🖥 CYBER WEEK - TAP TO SAVE 50% WITH CODE CYBER
X
Lost password?

Don't have an account?
Gain Access Now

X

Receive free daily analysis

NFL
NBA
NHL
NASCAR
CFB
MLB
MMA
PGA
ESPORTS
BETTING

Already have an account? Log In

X

Forgot Password


POPULAR FANTASY TOOLS

Expert Advice
Import Your Leagues
Weekly Rankings
Compare Any Players
Projections
Articles & Tools
Weekly Planner
24x7 News and Alerts

Buy, Sell or Hold: Nikola Vucevic and Victor Oladipo?

Hello our dear readers and welcome to our Week 9 fantasy basketball buy low and sell high column right here at RotoBaller.

Today, we will be changing it up a bit. Although there are several buy low players playing below their realistic levels like Paul George and Rudy Gobert, two guys have really lit the NBA on fire with their recent performances and they warrant our attention. So instead of having one buy low and one sell high options, we will advise you to capitalize on two investments while their stock is at an all time high.

Victor Oladipo and Nikola Vucevic have been cruising lately and while they will probably stick around in the top-30, it is possible that their superstar-like run could net you a player more likely to help you win your league. Here we go!

Cyber Week Special! Save 50% on any Premium Pass using discount code CYBER. Win more with our DFS, Betting and Season-Long Premium Pass, get expert tools and advice from proven winners! GAIN ACCESS

 

Sell High, Sell Higher Advice for Week 9

Are You for Real, Victor Oladipo?

Victor Oladipo is on fire! The young stud has finally come into his own since arriving in Indiana and he is relishing the opportunity put in front of him. The proof of that is easy to find in his season averages of 24.5 PTS with 2.7 3PM on 48.5 FG% and 77.3 FT%, 5.3 REB, 4.0 AST, 1.8 STL, 1.1 BLK and 3.3 TO in 34 mintes per outing. That is flirting with top-20 value on the year.

But what's more, Dipo has been smashing these "puny" averages and returning a mid top-10 value in the last two weeks by hitting an insane 54.3% of his field goals including 3.9 three-pointers for 29.1 points along with grabbing 6.3 boards, dishing out 4.7 assists and a league leading combination of defensive stats - with 2.4 steals and 1.7 blocks in just under 37 minutes a game. If he managed to hold his turnovers in check (3.7) and hit his free throws (71.1%), his fantasy game would have been near perfect.

Oladipo is a great talent, and he is starting to reach his full potential as an NBA player and a fantasy asset, but it's just not realistic for him to keep THIS up. For one, Darren Collison, Indiana's primary ball handler has missed their last game and was limited to a maximum of 26 minutes over the previous three. That directly led to more touches for Oladipo. Furthermore, Myles Turner who is expected to be Indiana's leader in the future and the face of the franchise has been struggling offensively this season. So when Collison is back and Turner gets his confidence up, it might lead to Vic taking a slight dip.

But that's not the real reason we should expect him to stop being incredible. He can co-exist with Collison, who is sort of a pass-first PG. And he is a bigger offensive threat now than Myles can hope to be in the next year or two. The real reason we can expect his value to drop is pure statistics.

Over the past 14 days he is shooting better than Stephen Curry. He has neither averaged over two three-pointers a game, nor more than 44.2% from the field in his career before. Over that same period he is getting more combined steals and blocks than Giannis Antetokounmpo or Draymond Green. His season best is under two steals and under one block.

Don't get me wrong, Dipo has impressed and you should by no means sell him at a discount. The point I'm making here is that this kind of performance is golden for a good negotiator to profit on a player's hot streak. If a mate of yours is holding a top-10 or 15 asset and is looking to get burned by Dipo's hot streak who are you to deny him? A Russell Westbrook owner fed up with his disastrous shooting or a Karl-Anthony Towns owner who doesn't think much of his new role in a star filled team are hard to come by. But if you find a rare butterfly, at least try and take a picture.

Baller Move: Sell high

 

How High Can You Go, Nikola Vucevic?

Remember when Orlando traded Oladipo and some other assets (including the draft rights to Domantas Sabonis) to acquire Serge Ibaka from Oklahoma City? And then they signed Bismack Biyombo to a four-year, $72 million contract just a few weeks later? It seemed that the Magic were giving up on Nikola Vucevic and looking to change direction. Boy would that have been a mistake!

Luckily for Orlando, they ended up letting Ibaka go instead and Vooch is making them smile about that decision. Let's stick to the same time frame we were using for estimating Oladipo's performances and look at Nik's last 14 days stats. With 19.4 PTS with 1.3 3PM on 54.0 FG% and 91.7 FT%, 11.5 REB, 4.5 AST, 0.8 STL, 2.0 BLK and 1.8 TO he is worthy of the #3 spot in my head-to-head 10-cat (counting all the standard categories plus double-doubles) Yahoo league. Yup! Vooch has more value in my league lately than The Greek Freak, Russ or Kevin Durant.

And he topped it all off with his first career triple-double on Dec 9 against the Hawks, dropping 31 points, vacuuming in 13 rebounds and handing out 10 dimes in that one. He topped it all off with a steal, a block, four three pointers on 72.2% from the field, a lone make from the line and just two turnovers in 37 and a half minutes. Now that's one of the stat lines of the year so far and it has catapulted Nikola into a fantasy value furnace.

But it came with both Aaron Gordon and Evan Fournier, Orlando's best offensive options next to Vucevic, sidelined. Meanwhile, their primary ball handler Elfrid Payton is in a bit of a slump. Once they're all back to their best, it's difficult to imagine Nikola having such a big usage and impact on the offense.

If you are able to cash in your hot'n'spicy chips with Nikola Vucevic for a top-20 fantasy asset, I wouldn't wait around too much. Jimmy ButlerKyle Lowry or Damian Lillard are all guys who should be worth more than the Montenegrin center the rest of the way. Unless your league is counting double-doubles too. Than I would double-double check the math just in case.

Baller Move: Sell them while they're hot

 

More Fantasy Basketball Analysis

 

NBA DFS Premium Subscription

Get a free trial of our powerful NBA Premium Tools. Our famous DFS Cheat Sheets, and NBA Lineup Optimizer & Generator with daily matchup projections.

Win more. Try the most advanced lineup optimizer in daily fantasy basketball.

Sign Up Now!




POPULAR FANTASY TOOLS

Expert Advice
Import Your Leagues
Weekly Rankings
Compare Any Players
Projections
Articles & Tools
Weekly Planner
24x7 News and Alerts

REAL-TIME FANTASY NEWS

Jahmyr Gibbs

Scores Three Times on Thursday Night Football
Josh Jacobs

Remains Limited with Knee Injury
CeeDee Lamb

Suffers Concussion in Week 14 Against Detroit
Jhostynxon Garcia

Pirates Acquire Jhostynxon Garcia From Red Sox
Draymond Green

Won't Return on Thursday Night
Kenneth Walker III

Remains Limited on Thursday
Kyren Williams

Limited Again with Ankle Injury
Davante Adams

Limited in Practice on Thursday
Cody Bellinger

Yankees Pushing Hard to Re-Sign Cody Bellinger
CFB

Penn State Eyeing Iowa State Coach Matt Campbell For Coaching Vacancy
Alex Bregman

Cubs Have Renewed Interest in Alex Bregman
Quinten Post

Set to Suit Up Versus Philadelphia
Amon-Ra St. Brown

Will Play on Thursday Night
Joel Embiid

Back on Thursday Night
Al Horford

Available on Thursday
Jonathan Kuminga

Cleared for Action on Thursday Night
Jusuf Nurkić

Jusuf Nurkic Out of Action Thursday
Terance Mann

Available Versus Utah
Kirill Marchenko

Returns From Four-Game Absence
De'Anthony Melton

to be Capped at 20 Minutes on Thursday
Carter Verhaeghe

Ready to Return Thursday
Scott Wedgewood

Skips Thursday's Game
Paolo Banchero

Upgraded to Questionable for Friday Night
Danila Yurov

Misses Second Straight Game
CFB

Billy Napier Finalizing Deal to Become James Madison's New Head Coach
Andrei Vasilevskiy

Unavailable Thursday
CFB

Buster Faulkner Set to Become Florida's New Offensive Coordinator
Dereck Lively II

to Seek "Multiple Opinions" on Right Foot Treatment
David Pastrnak

Still Out Thursday
Ryan McDonagh

Lightning Sign Ryan McDonagh to Three-Year Extension
Trayce Jackson-Davis

Set to Suit Up Thursday
Ja Morant

Considered Day-to-Day
Tee Higgins

Ready to Return After Full Practice?
Jimmy Butler III

Sidelined Thursday
Jayden Daniels

Practices in Full on Thursday
Jaylen Brown

Ruled Out Thursday Against the Wizards
Lamar Jackson

Expected to Play Against Steelers
Quentin Grimes

Is Ready to Return on Thursday
Deshaun Watson

Not Expected to Play This Year
Paul George

Will Not Play Against the Warriors
Joel Embiid

Upgraded to Questionable for Thursday
CFB

Joe Sloan Expected to be Kentucky's New Offensive Coordinator
Justin Herbert

Chargers "Really Optimistic" That Justin Herbert Will Play on Monday
Michael Porter Jr.

Will Not Play Thursday
CFB

Lane Kiffin Working to Keep Defensive Coordinator Blake Baker at LSU
Noa Essengue

Out for the Season
Mike Evans

has "Real Chance" to Return in Week 14
Giannis Antetokounmpo

Expected To Miss 2-4 Weeks
Amon-Ra St. Brown

Realistic Expectation is for Amon-Ra St. Brown to Return Next Week
Jalen Carter

Won't Play in Week 14 After Having Shoulder Surgeries
Justin Herbert

Expected to Practice Either Thursday or Friday
Mike Evans

Practicing Again Thursday
Jusuf Nurkić

Jusuf Nurkic Questionable With Rib Contusion
CFB

Brian Daboll a Candidate for Penn State Head-Coaching Job?
Karel Vejmelka

Records Impressive Shutout
JJ Peterka

Rocks Ducks With Four-Point Effort
Cole Caufield

Extends Point Streak With Power-Play Assist
Matvei Michkov

Delivers Two Assists Wednesday
Jake Oettinger

Grabs Fourth Consecutive Victory With Shutout
Ryan Leonard

Tallies Four Points in Wednesday's Win
Cam York

Exits Win Early
Kyren Williams

Expected to Play in Week 14
Davante Adams

Expected to Play Despite Missing Wednesday's Practice
Kyle Tucker

Visits With Blue Jays
Woody Marks

Texans Say Woody Marks Will be Fine
Rasmus Ristolainen

to Miss at Least One More Week
Drew Doughty

Logs Full Practice Wednesday
Emilio Pagán

Reds Bring Back Closer Emilio Pagan on Two-Year Deal
Jeff Skinner

Remains Sidelined Wednesday
Petr Mrazek

Out 2-3 Weeks
Tyler Seguin

Likely Done for the Season
Neal Pionk

Returns to Jets Lineup
J.J. McCarthy

Practices in Full, on Track to Return in Week 14
Cedric Mullins

Rays Agree on One-Year Deal
Freddy Peralta

Brewers Considering Trading Freddy Peralta
Kyle Schwarber

Reds Serious About Adding Kyle Schwarber in Free Agency?
CFB

Brent Key Signing Five-Year Deal to Remain at Georgia Tech
CFB

Brian Hartline Expected to Land USF Head-Coaching Job
CFB

Collin Klein Expected to be Top Target for Kansas State if Head-Coach Job Opens
CFB

Chris Klieman Considering Stepping Down at Kansas State
Alexander Wennberg

a Game-Time Call Wednesday
CFB

D.J. Durkin Staying at Auburn Under Alex Golesh
CFB

Charlie Weis Jr. Permitted to Coach Ole Miss Offense in College Football Playoff
CFB

Five-Star Quarterback Jared Curtis Flips Commitment From Georgia to Vanderbilt
CFB

Florida Hiring Brad White as Defensive Coordinator
Kyle Schwarber

Giants Have Checked in on Kyle Schwarber
Willson Contreras

Willing to Waive his Full No-Trade Clause?
Edwin Díaz

Mets Still Interested in Re-Signing Edwin Diaz
Devin Williams

Agrees to Three-Year Deal With Mets
Cole Ragans

Red Sox Targeting Cole Ragans in a Trade?
CFB

Kentucky Hires Oregon Offensive Coordinator Will Stein As Head Coach
CFB

Kalani Sitake the Top Target for Penn State Coaching Job
CFB

Josh Heupel Says He's Not a Candidate for Penn State Head Coach Job
CFB

Will Stein, Brian Hartline the Top Candidates for Kentucky Job?
CFB

Nebraska Fires Defensive Coordinator John Butler After One Season
CFB

UCLA Expected to Hire Bob Chesney as Next Head Coach
CFB

Lane Kiffin to Make $13 Million Salary, Ties Kirby Smart
Zack Wheeler

Likely to Return in May
Ryan Helsley

Agrees to Two-Year Deal With Orioles

RANKINGS

QB
RB
WR
TE
K
DEF
RANKINGS
C
1B
2B
3B
SS
OF
SP
RP