Jim O’Connor-USA TODAY Sports
The New York Knicks have had a disastrous start to a season that once looked promising prior to the team getting bombarded with injuries. After losing Kenyon Martin, Amare Stoudemire and Andrea Bargnani over the course of a two-week span, it now looks like guard/forward Iman Shumpert could also miss some time after injuring his shoulder in the first quarter of the Knicks’ recent win against the Boston Celtics.
It is natural to think that J.R. Smith fantasy owners stand to benefit the most if Shumpert is indeed inactive for any length of time; however, Smith has had an on-again, off-again feud with coach Mike Woodson, which makes his status a bit more uncertain than common logic dictates. Smith could easily be benched by Woodson for no apparent reason.
So, who else could benefit from Shumpert missing time?
Rookie guard Tim Hardaway Jr. has given the Knicks quality minutes with almost every opportunity he has been awarded. Over the course of the last nine days, Hardaway has played 25 minutes or more on four of five occasions, and has scored double-digit points each time with a high of 18.
He is not a great rebounder and is not likely to distribute much, so do not expect assists; but with the Knicks seemingly desperate for another scoring option other than Carmelo Anthony, there is every reason to think Hardaway could give you 25 fantasy points on any given night, which would far exceed his value as he is at or around minimum price on daily fantasy sites.
Timothy Downs is a fantasy sports writer for Rant Sports. Follow him on Twitter at @tidow1212
