and threes but can also chip in solid contributions in rebounds, steals and blocks.
Jared Dudley (1% Yahoo! Ownership) Phoenix started giving Dudley serious playing time seven games ago and since then both have been balling. The team has won five straight and Dudley has averaged an efficient 10.4 points, 0.8 treys, 5.8 boards 2 assists and 1.4 steals. The formula of having Matt Barnes and Dudley split time at the four seems to be working out and there’s no reason things should change.
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