NBA January - Isaiah Thomas

                 Who To Watch: Isaiah Thomas 

                (Boston Celtics, Point Guard)

                January 2015-2016

        Fantasy basketball is all about the stats. Unlike fantasy football, our bench spots are vital to the success of our team. In my fantasy basketball articles, I don't like to discuss big names. If you are reading this then you put time into your fantasy team. If you actually put time into your team, then you don't need me to tell you to start Steph Curry, LeBron James, or James Harden. I mean, come on. That's easy. So in my writings, I want to go over guys that are in the mid-tier of players and players that are rising up the fantasy boards. In this month's Who To Watch for NBA Fantasy, I will discuss my favorite underrated player from January, players that I like going into next month, and players that are droppable. 

        January had a ton of great players. A lot of players like Kristaps Porzingis and Julius Randle have made themselves relevant in their team's offensive game plan, while players, like: Stephen Curry, Jimmy Butler, Russell Westbrook, and LeBron James, continue their dominating fantasy performances. My favorite player from the month of January is Boston Celtics' point guard, Isaiah Thomas. He has forced his way to the top, averaging 21.8 points per game and 6.6 assists per game. Isaiah's average draft position for fantasy placed him just outside the top 35 players at the beginning of the season. However, his rank is now in the top 10 of point guards entering the NBA's fourth month of the season. Thomas has become the leader of the offense, creating every play. A buy-low candidate entering into the month of February but look for his stock to rise as he and and the Celtics continue their offensive success. 

        My prediction for the month of February is pretty basic. The great players will be great; the older players in the league will continue to be slower and mediocre. For this article, I'd like to go over my mid-tier players that are overlooked and underrated. I look for these players to get hot in the coming month. Some are highly owned, buy-low players, while others are hardly owned and great pickups for this month. 

Derrick Rose (CHI • PG) - After a shaky start to this season, the Chicago Bull's franchise player seems to be fully healthy. Rose went down with another leg injury early on this year, but he has bounced back by averaging 19 points per game since New Years. With a solid performance this year from a young star in Jimmy Butler, I look for D Rose to feed off his teammates more, which should increase his low, 4.8 assists per game. As always, an increase in his per game average will sky rocket his fantasy value. Rose is definitely a buy-low candidate entering into the fourth month on the season. 

CJ McCollum (POR • PG/SG) - Completely overlooked at the beginning of the year, the Trailblazers' star has forced his way to the top. Putting up great fantasy numbers by shooting .437 FG%, .392 3P%, and .800 FT%. Becoming a focal point of the offense, McCollum is averaging 19.3 points, 4.7 assists, and 3.2 rebounds per game this past month. A key player to target in trades for any fantasy team. 91% owned in almost all platforms, he'll be closer to 100% by the start of February. I expect that CJ McCollum will be a top 10 guard in February. 

Will Barton (DEN • SG/SF) - I believe the Will Barton should get the Sixth Man of the Year Award this season. Averaging 15.6 PPG, 2.5 APG, and 6.2 RPG, Barton has become a great player in the NBA. With a .445 FG%, .389 3P%, and .849 FT%, he has become a fantastic fantasy player, as well. At 80% owned in Yahoo leagues and 75% owned in ESPN leagues, Barton is still surprisingly available. As a great pickup, Barton is a solid start for every fantasy team for the months to come. 

Jae Crowder (BOS • SF) - The Boston Celtics' forward has become one of my favorite fantasy players this season. With a .454 FG%, .361 3P%, and .820 FT%, Crowder is averaging 14.6 PPG, 1.9 APG, and 5.3 RPG. Along with Isaiah Thomas, the underrated forward has become an important focal point of the Celtic offense. He is a great buy-low player. My advice is to quickly add him to your roster as quickly as possible. I expect Crowder to continue his success as a scoring machine for the Boston Celtics. 

Julius Randle (LAL • PF) - One of the few young stars playing well, Julius Randle is on fire entering into the fourth month of the season. The Lakers continue to feed him the ball, and he continues to make shots. Shooting a high percentage, .318, Randle is becoming one of the best fantasy forwards in the league. In fantasy sports, many owners look at names and not stats. These owners don't do very well in their leagues. Randle is red hot, while other forwards, like Kevin Love, continue to struggle. Only 64% owned, Randle is wildly available in most leagues. Look for the power forward to continue his success in coming months. 

Tristan Thompson (CLE • PF/C) - As the Cavs chase the hardly beaten Warriors, LeBron and company have been mixing it up more in their lineups. They have focused specifically on rebounds. While Kevin Love is hanging out by the perimeter, the Cavs have struggled to get rebounds. They have just recently began to rely more on their rebounding machine, Tristan Thompson. Averaging 9.8 points and 8.0 rebounds per game this past month, Thompson has increased his fantasy value tremendously by shooting a .642 FG%. With tumors swarming around the Cavaliers' front office about Kevin Love's attitude toward the team, I expect the Cavs to lean more on Thompson in the coming months. He is a great pickup and a good player to receive in a trade as a packaged deal. 

Zaza Pachulia (DAL • C) - Alongside Dirk Nowitzki, Zaza Pachulia has become the other big man on the Mavs. I believe that it has been overlooked how Zaza has completed Dirk's offensive style. While Dirk prefers to hang around the top of the key, Zaza plays best fighting under the rim. Averaging 10.5 PPG and 10.8 RPG. I expect that Zaza will increase his stats as the Mavericks look to increase their chances to win in the Western Conference. Only 76% owned, Pachulia is still available in most leagues. He is a smart pickup and a great start for the coming months.

Andrew Bogut (GS • C) - On the hottest team in the NBA, who wouldn't want a key player in their offense. To go alongside Curry, Thompson, and Green, Bogut is extremely important for their offense. Averaging 7.2 rebounds per game, Bogut is allowed to score the majority of his points through offensive rebounding put-backs. He's averaging 5.7 points per game and shooting .655 FG%. Only 59% owned, Bogut is still being overlooked; he won't be for too much longer. He is the perfect pickup for any fantasy team struggling to get those rebounds. 

        There are, obviously, more players that have performed well this season. Be sure to take the time to look at your free agency and waiver wire and see who is available in your league. Next, I want to go over some of the players that I don't like and don't expect to do well. Some of these players are heavily owned, while a few on this list a barely owned. Therefore, view the players on this list as droppable and/or stay-away from. 

D'Angelo Russell (LAL • PG) - The Los Angeles Lakers took a chance on Ohio State's star guard, drafting him as the second overall pick in the 2015 NBA Draft. As one of the most liked rookies coming into the season, D'Angelo Russell hasn't seemed to develop as quickly as we were expecting. Hoping that Kobe Bryant would leave his legacy of a team in the hands of the 19 year old rookie, Russell is struggling. Averaging 11.9 PPG, 3.5 APG, and 3.8 RPG, the Lakers' point guard has been struggling for many fantasy owners. Russell is currently shooting low in almost all areas of the court with .405 FG%, .324 3P%, and .678 FT%. As Kobe's retirement season continues, the Lakers, especially their fans, will begin to look for D'Angelo Russell to take over as their team's star. This is a lot for a rookie to handle, especially one that hasn't even turned twenty. For me, Russell is a sell-high candidate playing into the middle pet of the season. 

Kentavious Caldwell-Pope (DET • SG) - The Detroit Pistons haven't had a talented shooting guard since Richard Hamilton. This season, the Pistons believe they have found their new star in Kentavious Caldwell-Pope. Feeding him the ball a ton early on this season, Caldwell-Pope shot up his fantasy value by averaging over 10 PPG. However, don't let your eyes fool you. His shooting percentage has suffered due to his main role in the offense. Averaging well over 12 shots a game and making less half, has forced his FG% to below .500. This can kill any fantasy team. Be sure to pay attention to both his field goal and three-point percentages. For me, he's droppable in all leagues with 12 teams or less. 

Marco Belinelli (SAC • SG/SF) - If there is one thing that I've learned about the Sacramento Kings, it's that they hate fantasy owners. It's easy to see players' roles from other teams, but the Kings seem to change their game plan during every timeout. There are only two players from the Kings that I can trust, Rondo and Cousins. Everyone else is untrustworthy and unpredictable, including: Rudy Gay, Ben McLemore, Omri Casspi, and Kosta Koufos. The one Sacramento player that people love seem to love is Marco Belinelli. People focus on his recent success, but they forget the fact that the Kings hate fantasy owners. Earlier this season, the Kings didn't even start Rajon Rondo; now, he's the star of the franchise. Earlier this year, the focus of the offense was Rudy Gay; he's currently dropping in fantasy value. The new target of the Kings' plan to screw fantasy owners is through DeMarcus Cousins, who still has some fantasy value but could be a potential sell-high guy in the coming weeks. I look for the Kings' three-point star to slow down tremendously in February. 

Paul Pierce (LAC • SF/PF) - Although Pierce was productive in the playoffs last season, his production off the bench for the Clippers has suffered. He has become nonexistent during his 17.4 average minutes per game. Averaging 5.7 PPG, Pierce's numbers will go down as he will loose minutes once Blake Griffin is back from his injury. Averaging 5.7 PPG, Pierce's numbers will go down as he will loose minutes once Blake Griffin is back from his injury. Shooting terribly through three months with .353 FG%, .318 3P%, and .811 FT%, Pierce has landed the 38 year old forward on my list of droppable players for the month of February.

Luol Deng (MIA • SF/PF) - Deng was looking to play a huge role for the Miami Heat, after the departure of King James. With the slow development of Justise Winslow, fantasy owners were expecting the former Chicago Bull all-star to step right into the starting lineup. I still haven't seen that happen. Deng has been performing below average, even with an increase of minutes, as he relieves the injured Hassan Whiteside. As Whiteside returns to action, I look for Luol Deng to decrease his fantasy value fairly quickly. The Miami forward is droppable in all leagues. 

Roy Hibbert (LAL • C) - Hoping that Hibbert would become the big man they wanted out of Dwight Howard, he has failed to live up to the hype. Many fantasy owners fell into the trap of Hibbert's expectations. Surprisingly, the center is owned in over 50% of standard leagues. The Lakers are looking to trade their failed experiment. Most likely, he'll be traded off and will loose all fantasy value. My advice is to add him in all trades or drop, drop, drop!

By: Cameron Black

@GBCam_Black @realkingshiva