2023-24 Fantasy Basketball Week 2 Risers and Fallers

November 2, 2023

One of the things you always have to look out for are players who are exceeding expectations, and players who are falling short. Aidin Ebrahimi looks at three risers and two fallers from Week 2 of the 2023-24 NBA season.

Howdy RotoBallers! Hopefully, you all had an awesome Halloween and are dominating your fantasy leagues! And even if you're not, that's okay. There's still a lot of the season left, and most people win their leagues by making smart decisions throughout the season.

One of the things you always have to look out for are players who are exceeding expectations, and players who are falling short. Luckily for you, I will be looking at the risers and fallers for each week of the NBA season to help you out.

With that being said, let's look at the risers and fallers from Week 2 of the NBA season.

Fantasy Basketball Risers

Cam Thomas - G, Brooklyn Nets

Cam Thomas has been the talk of the basketball world  The electric shooting guard has always had tremendous scoring ability, but he could never get enough minutes to provide real value outside of short bursts. But now, HC Jacque Vaughn has given everyone a clean slate, which has led to improvement from players like Ben Simmons and the rise of Thomas.

Cam Thomas' first three games this season 🪣

36 PTS
30 PTS
33 PTS pic.twitter.com/Z8DOFoYxbP

— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) October 31, 2023

Last season Thomas exploded in the month of February, but after several bad performances, his role was reduced significantly. The reason for that is simple. Vaughn spent many years with Gregg Popovich in the Spurs' system and knows how to deal with players like Cam. "We won't grant you anything, everything is earned not given", and all that jazz.

Thomas has worked hard to improve his decision-making (though still far from perfect) and can now contribute to winning basketball, which could be seen with his +7.7 average Plus/Minus Net Per 100 Possessions, a rise of 11 points over last season (-3.3). He will be moved to the bench once Cameron Johnson comes back, but even then, he'll be an amazing sixth man with a clear role in this offense.

Tyrese Maxey - G, Philadelphia 76ers

No more James Harden in Philadelphia. It's one of the biggest moves in recent NBA history, and as crazy as it might sound, this move has the potential to be a win-win trade for both teams. James Harden spent some valuable time with Maxey, and it's clear that Maxey learned a lot from Harden. Having a former MVP to learn from is a great luxury, and it seems like Maxey is now putting his knowledge to use.

Tyrese Maxey said he texted James Harden and told him that he loves and appreciates him, and said that Harden has done a lot to help him gain confidence over the past 18 months they’ve been together.

— Tim Bontemps (@TimBontemps) October 31, 2023

The former Kentucky Wildcat is currently averaging 30.3 points, 6.7 rebounds, and 6.3 assists a night while shooting 50% from the field and 56% from three. He is averaging the ninth-highest PER in the entire NBA (28.7) while also being ninth in True Shooting percentage amongst guards this season (68.8%). Maxey will be looking to make his first All-Star appearance this season, but don't be surprised if he makes an All-NBA team along the way too.

Chet Holmgren - C, Oklahoma City Thunder

All this hype for Victor Wembanyama made everyone forget about Chet Holmgren huh? Don't get me wrong, I like Wemby as much as the next guy, but you have to admit that he isn't the only young unicorn in the NBA right now. The second-overall pick of the 2022 NBA draft missed his entire rookie campaign due to a foot injury, but it looks like he has completely rebounded and is now putting up numbers in the NBA.

The only player with

10+ blocks
10+ threes

this season. https://t.co/E9vJUiUdxk

— StatMuse (@statmuse) November 1, 2023

He is averaging 15 points, 6.3 rebounds, and 3.8 stocks (steals + blocks) per game while shooting 60.6% from the floor and 62.5% from deep. His seven blocks against Cleveland and four blocks against Detroit have been crucial to OKC's wins in those games. While I do agree with Nikola Jokic saying that Chet "needs to be a little bit fatter" (he struggled to guard the two-time MVP in the post), he has a very high motor and is a great fit in all fantasy formats.

Fantasy Basketball Fallers

Patrick Williams - F, Chicago Bulls

Patrick Williams missed the majority of his sophomore campaign due to a wrist injury, but he bounced back in the playoffs and in the 2022-23 season. Many thought that this would be the year that Williams would put it all together and justify his selection as the fourth-overall pick in 2020, but instead, he's in serious danger of losing his starting job to the newly-arrived Torrey Craig.

Patrick Williams just attempted his first layup and free throw of the season

— KENNY BEECHAM (@KOT4Q) October 31, 2023

Here's a concerning stat: Over Williams' last 305 minutes played he has grabbed just 10 offensive rebounds, meanwhile Craig has grabbed nine offensive rebounds in just 88 minutes as a Bull. Comparing their stats, despite playing the same amount of minutes Craig has clearly been the better player. And it's not like Craig is setting the world on fire by scoring 6.8 points and grabbing 4.8 rebounds a game on good efficiency; Williams has just been bad, which is very concerning now that he's in a contract year.

Wendell Carter Jr. - C, Orlando Magic

We end things with Williams' former teammate in Chicago. WCJ had a career year in 2021-22, but plateaued last season and has looked really bad to start this season. It's pretty odd, it looks like he lacks sharpness or isn't quite 100%, but you could also say that for the rest of this Magic team whose players have stumbled out of the gate this year.

Wendell Carter Jr. is so weak with the basketball. Fumbling and dropping the ball every time he gets a touch. Blowing layups. Etc.

— . (@SquidHaver) November 1, 2023

Carter Jr. has taken 33 shots but has only made 12, he has recorded just one block compared to 10 fouls, and even his consistently reliable free-throw shooting has dipped (58.3% this season compared to 73.3% previously). One thing that could make him better is if Orlando gets a true center to help him out because he's not a true center, and he had his best season playing at the four while Mo Bamba was the center.

But, it's doubtful that Orlando would focus on WCJ's development like that. It's Paolo Banchero and Franz Wagner's team now, and if Carter Jr. can't adapt, well, he'll be shown the door.

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