RADIO
It was a fun week of basketball with a few marquee games, including the return of Isaiah Thomas against Portland on Tuesday, a (Thomas-less) Cavaliers/Celtics game on Wednesday, and a Warriors/Rockets game on Thursday that was exciting in spite of the fact that Golden State was without Kevin Durant and Houston was without James Harden. Add to that some close games, like Sunday's double-overtime game between the Lakers and Rockets and Monday's overtime Milwaukee/Toronto game, and we should all be happy we got to see such good basketball.
What's that all mean for your fantasy team? Well, it means some players have been playing surprisingly well lately. There's a lot of good fantasy value out there right now, and we at Rotoballer are here to help you take advantage of that. Let's take a look at players whose recent strong play should continue this week, and at players whose recent struggles could continue on and hurt your fantasy squads. These are the risers and fallers heading into Week 13 of the NBA season.
Note: All stats are taken from BEFORE the games played on Friday, January 5, 2018.
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Week 13 Fantasy Basketball Risers
RISER - Gerald Green (F, HOU)
Gerald Green is the ultimate SMALL SAMPLE SIZE SLOW DOWN guy right now, but with Houston dealing with injuries and lacking some much needed depth I'm willing to bet that Green continues to perform well. He's not going to keep averaging career highs in (*takes deep breath*) shooting percentage, three-point percentage, effective field goal percentage, free throw percentage, points per game, and steals per game, because that would be a little absurd, but he's going to keep playing big minutes until James Harden returns and he's going to keep getting the green light from deep. Expect his numbers to settle down a little, but for a guy who you can probably still get off the waiver wire, he's worth a look.
RISER - Kawhi Leonard (F, SAS)
Kawhi is finally settling back into being the player he really is. When he first returned, he was playing limited minutes, but in the Spurs's last two games Leonard has played 27 and 30 minutes. He's scored 20 or more points in two of his past three, he had four steals against the Knicks, and he's kept the turnovers low. Fantasy players should feel confident now that Leonard is fully ready to go back into lineups, though they continue to monitor the news for the occasional DNP-CD.
RISER - Marquese Chriss (F, PHO)
Marquese Chriss, up until recently, was producing worse this season than he did during his rookie season. That's starting to change, with double-digit scoring in four straight games (and six of Phoenix's last eight), an increase in the rate at which he's blocking shots, and increases in his rebounding. There are still flaws--in category-based leagues, Chriss will hurt you from the free throw line--but he's playing well lately and should be able to carve out a role in fantasy lineups.
RISER - Jamal Murray (G, DEN)
I've been hesitant to trust any Denver player too much this year because no one has really set themselves apart--five players average between 14.8 and 16.6 points per game, no one averages even five assists per game, and none of the guards are giving you much in terms of rebounds. I'm tentatively excited about Jamal Murray right now, though. The second-year guard spent much of the season playing very up-and-down ball on a nightly basis, going from scoring 20+ points on one night to scoring less than five on the next night. He's been more consistent lately, with five straight games of double-digit points, including three games with more than 20. He's still inconsistent with his other stats, but he's capable of giving you seven or more rebounds on occasion and should give you a handful of steals each week.
Week 13 Fantasy Basketball Fallers
FALLER - Alex Len (C, PHO)
I literally forgot that Alex Len was in his fifth season, because I still think of him as a young project for the Suns. He's almost 25-years-old, though, and has probably settled into being the player he's become. Len has seen his minutes decrease over the past month and his production has taken a dive along with that. Len hasn't had double-digit rebounds since mid-December, his scoring ceiling seems to be about 14 points, with a floor of three points. and his blocks are down as well. Len could grow into a larger role if Phoenix can find a way to move Tyson Chandler and Greg Monroe before the trade deadline, but as of now he's not helpful as a fantasy option.
FALLER - Thaddeus Young (F, IND)
Young was putting up consistently strong numbers earlier in the season, but he's hit a bit of a cold stretch lately, scoring in double figures just once in his past seven games. He's not taking as many threes as he was earlier in the year, he's not rebounding well, and he doesn't block shots. The one thing Young is still doing is getting steals, so he's got value in some formats because of that.
FALLER - Tony Snell (G, MIL)
Snell's minutes have fallen lately as Jason Kidd continues to do...things with the rotation. Snell is putting up poor numbers across the board over the past week and I'm not sold on Kidd giving him a chance to work his way back toward productivity. Even if Snell gets back to playing thirty minutes per game, I'd be worried to trust someone who doesn't rebound, doesn't get assists, and is an inconsistent scorer.
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