Waiver review: Jordan's the pick of the week

Coming out of the All-Star break, it’s tough to tell who the hot or cold players are. Some of those shooting the ball well a week ago could be cooled off by the layoff, while the struggling guy may have found his way after healing up a bit and taking his mind off things. There’s no telling. We aren’t in the lockerrooms every day.

But there are some telling factors here and there. We can deduce a lot from the trades that went down over the holiday weekend. We can also follow what injured players are expected back and who may be sitting out longer than expected. Playing time is what it’s all about. If a guy’s producing in a small amount of time, you can expect them to see the court more often soon enough. If a guy’s getting more than 30-35 minutes a game consistently, you can feel at ease about their numbers staying strong.

When you go nearly a week without games, that’s all you can go by. Well, that, and some top notch research – and perhaps just a little bit of guessing too! That’s how I’ve come up with this week’s 10 best pickups.

1. DeAndre Jordan, C, Los Angeles Clippers

Marcus Camby is a Blazer now, which just so happens to open up some major playing time in the Clippers’ frontcourt. When he’s been given time in the past, he’s been tremendously productive. Just look to the 23-point, seven-board, three-block night he had in 37 minutes against Memphis last month, or the 11-point, 13-rebound game he came up with in 35 minutes in a loss to the Cavs a couple weeks ago. He’s only had one other game of more than 20 minutes all season long, if you can believe that. Without Blake Griffin standing in his way, the only other halfway decent frontcourt player the team has other than All-Star Chris Kaman is undersized 6-foot-7 forward Craig Smith. That being said, Jordan’s a steal if you can grab him, and I’m seeing that in 93 percent of leagues, that’s a distinct possibility right now.

2. Luc Richard Mbah A Moute, SF, Milwaukee

Mbah A Moute’s putting up stats almost as great as the number of digits in his name. His last four games have seen the UCLA alum score 12.8 points, grab 10.0 rebounds, shoot 75 percent from both the line and the field, as well as put up 1.3 steals and 1.0 blocks. That’s pretty sexy production from someone known more for his defense than anything else. Considering he’s getting 34 minutes a night recently, you have to think this will continue for the foreseeable future. Grab him while you can, since he’s still available in almost 75 percent of leagues.

3. George Hill, G, San Antonio

I love what this guy’s been doing for the Spurs lately. I picked him up a while ago, and he’s nothing to disappoint, having scored in double digits in 15 of his last 17 games and in 11 of the last 12. When you break it down to only the five games he’s played in February, you get a sweet line of 16.6 points, 3.2 boards, 3.0 assists, 1.0 threes, 0.8 steals, 0.6 blocks and 49 percent shooting from the floor. Those are numbers worthy of being started in plenty of leagues out there, yet he’s owned in only 41 percent of them. That’s a problem. You should be the solution.

4. Robin Lopez, C, Phoenix

It seems almost inevitable that Amar’e Stoudemire will be leaving the Suns sometime this week. If and when that happens, Lopez becomes the primary big man in the lineup. Consider he’s already putting up 12.2 points, 6.2 rebounds, 1.4 blocks and shooting ridiculous percentages over his last five games, and I can’t see why you wouldn’t be trying to jump all over this guy. And he’s doing this in only 22 minutes a night. There’s no telling how good his numbers can be when he’s getting 30 or more minutes of PT.

5. Jarvis Hayes, SG, New Jersey

There’s no telling what this young team does, or who they play, on a week-to-week basis. However, one thing that’s been an underrated constant has been the play of Hayes. The seventh-year guard out of Georgia’s scored nine or more points in seven straight games (12.4), to go along with 4.1 rebounds, 1.8 threes, 1.0 steals and a 53 percent shooting performance for the lowly Nets. You hear a lot about their young talent, especially at guard ( Devin Harris, Chris Douglas-Roberts, Terrence Williams, Courtney Lee), but Hayes has been the most consistent one of the bunch over the last few weeks, but only five percent of you have seemed to notice it. Take advantage of that.

6. Anthony Tolliver, PF, Golden State

I’ve been telling people about this guy for at least three weeks now, but only 39 percent of you are listening apparently, since that’s the number of leagues he’s owned in at the moment. He just had a 29-point effort in a big win over the Clippers, has averaged 18.0 points and 8.3 boards the last three games, and there’s no return in sight for Anthony Randolph, so there’s no reason to think he won’t keep producing. While the Warriors continue to be drilled by the injury bug, the time is now to capitalize on it with whoever they happen to throw on the court.

7. Donte Greene, SF, Sacramento

He’s another guy I’ve been touting for a while now, and I won’t stop doing so now, especially while he’s still available in nearly two thirds of all fantasy leagues. Greene had an off game in his last outing, but he’s still scoring at a 17.2-point pace over his last five, including games with 31 and 24. Add to that his 4.6 rebounds, 2.2 threes and 54 percent shooting over that time, and this is a guy you need to be taking seriously.

8. Jerryd Bayless, G, Portland

The trade of Steve Blake to the Clippers opened up some playing time for Bayless this week. That’s gonna be sexy in the immediate future. The only reason he’s this far down the list, though, is that Brandon Roy’s gonna be returning to the lineup relatively soon, so the production may only be short-lived. If someone like Blake can keep you down to the level of just 5.8 points a game over your last four, that’s a problem. But until Roy returns, the team has no choice but to give the guy big minutes, and he has proven he can score when given the chance, as he went for double-digits in eight straight just a month ago. This is likely a short-term fix, but many owners can use that at this time of the season.

9. Antoine Wright, SG, Toronto

How this guy is owned in only two percent of leagues is WAY beyond me. Anyone who’s scoring 12.2 points while hitting 1.8 threes and shooting 54 percent from the floor every night can play for my team – and I’ve got a pretty good team, thank you very much. Wright’s on my bench right now, though he could easily be starting for me. He will be if Marcus Thornton doesn’t bounce back from his injury like I hope he will. The Toronto shooting guard’s getting more than 30 minutes a game these days, which is a pretty good indication he’s set to keep those numbers strong.

10. Flip Murray, SG, Charlotte

I brought him up a few weeks ago, and I figured that would be the end of it. With Stephen Jackson on the team now, the outside shooting is pretty much taken care of. However, Flip didn’t care about any of that. He hasn’t exploded for any 30-point nights, but what he has done is score in double-figures in 15 of his last 20 games, including seven of his last nine (12.0 points during that time). He’s not huge in any one category, although he does give you some production in many of them (1.1 threes, 2.7 boards, 0.7 steals, 0.6 blocks). He can definitely help you, and he’s shown he doesn’t go into prolonged slumps, which is rare for bench players, especially shooting specialist.