Grant Hill vs. Matt Barnes

Which Phoenix Suns Small Forward would you rather own?  Judging by ESPN numbers, Hill is the guy as he is owned in 53.4% of their leagues as opposed to 9.5% for Barnes.  Those numbers are way different than in Yahoo leagues, where they both are on 52% of the rosters.  Let’s take a look at their numbers on the year.

Barnes - 11.8 points, 5.6 rebounds, 2.4 assists, 0.6 steals, 0.4 blocks, 2.2 threes, .463 FG%, .649 FT%, 1.9 turnovers
Hill - 9.9 points, 4.4 rebounds, 1.8 assists, 1.2 steals, 0.6 blocks, 0.4 threes, .513 FG%, .785 FT%, 1.7 turnovers

The numbers are fairly close with Barnes having an edge in points, rebounds, and threes whild Hill has an edge on defense, shooting percentages, and turnovers.  So what is it that ESPN owners know that Yahoo owners are missing?    Let’s take a look at how they performed over the past month.

Barnes - 11.3 points, 5.2 rebounds, 2.5 assists, 0.5 steals, 0.3 blocks, 2.0 threes, .453 FG%, .636 FT%, 1.8 turnovers
Hill - 13.5 points, 4.7 rebounds, 1.8 assists, 1.6 steals, 0.5 blocks, 0.8 threes, .631 FG%, .913 FT%, 1.6 turnovers

As you can see Hill took over the scoring lead, narrowed the rebounding gap, and widened the steals and shooting percentage gaps. 

In the last two weeks it’s even worse for Barnes:
24.3 minutes, 7.8 points, 5.3 rebounds, 2.3 assists, 0.8 steals, 1.3 threes, .353 FG%

while it’s better yet for Hill:
35.0 minutes, 13.8 points, 4.5 rebounds, 2.0 assists, 2.0 steals, 0.3 blocks, .600 FG&, .909 FT%

When you break down the numbers it’s easy to see while Hill’s stock has been on the rise and Barnes on the decline.  If you’re a Barnes owner and Hill is available, it might be the time to start thinking about a switch.