On Fire

It’s hard to write a segment about players who are currently on fire without the main point of focus being Russell Westbrook. There hasn’t been a guy who has played as well as Westbrook over the last 15 days. In that span, Westbrook is averaging 34.6 points, 11.9 assists and 11.4 rebounds per game. He is only shooting 43% during that span, but James Harden is shooting 44% on the season and is in talks for league MVP. Russell is the MVP of the NBA in my opinion as he is having a better season this year than Kevin Durant was last year when he had his MVP season because of the slack he had to pick up for Westbrook missing time due to his injury. He likely won’t win MVP because of the time he’s missed with multiple injuries, however, he is clearly the best fantasy player in the league right now.

Dennis Schroeder of the Atlanta Hawks was virtually a nobody for most of the season around the NBA. He was the backup to Jeff Teague and played small minutes. Teague has recently been dealing with a thigh injury that has kept him out of the lineup at times and when he is in the lineup, it has seemed to bother him leading to big minutes here recently. He hasn’t been the most effective shooter, only shooting 38% from the field, but he’s been extremely valuable for his price in daily leagues. He’s worth a look while he’s cheap and getting starter minutes in Atlanta.

Ice Cold

Klay Thompson has been in a bit of a funk the last couple of weeks when you consider the success he had earlier in the year. Even in games when he scores 20-25 points, he doesn’t contribute in any other category. He’s averaging 19.8 points and 2.8 three’s per game over the post 15 days, which isn’t bad, but he makes the list because of the lack of other categories that he once contributed in that made him the elite SG that he is.

The Pacers have been hot as of late, but it’s no thanks to Roy Hibbert. Over the last 15 days, Hibbert is averaging 7.5 point and 7.8 rebounds per game and is shooting 30% from the field. He’s still blocking shots and hitting his free throw’s but that’s about it.

Waiver Wire Options

Austin Rivers could be a nice add if Chris Paul misses any time in LA or even as a filler player with Jamal Crawford sidelined at the moment.

Nikola Mirotic has stepped up nicely for the Bulls of the bench with Taj Gibson sidelined. Also, with Butler and Rose out, someone has to score for the Bulls.

Michael Kidd-Gilchrist has been very productive for the Hornets since his return from injury after the All star break. He will contribute in every category, but has surprisingly not been as productive defensively getting steals as normal.

Isaiah Canaan for the Philadelphia 76ers is a nice cheap option for now in daily leagues and has been playing well in the Sixers system since the trades at the deadline.

Nicolas Batum is likely owned in the majority of leagues, but with Wesley Matthews out, Batum is an intriguing option at SF.