Friday, January 20, 2012

The Heart Exam - Ryan Anderson

In my last column, I provided you with some predraft advice. Let's see how that worked out for you:

Kevin Martin - He's decreased in all stats across the board while playing more this season compared to last. Needless to say, this guy didn't really pan out. However, the one positive is that he's played in every game so far this season. Martin's production will be there, and Rockets are finally getting into a rhythm winning the last 5 straight.
Verdict: Martin looks to be getting into midseason form so hold on to him right now. If you can buy low on him right now, I would pull the trigger.

Gerald Wallace - Wallace is pretty much having the same kinda season that Martin's been having. Decreased in production across the board. However, he's also played in every game so far this season. I think what you see from Gerald now is probably the best he'll give you from here on out. With more minutes and time with the team, one would expect him to continue his production from last year. Right now, he's looking like a poor-man's Al Harrington.
Verdict: Package this guy in a trade and ship him out

Andrew Bynum - And then we have Bynum -- a diamond in the rough. Bynum has been playing lights out and could lead the league in rebounds this year. My modest projection for him predraft was 16-12-2. Right now, he's at 16.3 - 13.8 - 1.9. I'm going to go big on Bynum and project him to finish at 21-13-2. He's getting the looks down low, and Kobe can't keep dropping 40 every night…right?
Verdict: Strong hold if you drafted him. Prepare to give up big if you're going to trade for him.

Andrew Bogut - As for the other Andrew, it's not looking so good. It's bad enough to take a 4-game vacay back in your home country, but now, he's getting hammered with concussion-like symptoms? Production has dropped across the board here, and it's going to take a miracle for him to achieve the same success he's shown in the last couple of years. At this point, if he plays 40 games by the end of year, I would be shocked.
Verdict: Bogut still puts up meaningful numbers. If you can sell for a fair value, don't hesitate.

Devin Harris - Last time, I said "this guy has been on my don't draft list for the past decade." I should of listened to myself on this one. Devin Harris has been an (to put it nicely) utter trainwreck, disappointment, and failure at life. As a 10 year veteran in the league, Devin hasn't had this kind of horrible production since his rookie season playing 15mpg.
Verdict: I own Devin in over 50% of my leagues. I don't expect him to be on my roster by all-star weekend. Waiver-wire trash.

For this week's heart exam, I want to feature one player who's shown a ton of heart and is playing lights out right now.

Ladies and gentlemen....Mr. Ryan Anderson

In a stacked 2008 NBA draft where we had Drose, Beasley, Westbrook, KLove, Danilo, Eric Gordon, and Brook Lopez all go in the top 10 (along with Mayo, Augustin, and Joe Alexander) , Ryan Anderson quietly fell to the Nets at the 21st pick. This year, Ryan Anderson has been a force to be reckoned with next to Dwight. The reason why Ryan Anderson gets featured here today is that I believe he will be the sole reason why Dwight will resign with Orlando. Ryan's improvement will also earn him the MIP award by season's end. Magic has started off hot with a 10-4 record and that's largely due to the fact that Ryan Anderson has helped Dwight be even more dominant. Dwight has gotten an uptick in almost all stats: most notably rebs and asts. At Ryan's current level of production, he's looking to be a top 10 player by season's end. Many will question if he will be able to keep this up but if my Dwight prediction holds true -- lookout because Ryan Anderson is here to stay.

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