You own a player who is on fire at the moment? You're worried he's not going to keep it up? Why not use his hotness to swap him for another who you have more faith in?
If it's too good to be true, it probably is. Especially in the case we have for you today, where a star player is about to return from injury and take some offensive touches away from our story's first hero.
Got a guy on your roster who is letting you down? Should you give up on him or wait and see if he can turn it around? If that guy is my neighbor from Bosnia and Herzegovina I advise patience if you own him, or trying to acquire him cheap if you don't. Read more about it in our Week 11 fantasy basketball buy low and sell high column right here at RotoBaller.
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Are You for Real, Kevin Love?
Kevin Love has been on par with his last season's averages with one pretty significant difference, his field goal percentage has been at an all time high. His 47.8 FG% is insane for a C eligible player who hits 2.2 threes per game. He complements these stats with 19.8 points and hitting 87.5% of his free throws, 10.1 boards, 2.0 dimes, 0.7 steals, 0.4 blocks and 1.8 turnovers in 30 minutes per game. Now, since most of the stats are sustainable, why is Love a Sell high target? It's simple. Isaiah Thomas is set to return in a week or two.
IT3 is projected to make his season debut in the next couple of games. When he does return, the guy who ranked 3rd in usage % out of all the players that played 75+ games last year, is sure to eat into some minutes and offensive opportunities of his teammates. LeBron James leads the Cavaliers in usage , but it's not going to be The King who takes the biggest hit is it? Next in line is?
You guessed it - Kevin Love! Kevin's 26.6 usage percentage will certainly drop, probably even lower than his 25.5 from last season. He played next to Kyrie Irving instead of the ball hogger that is Thomas. And with Kevin's FG and FT percentages already being this high, it's doubtful that an increase in efficiency (if it even increases), will be able to compensate for the decrease in counting stats.
Love is being ranked from top-10 to top-25 depending on what scoring your league uses. So if you can unload him to an owner who doesn't see his value coming down with the return of Isaiah for a decent top-20 player you wouldn't have any objections from me. I would trade Love for Victor Oladipo, Kyrie Irving or Paul George, depending of course on your team's needs.
Baller Move: Sell high
Time to Panic on Jusuf Nurkic?
Ok, I know that The Nurk Alert has been letting you down lately. He isn't playing nearly as well as his ADP would have you believe he should. His season averages of 14.5 PTS on 45.8 FG% and 63.6 FT%, 7.4 REB, 1.8 AST, 0.6 STL, 1.2 BLK and 2.9 TO in 27 minutes per game is well outside the top-100.
I understand that you're upset with him and that your patience is growing thin. But don't sell him for pennies on the dollar. Just remember how hot he got when he was traded to the Trail Blazers back in February. In his 20 games on his new team he posted 15.2 points on 50.8% from the field and 66.0% from the charity stripe. He added 10.4 boards, 3.2 assists, 1.3 steals, 1.9 blocks and 3.1 turnovers in 29 minutes per contest for what was a string of extraordinary fantasy performances.
Nurk is still that same guy. And Portland is still that same team. But Jusuf is still just 23, and it's normal for his game to have inconsistencies. After his dud from Dec 23, when he scored four points on 2-of-11 from the field with five rebounds, two assists and a steal, his value is at an all time low now. But he is going to get better. Realistically, there's no better option at the center spot for the Portland, so even if he isn't playing at his best, Nurkic will still get decent run next to Ed Davis and rookie Zach Collins.
So if you own Jusuf, don't let him go for cheap just because his in a slump. On the other hand, if you're looking for a player of his abilities, the is an ideal buy low candidate. An offer of a guy at around top-100 could be enough to persuade an impatient, fed up owner to let him go. Zach Randolph, Rodney Hood, or Dirk Nowitzki are all players I would give up if Nurk was on the other side of the trade.
Baller Move: Hold or buy low
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