SuperCoach NBL buy, hold, sell round 19: How to handle Anthony Lamb injury

The injury to Anthony Lamb has completely shaken up SuperCoach NBL. Find out who to buy, hold and sell in round 19.

It doesn’t matter if your team is charging or flopping.

Benny, Banksy and Boydie – The Basketball Blokes – are here to assist with tips to help you rebound.

These are the players you should consider buying, holding and selling in your SuperCoach NBL side for round 19.

SELL

Sell of the week: Anthony Lamb (NZ) $350,600 FWD

We had slated Lamb as a buy of the week before his injury last round. The initial assessment is that Lamb suffered a torn Achilles and he is set to have an MRI later in the week. This is a horrible break for New Zealand, Lamb and the league in general. In my opinion Lamb is worthy of All-NBL first team honours; and the Breakers were looking like genuine contenders should they have made the play-in rounds at full strength. From a SuperCoach perspective, Lamb was quality. He averaged 40 SuperCoach points over a 13-game stretch in the middle of the season with only one sub-30-point game. It’s a very reluctant sale of Lamb this week. The NBL SuperCoach community wishes you all the best in your recovery.    

Other players to consider selling

Adelaide 36ers players

The 36ers only have single-game rounds for the rest of the season. Humphries and Kell have served you well, but now can all be traded out. When deciding what order to remove these players, consider their price and position eligibility as these factors may be useful in future round trades also.       

Tasmania JackJumpers players

The JJ’s also have single-game rounds remaining so I have listed them here as schedule-based sell candidates. However, we have written an argument below as to why these players can be held this week if required. 

Anthony Lamb of the Breakers is assisted from the court. Picture: Paul Kane/Getty Images

BENNY’S BREAK EVENS

Each week Benny will list some of the notable Break Evens for the week ahead – players with low Break Evens are set to rise in price while high Break Evens indicate a looming price drop. Sign up to SuperCoach Plus for the full list of Break Evens plus more stats and tools to help your team.

• Ben Ayre (-17, 1 game)

• Keanu Pinder (-1, 1 game)

• Jo Lual Acuil (16, 1 game)

• Mangok Mathiang (18, 2 games)

• Bryce Cotton (61, 1 game)

• Sam Froling (67, 2 games)

HOLD

Hold of the Week: Milton Doyle (TAS) $339,600 GRD

You certainly can sell Doyle this week based on the scheduled number of games remaining, however it is their scheduled opponents this week that make Doyle a potential hold. After top scoring last round with 88 SuperCoach points, it is good luck for Doyle owners who take on the Phoenix this week. Over the course of the last 5 games, the average number of SuperCoach points that a team concedes against their opponents is 171. The toughest team to score against over that period have been the NZ Breakers with 156 points conceded. Over the last 5 games the South East Melbourne Phoenix are conceding 201 SuperCoach points per game. The Phoenix also concede more SuperCoach points per minute to Guard eligible players than any other opponent across the course of the season. If you have Doyle or Crawford and can move them to your bench this week, they are not a priority sale. Hopefully the Phoenix can keep it close enough to ensure that the Jackies play their normal quota of minutes.  

Milton Doyle of the Jackjumpers is a hold. Picture: Steve Bell/Getty Images

BANKSY’S BARGAINS

Each week Banksy ranks his favourite cheap players (under 200k) regardless of schedule. 

1. Mangok Mathiang (NZ) $187,100 FWD/CTR

After averaging minutes in the teens over his previous three games, Mango has seen a considerable increase over his last two games playing 29 and 32 minute games. 11 points and 9 rebounds resulted in a season high 30 SuperCoach points against Perth in Round 18. With Lamb injured, and back-to-back doubles over the final two rounds, Mango is a fantastic cheap bench option that will still net you decent points down the home stretch.

2. Gorjok Gak (SEM) $178,000 FWD/CTR

We know SEM are severely undermanned, even more so when it comes to the big man department. Gak also posted a season high with 28 SuperCoach points last round thanks to his first double-double of the season. If Creek is still sidelined, there will be minutes and rebounds aplenty, giving Gorjok every opportunity to post back-to-back double doubles.

3. Izayah Le’Afa (NZ) $136,200 GRD

After 3 poor single digit SuperCoach point games, Le’Afa bounced back against Perth with 25 SuperCoach points whilst being priced at just over 11. With Lamb sidelined for much of last game, Izzy played the third most minutes for the Breakers with 26. With more shots to go around and 4 games over the last 2 rounds, let’s hope we see more of the same form like the 29, 23, 39 SuperCoach point run we saw earlier in the season.

4. Todd Blanchfield (ILL) $145,900 FWD/GRD

Blanchfield has now played 15 minutes or more over his past 5 games including 25 minutes against the Breakers last week. This has translated into 17 SuperCoach points per game over his last 5 whilst still priced at 12, with the added benefit of 4 games over the last two weeks of the season, making him a perfect bench downgrade option.

5. Mantas Rubštavičius (NZ) $179,700 FWD

Mantas has now played 20 minutes or more in 11 of his past 13 games, including 21 and 27 minutes in his last two. With Lamb out, there won’t only be more minutes on offer, but more shots available too. With scores of 23 and 28 SuperCoach points in his last 4 games and a league best 4 games remaining, Rubstavicius is still a great bench play.

Zylan Cheatham is the buy of the week. Picture: Jenny Evans/Getty Images

BUY

Buy of the Week: Zylan Cheatham (NZ) $304,600 FWD

The NZ Breakers have consecutive double-game rounds to finish the season, which is only matched by the Hawks schedule. Having worked his way back from injury himself, Cheatham should now see extra opportunity due to the unfortunate injury to Anthony Lamb. Zylan is averaging 25 SuperCoach points since his return from injury, but a whopping 35.6 over his last 3 games. At $304k he is nicely priced and should be more of a focus for the Breakers with Finn Delany still working his way back from his own injury. Whilst injuries are a horrible part of sport, from a SuperCoach perspective they do offer opportunities to take advantage of. Lots of us started with Ariel, will we end with Zylan?

BOYDIE’S BEST BUYS

Each week Boydie will rank the other best buys for the week ahead.

1. Gary Clark (ILL) $372,600 FWD

Coming off a 46 SuperCoach point performance with a 19 point, 10 rebound, 3 block in Round 18 Gary Clark is straight to the top of our buys list this week with the Hawks one of only 2 teams (the other is NZ) with the maximum 4 games left to see out NBL24. Clark has averaged 30.9 SuperCoach points for the season to date but is averaging just under 36 SuperCoach points a game in his last 9 games which includes a 13 v Adelaide in that run of games!

2. Parker Jackson-Cartwright (NZ) $350,100 GRD

Although Parker is coming off two lowish scores of 27 and 25 over his last couple of games, there is no doubt that PJC is the best guard (not named Bryce for Rd 20) to bring into your SuperCoach side to finish off the year. PJC is averaging 33.8 SuperCoach points for the season with highs of 57 and 51 for the year. He has actually had 7 games of 40+ this season so his ceiling is great and what you want for Rounds 19 and 20 of NBL24.

3. Sam Froling (ILL) $316,600 FWD/CTR

Similar to PJC’s most recent games, Samson’s 15 SuperCoach game v Brisbane in Rd18 was not flattering at all but despite this score, Sam is averaging 29 SuperCoach points for the season and almost 30 over his last 8 games which includes two scores of 15 in that run. If that has you feeling a little meh, scores of 27 and 35 against NZ and 31, 34 and 27 v Sydney, the Hawks 2 opponents for Rd 19 make us feel a little better about putting Froling this high in our best buys for this week. His down week this round has seen him drop $31k in price too which makes him a little more attractive for your team!

4. Mangok Mathiang (NZ) $187,100 FWD/CTR

If you don’t fancy paying that much for Froling, or you just don’t have the funds even if you wanted too, Mango has to come into your calculations following his 30 v Perth in Rd 18 and also with possible further minutes following Lamb’s injury. Mango is only averaging 15.4 SuperCoach points for the season but 19.5 over his last 4 games so at $187k and that all important FWD/CTR eligibility you could do worse than grab a Mango!

5. Tyler Harvey (ILL) $284,200 GRD

This may cause a Family feud, but another somewhat cheaper player that you could look at this week if you are short of cash is Tyler Harvey. He is averaging 22.4 SuperCoach points for NBL24 although he has averaged 27.8 over his last 7 games which includes his two most recent scores of 19 and 20. Red flag with Harvey is his apparent lack of a ceiling this season, with a high of 39 being only one of 6 scores over 30 for the season.

6. Mantas Rubštavičius (NZ) $179,700 FWD

Mantas SuperCoach scores are bouncing up and down like a yo-yo recently with 23, 8, 28, 8 over his last 4 games. That 28 in his 2nd most recent game was against one of NZ’s opponents this week in Illawarra so a repeat of this performance might be in store for Mantas if he sees decent minutes with Lamb out injured.

Others to consider:

7. Justin Robinson (ILL) $235,700 GRD

8. Will McDowell-White (NZ) $205,200 GRD

9. Izayah Le’Afa (NZ) $136,200 GRD

10. Todd Blanchfield (ILL) $145,900 GRD/FWD 




Originally published as SuperCoach NBL buy, hold, sell round 19: How to handle Anthony Lamb injury