The chances are that Cousins is off your wire, although I did find him available in three of my leagues, so you never know. Hayes is a little streaky with his fantasy numbers, but over the past two weeks, only Kevin Love has put up better overall stats at the center position. I’d be willing to bet you have someone who is underperforming and needs to be cut; you just have to be willing to pull the trigger and make the swap.
If you need a short term add, look at Randy Foye. He started in place of Eric Gordon on Saturday and put up a season-high 21 points on 6-of-15 shooting (including four 3-pointers) with three rebounds, four assists, four steals, and two blocks in 40 minutes. Once Gordon gets back he is completely worthless, so buy low and sell high on him. * The Bulls, Warriors, Suns and Kings all play two games this week.
Start Em'
SG – J.R. Smith: Smith has to be one of the most frustrating players to own in all of fantasy basketball because he will be terrible for six games, then bust out for 23 points in 31 minutes as he did on Sunday against the 76ers. I learned a long time ago to just look at these types of games as short term value builders and not to buy into the hype. Then again, he did score 23 points against the 21-26 Philadelphia 76ers.
SF – John Salmons: Word is that he is close to returning and could make his comeback this week, but I wouldn’t be so quick to put him in my line-up. The truth is that the Bucks have a logjam at SG/SF with Carlos Delfino and Corey Maggette showing they can be productive, so I’d wait and see exactly how the minutes shake out before plugging him into your rotation.
PF – Jeff Green: Green has been one of the most disappointing players over the past month, averaging just 12.2 points and 5.2 rebounds while shooting a salty 42.5 percent from the field, 68.8 percent from the charity stripe and 31.0 percent from the 3-point line. Kevin Durant keeps the Thunder in most games, so Green’s poor play is going unnoticed for the most part. Keep and eye on him because it may be time to sell him.
C – DeMarcus Cousins: This is one of those rare places where I tell you to grab someone and sit them on your bench until next week. If you are in a daily league, then just play him both games this week. But, for those in weekly transaction or cap leagues, you’ll want to add Cousins now and just sit on him until next week. Two games is still just two games.
James Morris hails from Rio Rancho, N.M., and has been playing fantasy sports since 1997. In addition to writing the Timberwolves Fantasy Forecast, Morris also writes fantasy articles for the Boston Celtics, and Indiana Pacers, as well as the NFL fantasy forecast for the Cincinnati Bengals, Jacksonville Jaguars, and Arizona Cardinals. You can also find him on Twitter or get him on Facebook for all your fantasy sports updates.