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Buy, Sell or Hold: Nikola Jokic and Zach LaVine?

In addition to strategy on draft day, good eye for hidden talent and a little bit of luck a good basketball owner uses trends, slumps and surges to try and maximize his roster's potential. Offering a surging player with lower fantasy value for a slumping one with a higher ceiling at just the right time could prove vital, once their current form changes tides.

This week we will be talking about one of my favorite players in the NBA (that's no surprise since we come from the same little country) and an up-and-coming young player currently feeling under the weather. Below are my Week 13 fantasy basketball buy low and sell high candidates.

Editor's Note: New users that sign up on FantasyAces, make a $20 deposit, and enter any game will receive BOTH our full season NBA and NFL Premium Passes for free, a $119.99 value. Just email [email protected] with your new FantasyAces username - and boom, that's it! We will email you with your Premium Passes.

 

Buy Low, Sell High Advice for Week 13

Are You for Real, Nikola Jokic?

First of all, let me kick this one off by saying how much I like Nikola Jokic. He comes from a small town of Sombor in Serbia. That's about 50 miles from my own small home town of Subotica. His rise to basketball greats came as fast as a fat kid at a cake buffet. As a matter of fact, a couple of years ago, believe it or not, Nikola might just have been that kid. His professional career started only a few years ago, in the season of 2012-2013, and he spent most of that season playing for the junior team. And today, four years later, we might be talking about a future NBA Hall-of-famer. But let's take it one step at a time, just like Jokic is.

To start the season off, Jokic wasn't in an ideal spot, fighting for minutes against his frontcourt teammates Kenneth Faried and Jusuf Nurkic. And for the first month or so not everything was coming up roses. In the first 15 games of the season Jokic had averaged 8.8 PTS with 0.3 3PM on 50.5 FG% and 74.1 FT%, 6.0 REB, 2.6 AST, 0.8 STL, 0.5 BLK and 1.3 TO in just 23 minutes a night. Not really worth his average pick of 32.8 in Yahoo leagues, is it?

But since then, a lot has changed. When I look at the current rank for the last 14 days on a per game average, Jokic comes up at the top of my list. That is in a Yahoo 10-cat head-2-head league which counts double-doubles as the 10th category though. Furthermore, Jokic did only play in four games in that time, so it's not a huge reference sample. But to hell with that, my bro is killing it!!!

Just take a look at the averages in those four games. Jokic scored 29.0 points with 1.5 threes on 61.3 FG% and 81.8 FT%, grabbed 12.0 boards, dished out 4.3 dimes, stole the ball 1.0 times, blocked 1.5 shots and turned the ball over 2.5 times in 34 minutes per outing while getting a double-double in all four of those games. those are some insane numbers. And he's turning 22 in a month.

Jokic is a hit currently in media and internet circles that follow the NBA, and deservedly so with his great overall game. But the focal point of the interest he is attracting lies in his unique vision and passing ability. He sure has picked some tricks up from his national team buddy and captain Milos Teodosic. If you're not familiar with this master of assists from Europe, you should type his name into YouTube. I promise you won't regret it.

To sum it up, in Jokic we have a smart, young player with great and efficient shooting, wonderful vision and passing skill. Moreover he is a great rebounder who does his part on the defensive end too. He is  well-rounded and contributes in every category without hurting his owners anywhere. In other words, fantasy gold. And with the way he has been developing in the past few years it's quite possible for him to become even better.

So why would you be looking to sell Nikola? Well if you're in a dynasty league, DON'T! His potential is just too great. But if you're not then you could consider it, for the right price. Don't get me wrong, I love this guy and I don't think his performance will take a significant hit at any time during this season. Especially if Faried or Nurkic get moved as is rumored, which would mean less competition and might open up even more minutes for Jokic.

The thing is, I just don't see him being the number one fantasy player just yet. A few years from now maybe. I certainly hope so! But right now is a bit too early. So if you can get a proven top-10 player in return you wouldn't be crazy to swap him. I doubt you can get James Harden, Kevin Durant or Russell Westbrook, and depending on your team's strategy, you might not be looking to add any of them anyways. But if I could get for example Karl-Anthony Towns in return I would be tempted to part with one of the most talented players my country has seen. And it has seen some great talent.

Baller Move: Sell high

 

Time to Panic on Zach LaVine?

A big part of Zach LaVine's fantasy value has been in his efficiency. But he has been struggling lately with his shot. In his previous six games for the Timberwolves he has hit just 37.7% of his field goals. And even though he hasn't missed a free throw on 0.8 attempts per game some of his other averages are down as well. He is only scoring 12.5 points with 2.0 threes, 2.8 assists, 0.7 steals and no blocks in that period. His 5.8 rebounds and 0.8 turnovers in 35 minutes per game do salvage his value a bit, but he is still way off his seasonal averages in points (19.8), threes (2.8) and FG% (46.4%).

Now LaVine did suffer a hip injury in the middle of this six game slump and that might have slowed him down a bit too. And even though this is only his third season in the NBA, he is still a 44.6% career field goal shooter so that has got to improve soon.

Furthermore, it's rumored that Minnesota is looking to move Ricky Rubio and give more room to the rookie Kris Dunn. If that were to happen, it would probably mean that the ball will be in Zach's hands more and he would take on even more responsibility on the offensive end. His efficiency might take a bit of a hit (but not really 37.7 FG%) but his counting stats should be on the rise, especially the assists.

So if you're in the market for a three-point shooting PG/SG LaVine should be on your radar. He is around top-60 on the season and is well outside of top-100 in the past 14 days so you should be looking to offer someone in the top-75 to top-100 range for LaVine, not to overpay, but not to seem too cocky either. Someone like Lou Williams or Ersan Ilyasova could do the trick in an ideal scenario, but Eric Gordon or Danilo Gallinari would be a bit more realistic.

Baller Move: Hold or buy low




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REAL-TIME FANTASY NEWS

Egor Demin

Available Against Hornets
Justin Herbert

Planning to Play Through Broken Bone in Left Hand in Week 14
Terance Mann

in Danger of Missing Monday's Game
Sauce Gardner

Likely to Miss a "Couple of Weeks" With Calf Strain
Noah Clowney

Considered Probable for Monday
Michael Porter Jr.

Listed as Probable for Monday's Matchup
Caris LeVert

Expected Back Monday
Duncan Robinson

Questionable to Face Hawks
Jalen Duren

Likely to Return Against Hawks Monday
Brock Bowers

Records Two Touchdown Grabs in Week 13
Alexandre Sarr

Iffy for Monday
Mark Williams

Available Against Lakers Monday
Ryan Dunn

on Track to Return Monday
Jaime Jaquez Jr.

Uncertain for Monday
Coby White

Returning to Bulls Lineup Monday
Paolo Banchero

Unavailable Monday
Larry Nance Jr.

to Miss 3-4 Weeks
Jarrett Allen

to Miss a Week of Action
Nikola Jokić

Nikola Jokic Listed as Probable for Monday
Anthony Davis

Likely to Play Against Nuggets Monday
Giannis Antetokounmpo

Considered Probable for Monday
Justin Herbert

Suffers Fractured Hand in Week 13, Will Have Surgery
Dennis Schröder

Dennis Schroder Won't Play Sunday
Kimani Vidal

has Season-High in Rushing Yards in Win Over Raiders
De'Von Achane

Looks Unstoppable on the Ground in Week 13
Davante Adams

has Another Two-Touchdown Game
Aaron Jones Sr.

is Questionable to Return With Shoulder Injury
Adonai Mitchell

has Career Day With 102 Yards, Touchdown in Win
Andre Drummond

Available Versus Atlanta
VJ Edgecombe

Cleared to Suit Up on Sunday
Bijan Robinson

Compiles 191 Total Yards, Touchdown in Loss to Jets
Shedeur Sanders

Will Start Again in Week 14 Against Titans
Mike Evans

Could Return in Week 14
Keon Coleman

Active for Week 13
Dalton Kincaid

Officially Inactive for Week 13
Kyren Williams

Returns in Week 13 After Injury Scare
Kyren Williams

Suffers Apparent Leg Injury in Week 13, Status Unclear
Woody Marks

Returns in Week 13 After Injury Scare
Sauce Gardner

Colts Rule Out Sauce Gardner With Knee Injury
Woody Marks

Questionable to Return With Foot Injury
Kyler Murray

Not Fully Healthy Yet
Keon Coleman

Expected to Play Against Steelers
CFB

Lane Kiffin to be Introduced as LSU's Next Head Coach on Monday
CFB

Florida Poised to Land Jon Sumrall as Next Head Coach
CFB

Alex Golesh Taking Over Auburn Head-Coaching Job
CFB

Arkansas Expected to Hire Ryan Silverfield as Next Head Coach
Joel Hofer

Shuts Out Mammoth
Owen Tippett

Amasses Three Points in Saturday's Win
Stuart Skinner

Bounces Back With Shutout
Brock Nelson

Notches Four Points in Big Win
Oliver Ekman-Larsson

Sustains Upper-Body Injury
Logan Cooley

Hurt in Saturday's Loss
Warren Foegele

Not Ready to Return Saturday
Simon Benoit

Won't Play Saturday
Henri Jokiharju

Lands on Injured Reserve
Zack Wheeler

Likely to Return in May
Pavel Zacha

a Game-Time Call Saturday
Ryan Helsley

Agrees to Two-Year Deal With Orioles
David Pastrnak

Out for Second Consecutive Game
William Nylander

Available Saturday
Kyle Palmieri

Out for 6-8 Months With Torn ACL
Jake Walman

Sidelined for Third Consecutive Game
Jack Roslovic

to Miss Two Weeks
Ryan Nugent-Hopkins

to Return Saturday
Mattias Samuelsson

in Concussion Protocol
Kyle Palmieri

Sustains Lower-Body Injury
Lukas Dostal

Ruled Out for 2-3 Weeks
Kirill Marchenko

Misses Third Straight Game
Jaden Schwartz

to Miss Six Weeks
Dylan Cease

Agrees With Blue Jays on Seven-Year, $210 Million Deal
Anthony Rendon

Angels Could Buy Out Final Year of Anthony Rendon's Contract
Josh Hader

Says his Shoulder is "Back to Normal"
Ketel Marte

Diamondbacks "Actively Listening" on Ketel Marte
J.T. Realmuto

Red Sox Showing Interest in J.T. Realmuto
Sonny Gray

Red Sox Acquire Sonny Gray From the Cardinals
CFB

Jeremiah Smith, Makai Lemon, Skyler Bell Named Biletnikoff Award Finalists
Shohei Ohtani

to Play for Team Japan in 2026 World Baseball Classic

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