We’re approaching the final weeks of the regular fantasy basketball season, which means we’re getting closer and closer to silly season: that magical time of year when players you would normally never own in a million years suddenly become insanely valuable as everyone around them is shut down. You never know who will be a stupid seasonal champion (I still have fond memories of Ramon Sessions suddenly becoming an unstoppable fantasy god towards the end of the 2009 season), but what matters is that you musIf you’re going to compete for a title in fantasy basketball, don’t prepare for it. You must be willing to adapt on the fly and accept the new normal that is presented to you, otherwise you risk being left in the dust.
What that means in terms of specific advice is that I recommend being very, very aggressive in adding players who look like they could be great down the road if they are available in your league, even if that means potentially cutting players who aren’t unproductive for you but who are likely to be useless at the end of the season. 2009 Ramon Sessions may not necessarily be on the watch list at this point, but he could are. And if so, make sure you’re the one who gets him, not someone else.
Other notes from this weekend:
Cason Wallace finished Sunday with 20 points, 10 assists, 4 rebounds and 3 steals. Since taking on a bigger role, he hasn’t become a scoring monster anymore Shai Gilgeous-Alexander out, but he’s averaging 4.7 assists and 2.4 steals per game in February and that’s definitely enough to keep him on the roster until SGA returns.
C.J. McCollum entered the starting lineup for the Hawks on Sunday and produced 16 points, 8 rebounds and 4 assists. His stats should remain consistent with what they have been since he arrived in Atlanta.
Cam Thomass had 15 points in 21 minutes off the bench on Sunday. His scoring has been solid since joining the Bucks, but the most minutes he has played in a game with them is 25, and this is with Giannis Antetokounmpo out. And when you take into account the virtually non-existent production he gives you in other categories, he’s an obvious player who can sell (relatively) high in fantasy right now.
Marvin Bagley III had 12 points and 11 rebounds off the bench for the Mavs. That makes three double-doubles in five games for Bagley, who has outperformed the starting center Daniel Gafford during that time. Neither player will be too exciting to select, as long as they have a timeshare with each other, however.
Chris Middleton was great against the Pacers on Sunday, with 25 points, 7 rebounds and 7 assists in 30 minutes. Cooper Flagg being away made this possible; Under normal circumstances, Middleton will be far too risky a player to trot around in fantasy even if he does start.
Jarace Walker continued his solid play of late against the Mavs, putting up 18 points, 9 rebounds and 6 assists in 34 minutes. That’s actually his third straight game with at least 12 points, 9 rebounds and 6 assists, and considering the Pacers should be in tank mode for the rest of the year, Walker looks like he could be a sneaky strong fantasy producer from here on out. At the time of writing, he only owns 31% of Yahoo leagues and about 19% of ESPN leagues, but he’s definitely worth investing in if he’s available.
Alondes Williams played 34 minutes on Sunday and recorded 8 points, 7 rebounds and 3 assists in one game after going 25-10-4. Williams has gotten a surprising amount of playing time since joining the Wizards, but the Wizards have so many guards and wings competing for minutes that it’s impossible to trust him.
Nikola Vucevic had 9 points, 8 rebounds and a steal in 21 minutes off the bench for the Celtics against the Lakers. That’s back-to-back games with just 9 points for Vuc, whose fantasy value has taken an undeniable hit since moving to Boston. Unless he can somehow rise to the starting lineup, he’s no longer an indispensable player in fantasy basketball.
Jalen Smith left Sunday’s game with a calf cramp, which allowed for that Guerschon Yabusele to play 30 minutes and go for 11 points and 13 rebounds. Between Smith, Yabusele and Nick RichardsSmith is the best fantasy option on paper, but he gets hurt so routinely that it’s unfortunately difficult to get that excited about him, making the Bulls center situation something to ignore in standard leagues.
Gui Santos scored 17 points, 7 assists and 5 rebounds on Sunday. Kristaps Porzingis was out and is an immediate threat to start his production soon, but it’s worth noting that Santos has been very strong in his time as a starter. In the event that he can somehow remain in the starting lineup even after the Warriors get healthy, Santos would still be worth owning in fantasy leagues.
Brandin Pod Ziemia had a spectacular stat line for the Warriors, with 18 points, 15 rebounds, 9 assists, 3 threes and a steal in 37 minutes off the bench. Were there any caveats to this performance? Absolutely, because Stefan Curry, Draymond Green and Porzingis were all out, but Podz is increasingly looking like a must-have player given the bigger role he’s taking on Jimmy Butler out for the season.
Scot Henderson played 30 minutes against Phoenix and went for 11 points, 6 assists and 4 rebounds. He’s scored in double figures in all six games since returning from injury, and while his numbers aren’t great, the chances of him being a no-win season-ender are not non-existent.
Jalen Green Collected 13 points on Sunday. Repeated injuries have greatly hampered his debut season in Phoenix, but with Dillon Brooks potentially out for the rest of the season with a broken hand, Green is in a very good fantasy situation as of now.
Benedict Mathurin scored 21 points, 9 rebounds and 5 assists for the Clippers against Orlando. Mathurin has been a fantasy climber since moving to the Clippers and considering how old and fragile the Clippers are, it wouldn’t be surprising at all if Mathurin averages 20 per game for them from here on out, regardless of whether he starts or not.
Jordan Poole alert! After not playing a second for the Pelicans for almost an entire month, Poole made his second straight appearance on Saturday, producing 23 points, 5 assists and 3 rebounds. It’s hard to know how much playing time Poole will get from here on out and it’s worth noting that Trey Murphy III missed both games that Poole just played in and that Poole was bad this year even when he was playing. But Poole’s fantasy ceiling is still quite high at best, and for that reason he’s not the worst guy in the world to take a flier if he’s still available in your league.
Oliver-Maxence Prosper collected 9 points, 4 assists, 4 steals and 3 rebounds on Saturday, a game shy of 23 points and 5 rebounds. On the one hand, the Grizzlies spread the wealth fairly evenly when it comes to playing time, so even if Prosper is practically the only big left in Memphis, he’s unlikely to get more than about 25 minutes per night for them. On the other hand, the Grizzlies are so depleted that Prosper — who scored 20 points in two of his last four games — should be on the fantasy radar for the rest of the season, as a streamer if nothing else.
Playing in his second game back from injury, Keegan Murray went for 20 points in 36 minutes. Of Zach LaVine And Domantas Sabonis now that this season is out, Murray has the runway to be a possible fantasy monster from here on out; now it’s time to add him to your league if he’s still available, or trade for him.
Maxime Raynauld went for 16 points and 12 rebounds on Saturday, his second game in a row with at least 16-and-12. With Sabonis done for the year, there’s little stopping Raynauld from being a regular double-double guy the rest of the way. Congratulations if you were able to catch it earlier.
#Live #long #OliverMaxence #Prosper