What Should You Expect from Kyle Lowry?

For quite some time now, Rotoworld has been saying that Kyle Lowry will eventually go back to coming off the bench in favor of incumbent starter Aaron Brooks once Brooks (who returned on December 17 after missing five weeks with an ankle injury) is fully back in the swing of things. But is that a foregone conclusion? With the way Lowry has played, and the success Houston has had with him running the show, I believe the Rockets might stick with him. Consider this:

• Brooks started the first five games of the season before suffering his injury. The Rockets lost all five of those games...despite having Yao Ming for three of those games.
• Since Brooks' injury, Lowry has led the Rockets to a 15-11 record.
• Houston is 10-4 in December and 5-1 over their last six games with Lowry at the helm.
• Using the standard eight fantasy categories, Basketball Monster ranks Lowry 50th using average stats for the full season. They rank Brooks at 106. (For the last month, Lowry is ranked 19th.)
• Using stats that might more reflect real-world value (points, assists, rebounds, steals, and field goal percentage), Lowry is ranked 37th for the full season (13th over the last month). Brooks comes in at 164.

With those numbers in mind, one would think the Rockets might not be so quick to demote Lowry. In fact, you could argue that he is more suited to lead the first unit, and Brooks is more suited to provide scoring punch for the second unit much like Jason Terry, Nate Robinson, or Gilbert Arenas.

So, if you own Lowry, don't be too quick to sell him at a discounted rate. If you don't own him, this would be a good time to buy him from an owner expecting his value to take a nosedive. Even if he does lose the starting gig, I would expect him to maintain a significant role.

Week 11 Games per Team

Four games -Boston, Chicago, Denver, Golden State, Houston, Lakers, Miami, Milwaukee, Minnesota, New Orleans, Orlando, Philadelphia, Portland, San Antonio, Toronto, Utah

Three games - Atlanta, Charlotte, Cleveland, Dallas, Detroit, Memphis, New Jersey, New York, Oklahoma City, Phoenix, Sacramento, Washington

Two games - Indiana, Clippers

McRoberts Steps Up

Josh McRoberts showed signs of life tonight posting 13 points, eight rebounds, two assists, a steal, and a block in 27 minutes. He's worth monitoring because of his rare ability to contribute threes, blocks, rebounds, and steals...plus he qualifies at center in some leagues. He's been starting for the Pacers, and if he can solidify a significant role, he could very well prove to be a fantasy gem.

McGrady Shines

Tracy McGrady ran the show for the Pistons tonight and led them to an impressive win over the Celtics. He finished with 21 points, eight assists, three steals, and a trey in 30 minutes. We'll see what happens when Rodney Stuckey returns to the lineup, but keep in mind that T-Mac has logged at least 24 minutes in five of his last seven games. I picked him up, and you might want to do the same. He looked surprisingly quick tonight, and the three steals speak to that.

Garnett Update

Comcast SportsNet is now reporting that Garnett's injury appears to be with his calf, not his knee. That would seem to be good news, but if it's a calf tear, it could still be fairly serious. Hopefully that is not the case, but Garnett was clearly in a lot of pain. Not a bad idea to grab Glen Davis, if you have room. Davis had 12 points, four boards, and a steal in 36 minutes tonight.

McGrady Starts at Point Guard

With Rodney Stuckey out sick, Tracy McGrady got the call to start at point guard, as the Pistons face the Celtics tonight. This is encouraging news for those who picked up T-Mac after my recent post about his upside...especially considering that he immediately followed up that post by logging 10 minutes on Monday (when stiffness prevented him from finishing the game). As of halftime, T-Mac has six points, five assists, two rebounds and a steal in 13 minutes. Not that he will take over the starting spot, but a good showing against Boston could earn him additional minutes. As I said in the aforementioned post, T-Mac will have fantasy value if he averages 25-30 minutes a night.

Garnett Injures Knee

Kevin Garnett had to leave the game tonight against the Pistons after hurting his knee going up for a dunk. He left the game immediately and shortly thereafter went to the locker room. He did walk off under his own power, but Comcast SportsNet sideline reporter Greg Dickerson reported that he crumbled to the floor before entering the locker room in obvious pain. This is a terrible sign for Garnett...especially given his injury history. From a fantasy perspective, Glen Davis would stand to gain most, if KG misses significant time. Davis is a borderline fantasy player at his current average of 29 points a game, so he would probably be a serviceable option at best with a few more minutes. On the positive side, he qualifies at center in some leagues (including Yahoo!)

Can Tracy McGrady Keep it up?

Over his last five games, Tracy McGrady has come out of nowhere to averages 11.6 points, 1.4 threes, 4.8 rebounds, 3.6 assists, 1.0 steals, and 0.4 blocks in 24 minutes per game. The question is, can he keep it up? Better yet, can he come even closer to his pre-2009 form which earned him a spot amongst the SLAM Magazine's top 75 players of all time?

Crazy as it may sound given his production over the last two and a half seasons, I believe there are legitimate reasons for optimism. First of all, as of February, T-Mac will be two years removed from microfracture surgery. As we all know, it can take up to two years to fully recover from such a procedure. So, it's entirely likely that McGrady is feeling healthier than he has in years.


Another positive sign is that the Pistons are very pleased with McGrady. In this article, Vincent Goodwill of the Detroit News reports on how happy Pistons Coach John Kuester is with the way T-Mac has been mentoring the team's young players and sharing the ball on offense. And this article from Pratheep Sevanthinathan of the Examiner reports that the Pistons have been using McGrady at point guard...and in fact he may be the team's most effective floor general.

Even if McGrady simply continues to log 25 minutes per night and produce as he has over the last five games, he will have some fantasy value. But chances are decent he could do even better, if his improved health and positive impression on his coach lead to additional minutes. Projecting his recent production over 30 minutes would result in approximately 14 points, 1.7 threes, 5.8 rebounds, 4.3 assists, 1.2 steals, and 0.5 blocks per night. Those numbers would propel him into the top 50 players for fantasy purposes. Worth a flyer? I think so!