Welcome back! What a frustrating week this has been due to all these players dropping due to COVID related issues. And what the heck is going on with the Raptors? Or even the Bucks? But how about those Pacers! Man, do they look good. I’m going to touch on all this stuff, as well as throwing out some waiver wire adds. Some big named players are starting to get hurt. Is there drama is going on in Atlanta? I’m going to touch on all of these topics. And at the very bottom will be my customized chart. And we are finally acquiring enough data for it to be beneficial. So let’s dig in!
After such a smooth COVID free experience in the bubble, we have gotten multiple teams to get hit with COVID this week. Some guys have COVID, as well as players dropping due to contact tracing. On Saturday, the Sixers were forced to play with 8 active players, but technically there were only 7 due to Mike Scott being hurt. The Celtics have 3 players, including Jason Tatum, facing a minimum of 7-day quarantines. Overall, there are COVID-related circumstances throughout the entire league, which is very concerning. I could list all of the players out with COVID, or COVID related, but I won’t waste your time with that.
What a heart breaker for Markelle Fultz at this point of his career. This guy has gone through everything from being the number 1 overall pick. To having bad shoulder problems to start his career, essentially making himself forget how to shoot. He went down a road of depression while being considered the biggest bust of all time. He finally got traded to the Magic, and he seemed to revitalized his career. He was off to a great start of the season, leading the Magic with one of the best basketball records. Then against the Cavs, he goes down on a non-contact injury and tears his ACL. And once again, his career is put on hold. Thankfully, he just signed a contract guaranteeing him $50 million.
5 Celtics have entered a minimum of 7 days for quarantine. Robert and Grant Williams, Tristan Thompson, Jaylen Brown, and the biggest ones are Jason Tatum. Tatum has tested positive for COVID 19. With Tatum out, it will give rookie Payton Pritchard even more time on the court. This is huge for him because he has been pretty great during his spot starts. And finally, Jeff Teague is going to get more run off the bench. But overall, this team is gashed and will have players taking the court that you never heard of.
Kyrie Irving has left the team for unknown reasons. Luckily Caris Levert has put the team on his back during Irving’s absence because Kevin Durant is currently quarantined. While Irving is out, Caris Levert will carry a huge usage rate. And Jarrett Allen has shown out and has earned himself a couple of starts. Jarrett Allen is better than DeAndre Jordan, so hopefully, he sticks in the starting lineup from now on. The Nets as a whole are showing how team this roster is, as they continue to win games without their two best players.
Smaller news out of Dallas is Max Kleber is now under quarantine for 10-14 days. And the Dallas facility actually got shut down as a result. It’s frustrating that this type of news keeps popping up more frequently. But this is going to really put pressure on Kristaps to get back from injury. In the meantime, Willie Cauley-Stein will have to fill the void.
Thomas Bryant tore his ACL Saturday night, and now his season is over. This makes matters much worse for the Wizards as they can’t seem to buy a win. This will directly affect Moritz Wagner as he will pick up a lot of time playing center. But Rui and Davis Bertans and his huge contract will play more minutes and maybe crack into the 30-minute mark.
This week’s big news was John Collins, and Trae Young seem not to see eye to eye. And there are a lot of issues around that behind the curtain we are not seeing. John Collins has been struggling this season, and even more so now, Clint Capela has returned from injury. Speaking of injury, their big free-agent signing Bogdan Bogdanovic went down with a nasty ankle injury. They are already with Danilo Gallinari, so Cam Reddish and Kevin Huerter need to step up off the bench. But overall, Trae Young and John Collins need to figure out their differences because it’s affecting this team big time. John Collins becomes a free agent this season, so that is something to keep in mind.
The Pacers have been incredible lately. Especially after TJ Warren went down. Domantas Sabonis is making a strong case for the MVP so far this season. Malcolm Brogdon is playing excellent at the point as well. Miles Turner has played so consistently, while Justin Holiday and Doug McDermott have been brilliant off the bench. The Pacers are playing great team basketball with their 7-3 record and pushing with the 76ers to take over 1st place.
I mentioned the Raptors in my last article being terrible. And I’m going right back to them this week as they are still playing horrible basketball. These guys have absolutely no spark off the bench. Last year they had Fred VanVleet coming off the bench and lighting the scoreboard up. He is now a starter, and they have nobody to replace him. Center has also been an issue for them. Alex Len and Aaron Baynes are not starting centers. They need to get Chris Boucher off the bench and into the starting lineup. And if they can’t start winning, I would start Norman Powell and put VanVleet back as the first man off the bench.
Now my Milwaukee Bucks. I can’t believe the records they are setting and the great efficiency numbers they have. Yet, they are right around .500. Jrue Holiday has not earned even close to the money he got paid. And that is the first place I look at as to why they’ve lost some of these games. Overall though, they have been playing terrible defense compared to last season. They are letting teams run the score up nightly. They need to clean up on the defensive end if they want to string a handful of wins together.
Waiver Wire Targets
And finally, my customized chart is attached that shows how many times a player has gone 6 times their value to each position. Point guards have been torching Chicago this year. And the Cavs have been getting torched by power forwards. Personally, I have been targeting point guards and centers quite a bit against the Kings recently. Another thing to always keep in mind is injuries. Especially if the game spread is close, usually that indicates it should be a high scoring game and the starters really benefit.
As always, thank you for taking time out of your day to read through my article. Please follow me on Twitter or Instagram or even join my Facebook Page to help me out. I will have my podcast out talking about the NFL Playoffs, National Championship, and much more in a couple of days that’ll be posted on my channels.
Twitter: @mikealby
Instagram: footballday.dse
Facebook: Footballday with Mike and Jake