January 31, 2017

JT Rosales looks at fantasy basketball risers and fallers for Week 15 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 15 of the NBA season.

Post-Week 14 Fantasy Basketball Risers

RISER - Robert Covington (SF/PF, PHI)

Over the last seven games, Robert Covington has been a complete fantasy beast, averaging 14.7 points, 7.3 rebounds, 1.9 assists, 2.0 steals, 1.6 blocks and 2.3 treys on 45.0 percent from the field. His shooting to start the season (37.7% overall) has been tough to swallow week-to-week, but it looks like he’s found his groove over the last two weeks. His Lordship has recorded a block, steal and three in his previous six out of seven games. Whether his shot drops or not, he’s got value in all formats. Covington’s nearly averaging a triple-one on the season and is a clear hold from here on in for his ability to rack up those rare-cat stats.

RISER - Kenneth Faried (PF/C, DEN)

Kenneth Faried is having his best stretch of the season. Since Jan 12, he’s averaging 13.3 points, 7.7 boards, 0.7 steals and 0.4 blocks on 68.1 percent from the field and 74.3 percent from the line. These lines aren’t world-breaking, but considering it’s coming from Faried, we’ll take it. The Manimal has benefitted from Nikola Jokic missing a few games last week and Jusuf Nurkic being relegated as the placeholding starter. Jokic is set to miss one more game, so we should be looking at a return on Wednesday or on the back-to-back which starts on Friday. With that in mind, it’s probably a good idea to float out some offers after Tuesday’s game. There’s a chance he gets moved to a better situation, but we’ve heard that story before. I’d be looking to sell while I can.

RISER - Jrue Holiday (PG, NOP)

It looks like the early stash to start the season has paid off for Jrue Holiday owners. He had his best game of the season last week and held down averages of 24.0 points, 4.0 rebounds, 10.0 assists, 2.5 steals, 1.3 blocks and 3.3 treys on 59.1 percent from the field on 16.5 attempts. It was highlighted by a monstrous 33-6-10-3-2 line to lead the Pelicans past the Cavs. Holiday is returning top-60 value on the season, but easily has the ability to break into the top-50 as long as he stays healthy. Keep in mind, however, in the previous three seasons, he’s only been able to play 46 games. Although, from the looks of it, injuries look less of an issue this season, so I’d be sticking with him until the end. Just something to keep in mind.

Post-Week 14 Fantasy Basketball Fallers

FALLER - Kristaps Porzingis (PF/C, NYK)

Since missing four games with an Achilles injury, Kristaps Porzingis has been labouring the past couple of weeks. He’s averaging 13.8 points, 4.5 rebounds, 1.0 assists, 0.5 steals, 1.5 blocks and 0.7 treys over his last six games. Not horrible, but he’s clearly been limited by the injury. Porzingis is also dealing with a swollen elbow on his shooting arm, so let’s hope he can heal up quick. He’s played better in his last two, so there’s no obvious panic for most owners. I just wonder if the injuries will hamper his rest of season outlook. It’ll be in the back of my mind, but isn’t worth dwelling on. Just see if owners in your league are getting cooler on him. It’s worth a shot.

FALLER - Thaddeus Young (SF/PF, IND)

It was a bit of a slide for Thaddeus Young last week as he posted averages of 8.3 points, 4.5 rebounds, 1.8 assists, 3.0 steals and 0.3 treys on 41.2 percent from the field. Still, that was good enough for top-80 value in the week because of the steals and turnovers (0.5). If we’re looking at the counting stats though, it got a little ugly. With the exception of steals, Thad Young’s stats have seen a decrease across the board. It was slightly expected after being option two in Brooklyn last season. He’s still returning top-60 value on the season for his out of position steals and his above average rebounding numbers. Indiana acquired Young in the offseason for the 20^th pick in the draft, which turned into Caris LeVert. It seemed liked a solid move at the time, but with LeVert’s potential starting to show, we’ll have to see.

FALLER - Taj Gibson (PF/C, CHI)

Taj Gibson hasn’t had a great 2017 with lingering ankle issues and averages of 8.0 points, 5.4 boards, 0.8 steals and 1.6 blocks on 41.7 percent from the field in the new year. Chicago as a whole is in a bit of an internal funk right now, but that should hopefully blow over. Before 2017, Gibson was returning top-100 value, but has fallen just outside because of the past couple of weeks. He’s Fred Hoiberg’s guy, so there’s really no threat behind him. His fate lies solely on his health, if that holds up, then he should return top-100 value without issue. Hold steadfast and true.