The Lakers' loss(es) could wind up being your gain.
And you said there'd never be an Earl Clark picture on MassLive ...
Finally, a good couple of weeks to be a basketball fan in New England. Not only are the Celtics putting themselves back together on defense (The Avery and Sully Show gets more fun to watch by the day), but the Lakers have shown themselves to be strangely dysfunctional on the court.
I mean, we all expected the guy who refers to himself only as “Black Mamba” to be a little tough for newbies to figure outside the gym, but on the floor was supposed to be a different situation for Kobe Bryant and Co. We were primed to watch the most competitive player since Michael Jordan chase his sixth ring, Steve Nash and Pau Gasol were supposed to be playing a version of basketball only those with an ear for great symphony would understand, and that’s not even mentioning Dwight Howard – the best big man in the game and one of the top three players in the world.
Instead, we’ve seen confusion and histrionics. And it looks like we’ll see more.
As pretty much every Knicks team of the past 15 years could tell you, once that ball of dysfunction starts rolling downhill, it rarely changes course. If the Lakers’ 4th-worst start in franchise history doesn’t turn around soon, there will be calls to trade Gasol, and Nash and Kobe will start to take a little more rest than usual.
How will this affect your fantasy squad?
EARL CLARK: Clark was the early beneficiary of Gasol and Howard being on the bench. Against the Spurs on Wednesday, he scored 22 points on 9-for-12 shooting and pulled down 13 rebounds in 28 minutes. These are great numbers to find on a waiver wire, but should you burn a waiver pick on Clark? We say no, not yet. It’s tough to expect double-digit points and rebounds with any consistency from a guy who hasn’t averaged double-digit minutes in his short career.
BRYANT: Did I just read maybe Kobe will start to take a little more rest than usual? Unlikely. There’s a better chance he’ll decide he’s had enough of this team-game thing and start taking 30 shots a night.
We’ve been preaching all year that Kobe’s assist and rebound numbers would go up with L.A.’s improved supporting cast, and his points would go down. But it’s time to start questioning this line of thinking. Looks more like his supporting cast goes down and his points go up.
It’s best you take a long look at your team and the categories where you need the most help. If your team needs a boost in points, deal for Kobe. If it’s field-goal percentage you’re after, run away from him faster than Stan Van Gundy ran away from ...
HOWARD: For those in dynasty leagues, Dwight is going to be one of the most important calls you make this year. Word is he hasn’t actually torn his labrum, so it’s a matter of playing through pain. Keep this in mind when you think about how much help you’ll get from Howard over the rest of the season.
He’s a free-agent-to-be, his team’s season is in the tank so far and we all know he won’t be in a great place emotionally – to put it very nicely and with as little snark as possible – if the L.A. fans turn on him.
He’s still a top-10 keeper-league player, but you might think about trading him if winning this year is what you’re after.
The Fantasy 413 column appears in The Republican and on MassLive each Saturday. The Republican’s fantasy guys can be reached at thefantasy413@gmail.com, Twitter @TheFantasy413 or through the Comments section below.