Wait until Sacramento plays its second game before picking up Francisco Garcia from the waiver wire. Garcia’s production was off the charts in the Kings’ opener on Wednesday scoring 22 points, 3 assists, 3 steals, 2 three-pointers, and 1 block, while shooting 58% from the field. He also knocked down all 6 of his free throws. This resulted in his ownership in Yahoo leagues rising from 25% to 38% in one day.
But this line was generated without Tyreke Evans in the lineup, who was suspended for the first game of the season (the Kings were also playing against a weak defense in Minnesota, but we will focus on the bigger issue). With Evans returning to the starting lineup in the Kings’ next game, Garcia will have a drop in minutes. In the preseason, Garcia came off the bench with Beno Udrih and Donte Greene starting at SG and SF, respectively. That will likely be the starting lineup for Friday’s game.
Garcia has much more upside than Udrih and is more skillful than Greene. From a fantasy perspective, Garcia provides help in the scarce categories of threes, steals, and blocks. He was solid in 2008-09, but injuries limited to only 25 games last year, making him fantasy-irrelevant. Basically, this is the first healthy year that Garcia will be playing with Evans, so we have yet to see the Evans-effect on his overall production.
Right now he is battling Udrih, Greene and Omri Casspi for minutes at the swingman position. Another solid game could insert him into the lineup ahead of Green or Udrih. We will keep you posted on Garcia’s minutes and production in his next game, which is another favorable matchup – the New Jersey Nets.
Written by Senior Writer Justin Hasan exclusively for WinMyFantasyLeague.com
Comment below or e-mail him at JHas@WinMyFantasyLeague.com
