Point Guard – Deron Williams vs. Raymond Felton
Injuries are the theme of the ball handlers. Deron Williams returned to the lineup Tuesday night, after not seeing any game action since November 20th. Fantasy Basketball Money Leagues has been all over covering the Nets’ 9-15 record, but I think we all agree the shaky health of their floor general has been detrimental to their season. As he’s reminded us, when Williams is fully healthy, he is an All-Star caliber player.
Unlike Williams, Felton has been playing through his injuries for most of the season. On October 31, Felton admitted his hamstring injury “could last two, three days, but it could last up to six weeks.” We’re just about at the six-week mark of that statement, and now he’s dealing with a hip injury. Felton doesn’t have the upside that Deron has, but he most certainly is a better player than his 10.3 points per game (on 39.4% shooting), 5.2 assists, and 0.9 steals so far this season. All those numbers are down from 2012-13, and are well below his career averages.
Even if you think Felton’s numbers will rise if he can get near 100%, I would still much prefer to take my chances with Deron Williams. He is only averaging 12.2 points and 6.2 assists per game, but do we really believe he’s regressed this much in one season? Of course not. The 26.8 MPG will come up as his health does, and eventually he will return to the upper tier of fantasy PG’s.
I’m not sure he returns to being elite, but the upside is more than enough to win the battle of the point guards by a landslide.
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