Fantasy Toss-Up: Is The Nets’ Kris Humphries Better than Derrick Favors?

Alan Harrison · January 10, 2011

If you didn’t see the Nets' game versus the Central Division leading Chicago Bulls on January 5th, then you would have been surprised to learn that the Nets actually won that game. You would be even more surprised when you saw that Kris Humphries had put up 20 points and 11 rebounds, along with two assists, a block and a steal. Humphries managed to do all that on 10 of 15 shooting in 38 minutes of play – a solid stat line by any standards.

The main question here is whether or not Humphries is a legitimate fantasy contributor.

The 20 points was a season high for Kris, but consider that he had done so despite not starting the game. Derrick Favors, who had started, played only nine minutes because of foul trouble. Although Favors has a promising career ahead of him, it is doubtful that he will dramatically alter the way that his rookie season has been going: 6.4 points, 5.1 rebounds and 0.5 blocks per game.

Not many rookie big men are ready to contribute right away and while head coach Avery Johnson is promising longer minutes to Favors, this doesn’t mean that Humphries will find himself out of the Nets rotation. As much potential as Favors might have, it is rarity for an NBA big man to become a solid contributor in his first season because of the adjustment period that is needed in order to acclimate to the style of play. The adjustment period is even more so exacerbated by the tendency of college underclassmen to declare for the NBA draft.

Today’s rookies just aren’t physically mature to compete with seasoned NBA veterans so don’t expect Favors to burst out on the scene any time soon…but he will get there eventually. For now even if Johnson sticks with Favors in the lineup and gets him to play consistently above the 18.4 mpg that he has been averaging, don’t rush to pick him for your team just yet because he won’t be performing on a consistent basis just yet.

The Chicago Bulls game might have been an anomaly for Humphries because of the sub-par performance from the Bulls’ Carlos Boozer who only scored 12 points, grabbed nine rebounds and did not play the whole fourth quarter. But certainly Wednesday’s game had been an Eastern Egg of sorts for Humphries and the fantasy owners that had him on their squads.

Of course all this talk could be put to rest if the Nets finally work out a deal for Carmelo Anthony that would most certainly involve parting ways with Derrick Favors. But for now Humphries will have to take whatever he can get and make the most of it.

Don’t think that Kris has no value because he’s not putting up more than 10 points per game. Think of him as a ‘poor man’s, albeit maybe a very poor man’s, Marcus Camby.

Written by Artem "Professor Dunk" Altman exclusively for the www.thefantasyfix.com You can follow Artem on Twitter.com/ProfessorDunk

Tags: The Fantasy Fix, Fantasy Sports Advice, Fantasy Basketball, NBA, Artem Altman, Professor Dunk, Kris Humphries, Derrick Favors, New Jersey Nets