2023-24 Fantasy Basketball Week 12 Risers and Fallers

January 11, 2024

We're getting closer and closer to the halfway point of the 2023-24 NBA season and it has been a very interesting season so far. Aidin Ebrahimi looks at three risers and three fallers from Week 12 of the 2023-24 NBA season.

Happy New Year, RotoBallers! Welcome back to the Week 12 edition of my weekly fantasy basketball risers and fallers!

We're getting closer and closer to the halfway point of the 2023-24 NBA season and it has been a very interesting season so far. If things haven't gone your way yet in your fantasy leagues, don't lose hope! I'm here to help you with my risers and fallers picks every week.

With that being said, let's look at the risers and fallers from Week 12 of the NBA season.

Fantasy Basketball Risers: Week 12

Ivica Zubac - C, Los Angeles Clippers

Ivica Zubac has been improving steadily since he was traded from the Lakers to their neighbors. Zubac's PPG has increased in each of his last five seasons with the Clippers, and this is even though the squad around him has improved dramatically since his first game as a Clipper. The squad has gone 15-3 since the beginning of December, which is the best winning percentage among all teams in that timespan.

Harden and Zubac have some of the best chemistry of any PnR duo in the league right now

One cross from Harden and Zu knows to skip the screen and start rolling. Since Nurkic is flatfooted in a drop, he's able to sprint right past him for an easy lob pic.twitter.com/EIljw0vElx

— AlexHoops (@AlexHoops_) January 10, 2024

Zubac has averaged a double-double while shooting 70% over those 18 games and has been a key part of the Clippers' success, but his numbers have been even better over the last three games. In his last three games, Zubac averaged 18.7 points and 11.7 rebounds a night while shooting 79.3% from the field. The best thing about Zubac is that, unlike his other high-profile teammates in LA, he isn't injury-prone, having just missed 14 games in five and a half seasons with the franchise.

Jalen Duren - C, Detroit Pistons

Jalen Duren showed a lot of promise as a rookie, and even though the Pistons have won just three games so far this season, Duren has been one of the few bright spots on this team. So far this year, Duren has averaged more points (13.6), rebounds (11.4), and assists (2.5) per game compared to his rookie season despite averaging less than 30 minutes a night.

This is despite the fact that he's had to deal with a bunch of injuries this year, but he has shown great resilience and continues to come back better than ever. He has averaged 15.4 points and 12.1 rebounds a night on 68% shooting in his last eight games after coming back from an ankle injury.

Jalen Suggs - G, Orlando Magic

The NBA is a league of opportunities, and the players who can make the most out of their opportunities are destined for stardom. Jalen Suggs looked like he would be a victim of the Magic's crowded guard rotation, but Markelle Fultz's injury was a massive opportunity for Suggs to prove himself.

🚨3PT Percentage Gains🚨

2022: 21.4%
2023: 32.7%
2024: 40.3%

Jalen Suggs has had one the greatest 3PT% improvements of all-time for a player in their first three seasons in the history of the NBA. pic.twitter.com/KCjKsQLDsP

— WeltGawd (@WeltGawd) January 10, 2024

Suggs has made the most of that chance, and even though Fultz is back right now, the Magic are still starting Suggs and why shouldn't they? Suggs has scored 20+ points in five of his last eight games and had an awesome week, putting up 21.8 points a night while shooting 51.7% from the field and 58.3% from three and playing great defense.

Fantasy Basketball Fallers: Week 12

Bobby Portis - F/C, Milwaukee Bucks

Bobby Portis stole the hearts of Bucks fans everywhere after his gritty performances in the 2021 playoffs as the Bucks won the NBA championship, but things have changed quite a bit since then. Portis started in over 57% of his games and averaged 27.1 minutes a night over the past two seasons, but his playing time has fallen off this season.

Bobby Portis just standing there enjoying the show pic.twitter.com/pCGf5yPikn

— BrickMuse (@BrickMuse) January 5, 2024

This year, Portis hasn't started a game yet and he's just averaging 23.5 minutes a night. Portis hasn't responded well to his reduced role, as he shot just 37.5% from the field and went 1-8 from three last week while also averaging 3.3 fouls in just 18.5 minutes per game. His name is slowly popping up in trade rumors too. It just hasn't been a great season for the fan favorite.

Duncan Robinson - G/F, Miami Heat

Duncan Robinson's value depends entirely on whether his shots are falling or not, and his shots were falling at the start of the season. Robinson averaged 15 points a night on 48.8% shooting from the floor and 43.6% shooting from deep in his first 19 games of the season, but then he had one of the worst fantasy games of the season, scoring one point on seven shots.

He managed to bounce back in the eight games after that disasterclass but has again fallen into a slump. Over his last six games, Robinson has shot just 31.7% from the field and 30.4% from three, including another terrible fantasy outing where he went 1-7 for just four points.

Bilal Coulibaly - F, Washington Wizards

Bilal Coulibaly hasn't started his NBA career like his former Metropolitans 92 teammate Victor Wembanyama has, but he has shown flashes of potential. However, he's still very much a project and will have inconsistent stretches of play. In his last six games, Coulibaly has averaged just 5.8 points a night while shooting 32.5% from the field and 30.8% from three.

But there could be some light at the end of this particular tunnel. The Wizards are 6-30 and many teams are interested in Kyle Kuzma. They could even trade Jordan Poole if another team wants him. This could mean a bigger opportunity for Coulibaly down the stretch this season, so you could try to make a move for him now that his stock is at its lowest.

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