Joe Murphy- Getty Images
The Memphis Grizzlies have had injuries thin their back court depth recently, with Mike Conley (ankle) missing the last three games and Tony Allen (left wrist) now having missed over a month. Courtney Lee had 22 points, five rebounds and four assists Wednesday night against the Dallas Mavericks, and he has averaged 14.1 points, 3.1 rebounds and 1.8 assists over his last 15 games (13 starts) since being acquired from the Boston Celtics and Allen was sidelined in early January.
Allen is still without a concrete timetable to return, though he did go through a pre-game workout Wednesday night, and Conley will reportedly be re-evaluated this coming weekend. Can Lee remain a viable option for fantasy basketball owners going forward?
As could be expected with both Conley and Allen out, Lee has played at least 34 minutes in four straight games and he he has averaged just over 32 minutes per game over the aforementioned 15-game stretch since being acquired by the Grizzlies. By comparison he had a minimal role with the Celtics, averaging 7.4 points per game in less than 17 minutes per game over 30 games prior to the trade, though wrist and knee issues surely hurt his chances of earning a consistent role in Boston’s rotation.
The peak of Lee’s fantasy value is right now while Conley and Allen are out, and the uncertainty of his role once the Grizzlies have their starting guards back in the fold makes his outlook over the rest of the season foggy at best. Lee is far from a must-add for fantasy owners with that lack of clarity and the All-Star break coming, but those in deeper leagues that need a short-term boost in scoring can consider adding him and he is still widely available in Yahoo! leagues right now (20 percent ownership).
Brad Berreman is a Senior Writer at Rant Sports.com. Follow him on Twitter @bradberreman24.
