January 17, 2017

JT Rosales looks at fantasy basketball risers and fallers for Week 13 of the NBA season. These can be lineup sleepers and busts for your fantasy NBA teams.

Throughout the season, players get hot and see an increased role while others struggle and fight to stay relevant. Experienced fantasy players know this happens every year.

In this weekly column, we’ll showcase those who have taken important steps forward and those who have taken steps back. These are the risers and fallers in the top-100 heading into Week 13 of the NBA season.

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Post-Week 12 Fantasy Basketball Risers

RISER - Devin Booker (SG, PHX)

I had Devin Booker on here a few weeks ago when he was on the way down. It was only a matter of time before he caught fire. He dropped 39 points in back-to-back games, which includes out-dueling Kawhi Leonard in Saturday’s win in Mexico. It’s impressive, considering his age, how much of an elite offensive option he’s become and going to be. If you were able to buy him low when the shot wasn’t dropping, then I don’t have to tell you to hold. He should have a strong second half at least for the offensive categories. Of course, he’s not going to be able to maintain this rate of shooting, but Phoenix currently sits last in the West. They’ll have no obligation to play the old guys over their budding stars when they’re mathematically eliminated in the second half of the season.

RISER - Nerlens Noel (PF/C, PHI)

Nerlens Noel is finally back on fantasy radar’s as Jahlil Okafor is now the odd-man out for Brett Brown’s young Sixers squad. Not that Noel has been setting the world on fire, but the production has been solid since re-joining the regular rotation. In the last eight games, he’s posted 9.6 points, 5.4 rebounds, 1.3 steals and 1.0 blocks on 60.7% from the field in only 19.4 minutes. The steals and blocks combo have been Noel’s staple, so it’s good to see him continuing to produce in those categories. His best games should be ahead of him as we’re hoping for an Okafor trade any moment now.

RISER - DeMarre Carroll (SG/SF, TOR)

I doubted DeMarre Carroll would ever wake up from his deep slumber and wondered how much of his issues were physical and how much were fit. As a hardcore Raps fan, I’m glad to be wrong (at least for the moment) as he’s been on his best stretch in a Toronto uniform. He’s posting top-30 value over the last four games with 18.8 points, 6.3 rebounds, 1.0 steals, 0.5 blocks and 3.3 treys on 49.0% from the field. It’s tough to think you could sell-high with the small sample size, so a hold is probably more realistic. The shooting percentage will come back to his career averages (45.1%), but that still lands him somewhere in and around the top-100 if he can just stay healthy.

Post-Week 12 Fantasy Basketball Fallers

FALLER - Rodney Hood (SG/SF, UTA)

Rodney Hood had been struggling since returning to the lineup after dealing with, ahem, gastric distress on Dec 21. He holds averages of 11.6 points, 3.0 rebounds, 1.9 assists, 0.3 steals and 2.0 threes on 39.4% from the field and 63.6% from the line in the 12 games he’s played since then. He put together three straight games of double-digit scoring, including a 27 point effort against the Pistons last Friday. The bomb dropped on Saturday after he hyper-extended his knee on a layup against the Magic on Saturday. It’s a day-to-day injury, but the timing is just frustrating. His offensive upside makes him to hard to drop, so he remains a steadfast hold candidate. The good news is the Jazz’ next game is on Friday, so he’ll have plenty of time to rest until then. Here’s to hoping.

FALLER - Monta Ellis (PG/SG, IND)

How low can Monta Ellis go? He’s posting 7.0 points, 1.7 rebounds, 1.9 assists, 0.7 steals and 0.1 threes in the seven games he’s returned from an ankle injury. That’s good enough for 224 value in that time span, but remains 56% owned in Yahoo. To put that into perspective, his backcourt teammate, Aaron Brooks is averaging 7.3 points, 0.9 rebounds, 2.6 assists, 0.4 steals and 1.1 treys over those same seven games. He’s currently 0% owned in Yahoo. Ah, the value of names. There's no place for him on this team, no interest on the trade front and no push to give him more meaningful minutes. I’d be dropping without question.

FALLER - T.J. Warren (SF, PHX)

Before going down with a mysterious head injury, T.J. Warren was looking to be one of the bigger surprises of the year. Warren posted top-50 value in the first 13 games of the season with 17.7 points, 4.3 rebounds, 1.9 steals and 0.6 threes. We’re still not sure what the head injury involved, but he’s looked like a completely different person since returning. In his last eight games, he’s posted 9.3 points, 2.9 rebounds, 1.1 steals 0.1 threes. He continues to post empty line after empty line, which makes it incredibly hard to recommend as a hold. On the season, he’s posting 97 overall value in Yahoo, but it’s weighted by the great start he had on the season. I tend to lean on playing situation and Warren’s path is pretty clear, so while it hurts to say, he could be a buy-low candidate. I would be offering something near the end of my bench though.