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Hello, RotoBallers! Welcome back to the Week 9 edition of my weekly fantasy basketball risers and fallers!
All-Star voting is open, and star players will be trying their best to play well and maximize their votes. If things haven't gone your way yet in your fantasy leagues, don't lose hope! Every week, I'm here to help you with my risers and fallers picks.
With that being said, let's look at the risers and fallers from Week 9 of the NBA season.
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Fantasy Basketball Risers: Week 9
James Wiseman - C, Detroit Pistons
I remember the excitement when the Warriors picked James Wiseman second overall in 2021. The Warriors never had a truly dominant and tall center since Wilt Chamberlain, so Warriors fans had massive expectations for him. He usually looked lost but he showed that he could have big games, and we were patiently waiting for him to finally figure out how to dominate consistently. Sadly, it never materialized and Wiseman was traded to Detroit.
James Wiseman pic.twitter.com/xXHrve5eVC
— Rip Haminkton (@RedAlternates) December 19, 2023
Fans thought he could turn things around in the Motor City, but he fell out of the rotation and it looked like Wiseman would have to go job-hunting and play in the G-League after his rookie deal expired. But Wiseman has made the most out of his most recent opportunity due to Jalen Duren's injury, averaging 14.3 points and 7.3 rebounds on 78.8% shooting in his last four games. He's still terrible in terms of advanced stats, but the 2-25 Pistons could give him a run as a starter and potentially as the main guy to see what he's capable of doing.
Keegan Murray - SF, Sacramento Kings
Here's an interesting question, what separates the ordinary players from the truly great ones? For starters, you have to see how they get back up after being knocked down. One of the most dreaded things that constantly knock younger players down is the infamous "Sophomore Slump", and Keegan Murray looked like he was going through one to start the season.
Keegan Murray to his team after scoring 47 points:
"Thanks guys" pic.twitter.com/8WAEUPCGDi
— KingCharge (@KingCharge) December 17, 2023
Murray shot just 39% from the field and 28.7% from three in his first 13 games before sustaining a back injury. Since coming back from that injury, however, Murray has averaged 20.4 points a night while shooting 53.2% from the field and 50.9% from three. His 47-point game where he made 12 threes proved to everyone that Murray is legit and that he's here to stay.
Tyus Jones - G, Washington Wizards
Everyone has been talking about Ja Morant's return and rightfully so, but since he has only played in one game I thought it wouldn't be fair to everyone else to include him here. Instead, let's talk about Morant's ex-backup in Memphis, Tyus Jones. Jones has always been an excellent backup but people wondered what he could do as a starter in a terrible situation in Washington.
Jones started the season off pretty streaky as he adjusted to his new role but he has been great in December. Since the start of this month, Jones has averaged 14.1 points and 6.9 assists a night on 60.3% shooting from the field and 50% shooting from three, which gives him a true shooting percentage of 70.8% while taking 78 shots. Only two players (Clippers duo Kawhi Leonard and James Harden) have had a higher TS% in December while taking more than 70 shots.
Fantasy Basketball Fallers: Week 9
Jeremy Sochan - G/F, San Antonio Spurs
Gregg Popovich certainly had a lot of faith in Jeremy Sochan when he decided to name him as the Spurs' starting point guard. Sochan had never been a PG in his life before Pop made this decision, and while the sophomore tried his best, it just didn't work out and the Spurs lost 17 straight games after starting the year 3-2.
Pop eventually decided to end his experiment in early December, and Sochan has been very confused about his new role and it is affecting his play on the court. In his last seven games, Sochan has put up just 6.7 points and 3.6 assists a night while shooting 31.3% from the field and going 2-18 from three.
D'Angelo Russell - G, Los Angeles Lakers
I've experienced it before as a Warriors fan. D'Angelo Russell hates December. Since his rookie season, his PPG always dropped down in December until last season. Last season his PPG went up in December, so fantasy managers were hopeful that DLo had finally conquered his festive season demons but unfortunately, that was not the case.
In short, D’Angelo Russell’s slump impacted the Lakers overall more than Austin Reaves’ slump because DLO playing well actually makes the entire squad a whole lot better pic.twitter.com/lUuJdY5Osj
— Des (@desappointment) December 20, 2023
Russell averaged 17.6 points and 6.6 assists a night on elite shooting splits to start the season, but he has only averaged 9.8 points and 5.7 assists a night on 39.7% shooting from the floor and 30% shooting from deep in December. He usually turns things around in January though, so if you haven't given up on him yet, you should probably still keep him.
Deni Avdija - F, Washington Wizards
Deni Avdija has the tools to be great, but many things are holding him back, one of them being his efficiency and three-point shooting. He showed considerable improvement in that department over his last eight games of the 2022-23 season, and he managed to keep up his hot streak heading into this year.
Avdija shot 53.6% from the floor and 40% from deep in his first 18 games, but since the start of December, we've witnessed the Avdija of old. He has averaged 9.1 points while shooting 40% from the field and 20% from three in his last eight games. He is still effective in other areas such as playmaking and rebounding, but if his shooting continues to be lackluster, he could lose his minutes to the sharpshooting Corey Kispert.
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