Fantasy Basketball: Something Brewing in Denver?

Corey Brewer has been quiet since being traded from the Wolves last year.

Come to think of it, other than the 2009-10 season in which he averaged 13.0 points, 3.4 rebounds, 2.4 assists, 0.4 blocks, 1.4 steals and 1.0 three-pointers, that has been a familiar tale for Brewer. 

Suddenly, however, he’s putting it together for the Nuggets.

In his past five games, he’s averaging 16.6 points, 3.8 rebounds, 1.8 assists, 0.4 blocks, 1.2 steals and 1.4 three-pointers while shooting 44.3 percent from the floor, 31.8 percent from downtown and 77.8 percent from the free-throw line.

Included in the scoring totals are two 20-plus point games, and while his shooting percentages aren’t outstanding, they are better than his 41.3 percent, 31.6 percent and 69.8 percent career marks.

If you include the three previous games when he started getting 30-plus minutes per night, he’s at 15.0 ppg, 4.5 rpg, 1.9 apg, 0.3 bpg, 1.8 spg and 1.0 3 pg.

Brewer will see his value take a hit when Danilo Gallinari returns, most likely in a week or two. Rudy Fernandez is expected to return even sooner, but who knows how his back will hold up? Brewer’s defense will likely keep him heavily involved in the rotation, though.

If you’re looking for scoring, steals and threes, Brewer could help out for the next four or five games.

Brewer is owned in about 20 percent of fantasy leagues, with slightly higher ownership in ESPN leagues versus Yahoo! ones.

Obviously, for a short-term fix, you don’t want to get rid of anyone with better long-term potential, but there are certainly scenarios in which he should be added.

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