Fantasy Basketball Week In Review: Week 16

Welcome to the RotoBaller NBA Recap. In this feature, we will highlight one key fantasy basketball takeaway from each night during the past week. These viewpoints can be both positive and negative and will hopefully help to provide insight into different roster moves you should consider making.

Fantasy basketball has a lot of moving pieces with all the different scoring settings that are possible to play under, so I will always do my best to spotlight where players gain or lose value in certain game types.

Without further ado, let's get right into the 16th week of the season and try to figure out how to take advantage of what we saw transpire.

Monday, February 3rd

Markelle Fultz Hands Out Career-High 14 Dimes

Markelle Fultz set a new career-high with 14 assists on Monday night against the Charlotte Hornets, adding 12 points, one rebound, two steals and one three-pointer in 35 minutes of action.

Despite the potential to record a handful of assists and steals nightly, Fultz struggles to carry much weight in other statistical categories. When given a choice on complete slates, the former number one pick slots in better as a shooting guard for your lineup because his numbers check out as stronger for a two-guard, but his lack of three-point shooting is a negative that needs to be weighed into your analysis.

If Fultz is sitting on your waiver wire, he is a solid addition in leagues with 14 or more players, but it is difficult to become overly enthusiastic in standard settings because of his lack of explosiveness anywhere on the board.

Tuesday, February 4th

What To Do With Kyle Kuzma?

If you take away two of Kyle Kuzma's last three games, it has been a frustrating season for the Los Angeles forward. Stuck in Anthony Davis' shadow, Kuzma has failed to produce anything outside of scoring for fantasy owners this year, and even that has been hit-and-miss from a game-to-game perspective.

On Tuesday, Kuzma had one of his best contests of the season, tallying 18 points to go along with 12 rebounds and four assists on seven of 11 shooting, but it is difficult to tell if this is just the Lakers attempting to showcase one of their assets or if he has turned the corner.

Assuming Kuzma does not get moved by the real NBA trade deadline, I would first attempt to move him via trade in your league. Seventy percent of fantasy settings on Yahoo still have Kuzma on a roster, so there is a perceived market for him. Including the former University of Utah player in a two-for-one trade is my preferred route to go, but it also doesn't hurt to see what you can get as a swap. It is tough to win in fantasy when you have a one-dimensional player that adds nothing to your team but points, and that is what you are currently getting out of the 2017 draft pick.

UPDATE: Kyle Kuzma was not moved during the trade deadline and struggled on Thursday night, contributing four points and six rebounds. That won't help his value, but it is still worth trying to see what you can get. 

Wednesday, February 5th

Christian Wood Is a Must-Add For Many Reasons

I am re-writing my initial post because it is no longer speculation on if Andre Drummond will be shipped out of Detroit, and I'd prefer to cover this now with what we know to be true.

The Pistons decided to dispatch Drummond in a trade to the Cleveland Cavaliers on Thursday and essentially got back some popcorn and half a movie ticket. Wood was an add regardless of what transpired over the week, but the former UNLV star becomes one of the best acquisitions on the waiver wire with the old face of Detroit gone.

In games this season where Drummond did not play, Wood averaged (per-36 minutes) 22.9 points, 12.0 boards, 1.4 assists, 1.1 steals, 1.9 blocks and 1.1 triples on a 60/36/75 shooting line. From personal experience of watching Wood up close and personal when he attended UNLV, I can safely say that his three-point shooting and block numbers are not a fluke. Wood's length in the paint is an issue for opposing teams, and his ability to stretch defenses to the perimeter is something that will continue to present problems.

Thursday, January 30th

Elfrid Peyton Gets Perfect Trade Deadline

The trade deadline couldn't have gone much better for Elfrid Peyton, who not only avoided getting moved to a contender to work as a backup point guard but also remained in line for the bulk of the minutes after the Knicks failed to acquire anyone behind him.

Peyton has been magnificent over his previous two games, averaging 16 points, 7.5 rebounds, 12.0 assists and 4.0 steals.  Head coach Michael Miller has praised Payton since taking the job and appears ready to let the 2014 draft pick run the show for the team after they decided to move on from leading scorer Marcus Morris.

Peyton has a legit chance to carve out top 50 value and beyond in all settings and is someone I am okay with trying to acquire during his hot streak because I still dont believe most owners will view him in the right range.

Friday, January 31st

Furkan Korkmaz Erupts For 34 Points

I'd be cautious and avoid chasing Furkan Korkmaz's stat line of 34 points and seven three-pointers against the Memphis Grizzlies.

Both of those statistics listed above were career highs, and while Korkmaz has shown during portions of his career that big numbers are possible, playing time won't always be as pristine as he got on Friday night. Josh Richardson did make his return to the lineup but only was able to play 15 minutes with the 76ers easing him back, and it didn't hurt matters for him that Joel Embiid missed the entire second half with a stiff neck.

I don't mind Korkmaz as a short-term addition to your fantasy squad, but the ceiling and floor both collapse once Philadelphia gets everyone back healthy.

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