Fantasy 30: Latest buzz on hot and cold starts from around the NBA
Here’s a look at the most fantasy relevant news and notes for all 30 teams:
Atlanta Hawks: The Hawks appear to be one of the most improved teams in the NBA, and second-year forward De’Andre Hunter is a big reason. The No. 4 overall pick in the 2019 NBA draft, Hunter is an athlete who can run the floor and be an efficient threat from 3-point range. The 23-year-old has averaged 2.4 3PG in his first seven games, making 48.6% of his attempts, and his 15.9 PPG, 6.7 RPG and 2.0 APG make him attractive in all fantasy formats. One thing to watch, though, is how his role and playing time shifts when veteran forward Danilo Gallinari returns from an ankle injury. We have yet to see how that’s going to play out.
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Boston Celtics: Yes, Gordon Hayward is now in Charlotte. And yes, Kemba Walker remains on the shelf recovering from a knee procedure. But what Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown are doing in Boston right now deserves a lot of attention. Tatum’s 26.3 PPG, 7.6 RPG, 4.0 APG, 1.0 BPG and 3.4 3PG are all on pace for new career-highs, as is his 87.9 FT%. The same is true of Brown’s 26.9 PPG, 3.1 APG, 1.6 SPG, as well as his 57.7 FG% and 42.9 3FG%. Expect more of the same from these two until Walker returns to the lineup.
Brooklyn Nets: With Kevin Durant in a seven-day quarantine due to exposure to someone with COVID-19, Nets coach Steve Nash make immediate changes to the Nets’ rotation in Tuesday’s game against the Jazz, inserting Jarrett Allen into the starting lineup for the first time this season. All Allen did in the tough matchup against Rudy Gobert was come through with one of his best games as a pro (19 points, 18 rebounds, 3 steals, 2 blocks), dominating Gobert and the Jazz in route to a blowout Nets’ victory. Allen remains a free agent in more than 22% of ESPN leagues; if he’s available in your league, add him to your roster before it’s too late!
Charlotte Hornets: LaMelo Ball hasn’t started any of the Hornets’ first seven games, but a change could be imminent … for two reasons. For one, the No. 3 overall pick in 2020 has played very well as the team’s sixth man, putting up 11.6 PPG, 4.7 RPG, 4.9 APG, 1.9 SPG and 1.6 3PG in only 24.0 MPG. Secondly, current starter Devonte’ Graham is off to a very poor start, making just 27.1% of his shots. Considering the type of production Ball has had thus far off the bench, it’s reasonable to expect even better numbers if and when he becomes a starter and his playing time increases.
Chicago Bulls: Otto Porter Jr. doesn’t move around the court as smoothly as he one did, but the veteran forward quietly leads the Bulls with a 20.28 PER and is getting it done from an efficiency and versatility standpoint. Porter remains available in 33.3% of ESPN leagues and is a strong streaming candidate as long as he can continue to stay healthy.
Cleveland Cavaliers: The Cavs’ backcourt suffered a pair of injuries in recent games, with Darius Garland expected to miss up to a week due to a shoulder sprain and Dante Exum slated to miss 6-8 weeks due to a right calf strain. Take note of this as Cleveland embarks on a rigorous schedule, playing four games in each of the next five weeks. While Garland is out, the team will be forced to go with a bigger lineup and Collin Sexton, Andre Drummond and Cedi Osman will need to make up for Garland’s 17.2 PPG.
Dallas Mavericks: Prior to Monday’s monster triple-double against Houston, Luka Doncic had been off to a slow start to the season — at least by his standards. The biggest concern? His erratic 3-point shooting. Doncic is just 8-of-41 from 3-point range (19.5%) through his first six games played in 2020-21, and that’s clearly one area of his game where he has room for improvement. Many fantasy managers overlooked the fact that Doncic shot just 31.6% from long range last season after shooting 32.7% from downtown as a rookie.
Denver Nuggets: Raise your hand if you expected Nikola Jokic to be the NBA’s assist leader a tenth of the way through the season. Okay, now put your hand down. That’s the reality, though, as Jokic’s incredible 11.9 APG puts him slightly ahead of Washington’s Russell Westbrook (11.8 APG). Add to that Jokic’s 24.1 PPG, 11.7 RPG. 1.4 SPG, 1.1 3PG and stellar shooting percentages across the board, and Jokic probably would be a top-two pick in most fantasy leagues if we could draft all over again.
Detroit Pistons: Some eyebrows were raised when the Pistons went out and signed Jerami Grant a three-year, $60 million deal over the offseason, but Grant is proving any and all of his critics wrong in the opening weeks of his Pistons tenure. The athletic veteran forward has scored 22 points more in six-straight games and, quite frankly, looked like the best player on the team. While Grant may not be able to stay at the current pace he’s at (23.0 PPG), his 36.3 MPG ranks ninth in the league and all that time on the court makes him a force not only as a scorer but also with steals (1.0 SPG), blocks (1.4 BPG), rebounds (5.4 RPG) and 3s (2.7 3PG).
Golden State Warriors: James Wiseman has already played more than twice as many games as a pro than he did in college with Memphis (seven compared to three), and while he has had an impressive start to the season (11.4 PPG, 6.1 RPG, 1.7 BPG, 0.7 3PG) one has to believe he has even more to offer as his playing time rises. The 19-year-old big man has started every game thus far but has played just 21.7 MPG, a number that could rise into the mid-to-high 20s as he continues to learn and improve on the court. The Warriors landed a good one here.
Houston Rockets: Christian Wood’s three-year, $41 million deal with the Rockets looks like one of the best signings of the offseason. Wood, who went undrafted out of UNLV and bounced around the league before emerging with the Pistons last season, is simply doing it all from a fantasy perspective (23.6 PPG, 10.0 RPG, 1.0 SPG, 2.0 BPG, 1.2 3PG), and if he continues this pace we’re talking about, Wood will be at least a second-round pick in fantasy drafts next season. Wood’s brilliance thus far could also limit the role DeMarcus Cousins has on this team, even after the veteran big man works his way back into game shape.
Indiana Pacers: We’ve written about several players who already look like draft-day steals, and Malcolm Brogdon (61.5 ADP) is another. Brogdon has made a name for himself in this league for his efficiency as a scorer and play-making abilities as a distributor, but so far this season, several other areas of his game stand out. Brogdon is playing 37.0 MPG, for one, which ranks near the top of the league. That alone is a big deal. On top of that, his 6.7 3PA and 3.0 3PG are both well above his previous career highs (4.3 3PA and 1.6 3PG), as is his 1.9 SPG. If Brogdon continues to play more minutes, shoot more 3s and rack up more steals, he becomes a top-30 fantasy player.
LA Clippers: Paul George is off to a fast start in his second season with the Clippers, doing more as a scorer (25.1 PPG) and distributor (5.1 APG), but one area worth noting is his increased 3-point presence. George has averaged 4.3 3PG so far after finishing with 3.3 3PG last season. That ranks fourth in the NBA after C.J. McCollum, James Harden and Stephen Curry. While George’s 49.2 3FG% may not be sustainable, his added attempts from long range (from 7.9 last season to 8.7 this season) increases his chances of making more 3PG this season.
Los Angeles Lakers: Fantasy managers watched eagerly during the opening weeks of the NBA season to see what type of role Montrezl Harrell would have on the Lakers after being a dominant sixth man for the Clippers in recent years, averaging 18.6 points and 7.1 rebounds last season. So far, Harrell has seen his playing time drop 3.4 MPG and his scoring fall 6.2 PPG, but everything else remains either similar or better. Harrell is currently rostered in 91.1% of ESPN leagues but is more of a streaming option who can help with FG% and rebounds.
Memphis Grizzlies: Kyle Anderson the scorer? Not many people could have foreseen that. In Anderson’s first six years in the league, 8.0 PPG was his high mark. He’s at 15.7 PPG in the Grizzlies’ first seven games this year — albeit with Ja Morant and Jaren Jackson Jr. both out of the lineup. Still, that’s an impressive stretch of scoring for “Slo-Mo.” Anderson’s career-high pace in scoring as well as rebounding (7.9 RPG) and distributing (3.4 APG) will take a big hit once Morant and Jackson return to the lineup, but Anderson is currently a great fantasy value who remains available in 51.9% of ESPN leagues.
Miami Heat: Jimmy Butler has already missed two games due to an ankle injury, and he clearly isn’t himself in the early portion of the season. Butler, who played like one of the NBA’s top players in the NBA Finals a few months ago, is averaging 10.8 PPG, 3.8 RPG, 5.0 APG and 2.8 SPG through his first four games. Included in that is a four-point game against the Pelicans and a two-point game against the Mavericks. Fantasy managers with Butler will need to be patient, as trading him now would mean selling him when his fantasy value is at its lowest point.
Milwaukee Bucks: Giannis Antetokounmpo was the top pick in most ESPN leagues this season (1.6 ADP), and that makes his early-season shooting struggles at the free throw line all the more concerning. How bad is it? His 62.5 FT% is the lowest of his career, and it comes on the heels of last season’s 63.3 FT%. This makes the Greek Freak significantly less valuable in roto leagues, as his 10.3 FTA ranks third in the league behind only Trae Young (12.1) and James Harden (11.5).
Minnesota Timberwolves: What do the early returns say about Anthony Edwards’s game and the fantasy impact he can have this season? Well, the No. 1 pick of the 2020 NBA draft can score (13.9 PPG) and is getting plenty of opportunity to do so in 25.1 MPG off the Minnesota bench, but it’s looks like it could take some time for the 19-year-old to be a factor in fantasy leagues. While currently rostered in 56.8% of ESPN leagues, Edwards’ 2.1 RPG, 2.0 APG, 0.6 SPG, 0.3 BPG and low shooting averages make him someone better left on the waiver wire for now.
New Orleans Pelicans: Zion Williamson’s ADP in ESPN leagues this year is 25.5 as of Wednesday morning, meaning he was a high third-rounder in most leagues. That may be suitable for points leagues, but Williamson is difficult to win with in roto leagues when you consider the following: He has yet to make a 3-pointer this season (attempting 0.3 per game so far), he tanks the FT% category (60.7% on 8.0 FTA per game) and he is a non-factor in terms of both assists (1.1 APG) and blocks (0.6 BPG). If you have Zion in a roto league, you need to be prepared to build your whole roster around the things he’s good at: points, rebounds and FG%.
New York Knicks: Tom Thibodeau is the new coach of the Knicks, and the NBA’s two leaders in MPG are Knicks. Coincidence? I think not. Thibodeau is notorious for playing his core group huge minutes (see; Luol Deng and Butler in his Chicago days), and we are already seeing it with his young forwards RJ Barrett (38.7 MPG) and Julius Randle (38.4). While Barrett and Randle are major reasons for the Knicks’ surprisingly strong start to the season and will continue to play a ton of minutes this season, expect their playing time to come down once rookie lottery pick Obi Toppin returns to the court. Toppin has been sidelined since the opening game of the season due to a right calf injury, and has a bit of a Tobias Harris look to him, where he can play both forward spots.
Oklahoma City Thunder: Darius Bazley may not be one of the bigger names on the fantasy radar, but the athletic second-year forward is a big part of what the Thunder are doing this season. His 30.0 MPG ranks second on the team behind only Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, and he leads the team in both rebounding (8.5 RPG) and blocks (1.3 BPG). For now, consider Bazley a streamer, but also keep an eye on him going forward as his popularity rises.
Orlando Magic: Markelle Fultz still isn’t making many 3-pointers, but the rest of his game continues to round into form. That’s especially true of his free throw shooting, which has improved every year he’s been in the league (47.6% to 56.8% to 73.0% to 88.9%). This is important for a big, strong attacking point guard like Fultz, who should start to get to the charity stripe at a higher frequency in the months and years to come.
Philadelphia 76ers: While the 76ers continue to play well and win games, Ben Simmons‘ numbers are down in the early going of the Doc Rivers era in Philadelphia. Simmons (16.2 ADP) is currently at a career-low pace in terms of scoring (13.3 PPG), assists (7.0 APG), steals (1.3 SPG) and FG% (50.7). This is worth watching very closely in the weeks ahead, to see if it’s just a slow start and a small sample size or something more under a new coach and system.
Phoenix Suns: Perhaps it is just a small sample size, and it can go overlooked due to the Suns playing so well as a team, but star shooting guard Devin Booker is off to a slow start. Few could have foreseen a drop in Booker’s scoring this season with pass-first point guard Chris Paul joining the fray, but after averaging 26.6 PPG each of the past two seasons Booker is down to 21.1 through the team’s first seven games. While his shooting percentages and playing time have remained consistent, the one change is that he is attempting just 15.9 FGA a night after averaging over 18.0 FGA during each of the past four seasons.
Portland Trail Blazers: C.J. McCollum entered this season having averaged over 20.0 PPG in five-straight seasons, yet the sweet-shooting two-guard had never averaged 3.0 3PG in any of those seasons. Why? Because he didn’t attempt as many 3s as the Steph Currys and James Hardens of the world. That appears to all be out the window this season, though, as the red-hot McCollum has attempted 11.3 3PG in Portland’s first seven games. In addition, his 27.7 PPG is a career-best pace that currently ranks sixth in the NBA.
Sacramento Kings: This is Year 3 for Marvin Bagley III in Sacramento, and after a pair of injury-riddled years, it was understandable for fantasy managers to expect more out of the former No. 2 overall pick. So far, it’s just not happening. Bagley has struggled to finish around the basket, and an offseason spent working on his 3-point shot has led to a 26.7 3FG% thus far. With a 35.8 FG% and 58.3 FT% and minimal impact in the defensive stat categories, Bagley (40.7% rostered in ESPN leagues) belongs on the waiver wire at this point.
San Antonio Spurs: Dejounte Murray may still not be much of a 3-point shooter, but the fourth-year point guard has seen his playing time rise to 31.3 MPG in the Spurs’ first seven games and is making a major impact as a scorer (15.9 PPG), rebounder (6.6 RPG), facilitator (5.7 APG) and defender (1.6 SPG). Murray (89.4% rostered in ESPN leagues) is trending up with each passing game, and should be rostered in all fantasy leagues.
Toronto Raptors: Pascal Siakam‘s 24.0 ADP in ESPN leagues is higher than the likes of Brandon Ingram, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Bam Adebayo and Nikola Vucevic, which is a pretty good indication of how much fantasy managers thought of the Raptors’ power forward in fantasy drafts this year. Siakam, who missed one game due to punishment from the coaching staff last week, is shooting 40.7 FG% and averaging 17.6 PPG — down 5.3 PPG from last season — through his first five games of 2020-21.
Utah Jazz: Donovan Mitchell, like Siakam above, is off to a very slugglish start, as his 38.4 FG% and 14.7 PER indicate. Still, the fourth-year shooting guard is the best thing the Jazz have going and there’s a strong likelihood that things start to click soon. Keep that in mind if Mitchell comes up in trade talks. Now would be a good time to trade for him, while his value is as low as it’s been in years.
Washington Wizards: Any concern about Bradley Beal‘s scoring prowess while playing next to a ball-dominant player like Russell Westbrook can probably be tossed aside. Beal’s 30.6 PPG ranks third in the NBA behind only James Harden (33.0) and Stephen Curry (32.0). It will be interesting to see if Beal can continue at this pace, but as of now he’s ahead of the 30.5 PPG he averaged last season on a team — if you remember — that was without the injured John Wall for the entire season.