Fantasy Basketball Waiver Wire: Bol Bol returns to starting lineup
Outside of Devin Booker and Kevin Durant, figuring out the Phoenix Suns has been an unenviable task for fantasy managers this season. Bradley Beal has played well since returning to the starting lineup, but finding consistent value among the low-rostered Suns has been incredibly challenging. One played who emerged before the All-Star break was Bol Bol (12 percent rostered, Yahoo!), reaching double figures in four straight. And then, he played no more than 13 minutes in any of Phoenix’s first three post-break games, coming off the bench in each.
There was no reason to hold onto Bol, and then Mike Budenholzer re-inserted him into the starting lineup for Tuesday’s game in Memphis. In a wild overtime thriller won by the Grizzlies, Bol tallied 23 points, eight rebounds, one assist, two blocks and two three-pointers in 32 minutes. The plus/minus (minus-12) was poor, but that number doesn’t impact fantasy basketball. It’s pretty simple: as long as Bol is allowed to start, he should be rostered.
However, being on a team searching for answers does Bol no favors. We hope he did enough individually to merit another opportunity to start when the Suns host the Pelicans for games on Thursday and Friday. Let’s look at a few of Tuesday’s top pickups:
PG/SG Payton Pritchard (50%), Boston Celtics
The Celtics were without Jrue Holiday and Al Horford for Tuesday’s game in Toronto, then Kristaps Porzingis was pulled from the lineup just before tip-off. Porzingis didn’t play, with Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla saying after the win over the Raptors that they decided to save KP for Wednesday’s game in Detroit after he’d fallen ill. Also, Jaylen Brown suffered a bone bruise in his left leg and is unsure if he’ll be available on Wednesday.
Those injuries are why Pritchard should be picked up, and he played well in Toronto. In 35 minutes off the bench, the Celtics guard produced a line of 20 points, seven rebounds, two assists, two steals and four three-pointers. Sam Hauser (2%) produced a modest stat line on Tuesday (10/5/0/1/1 with two three-pointers), but the injuries could put him in line for additional minutes on Wednesday, even if he drops from the starting lineup to the bench.
PF/C Santi Aldama (48%), Memphis Grizzlies
Aldama has been solid throughout the season, providing top-100 value in nine-cat formats. He played 32 minutes off the bench in Tuesday’s 151-148 win over the Suns, finishing with 17 points, six rebounds, five assists, three steals and five three-pointers. Aldama shot 6-of-9 from the field and has been a top-60 player in nine-cat over the past three weeks. Despite the bench role, Santi’s production has been consistent enough to merit being rostered in close to 50 percent of Yahoo! leagues.
SG/SF Max Christie (37%), Dallas Mavericks
Christie returned to the Mavericks starting lineup on Tuesday, replacing Dante Exum for the team’s matchup with the Lakers. Sure, he shot 4-of-13 from the field and finished with a final line of 10 points, one rebound, six assists, one block and two three-pointers. However, Christie played 37 minutes, and he was productive in his first seven games after the trade. In those outings, he averaged 17.1 points, 5.0 rebounds, 3.3 assists, 1.1 steals, 0.6 blocks and 2.4 three-pointers, shooting nearly 52 percent from the field and 84 percent from the foul line. While the two-game mini-slump hasn’t been great, staying patient with Christie wouldn’t be a terrible idea due to the Mavericks’ many injuries.
PG/SG Ty Jerome (21%), Cleveland Cavaliers
Jerome’s name may not be mentioned among the leading candidates for Sixth Man of the Year, but he has given the Cavaliers solid production off the bench. Tuesday was another of those nights, as Jerome recorded his ninth 20-point game of the season. He finished the 40-point beating of the Magic with 20 points, two rebounds, two assists, one steal and four three-pointers, shooting 7-of-12 from the field. Over the past three weeks, Jerome has provided top-100 value in nine-cat formats while averaging 21.1 minutes per game, according to Basketball Monster.
C Bismack Biyombo (15%), San Antonio Spurs
Look, the options on the Spurs roster with Victor Wembanyama out for the season aren’t good. However, managers needing rebounds may want to consider Biyombo before his second 10-day contract expires. He recorded a second straight double-double on Tuesday, finishing the Spurs’ loss to New Orleans with 10 points, 12 rebounds and one assist in 23 minutes. Biyombo certainly isn’t a “must-add,” but he provided the production those who have added him expected going into Tuesday’s game.
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Coach Budenholzer waves white flag by starting forgotten about bench player
The Phoenix Suns are scrambling to find any way at all to try and win basketball games. Their latest lost – a scarcely believable NBA 2K scoreline 151-148 overtime defeat at the hands of the Memphis Grizzlies – the latest in a string of disappointing performances.
The knock on this group has always been their inability to guard at an elite level. The scoring was supposed to take care of itself with Devin Booker and Kevin Durant on the roster – who combined for 54 points – yet they somehow managed to score three points less during a game when buckets were being sent and returned like a tennis match.
Which is actually massively unfair on Bol Bol – starting for only the third time this season – as he gave his team 23 points in a whopping 32 minutes of action. He’s a player who engages the fans, and has the kind of unique offensive skill set that you almost feel it is a waste that heac coach Mike Budenholzer doesn’t use him more.
But doing so – as was the case here – only highlights the larger problem the Suns have, and that Bol has had throughout his entire career to date. Through no fault of his own, he is just not a winning player, and he perhaps never will be. It’s the reason the Denver Nuggets cut ties with him early, although the Orlando Magic was when we saw this theory confirmed.
Through two seasons there – and at a time when the Magic were not good – Bol was given some time to go out there and do some things. He has an excellent stroke despite being such a tall human, and he presents difficult matchup issues for opponents when being used as a monster wing. Magic fans loved him, and he gave them some nice nights when he filled up the stat sheet.
The Phoenix Suns struggles can be solved by Bol Bol 😅 ☠️ pic.twitter.com/DIaqUOqNhg
Only the Magic weren’t trying to win – and as soon as they decided that they were – getting rid of Bol was one of the first things that they did. In his first campaign in The Valley it was much the same. He didn’t get much run until the season started to get away from them, at which point previous head coach Frank Vogel threw him out there around Christmas time.
Bol again repaid the belief shown in him by doing his part – but as soon as the ship was steadied and the Suns started to win some games – he again found himself stuck to the bench. This continued right through to the playoffs – and although player and franchise were happy to go again this season – the same thing has happened.
When the Suns started the campaign 8-1 there weren’t many Bol sightings, although they did increase some once the losses started to pile up. But now with the walls closing in and this group going nowhere – in much the same way they were last season – coach Budenholzer has again turned to Bol to see if he can do anything to kickstart his team.
The sad part is, Bol actually does that. He’s a jolt of energy to the crowd and is a fine offensive player if you’re using him as a complimentary piece who throws off the game plans of opponents. Defensively he is dreadful – and he’s always going to get picked on – but Bol wouldn’t be the first player to struggle in that area.
But it just seems like whenever Bol is given an actual chance to impress, it comes for a team that is not serious about winning, or no longer believes that it can. You can bet that if the Suns somehow manage to finish this season strong – and even if Bol plays his part – he will be yanked in favor of more proven guys.
He’s just not a winning player, and Bol starting games in late February for a Suns group that is under .500 shows you just how far they have fallen this season. Perhaps it is going to be different this time, but what is more likely is that Bol will find another home in the league before long – most likely a rebuilding organization – and begin this process all over again.
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The use of a barely seen player didn’t help matters either.
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