Francisco

Garcia

Garcia has missed the last two games with a sprained wrist. He’s picked up a stable role as a reserve for Keith Smart since the All-Star break, but his averages of 7.8 points and 1.4 treys in less than 20 minutes per game indicate that owners in standard-sized leagues can do a whole lot better, even if desperate for the long ball.

Keith Smart likes to change up his looks when a starting slot is up for grabs, so it could be Garcia or Donte Greene when the Kings go down to Staples for the revenge match on Saturday. It does make sense, however, that Smart uses the same logic and starts Garcia, who would be worth a look if you’re hunting cheap steals, blocks, and threes on a one-game pop.

The Kings’ bench brought them back into this game late, so Keith Smart decided to let them try to win the game. Jimmer Fredette wobbled his way into 12 points on 5-of-9 shooting (including two threes) with one steal, and John Salmons hit 5-of-9 shots for 12 points with two threes and two steals in the loss.

Garcia missed his fourth straight game on Friday but is not a shutdown candidate. He’s averaging 5.0 points in just 16.5 minutes per game this season and there is nothing to see here from a fantasy perspective.

John Salmons was out with a hip injury, which led to one of Cisco’s better lines of the season. Once Salmons is back, Garcia should return to obscurity. He didn’t even play in his previous three games.

Thomas wasn’t on the court except as a free throw substitute in the fourth quarter and he didn’t play in overtime as Keith Smart ran with John Salmons and Francisco Garcia late. The Kings had 28 assists as a team and moved the ball when Thomas was out, but that was likely an aberration and the ball certainly stagnated in the critical moments down the stretch. We doubt Smart has written Thomas off, so owners should hold here and shorten the leash.

Keith Smart gave Cisco, John Salmons (14 points, four boards, five assists), and the second unit a strong helping of minutes for the second time in three games. Smart was also visibly mad at them late, but it was hard to make out exactly where his anger was directed. Garcia has been hit or miss lately, with games of six, three, 18, two, and 11 points tonight.

Garcia has missed three straight games and there are only seven games left in the Kings’ season. It’s unclear what stage of the NBA’s concussion protocol Garcia is at right now.

This should mean another solid run of minutes for Francisco Garcia off the Kings bench, but neither player has much fantasy appeal at this point.

He had 11 points and three 3-pointers on Tuesday, and while these two games are quite encouraging, it’s important to note that John Salmons missed both games with a hip injury. If Garcia is still showing signs of life when Salmons is back after the break, then it might be time to move on him.