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 heading into Week 8 of the NBA season.

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Post-Week 7 Fantasy Basketball Risers

RISER - Nikola Jokic (PF/C, DEN)

Nikola Jokic was my early pick for fantasy bust after a much-hyped pre-season and an average draft position of 43. The move to the bench and primarily playing center has been beneficial as he’s starting to resemble the player we loved last season. Last week, he posted ninth best value with 15.0 points, 9.3 rebounds, 3.3 assists, 1.3 blocks on 60.7 FG%/84.6 FT% in 25.0 minutes. That’s more like it. He could continue this production even in limited minutes off the bench, so you don’t necessarily have to move him. If you were able to buy him low or snag him off the wire like me, then we can all laugh together. Let’s start a club.

RISER - Andre Drummond (C, DET)

After failing to record a double-double against the Hornets on Nov. 29, Andre Drummond has double-doubled in seven straight games. That includes two 20/20 games on 81.4 FG% in the past week. He’s still elbow dropping your free throw percentages from the top turnbuckle (45.5% on the season), but overall has been trending upwards. Last week, Drummond posted 19.3 points, 16.5 rebounds, 1.8 steals, 1.5 blocks on 63.0 FG% (13.5 attempts). That’s exactly the value you want when trading off free throws. There isn’t much to do here, except hold and continue to rack up the boards, steals and blocks.

RISER - Rudy Gobert (C, UTA)

On average, Rudy Gobert was taken 45 in Yahoo and ESPN, but has returned 12 overall value on the season including taking the top spot last week. He posted 18.3 points, 14.8 rebounds and 4.0 blocks on 79.3 FG%/73.0 FT% in 37.0 minutes. The minutes should regress, but he should still be able to improve on last year’s numbers. The Frenchman has been on a role and the free throw’s have been a nice surprise after averaging 56.9 FT% last season. You don’t need to sell if you’re worried the production will dip when Derrick Favors returns, but if you could net top-15 value in return, then I don’t hate that either.

RISER - Lou Williams (PG/SG, LAL)

If you don’t know how good Lou Williams has been in the past week, then we can’t be friends. He’s benefitted from the backcourt injuries posting – 3.5 threes, 30.3 points, 4.5 rebounds, 3.5 assists, 1.8 steals on 50.7 FG%/92.1 FT%. Most importantly, he did this on 17.8 field goal attempts and 9.5 attempts from the line. I’m speechless. The offensive numbers were ridiculous, but D’Angelo Russell and Nick Young are back so I’m expecting the numbers to drop. I’d like to say sell high, but Sweet Lou could end up winning the Sixth Man of the Year as he’s been outplaying Jordan Clarkson on the season. Additionally, Luke Walton loves him and is keeping him in his productive bench role regardless of who’s available on any given night. If you could get back top-50 value for him, then that would be ideal.

Post-Week 7 Fantasy Basketball Fallers

FALLER - Aaron Gordon (SF/PF, ORL)

After showing huge potential last season, Aaron Gordon has been trending downwards since October. He’s been in and out of the starting lineup, but the one constant is that he’s seeing most of his minutes at small forward opposed to his natural power forward spot. It’s been a failed experiment thus far as he’s posted – 9.6 points, 4.4 rebounds, 1.8 assists on 41.3 FG%/56.5 FT% on the season. Overall, that’s 198 value in Yahoo and with an average draft position of 80 to start the season has been a relative bust. Last week, he had an increased opportunity to play more power forward minutes because of the frontcourt injuries. Still, he only posted 131 overall value in the week with 8.5 points, 4.3 rebounds, 2.8 assists, 1.3 steals with 42.4 FG%/50.0 FT%. If you haven’t already, you may have to cut your losses.

FALLER - Emmanuel Mudiay (PG, DEN)

Last week, Emmanuel Mudiay hit rock bottom posting 370 overall value with 4.7 points, 2.0 rebounds, 1.0 assists with 22.7 FG%/66.7 FT% in only 20.7 minutes per game. That’s awful. He’s been dealing with an ankle injury, but his overall play has been a roto GM’s nightmare due to the appalling percentages and high turnovers. Mike Malone has been timesharing Jameer Nelson at point guard and has been the better player in the last three weeks. Long term, the Nuggets are still committed to developing their second-year guard, but you can bet it’ll be a bumpy ride. He’s 55% owned in Yahoo, which seems way too high. If you’re in a re-draft league, weigh your options as Mudiay isn’t a must hold.

FALLER - Monta Ellis (PG/SG, IND)

There are stinky performances, and if you dig 50-feet passed that you’ll find Monta Ellis’ 2016 – 2017 season. He has an 86 average draft position, but it looks like he’ll easily fall out of the top-100 at his current pace. His usage has dropped from 21.2% to 16.4% with the addition of Jeff Teague to the Pacers’ backcourt. He’s fine with deferring to his teammates, but that isn’t necessarily converting into assists (3.7 on the season). Last week, he put together 6.0 points, 1.8 rebounds, 2.5 assists, and 0.5 steals on 35.3 FG% in only 22.9 minutes per game. Yuck. On top of that, he’s been ruled out for the next four games with a groin injury. As far as buy-low targets, he’s not a great option as there isn’t enough ball to go around with Teague and Paul George needing their touches. So, the question is, hold or drop?

FALLER - Devin Booker (SG, PHX)

Devin Booker was taken at average of 61 in Yahoo and ESPN, but is currently only returning 179 overall value on the season. Last week, the scoring was decent (16.3 points), but the 43.1 FG% at 14.5 FGA was Storm Trooper-esque. He puts up a high volume of shots and the Suns have been giving him the green light (26.6% usage). The biggest problem is he does little else than score. Last week, the peripherals were 1.5 threes, 3.5 rebounds, 3.8 assists, and 0.8 steals. That was good enough for 227 value in the week. He’s only in his second year and has heaps of untapped potential, so I still like him as a buy-low target. The inefficiency might continue, but he’s got great offensive skill which should continue to get better as the season progresses. Be patient.