RADIO
Andrew Ericksen analyzes NBA risers for fantasy basketball dynasty leagues. Read his Week 13 fantasy rundown on dynasty forwards, guards and centers.
With the NBA trade deadline approaching, all fantasy managers should be ready to have trade targets and risers and fallers on their minds. Anyone looking toward the future should be eager to trade away short-term help to managers competing this year in exchange for future assets.
Below are four players who have seen their dynasty value rise over the past week.
We’ve got two second-year players and two veterans featured this week. We’ll kick things off with a potential shot-blocking stud and finish off with a player in the midst of a historic three-point shooting run.
Nicolas Claxton (C, BKN)
Brooklyn Nets second-year center Nicolas Claxton has been the team’s top big man off the bench over the past week. He’s played over 20 minutes per game in each of his past four games after not topping 18 minutes in a single game all year.
Over his past four games, Claxton is averaging 12.5 points, 6.0 rebounds and 1.8 blocks per game while shooting 63.9% from the field. He’s also averaged just 2.0 personal fouls per game over that stretch and has just three total turnovers over his past four games.
Claxton has excellent agility for someone standing nearly 7’0” tall. He’s listed at 6’11” on most sources. In the clip below, watch as he plays strong on-ball defense on Washington Wizards star guard Bradley Beal. He’s able to move his feet quickly enough to stay in front of Beal and his length prevents Beal from spotting up for a jump shot:
Nicolas Claxton appreciation post
— NBA Central (@TheNBACentral) March 22, 2021
Claxton’s currently the team’s backup to DeAndre Jordan, but the veteran, 32-year-old Jordan is having one of his least effective years in nearly a decade. Down the stretch of the regular season this year, in order to save Jordan for the playoffs, expect to see Claxton’s minutes only go up. Claxton also has a significantly higher PER this year (22.83) than Jordan (16.73).
In fantasy terms, Claxton’s greatest assets will be rebounds, blocks and field goal percentage. However, he also has the foundation of a solid jump shot and could become a potential three-point threat by as soon as later this year. If he can add that to his game as he develops, he could become a fantasy gem within a year or two.
Three-point shooting is hiding in Nicolas Claxton’s bag.
He shot 57 percent on 2.0 attempts per game down in Long Island back in 2020. pic.twitter.com/LGHTL2qYUz
— Chris Milholen (@CMilholenSB) March 23, 2021
Jordan Poole (G, GS)
Over the last four games, Jordan Poole has been the leading scorer for the Golden State Warriors. He’s averaged 23.3 points and 3.5 threes per game while shooting 48.5% from the field and knocking down each of his 13 free throw attempts.
Poole had an atrocious rookie year last year, playing with an abysmal roster as the Warriors were bludgeoned by injuries and went into tank mode. Poole played 22 minutes per game in 2019-20 and averaged 8.8 points and 1.3 threes per game while shooting just 33.3% from the field and 27.9% from deep.
Poole could certainly remain an inconsistent outside shooter for the extent of his NBA career, but this year has given him a chance to play with a better lineup around him and he’s shown significant growth, particularly lately.
Stephen Curry (tailbone) has missed three straight games while dealing with inflammation in his tailbone and should be out another week or so. Andrew Wiggins and Kelly Oubre Jr. have been the team’s top scorers this year after Curry. Wiggins is averaging 17.7 points per game over 32 minutes per game this year while Oubre is averaging 15.1 points per game on 31 minutes per game.
Poole has seen just 16 minutes per game on the year and is averaging 10.8 points per game while maintaining a better field goal percentage (48.3%) than both Wiggins (46.9%) and Oubre (43.8%).
Wiggins and Oubre offer more than Poole on the defensive end, but this recent hot streak from Poole should – at the very least – earn Poole more substantial playing time once the team is fully healthy. Poole could very well be the best shooter on the Warriors not named Curry or Klay Thompson and if head coach Steve Kerr starts to believe that’s true, Poole could be a three-point machine to close out the year.
Apart from three-point shooting, Poole could have steal potential and some assist potential in the years to come. He’s averaged exactly one steal per game over his past four and he dished out a season-high five assists in the team’s loss to the Memphis Grizzlies this past Saturday.
Alec Burks (G/F, NYK)
New York Knicks guard/forward Alec Burks has scored at least 20 points in each of his past three games. Over that stretch, he’s second on the team in scoring behind Julius Randle, averaging 20.3 points per game, while shooting 48.9% from the field and 88.9% from the line. He’s also filled out the stat sheet this past week, averaging 2.3 threes, 6.3 rebounds, 3.0 assists, 1.3 steals and 0.7 blocks per game over his past three.
Burks’ scoring outburst over the past week has come at a key time for the Knicks, who have been without Elfrid Payton (hamstring) and Derrick Rose (COVID). Payton made his return on Tuesday after a two-week absence, but Rose should still be sidelined for at least another few weeks.
Burks is a natural scorer who is at his best when he’s attacking the rim. Here’s a look at some great finishes at the rim by Burks from the team’s one-point loss to the Philadelphia 76ers this past Sunday:
Alec Burks filled it up at MSG. #NewYorkForever
20 PTS - 6 REB - 4 AST - 3 STL - 44.2 FPTS pic.twitter.com/JBwhag9Zsf
— NBA Fantasy (@NBAFantasy) March 22, 2021
Over the past few years, Burks has made some significant strides in his three-point shooting. Over his career, he’s averaged just 0.9 threes per game while shooting 36.8% from beyond the arc. However, last year, he averaged 1.8 threes per game while maintaining a three-point percentage of 38.5%. This year, he’s up to 1.9 threes per game and he’s shooting 40.4% from three.
Burks will be an unrestricted free agent after this year. He’ll turn 30 years old this summer. His scoring versatility makes him a great fit for the modern NBA. He could be a great second-unit leader for a playoff team in the next few years. Wherever he signs, expect to see solid scoring numbers, sturdy threes and solid percentages from him. He’ll also contribute decent assists, steals and rebounds to fill out the stat sheet.
Joe Ingles (G/F, UTA)
Utah Jazz guard/forward Joe Ingles has made history over his last three games. He’s shot an absurd 18-for-22 from three-point range, which accounts for the best three-point percentage (81.8%) in NBA history over a three-game stretch, with a minimum of 20 three-pointers attempted.
Here’s a look at some of those three-point strikes from the past week:
Joe Ingles was a MACHINE this week ??#ThreesOfTheWeek | @MountainAmerica pic.twitter.com/4mWrcEtR4w
— utahjazz (@utahjazz) March 22, 2021
The standout game over the past week for Ingles came last Thursday, when he lit up the Washington Wizards for a season-high 34 points, shooting 12-for-17 from the field, including 8-for-10 from three-point range.
Throughout most of his seven-year NBA career, Ingles has averaged around 2.0 threes per game and his career three-point percentage is 41.6%. This year, he’s upped his average to 2.8 threes per game while shooting 50% from beyond the arc. He’s also shooting 54.5% from the field this year, a distant career high, nearly 10% higher than his career field goal percentage of 44.5%.
While Ingles were surely slow down after this hot streak, the streak itself is a strong indication that Ingles still has plenty of scoring left in him. He turned 33 years old this past October and he will be an unrestricted free agent after the season. Apart from his scoring, he’s still dishing out a good amount of assists this year, averaging 4.2 per game, and he’s been great with ball control, committing just 1.5 turnovers per game while seeing nearly 27 minutes per game.
Utah is a great system for Ingles. Expect him to return to the team next year and continue to defy all aging logic as he remains a solid, efficient fantasy basketball asset.
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