Week 16: Feb 9-22

5 Games: DAL, IND, LAL, OKC

4 Games: ATL, CHI, CLE, DEN, DET, GS, MIA, MIL, NO, NY, ORL, SAC, SA, WSH

3 Games: BOS, BKN, CHA, HOU, LAC, MEM, MIN, PHI, PHX, POR, TOR, UTA

On Fire:

Kyrie Irving:
Over the last two weeks, Kyrie Irving has been the best rated fantasy player in basketball. He is averaging 26.4 points, 5.7 assists, 3.9 rebounds, and a whopping 4.1 three pointers made per game during that span, while shooting 49% from the field and 87% from the charity stripe. Oh and by the way, the Cavaliers have won all but one game during that stretch. Kyrie Irving isn’t a player that would be easy to acquire, however, he would be a great option at PG in daily leagues until we see him cool off a bit.

D.J. Augustin:
Since Brandon Jennings went down for the rest of the season due to injury, Augustin has actually put up good enough fantasy numbers to make him a top-10 overall player. 20.4 points, 8.9 assists, 2.6 boards, and 2.0 three pointers made per game in the past 15 days makes for an elite fantasy option, and not to mention, he’s shooting 48% and 95% from the free throw line. Augustin is likely off of your waiver wire by now, but if he isn’t, he’s a must own.

Ice Cold:

Kenneth Faried:
What’s going on with the mannimal? Faried looked poised to have a breakout year of consistency, proving to be a double-double machine based off of the end of last year and the summer playing with team USA. He’s had another disappointing season for what I think most of us were expecting for the Nuggets, and it hasn’t been pretty for most of the season. For example, over the past two weeks he is averaging 10.6 points and 7.0 rebounds per game while playing just 28.6 minutes. The time to sell high is long gone, but perhaps there’s still a way to get rid of him without giving up all together and cutting him loose. Regardless, it’s time to look elsewhere.

David Lee:
It’s hard to tell whether the season Lee is having is because of the injury that held him out the first few weeks of the season, if the Warriors were so good without him that they didn’t want to mess that up by giving him big minutes, or if he’s just not good anymore. Regardless, David Lee is a non-factor in fantasy basketball for essentially the first time in his career. Saturday against the Knicks Lee notched his first double-double of the season with 10 points and 10 rebounds. That came in a game where the Warriors led by 16 at the half and beat the Knicks by 14 at MSG, which means clean-up duty for Lee against one of the leagues worst teams. Lee still only managed to play 22 minutes and only recorded three field goals, while six of his 10 points came from the line.

Stream options:

Robin Lopez: He’s back healthy and right back to his nightly double-double threat self also providing solid blocks as well.

Gerald Henderson: He’s scoring and somewhat leading the way for the Hornets with the absence of Kemba Walker, but the thing I love most about Henderson is that he does it all. He’ll contribute in almost every category on a nightly basis for the resurging Hornets.

Robert Covington: Someone has to score and be productive in Philly and Covington has done a great job of scoring, hit treys and grabbing steals. He does carry some baggage in the form of 39% shooting from the field.

D.J. Augustin: If he’s still available for some wild reason, grab him. Now. He’s a legit fantasy difference making point guard the rest of the season with Brandon Jennings out of the picture.

Spencer Hawes: It’ll be interesting to seehow the Clippers use the absence of Blake Griffin to Hawes’ advantage over the next couple of weeks. He was once a very fine fantasy player in Cleveland and Philly. If he gets 30 minutes a night he can be a nice addition.

Ricky Rubio: If someone dropped Rubio, he’s back, grab him. He’s capable of elite assists and steals and should be owned in all leagues.

Giannis Antetokounmpo: It took me longer to make sure I spelled his name correctly than the rest of this article, but the guy can ball. He’s really starting to stuff the score sheet and is finally rewarding owners that have invested in him all season long. He was the Eastern Conference player of the week last week.

Al-Farouq Aminu: He isn’t going to light it up in the scoring column, but he is a great option if you’re looking for someone to contribute in every category across the board.

Injury report:

– Blake Griffin‘s timetable for a return is said to be from 2-6 weeks due to surgery on his elbow to remove a staph infection. Keep your eyes peeled for more information, but this isn’t good news for Griffin owners.

– Darren Collison should be considered day-to-day with a hip injury.

– Jrue Holiday (ankle) will likely be back after the all-star break for the Pelicans.

– Kemba Walker (knee) still has 4-6 weeks to go in his recovery.

– J.J. Redick has missted the last four games to a back injury, but should be considered day-to-day.

– Alex Len was on crutches after his ankle injury on Thursday but isn’t likely going to miss significant time for now.

– Jordan Hill is out until after the All-Star break because of a hip injury.

– Dwyane Wade is considered questionable for Monday’s game against the Knicks, making his initial diagnosis that he will miss significant time, on the short side of things.

– Rajon Rondo continues to sit with a facial fracture for the Mavericks but could return to the line-up before the All-star break.

– Michael Carter-Williams has missed the last two games with a foot injury for the 76ers and should be monitored. He’s listed as questionable for Monday’s game with Golden State.

– Steven Adams will miss at least three weeks after having surgery to repair a hand injury he suffered Sunday against the Clippers.

For more fantasy basketball analysis or to have your questions answered, Follow Max on Twitter @MaxHaldeman13.