NBL Fantasy | King Oliver and the emerging gems to watch
This weekly column is produced by Dean Zardo and Steve Chalmers.
There were some big scores this past week thanks to a plethora of scoring options. Some of which have felt like they have returned to the NBL20 party while others have been doing it week in, week out.
We speak of Jerome Randle when mentioning the former, who came back in style this past week to post 94 fpoints to lead his Adelaide 36ers. His teammate, Eric Griffin, is the definition of the column's title for this week - an emerging gem.
He was one of the picks of the bunch this time last week at his ever so juicy $1.25m and his two powerful performances quite easily gave him the $100k rise tick of approval.
For those who are doing it on a consistent basis - you don't have to look far when you see Cameron Oliver (top score of last week with 138) and Mitch Creek (3rd 122) up the order, while someone like Dane Pineau (71) has been serviceable all season long!
In hindsight, it's easy to highlight players who performed in the past; the hard part about this game is finding the gems of the future!
6 down with 11 left and win?
Owners of John Roberson would have been somewhat disappointed with the weekend the star Phoenix guard would have had if the Cairns Taipans had not have coughed up their six point lead with just 11 seconds remaining in Sunday evening's contest.
The South East Melbourne product was looking at around about a 60 fpoint weekend total had the game not have taken its turn into the extra period. This would have seen Roberson not make the price rise he ultimately saw (+$60k) and would have left owners questioning their selection throughout the Phoenix's pleasurable slate of upcoming fixtures.
Where in the world for Illawarra?
Why are we speaking about Illawarra you ask? LaMelo Ball isn't playing and they're suddenly becoming a team no one really wants to watch. Well, fantasy owners are definitely sticking around because for the next four weeks the Hawks play doubles.
However, our advice is don't go too early on the Hawkheads, because they've just introduced two new pieces into the fray and you've actually got a little bit of time up your hands before you REALLY need them in Round 14 and 15 when they're just one of three teams to play twice.
Their second double is when everyone plays twice and next week there are still plenty of other options floating around for you to give yourself another four games to sort out which Hawk (if any) to pick up later on.
The Stars
Cameron Oliver (Cairns Taipans)
You couldn't put anyone else in this category for the past seven days, Oliver had simply been outstanding in the two games he put up this past weekend! 138 fpoints, outscoring any other player by a minimum of 15, Oliver racked up a pair of 69's to continue his 'consistency' this season...
https://twitter.com/SpaceCamm/status/1199094528214331392
ps. He's crushin' it.
The Value
Adam Gibson (South East Melbourne Phoenix)
First it was Madge, now it's Gibbo! We thought no one was going to take the mantle from Eric Griffin for The Value this week - that was until Gibson absolutely lit up from deep (eight in two games). If Roberson was the hero of Sunday evening, no light should be shined away from Adam Gibson, who simply kept them in it when the burning candle was just flickering. He registered his season high and third highest fantasy scores in the one weekend to tally up 86 fpoints to take his price just up over where he started the season.
Pressure Cooker
Sunday Dech (Illawarra Hawks)
We've already told you to play nicely with the Hawks over the next couple of weeks, however the spotlight is firmly on Dech and how he can handle the (fantasy) pressure of continuing to perform with two new ball dominant imports.
Dech was a popular pick-up after LaMelo Ball went down and production needing to come from somewhere within the Illawarra roster. Dech latched on and became a fan favourite for a fortnight - now with the world watching, can he keep it up?
Injury List
CairnsKouat NoiAnkle - Test Illawarra Aaron BrooksAchilles - SeasonSam FrolingAnkle - TestLaMelo BallFoot - 4 weeksMelbourneAlex PledgerAnkle - 3 to 4 weeksCasey PratherHamstring - 4 to 6 weeksNew ZealandGlen Rice Jr.Contract TerminatedRJ HamptonHip - 4 weeksAter MajokOut for SEM gamePerthWani Swaka Lo Buluk Ankle - ProbableSydneyCraig MollerAnkle - 3 weeksKevin LischAnkle - 2 weeks
The Tweets
We see you! Anything that catches our eye, we'll attempt to share with all of our readers.
https://twitter.com/rpjward/status/1206142644176351232
https://twitter.com/Watto_PJ/status/1205783855078113280
The Summary
So, you've come here for a reason haven't you? Who do you bring in for the next round? Let's make it simple, below are a few names (at different levels) who you can target:
Doubles in Round 12: ADL, ILL, NZ, SEM, SYD
PG: John Roberson (South East Melbourne) $1.5m
PG: Jerome Randle (Adelaide) $1.34m
SG: Corey Webster (New Zealand) $1.35m
SG/SF: Anthony Drmic (Adelaide) $1.22m
SF: Scotty Hopson (New Zealand) $1.18m
PF: Finn Delany (New Zealand) $1.05m
PF: Eric Griffin (Adelaide) $1.35m
For those you should be keen to oppose
The Perth Wildcats guys are probably done as they don't play twice (except for when everyone does) for the next seven weeks. The same can be said for United who don't see more action until six weeks time.
Questions
Over the course of the week, we'll do our best to answer a number of questions on here each week. Throw up your question using #NBLFantasy or by tweeting one of us @cp_chalmers and @dean_zardo.
https://twitter.com/rdaffy_17/status/1206830523437350913
Hopefully you still have a trade up your sleeve and can shed Long for a player who has a much friendlier fixture, however you could probably work yourself in to having Delany at your PF, Pineau at your C and Cooks starting at 6th if you don't have any guard depth (requiring the 6th man!).
What are your thoughts readers - tough spot to be in? Let us know via Twitter!