RADIO
Can you believe that we're already 10 weeks deep into the NBA season? We've officially hit the double digits. It's wild. A wise man once said,"'time flies when you're having fun." But in this case, a more appropriate quote may read '"time flies when you are obsessively fixated on tweaking your roster while dealing with unlimited injuries and trying to figure out who to stream daily." That's more like it. Oh, and while I was typing this, the Hornets just listed Mark Williams as doubtful again and another undrafted Miami Heat player just cooked your team.
This was a fun week, chock full of some massive performances and, wait for it, a DETROIT PISTONS VICTORY! It's been 28 games since that was typed in an article, which is bizarre in and of itself. Week 10 also brought with it the first big in-season trade when OG Anunoby, Precious Achiuwa, and Malachi Flynn were shipped to the New York Knicks in exchange for RJ Barrett, Immanuel Quickley, and a 2024 second-round pick. I'll break down the fantasy implications below.
Without further ado, let's dive right into this week's edition of my weekly column -- Three Things I Like And Don't Like.
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OG Anunoby Trade Reaction
OG Anunoby
I'll start with the headliner of this deal, Anunoby. He was already playing third (and sometimes fourth) fiddle behind Pascal Siakam and Scottie Barnes in Toronto and I'm not convinced much changes in New York. The Knicks should continue to run their offense through Julius Randle and Jalen Brunson, leaving OG as the third option at best. He's known for his defense, so if he can get his steals back up to his standard of 1.5-2.0, he will see his value tick up regardless.
Immanuel Quickley
Is it officially Quickley time? I believe it is. While always elite on a per-minute basis, Tom Thibodeau was never willing to unleash him fully. After hovering around the 20-25-minute mark this season, I fully expect him to start at point guard in Toronto and push through the 30-minute threshold. If that is indeed the case, it's wheels up.
Throughout his three-and-a-half NBA seasons, Quickley is sporting Per 36 averages of 19.3 points, 4.7 rebounds, 4.4 assists, 1.1 steals, and 2.9 threes per game. Off the sheer upside, he quickly (ha) goes from an elite streamer/fringe 12-team guy to a bona fide must roster. He's still out there in 38% of Yahoo leagues, so take a peek and make sure he's not on the waiver wire.
RJ Barrett
Barrett has enjoyed an up-and-down start to his NBA career. While he does possess a fair amount of upside, his game hasn't translated well to fantasy hoops. During his time in New York, he showcased his ability to score, though it was rather inefficient and he didn't do much of anything else in the peripherals. I expect him to surpass 30 minutes per game in Toronto and a move out of the bright lights of the Empire State may do him good as a chance to press the reset button. He was widely rostered in fantasy already, so if you have him, he's worth holding onto to see how things play out.
Hart has enjoyed a solid year but inconsistencies with his minutes have turned him into more of a streaming option rather than a must-roster guy. When RJ Barrett sat, however, that was the sign to fire up Hart for the stream. In six games without Barrett this season, Hart has seen 35 minutes and averaged 10.1 points, 8.3 rebounds, and 3.1 assists. Now, OG Anunoby is certainly going to get his, but Hart should see a slight boost in value with Barrett's departure.
DiVincenzo's story is similar to that of Josh Hart's. He's produced well when on the court but has been stuck in a backcourt logjam with Hart, Quentin Grimes, Immanuel Quickley, and RJ Barrett. Now that two of the three are out of the picture, Donte has a path to a more consistent role and a shot to start alongside Jalen Brunson. That's exactly what happened in Saturday's game when he started and dropped a career-high 38 points on 21 shots with seven threes. We can't expect anything close to this production going forward, but his value gets a boost for the time being and he enters speculative add status along with Hart.
Schroder was enjoying a solid stint as the starting point guard for the Raptors until a poor stretch relegated him to the bench last week. Still, he was a good source of assists and could easily get you 15-20 points on any given night. With Quickley now in the picture, watch for Schroder to slide to the bench permanently and sacrifice a big chunk of usage and ball-handling opportunities. He is rostered in 80%+ of Yahoo leagues and if I have him, I would hold for a game or two to see what his role is. My instincts, however, tell me that he will be a drop before too long.
Precious Achiuwa
Precious has some upside, there's no getting around it. He's undersized and stuck between power forward and center positions, but his high motor and intensity allow him to play a lot of center. Now in New York, it will be interesting to see his role, especially with Mitchell Robinson out for at least another month or two. Isaiah Hartenstein has done an admirable job manning center responsibilities but I don't think it would surprise anyone for a guy like Precious to quickly earn the good graces of Tom Thibodeau and play big minutes. Even if he does, Thibodeau's centers historically see very little usage, so I'm not sure what upside we are chasing. He was basically out of the lineup in Toronto before the trade and he's best left on waivers until things play out a little longer.
Three Things I LIKE
Jalen Johnson Is BACK
Alas, the fantasy darling who dazzled fantasy lineups to begin the year is back! Johnson was cooking earlier this season after being one of the best fantasy draft-day steals of the season. A wrist injury in late November forced him to miss a month of action, but he returned with a vengeance. He slid back into the starting five immediately upon his return and averaged 16.6 points and 12.3 rebounds on just under 60% shooting for the week, and essentially picked right up where he left off.
He appears locked and loaded in Atlanta's starting five and with De'Andre Hunter still out, he'll pick up some extra usage offensively. He's back up to 80% rostered in Yahoo, but it's still worth checking and making sure he's added. The only blemish here is that the Hawks don't play until Wednesday and have three games over the next two weeks. Who cares? Our guy is BACK!
De'Aaron Fox Stole Stephen Curry's Shooting Powers
After an elite 2022-2023 season in which Fox finished at an absurdly high rate at the rim, he now decided to focus his efforts on his jump shot. Per the numbers, he's among some of the best pull-up three-point shooters in the league and has knocked down a staggering 40.4% of his career-high 8.9 three-point attempts per game. When you realize he's a career 33% from beyond the arc on little volume, it makes what he's doing that much more amazing.
I'm writing this during halftime of Sunday's game against the Grizzlies, and Fox has attempted double-digit threes in each of his last three games and nailed a mind-bending 19-of-38 shots from beyond the arc here in Week 10. He's currently averaging 30.2 points, 6.2 assists, and 1.7 steals per game this season, and his 3.6 threes per game is double his previous career high of 1.8 back in the 2020-2021 season.
Not only is Fox a bona fide All-Star, but he should also get some looks for the Most Improved Player of the Year award. All of his efforts have him sitting just inside the top 20 in Per Game value, according to BasketballMonster.com. It's remarkable what he's been able to do, and he just took things to another level in Week 10.
Cade Cunningham Is Making A Leap
The Pistons have been the butt of many jokes this season and it feels like something they've been doing has landed on my "Don't Like" list every week of this column. But I have to give credit where credit is due, Cade Cunningham has been ballin' over the last two weeks. In Week 10 alone, he's gone for 34.0 points, 8.6 assists, 6.0 rebounds, 1.6 steals, 1.0 blocks, and 3.0 threes on 57/64/85 shooting splits and is the sole reason Detroit snapped its 28-game losing streak on Saturday against the Raptors.
Despite some rough shooting games and high turnovers at times, he's been a top-30 player over the last month, and recent play has him inside the top 10 over the last two weeks. When you think about it, this is his true 'sophomore season' after last year was cut short after only 12 games. If you're like me and grabbed Cade in the third round this offseason, his recent play is music to your ears. Detroit may not win very many games despite getting the monkey off their back, but Cunningham is continuing to figure it out and his recent play suggests he is taking a massive leap.
Three Things I DON'T LIKE
The Orlando Magic Center Rotation
After Wendell Carter Jr. went out with an injury early on in the season, Goga Bitadze and Mo Wagner served as capable streaming options for the entire duration the former was out. Goga blocked everything and anything in the paint, and Wagner was able to provide a strong scoring boost off the bench. Since Carter has returned, however, this center rotation has been an absolute mess. Apart from Carter's lack of production, the way the minutes have been dispersed has forced us to scratch our heads. In Tuesday's game against Wizards, Carter started with Wagner mixing in as the backup. Nothing crazy, until Goga closed the entire fourth quarter while Wagner and Carter rode the bench. This is the stuff of nightmares in fantasy basketball.
Things continue to trend down for Carter, as he was relegated to the bench behind Goga for Sunday's game against the Suns. While the minutes were divvied out evenly, I don't have any desire to roster any of these Magic centers until a clear-cut rotation is set in stone. And yes, that means I believe it's okay to cut bait with Carter for the time being. He wasn't good to begin the season and he hasn't done anything to make us think differently since his return. The situation is worth keeping a close eye on but I'd much rather trot out a high-level streamer than any of this nonsense.
The Decline of Herbert Jones
While Jones enjoyed some big games earlier in the season, it appears his time as a 12-team guy has come to an end. I've waited as long as I could, but we've just been getting too minimal of production now for too long of a time to ignore. Over the last seven games, he's averaged a measly 6.4 points, 2.2 rebounds, 2.1 assists, and a mind-boggling 0.2 steals. The steals are that stat to focus on with him, as he profiles best as a steals guy and a spectacular perimeter defender. As evidenced by the above numbers, he doesn't do enough to justify rostering if the steals aren't there. Jones was someone I was holding in hope that he got back on track, but it's just not happening. He's an easy drop until further notice.
An Abysmal Week From Karl-Anthony Towns
KAT has certainly been better than he was last year, but Week 10 did no favors for any of his managers. KAT battled foul trouble in two of three games and averaged a horrid 11.7 points, 7.7 rebounds, 2.0 assists, 0.0 steals, and 0.0 blocks on 38/25/83 splits. Woof.
Now, I fully expect him to rebound soon and improve his play, but after two-and-a-half months of games, it's clear he no longer possesses the same upside that he's had in years past. The keys have officially been handed over to Anthony Edwards this season and it's led to his numbers looking more and more similar to his rookie campaign back in 2015-2016. If you have him, you obviously wouldn't look to trade him low after a stretch of poor play, but he's currently sitting outside the top 40 in Per Game value, which is a far cry from what we expected in draft season.
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