Mark D. Smith-USA TODAY Sports
Oh, hey, Russell Westbrook.
After returning to action way ahead of schedule to start the season, news broke today that Westbrook underwent arthroscopic knee surgery. He will be sidelined until after the All-Star break, leaving a major hole in the Thunder roster. Westbrook, the number 11 point guard on ESPN’s Player Rater, also leaves a major hole in fantasy lineups, causing owners to race towards the waiver wire.
The first person to grab Reggie Jackson wins, folks.
Jackson needs to be owned in every single league in existence. The guy has been very fantasy relevant with Westbrook in the lineup, averaging 12.5 points, 3.4 assists, 3.8 rebounds and almost a steal per contest. We know what this guy is capable of when he is the starter, especially when you look back to last year’s playoffs when Westbrook was hurt. During that span, Jackson averaged an impressive 13.9 points, 3.6 assists and five boards per contest, and really showcased his scoring ability, posting six games with 15 points or more. Westbrook is a guy that takes 18 shots per game, so plenty of opportunity should present itself for Jackson with him out of the lineup. You need to go get Jackson. Like, five minutes ago.
Take a look at his schedule for Week 10. It’s salivating.
Week 10 Schedule
|
Opponent |
FPPG Allowed to PG |
Rank |
| Portland | 41.69 | 8th-most |
| Brooklyn | 40.98 | 10th-most |
| Minnesota | 41.55 | 7th-most |
| Boston | 38.57 | 21st-most |
Four games is always something to look for when choosing players, but it helps even more that three of his four opponents are allowing well above the league average in fantasy points to point guards. Meanwhile, both Portland and Minnesota rank inside the bottom-seven in points per game allowed over the last 10 games (107.3 and 105.3, respectively). Jackson is going to be the hottest name on the waiver wire come Saturday morning.
Beat the opposition to the punch.
Adam Pfeifer is a featured fantasy sports columnist for Rant Sports.
You can follow him on Twitter @aPfeiferRS.
