Yahoo Finance Fantasy Mailbag: Should Isaiah Stewart and Daniel Gafford be rostered?
The fantasy playoffs are here, and congratulations to everyone who has made it this far.
I went out to find your fantasy basketball questions from Instagram and Twitter, so here is this week’s mailbag.
@sadiqsayeed2 - Is Daniel Gafford a must roster player in a 12 team league?
Scott Brooks has been particularly frustrated with his centre rotation all season.
Playing three and in the last game, four centres during a game makes it hard for any one big man to shine.
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In saying that, Gafford is someone who, even in 20 minutes a night, is worthy of a 12 team roster spot.
In his last five games, Gafford is averaging 26.5 fantasy points per contest, coming in under 19 minutes.
Brooks should begin playing him over 20 minutes consistently, and that will push Gafford over 30 fantasy points a night and making his must roster status appear apparent.
@mrwhite558 - Do I drop Mason Plumlee for Isaiah Stewart?
Without reservation, I would say yes.
Plumlee continues to rest games for Detroit, and even in games that he plays, Stewart is getting more minutes than the starting centre regularly.
Plumlee has been excellent this season, but the Pistons are winding things back and letting the rookies play more, so Stewart is a clear must-add player.
It helps that they play three games before Thursday next week as well.
@nikolanikic92 - Did Tomáš Satoranský just lose his starting job in Chicago?
Yes, last game Satoranský moved to the bench as the Bulls started Coby White. But, I don’t think it is a permanent move.
With Chicago losing Zach LaVine and replacing him with defense- first Garrett Temple, the Bulls needed some offense and shot creation in the backcourt.
Satoranský is good as a facilitator and defender, but he is not a high usage player who can create his own shot.
So, they used White in the LaVine role. I imagine White will start as long as LaVine is out, but we have seen the LaVine-White backcourt fail repeatedly, so when LaVine returns, I can see Satorasnky starting again.
But we are in the fantasy playoffs, so you drop Satoranský and add White and make a change later on if the Bulls do go back to Sato.
@geoffreyjsura - Will we be able to use Jaren Jackson Jr. this year?
If you mean this year as in 2021, then yes.
I anticipate JJJ is the Grizzlies starter for the 2021-2022 NBA season. As for this current season, I have my doubts.
Jackson was allegedly returning mid-January, then he kept posting cryptic social media posts saying his return would ‘sneak up on you’, yet here we are, four months into the season and no sign of the third-year big man.
When he does return, if that even happens at all, he will heavily minutes restricted at first, and he may not step foot onto the court until May.
So, the odds would tell me the answer to the question is no, JJJ will not have fantasy value this season.
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