In this weekly column, I will be focusing on the best/worst performances over the past week. I will focus on out of the ordinary trends, or players that have strayed greatly from their average draft position. Great performances by top players or bad performances by benchwarmers will generally be ignored.
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RISERS
- Julius Randle (PF – Los Angeles Lakers) – Randle exploded over the last week in what will hopefully be his full unleashing for the rest of the season. In the last week, Randle has averaged 15 points, 13 rebounds, four assists, a steal and a block while shooting 60% from the field. There should be no reason for the Lakers to keep Randle from consistently playing major a major role down the stretch, but Coach Byron Scott can always ruin the best of plans.
- John Henson (PF/C – Milwaukee Bucks) – Henson is playing his way back into the rotation after being out with back issues for the last month and a half. Players recovering from back issues usually tend to produce inconsistent results until they are fully healed, but Henson has been out long enough that he could be healthy enough to be owned. He is always consistent with blocks no matter his minutes, but in the last week, he has averaged 21 minutes per game. In that time, he has put up 13 points, five rebounds and two blocks on 65% shooting. If Henson can earn more playing time to help bolster the Bucks defense, he could swing your blocks race in a short amount of time.
- Robert Covington (SG/SF/PF – Philadelphia 76ers) – Covington has returned to Philadelphia’s lineup and while he is not starting, he has played close to 30 minutes per game. In the last week, he has averaged 16 points, 10 rebounds, a steal and almost three three-pointers per game. Covington is a must-own for the last stretch of the season. Pick him up in all leagues where he is still available.
FALLERS
- Reggie Jackson (PG/SG – Detroit Pistons) – Jackson has completely lost his shot over the last two weeks, killing his production and also allowing his minutes to dip under 30 per game. In the last two weeks, Jackson has averaged 14 points, three rebounds, six assists and one three-pointer per game. Jackson has never been a huge factor in steals, but he is struggling to even produce more than a couple steals per month. It is not an ideal time for Jackson to slump in this phase of the fantasy season, but his ability is too great for him to be dropped unless you are in the most desperate of playoff series.
- Thaddeus Young (SF/PF – Brooklyn Nets) – Young put together a horrible group of games of the last week. He averaged eight points, six rebounds, one steal and a little under two assists per game on 45% shooting from the field. Young is still starting, does not seem to be hurt or have any sort of major problems in the rotation. I would imagine this is just an arbitrary slump, and if any owners have cut him from their team, feel free to pick him up.
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Mike Catron rambles on about the fantasy impact of NBA box scores and provides other insights on strategy at WatchtheBoxes.com. You can follow him on Twitter @WatchtheBoxes where he will be live tweeting various NBA games, answering your fantasy questions and mostly retweeting stuff you need to know from people you already follow.