With New York lifting the vaccine mandate, Nets’ Kyrie Irving is now eligible to play in all games for the rest of the regular season and playoffs.
Buy low, sell high is one of the oldest terms in fantasy, but it’s more involved than that. You have to look at the “low” and “high” of it to make sure you’re maximizing value. We can also buy the player but question the team and role that they are in when it comes to maintaining the pace that they are on.
Most importantly, with any call you make, you have to be willing to lose the deal or accept that you made the wrong call. It happens all the time when we think we are selling at the highest value, only for that player to buck the trend and play like a stud going forward.
With trade deadlines come and gone in the majority of leagues, we’ll be looking at players whose performance we buy in the larger sense for the rest of the season.
Now that you have an idea of what to expect from this column week to week let’s get to the players.
Kyrie Irving (PG/SG – BKN)
If you held on to Irving all season and managed to make your playoffs, congrats on your league title. Irving got the news that he’s no longer a part-time player as New York lifted their mandate, which allows him to be a full-time player for the Nets for the rest of the regular season and playoffs.
Irving’s value shoots through the roof now, as he’s a top 10 fantasy player once again.
Jordan Poole (PG/SG – GSW)
The Warriors just aren’t fair. Their core is old now, yes, but look at what they have waiting in the wings with James Wiseman, Moses Moody, Jonathan Kuminga, and Jordan Poole. With Steph Curry out with an ankle injury, Poole is doing his best Chef impression in the interim. Over his last four games, Poole has 22 made three-pointers. Yes, 22.
In those games, he’s scored 29, 28, 26, and 30 points, respectively. The Warriors want Curry back, of course, but Poole’s recent play makes it easier for them to ease him back. Even when Curry returns, expect Poole to continue playing at a top level.
Kris Dunn (PG/SG – POR)
If I’ve said it once, I’ve said it 100 times. Opportunity is so overlooked in fantasy. And while Dunn is a bad player, he’s getting the opportunity in Portland.He hasn’t done much with it, of course, but he earned the start over Brandon Williams on Wednesday for the first time.Dunn has been bad, and Williams hasn’t been much better.
Since the team officially shut down Damian Lillard for the year, I’ll take a player who is going to play 20-something minutes per night at a point in the season when minutes are hard to project.
Sell
Payton Pritchard (PG – BOS)
The Celtics have been red hot of late, suffering just one loss in the month of March. They aren’t just winning games – they are steamrolling opponents.
Pritchard has been the latest Celtic to enjoy a hot streak, as he’s posted double-digits in scoring in five straight games.While the points, assists, and threes have been there, the minutes haven’t. He’s played more than 20 minutes in just two of those games, and it’s hard to buy this level of production from a mediocre player sticking with the limited opportunity he’s getting.
Goga Bitadze (C – IND)
Goga has looked good of late, scoring 55 points over his last three games and pulling in 20 boards in the same period.
But I’m selling him, and here’s why.
Not only does Bitzadze have other big men to compete with for playing time in Indiana, but the Pacers are trying to be bad. They want to tank, and with the way that Bitadze is balling right now, the Pacers really have no reason to play him.
Expect him to sit games with random injuries and possibly even be shut down as the season winds to a close.
This time of the season is the best, but it’s also the worst and hardest to predict.