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Week 13 Fantasy Basketball Waiver Wire: Gerald Henderson

Gerald Henderson Shoots

Jeremy Brevard-USA TODAY Sports

A 27-year-old former lottery pick, Gerald Henderson has the pedigree of a very productive NBA player. In real life for his team, the Charlotte Hornets, Henderson provides quality offensive production from either the starting lineup or off the bench, and has done so since 2011. For the first two months of this year, however, Henderson has seen his number dip across the board perhaps because of the addition of Lance Stephenson.

Yet, in January, fans are seeing Henderson return to the form he’s demonstrated over the last few years.

Since the calendar year flipped over to 2015, Henderson is averaging a familiar 15.6 PPG over nine games. This is right in line with his per game averages since the aforementioned 2011 season. While his 3-point shot is not an asset in fantasy terms, his balanced contribution on the boards (4.7 RPG in January) and assists (3.8 APG) help increase his production toward consideration for end-of-bench duties.

Also contributing to his increased production is more playing time, as the 30.1 minutes he is playing in the month of January represent a season-high for any month so far this season.

As solid as that production is, the only other category where Henderson remotely contributes to is free throw percentage, where he is shooting 81 percent from in the month of January on 4.2 attempts per game. This leaves him with an uphill battle at ever being a starter-worthy fantasy player.

However, if you’re playing in a head-to-head matchup and need a consistent off-day filler player to contribute to the counting stats, he could be an asset. If you’re expecting anything better than what he’s produced in the month of January, you’re looking in the wrong place.

At this point in his career, you know what Henderson is capable of doing. It’s terrific that he’s now producing at his usual levels, but if you’re expecting another uptick in production, you’re going to be sorely mistaken.

Ian McEwan is a blogger for www.RantSports.com. Follow him on Twitter @IanClarkMcEwan,“Like”him on Facebook or add him to your network on Google. He is not the British author.

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