This article is part of our NBA Observations series.
Walker Kessler, Malik Monk, Marvin Bagley, Trae Young and LaMelo Ball all made it into the Dr. A Mailbag column this week. Keep the questions coming at @docktora! Let's go.
What is your outlook on Walker Kessler? Is he worth holding in standard leagues? Illgobbo (@Illgobbo)
The fact this is even a question points to the fact that Kessler may be the biggest bust in fantasy this season, although his February has been better than his disastrous late January that saw him play 19 or fewer minutes in five straight games, including Feb. 1. And he had a solid line of 14 points, 12 rebounds, a steal and two blocks on 6-of-8 shooting in 30 minutes against the Hawks on Tuesday. Of course, everyone plays well against the Hawks, and that was his first double-double since Jan. 1, which is simply hard to believe. He still holds value simply because of the blocks (2.7 in February). He's averaging 8.4 points, 7.0 rebounds and 0.7 steals in 23 minutes this month as well. Plus, he's a decent free throw shooter and his field goal percentage is always great. But now he's dealing with a foot injury that has him questionable for Thursday's game against the Magic. The bottom line is that Kessler has been worth a fifth-round pick over his last seven games, and given that he really won't hurt you anywhere, as long as he's playing for the Jazz, he's worth having on your roster
Walker Kessler, Malik Monk, Marvin Bagley, Trae Young and LaMelo Ball all made it into the Dr. A Mailbag column this week. Keep the questions coming at @docktora! Let's go.
What is your outlook on Walker Kessler? Is he worth holding in standard leagues? Illgobbo (@Illgobbo)
The fact this is even a question points to the fact that Kessler may be the biggest bust in fantasy this season, although his February has been better than his disastrous late January that saw him play 19 or fewer minutes in five straight games, including Feb. 1. And he had a solid line of 14 points, 12 rebounds, a steal and two blocks on 6-of-8 shooting in 30 minutes against the Hawks on Tuesday. Of course, everyone plays well against the Hawks, and that was his first double-double since Jan. 1, which is simply hard to believe. He still holds value simply because of the blocks (2.7 in February). He's averaging 8.4 points, 7.0 rebounds and 0.7 steals in 23 minutes this month as well. Plus, he's a decent free throw shooter and his field goal percentage is always great. But now he's dealing with a foot injury that has him questionable for Thursday's game against the Magic. The bottom line is that Kessler has been worth a fifth-round pick over his last seven games, and given that he really won't hurt you anywhere, as long as he's playing for the Jazz, he's worth having on your roster in fantasy. Just beware that they could shut him down at any time as they continue to fall out of the playoff race, and it probably wouldn't take much of an injury to make it happen. But as long as he's playing, he's worth holding, especially since he's actually been the most valuable Jazz player in fantasy over their last seven games (Lauri Markkanen has been a ninth-rounder over his last seven games).
Hold Malik Monk or drop him in favor of Tre Mann, Aaron Nesmith or Trey Murphy? Looselips67 (@Looselips671)
I like what Tre Mann has been doing, and while his production has been inflated with LaMelo Ball out, he could continue to produce even when Ball is back. Mann has averaged 12.3 points, 5.3 rebounds, 4.9 assists and 1.7 steals in his seven February games for Charlotte, and he's worth a look in all leagues right now. Meanwhile, Monk has been struggling. I think the Hornets are going to keep riding Mann until further notice. Just be ready to drop him if the Hornets finally bring Ball back and he starts getting big minutes and stifling Mann's production.
Marvin Bagley is on the wire. Is he an add over De'Andre Hunter, Keyonte George or Tre Mann? David Chan (@Dchan100817)
I think Bagley, George and Mann are the three guys you want to be looking at here. I like the fact that the Jazz have already said that George will be the starting point guard through the end of the season. I'd rank them George, Bagley, Mann right now, but it's pretty close and in coin toss territory. But out of the three of those guys, I trust George the most right now. Mann is interesting with LaMelo Ball still sitting out. I have no problem picking him up and running him out there as well, but I just have this feeling that George is going to go off down the stretch.
Any thoughts on Paul George and his injury timeline? Bball2022 (@Bball202223)
I don't think it's that serious an injury. The Clippers obviously need him healthy as they make a run to win the West. As far as we know, it's just a sore knee and nothing more. However, that could change, and George's injury history isn't great. He's only missed two straight games and still has a chance to play on Friday, but given that they've got the nine-win Wizards in that one, I can easily see him missing a third straight game that night (another reason why I like Terance Mann a lot right now). If George misses Friday's game against Washington and then doesn't play against the Timberwolves on Sunday, we might have a problem. But my guess is he'll be ready to go against Minnesota on Sunday, and fantasy managers will just have to hope the injury is behind him at that point. But if he doesn't play on Friday or Sunday, it could officially be time to panic on PG-13. If that's the case, let's talk about it in this space again next week!
Tyus Jones or Jabari Smith? Ralf Sunga (@ralfsunga)
Jones has kind of been a freak after a slow start to the season and is coming off a line of 14 points, a season-high 17 assists and two steals in Tuesday's game against the Warriors. The problem is, we don't know if the Wizards are going to shut him down at some point. The bottom line is that Jones has hit double digits in assists five of his last six games, and he's scored in double digits in eight of his last 10 games. His February averages of 12.7 points, 10.8 assists and 0.9 steals are nothing to sneeze at; he's one of the better point guards in the league right now. Without getting into what Jabari Smith is doing, Jones is the guy I want to have on my roster right now. Just ride him until the wheels fall off or they pull the plug on him.
Trae Young is out. Should I pick up Bogdan Bogdanovic? Bay Goal Icardi (@baygoalicardi)
Young is in rare fantasy air in that he can go down for a month (or more), and there's not a clear backup point guard to pick up in his place. It's weird. But Dejounte Murray obviously gets a boost, and then Bogdanovic moves into the starting unit for Atlanta and gets a big boost in his fantasy value. The easy answer is 'yes,' Bogdanovic is the player to pick up given Young's finger surgery. Go get him.
Should I still expect LaMelo Ball to return any day? Randy (@RSOilers)
He's supposedly about ready to go and is too good of a player not to be rostered everywhere in fantasy. However, I just don't know how much the Hornets are going to play him. If I was running that team, I'd probably shut him down and just make sure he's ready to roll for next season. But my guess is they're close to bringing Ball back and letting him finish out the season. If they do, you'll be glad you held onto him. But it's a slippery slope right now.
Should I drop Daniel Gafford? Brian Rosenworcel (@Bowl_of_Worcel)
Dereck Lively is starting and had nine points, four rebounds and five blocks on Tuesday, while P.J. Washington had his best game as a Maverick with 23 points, six rebounds, three blocks and five 3-pointers in that game. Gafford came off the bench for 13 points, seven rebounds, a steal and a block, while he also altered a ton of shots and played the role of rim protector on Tuesday. I completely understand the question given Gafford's three previous games that saw him score in single digits while seeing limited minutes, but the Mavericks simply need him to play and help protect the rim and rebound going forward. Add in the fact that Lively can't seem to stay healthy, and I think the best is yet to come for Gafford. He's worth hanging onto right now, unless you're just overloaded with big men.
How do you rank Jalen Johnson for the rest of the season? Who are some sneaky pickups for the fantasy playoffs? Kevin Radnor (@kevin_radnor)
Johnson should be a fantasy monster the rest of the way for the Hawks, especially without Trae Young's offense around to slow him down. Johnson has double-doubled in four straight games and is averaging 16.3 points, 10.2 rebounds, 4.4 assists, 0.8 steals, 1.3 blocks and 1.1 3-pointers in February. His free throw shooting (65% in February) is the only downside, but he's going to go off the rest of the way. You should feel lucky to have him.
As far as sneaky pickups, it depends on who is available in your league. But some names to keep an eye on include: Tre Mann, Terance Mann, Bogdan Bogdanovic, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Brandin Podziemski, Amen Thompson, Ausar Thompson, Bennedict Mathurin, Simone Fontecchio, Lamar Stevens, GG Jackson, Malik Beasley and Dorian Finney-Smith (5 games next week).
What do you do with Paul Reed at this point? NOT TAKES Fantasy Football (@NOTTakesFF)
He's had two complete duds and two solid outings in each of his four last games. I think that's just what we're going to get from Reed at this point. He's not hurt and wasn't in foul trouble, so his 14 minutes and zero points against the Celtics on Tuesday was pretty mind boggling, but my guess is he'll bounce back against the Hornets on Friday. He'll also face the Mavericks on Sunday; they've got plenty of centers to run at Reed, meaning he should be out there for most of the night in that one, too. Just start him and check out his results at the end of the week, as watching his daily stat lines might give you a headache and some indigestion. But there's literally no reason he should not be balling out on a nightly basis with Joel Embiid watching in street clothes for the Sixers.
