Now that the holiday season is behind us, the NBA returns to somewhat of a normal schedule this week, albeit there are a few teams who once again have a light workload over the next seven days.
Fantasy Week 11 (Jan. 7-13) marks the halfway point in the season for most leagues, which means it's time for owners to start making their push toward the postseason. With all the injuries that have been popping up of late, that can easier said than done, but we have combed over rosters and upcoming schedules and compiled our weekly installment of the five players who are worth a look in Roto formats and the five players who should be avoided for the upcoming scoring period.
Find a place for 'em
Kyle Korver, G, Hawks (@MIN, @CLE, UTA, @WAS): Korver continues to earn starts for coach Larry Drew, which is part of the reason he is averaging 10.6 points over his first 27 games -- his highest scoring output since the 2006-07 season. However, the main reason for Korver's increased scoring has been his 3-point shooting, as he has already made 71 triples on the year and is connecting on 43.3 percent of his shots from downtown, which ranks ninth in the league. The Hawks have given Korver the green light to fire away at will and the veteran has responded by chucking up 6.1 3-point attempts per game -- the second highest of his career. He gave Fantasy owners 11 treys during the last scoring period and will continue to fire away in Week 11 with the Cavaliers, T'Woves, Jazz and Wizards on the schedule. Utah, Cleveland and Washington are all allowing their opponents to make more than 36 percent of their shots from behind the arc, and Minnesota has also had recent issues defending the long ball. Korver is shooting 44 percent from behind the arc over his last 10 contests so get him active this week. (owned in 36 percent of leagues)
Ray Allen, G, Heat (@IND, @POR, @SAC): Allen got off to a nice start with the Heat this season as he averaged 12.4 points over his first 20 games on 49.4 percent shooting from the field, including 46.3 percent from downtown. But the veteran hit a cold spell during the holidays as he made just 36 percent of his shots over his next seven games and only scored in double figures twice over that stretch. He was only averaging 1.3 made treys during his slump and as a result ended up on many Fantasy benches. However, Allen has caught fire again and just in time for the start of Week 11. The 37-year-old has made 19 of his last 33 field-goal attempts over his last four contests, including going 9 of 15 from downtown in that span. He is averaging 13.5 points and four rebounds during his recent hot streak and now will get to face the defensively challenged Trail Blazers and Kings in the upcoming scoring period. All players go through shooting slumps at some point during the season but Allen seems to snap out of his quicker than most. Get him active for the upcoming scoring period. (owned in 58 percent of leagues)
Carlos Delfino, F, Rockets (LAL, @NO, @BOS, @PHI): Delfino has been one of the more frustrating options for owners this season as he has struggled with injuries and inconsistency for much of the year. However, the 30-year-old seems to be fully healthy now and responded by dropping in 14 made 3-pointers over his last four games, fueling a pair of 22-point scoring performances. Delfino's main asset to Fantasy owners continues to be his 3-point shooting, as he has made at least 36 percent of his shots from behind the arc over his last five seasons. He is shooting 37.7 percent from downtown this season and has been encouraged to shoot at will in coach Kevin McHale's up-tempo offense. Delfino has responded by attempting a career-high six shots from behind the arc per game thus far and should continue to fire away this week against some teams that have struggled to defend the 3-point line. The Hornets and Celtics both rank near the bottom of the pack in opposition 3-point percentage, and Delfino dropped in 15 points in his lone meeting against the Lakers earlier in the year. He is shooting 48.6 percent from downtown over his last five contests and should remain active in the majority of formats this week. (owned in 20 percent of leagues)
Derrick Williams, F, T'Wolves (ATL, @OKC, @NO, @SA): Williams started the year as the team's starting power forward the last time Kevin Love was sidelined with a hand injury and averaged 10.3 points, 5.7 rebounds over his nine starts while seeing 25 minutes per game. His playing time was cut drastically once Love returned as he averaged 13.9 minutes per game once that happened and only saw more than 20 minutes once. However, he played the entire fourth quarter in Minnesota's last game and responded by dropping in 16 points in the final period. Now that Love will miss an extended amount of time, Williams will be counted on to help fill the void at power forward once again. While he may continue to come off the bench in favor of Dante Cunningham, the 21-year-old should easily see his minutes climb back up into the 20-25 minute range. Of course the rule of thumb is more minutes usually translates into more production, so we would expect Williams' numbers to be on the rise this week and moving forward. Fantasy owners should get the second-year man active this week. (owned in 40 percent of leagues)
Spencer Hawes, C, 76ers (BKN, @TOR, HOU): Hawes turned in another productive week for Fantasy owners as he posted a solid 11.8 points, 7.8 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 1.8 blocks during Week 10. While the 24-year-old had a few tough shooting performances over his last four games, he still shot 47 percent from the field over that stretch while averaging 27.7 minutes off the bench. Hawes has been turning in productive stat lines on a nightly basis ever since snapping out of his slump in the middle of December and continues to see quality minutes off the bench for coach Doug Collins. The sixth-year center out of the University of Washington looks to have a decent chance to keep things rolling this week as he will face a pair of opponents he has already had success against this year. Hawes has averaged a 9-7-2 stat line in his two contests the Raptors thus far and dropped in 14 points and six rebounds in his lone meeting against the Rockets. Fantasy owners should continue to roll with Hawes as a viable low-end start in most Rotisserie formats this week. (owned in 56 percent of leagues)
Put 'em on your bench
Garrett Temple, G, Wizards (OKC, ATL): With the Wizards struggling to keep their guards healthy, Temple was signed and immediately became the team's starting point guard. The 26-year-old has started each of the past five games for the Wizards and posted 4.4 points, 6.6 assists and 4.6 rebounds over that stretch. However, Temple has failed to score in two of those contests and is shooting just 18.9 percent from the field during his starting run. While his decent assist and rebounding numbers have helped make up for his lack of scoring, Temple's poor shooting numbers are really hurting owners in Rotisserie formats. Despite the fact that he is seeing 30-plus minutes most nights as a starter, Temple should not be starting in most category-based formats until he proves he can consistently knock down some shots. That should ring especially true in the upcoming scoring period as the Wizards are one of three clubs scheduled to play just two games in Week 11. (owned in 12 percent of leagues)
Austin Rivers, G, Hornets (SA, HOU, MIN, @NY): Rivers has spent much of his rookie campaign in the starting lineup but was still seeing big-time minutes in the contests he came off the bench. However, now that Eric Gordon is back and proving to be healthy, the days of Rivers seeing 27-plus minutes per night appear to be over. The 20-year-old has not seen the floor for more than 18 minutes in either of his last four games and was replaced by Gordon in the starting lineup in New Orleans' last contest. Rivers' production has taken a big hit as a result of his reduced playing time as he has scored a combined nine points over his last four tilts and is just 2 for 17 from the field over in that span. While the Hornets remain very high on Rivers, the rookie will now spend most of his time on the bench behind Gordon -- at least for the time being. Fantasy owners should plan on leaving Rivers on the bench for Week 11 and beyond at this point. (owned in 29 percent of leagues)
Hakim Warrick, F, Bobcats (UTA, @TOR, @IND): Warrick was thrust into the starting lineup when Byron Mullens went down with an injury and got Fantasy owners' attention by averaging 14.3 points and 7.7 rebounds over his first three starts. However, anyone who has followed Warrick's career knows that while he shows flashes of high-end potential he has always had problems sustaining long stretches of productivity. The 30-year-old seems to be living up to his reputation once again as he scored a combined seven points over his last two games and then missed Charlotte's most recent contest with an illness. While Warrick will most likely be the team's starting power forward in Week 11, he could have a tough go of it against the Raptors, Jazz and Pacers. All three teams are very deep in the front court and Warrick has struggled when he is matched up against bigger bodies on the block. Fantasy owners are best to leave Warrick reserved for the upcoming scoring period. (owned in 15 percent of leagues)
Lamar Odom, F, Clippers, (DAL, ORL): After once again being out of shape entering the season, Odom wasn't much of a factor in coach Vinny Del Negro's rotation over the first few weeks of the season. However, Odom has worked himself back into shape and Los Angeles' rotation and is starting to show flashes of his old self. The veteran is averaging 22.5 minutes per game over his last 10 contests and has put up 4.2 points, 7.0 rebounds, 2.4 assists and 1.7 blocks over that stretch. The only part of Odom's game that has yet to come around has been his scoring but to be fair, he isn't looking to do much of that of late. In fact, Odom is putting up a career-low 4.1 field-goal attempts and has made 40 percent of those on the year. While the 33-year-old appears to be on the verge of breaking out and becoming relevant in Fantasy land again, owners should continue to leave him reserved in Week 11. The Clippers are one of only three teams to play twice in the upcoming scoring period, which doesn't leave much room for error if he has a bad game. Still, keep an eye on how Odom fares moving forward as it appears his value is on the rise. (owned in 25 percent of leagues)
Andre Drummond, C, Pistons, (@MIL, UTA): Drummond continues to be one of the more impressive young big men in the game as the rookie is averaging 7.0 points, 7.3 rebounds and 1.5 blocks on the year. He is shooting 58 percent from the field and finally seems to have coach Lawrence Frank's trust as he has seen around 23 minutes over his last 10 games. While normally a downward trend or tough upcoming matchups usually dictate whether a player ends up on the sit list, Drummond's appearance this week is the result of Detroit's light schedule. The Pistons are one of three teams to play just twice in Week 11, which doesn't leave a ton of room for error if the 19-year-old has a bad game. While Drummond looks to have all the necessary tools to be a contributing option in Fantasy this season, owners should leave him reserved in the upcoming scoring period. (owned in 70 percent of leagues)
