RADIO
We're heading into another week of NBA action. This is a bit of a weird one coming up, with exactly zero games scheduled on Sunday for Christmas Eve. Can we survive a basketball-less day? I...don't know! But we do get a good slate of Christmas games as a reward! And we get another week of Michael Beasley finally playing like the guy he should have been years ago! And we get basketball! (Just, like, in general--basketball is good and fun and despite the fact that I started at Rotoballer as an NFL person, the NBA is just objectively way, way better and more fun.)
Let's take a look at players whose recent strong play should continue this week, and at players whose recent struggles could continue on and hurt your fantasy squads. These are the risers and fallers heading into Week 11 of the NBA season.
Note: all statistics used are from before the games played on Friday, December 22nd.
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Week 11 Fantasy Basketball Risers
RISER - Denzel Valentine (G/F, CHI)
Lost a little in Chicago's recent renaissance is Denzel Valentine, who has now scored in double figures in four of Chicago's past five games. His rebounds and assists are up as well, and he's playing heavy minutes--he played 36 minutes twice over the aforementioned stretch. There's no indication of how long the Bulls are going to keep being competitive, but it looks like they might actual be a *gasp* fun team this year with Kris Dunn unshackled from the Tom Thibodeau-led Minnesota team on which he struggled last year and the Nikola Mirotic/Bobby Portis combination somehow, as if by magic, working. Valentine should keep getting good shots and should keep hitting them.
RISER - DeMar DeRozan (G, TOR)
I try to avoid listing too many obvious players in this column, but DeRozan deserves mention right now because he's been playing fantastic basketball as of late, with at least 30 points in three of his past five games, plus some contribution in the other categories as well. More importantly, the Raptors are winning games while DeRozan is on this upswing, which suggests that Toronto will continue to let him take plenty of shots and play plenty of minutes. DeRozan is in your lineups anyway, but he might be a good trade target if you're looking to make a change.
RISER - Dario Saric (F/C, PHI)
Saric had a near triple-double on Thursday, putting up 18 points, 10 rebounds, and nine assists in a loss to the Raptors. He's shown some more scoring flashes as of late--he averages 12.6 points-per-game this season but has surpassed that number in five of his last six starts. He's a threat to get ten rebounds and a couple of steals every night as well. Joel Embiid's return from a back injury will likely hurt Saric a little, but he's proven that he can be a contributor for the 76ers and can take on a larger share of the team's responsibilities.
RISER - Michael Beasley (F, NYK)
This shouldn't feel like such a risk. Beasley has played big minutes in the last three Knicks games and is responding by putting up a 23, a 30, and a 32 point performance. He's rebounding well, too, though he is also Michael Beasley and thus is a black hole in terms of passing the ball. That's fine, because Beasley is likely a player you got for pretty cheap, so you aren't necessarily depending on him to be a well balanced player. You need him to be MICHAEL BEASLEY, not just Michael Beasley. That's what he's been lately and, if the Knicks are smart, will keep letting him be. Beasley off the bench is a huge threat and a huge help for the Knicks.
Week 11 Fantasy Basketball Fallers
FALLER - Rudy Gay (F, SAS)
Rudy Gay has been the big loser for San Antonio after Kawhi Leonard's return, as he has seen drops in minutes, points, and rebounds. He's still able to contribute the occasional double-digit scoring night, but his current role on the Spurs makes him an extremely risky player to trust in fantasy lineups.
FALLER - Ekpe Udoh (F/C, UTA)
Udoh was an under the radar pickup while Derrick Favors missed time with a concussion. Though he didn't pack a scoring punch, he put up solid numbers in rebounding and steals and, for players playing categories, was a very good pick-up in the blocks category. Now he's back on the bench and can still be a threat to block shots, but his lessened usage means that he's not got much value moving forward unless something happens to Favors again. R.I.P. my hopes at winning the block category next week.
FALLER - Ryan Anderson (F/C, HOU)
Ryan Anderson had been shooting the ball really, really well for the Rockets this season. He was helping fantasy owners in points and in three pointers made. Then he, umm, stopped doing that. Anderson has two points--TOTAL--in his past three games. His contributions as a rebounder aren't making up for that either. With Clint Capela hurt, the Rockets planned to use Anderson more at the five spot, allowing them to stretch the court even more than they already do, but his shooting woes have ended up resulting in a loss of minutes for Anderson and an increase in Tarik Black's playing time. Anderson isn't someone to trust in fantasy lineups until he's able to break out of this current funk.
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