RADIO
Recapping the past week of basketball in a string of words without any context: Porzingis. Lonzo??? OVERTIME. DOUBLE OVERTIME. Le...LeBron? CP3! London. Udoh again? LOU WILL LOU WILL LOU WILL. It was a wild week in some ways.
This is accidentally a guard-heavy edition of Risers and Fallers. I think part of that is because we had a week with a lot of big outings from guards because...well, that seems like an obvious reason. A less obvious reason is that shooting tends to be one of the unpredictable things and players who rely on shooting can suddenly hit an upswing like some of the following guys are doing. Fantasy owners should take advantage of those upswings, but also be ready to hit the trade market if a player rises too high too fast. These are the risers and fallers heading into Week 14 of the NBA season.
Note: All stats are taken from BEFORE the games played on Friday, January 12, 2018.
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Week 14 Fantasy Basketball Risers
RISER - Bogdan Bogdanovic (G, SAC)
I don't follow too many Twitter accounts that belong to the Sacramento Kings branch of NBA fandom, but the few that I do have been high on Bogdanovic lately, with some saying that he's developed into Sacramento's best player. The Serbian rookie has been a great spark off the bench of the Kings with his efficient scoring, quick hands, and enough contributions in rebounding and assists to give him value. With De'Aaron Fox playing better too, the Kings have a potentially strong future back court on their hands. Maybe they'll finally realize that they're one of the worst teams in the West and let Bogdanovic supplant George Hill in the starting lineup.
RISER - Lou Williams (G, LAC)
50 points.
Oh, I need to say more than that about Williams? On December 20, Williams scored 18 points. That was the last time he had less than 20. In the 11 games since then, Williams has reached the 30 point mark SEVEN times. He's also averaging a career-high in assists this year for the Clippers as injuries to all the team's guards and forced them to use Williams as a ball-handler more. With this three point shooting a plus as well in all category-based formats, Williams is a must start at this point.
RISER - Lonzo Ball (G, LAL)
Lonzo is still incredibly frustrating to watch every time he...well...shoots the basketball, but it seems to have worked some of the kinks out of that part of his game, though there's still a ways to go. What Ball does bring to the table is everything else--he's a gifted passer, a great rebounder for his position, and he's been getting steals at an alarming rate--12 of them in the four games since he returned from a shoulder sprain. Ignore all the drama surrounding Ball--his father, his brothers playing games in Lithuania on Facebook Live--and you'll see that he's a player capable of doing a lot of good for your fantasy rosters, even if you have to endure the occasional rough shooting night.
RISER - Goran Dragic (G, MIA)
Finally in this guard-heavy edition of Risers we have Miami's Goran Dragic. With Dion Waiters set to miss the rest of the season with an ankle injury, Dragic will likely continue to shoulder a big part of the Heat's offensive attack. Dragic's numbers since Waiters has been out have been impressive. The veteran guard has scored at least twenty points in four of Miami's last six games. He's averaging just 4.9 assists per game on the season, but he's had five or more in all but two of his games since December 23. Dragic is capable of collecting a handful of rebounds and steals as well, making him a good option to man your fantasy lineups and a good DFS option for players looking to save money at the point guard position and invest it elsewhere.
Week 14 Fantasy Basketball Fallers
FALLER - Jordan Clarkson (G, LAL)
As the young L.A. guards--Lonzo Ball and Josh Hart--and the free agent signing that they can't give up on yet--Kentavious Caldwell-Pope--see the floor more, someone's got to suffer. It looks like that someone is Clarkson, who has seen a drop-off in minutes over the past few weeks, culminating in back-to-back 14 minute games against the Kings and Spurs. Clarkson, as a bench player, was already teetering in a difficult position for fantasy owners. If he can't earn his way back into a bigger part of the Lakers rotation, it might be time for owners to explore other options. With scoring being Clarkson's main forte, single-digit outings in three of his last four games won't cut it.
FALLER - Tyus Jones (G, MIN)
Jeff Teague's return puts Jones back into a reserve role, which means the bump he was giving you in assists and steals is going to fall off. The fact that his scoring was already inconsistent when he was starting suggests that Jones won't be able to maintain any fantasy relevance as long as he remains on Minnesota's bench.
FALLER - Robert Covington (F, PHI)
Covington has scored single-digit points in five of his past eight games. His rebounding numbers are down. His assists are down. He's currently on a six-game stretch without a block. It's become difficult to trust RoCo. His role as a three point shooter and his continued ability to get steals helps him keep some of his value, but he's trending in the complete wrong direction right now.
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