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Spencer Aguiar looks back at Week 8 of the 2019-2020 NBA season, including fantasy basketball risers, fallers and takeaways from each night of action.
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 eighth week of the season and try to figure out how to take advantage of what we saw transpire.
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Monday, December 9th
Derrick Rose Erupts for 17 In Fourth Quarter, Sinks Game-Winner For Pistons
After a slew of injuries derailed his career, Derrick Rose has managed to turn back the clock in 2019. Rose has been sensational so far this season, averaging 16.2 points, 5.7 assists, 1.9 rebounds and nearly one steal in only 23 minutes per contest.
On Monday, the 2011 MVP player erupted down the stretch against the New Orleans Pelicans, scoring 17 points in the fourth quarter to go along with the game-winning jumper as time expired.
Even though starting point guard Reggie Jackson has remained sidelined due to an injury, the Pistons have kept Rose in his usual role off the bench. While that has slightly dampened the upside for the 31-year-old this season, he is currently ranked inside the top-100 in both nine-category and points leagues. That is good enough to make him roster worthy in all settings, although you do start to miss out on some upside if you own him in a league with only eight participants.
Tuesday, December 10th
Davis Bertans Keeps Hot Hand
Davis Bertans erupted for a career-high 32 points and eight three-pointers on Tuesday night against the Charlotte Hornets, adding nine rebounds, one assist and one block in 30 minutes.
Owners of Bertans in points and category leagues have two very different situations on their hands. Bertans 4.0 three-pointers per contest rank him second in the NBA behind James Harden, and he is just one of two players with a center designation that is averaging over 2.1 triples per game.
That level of unique contribution places him as a hold in category leagues because of his ability to become a game-changer for lineups, but his lack of production elsewhere has limited his upside in other settings, as he ranks just 94th in point-based groups. What kind of group you play in will dictate just how valuable he is for your squad.
Wednesday, December 11th
Devonte' Graham Puts Up Career-High 40 Points
I know I talked about Devonte' Graham during last week's article, but I want to reemphasize the fact that the former Kansas Jayhawk is NOT a sell-high candidate.
Graham exploded on Wednesday night with a career-high 40 points, adding five rebounds, five assists and seven three-pointers on nine of 11 shooting from the field. Graham has now made at least six triples in four of his last five games and is averaging an absurd 6.2 threes per contest during that span. If that is not enough, the 24-year-old also became the third player in NBA history to make at least 100 3-pointers in 27 games or fewer to start the season, joining Steph Curry and James Harden.
There obviously is a price range where it becomes acceptable to sell Graham, but with a top-10 ranking in threes, assists and touches per game, it would take a lot to pry him off of my roster. If you were able to grab him off your waiver wire early in the season, enjoy the ride!
Thursday, December 12th
No Love In Cleveland
The Cleveland Cavaliers have made it clear that aside from rookie Darius Garland, everyone is available in trade talks. That includes five-time NBA All-Star Kevin Love, who the team has placed a first-round price tag on for franchises trying to acquire the former UCLA product.
It seems likely that the Cavs will need to lower their expectation level, as Love is currently owed 91.4 million dollars in fully guaranteed money, but it shouldn't be impossible for Cleveland to find a deal and get that salary off their books. The Celtics, Nuggets and Blazers have all reportedly shown interest, and teams in contention should also do their due diligence when it comes to trying to obtain the nightly double-double threat.
Love erupted on Tuesday with a season-high 30 points, adding 17 rebounds, two assists and four three-pointers in 39 minutes, and it looks as if fantasy owners will get a slight boost in productivity as the Cavaliers try to showcase his skills to the league. Still, though, this is a dicey situation going forward and is one that can result poorly if Love ends up in the wrong location. As the Cavaliers are doing themselves, I would be looking to sell Love off high before something derails his value - which includes his dreaded injury-prone nature.
Friday, December 13th
Malcolm Brogdon Carries Pacers To Victory
One of the biggest steals in drafts this year, Malcolm Brogdon continued his 2019 surge on Friday night against the Atlanta Hawks, tallying 19 points, eight rebounds and 12 assists.
Brogdon has now scored at least 19 points in four straight games and has averaged 20 points over his past 10 contests. Owners that are concerned that Victor Oladipo might cut into the former Virginia product once he returns aren't necessarily wrong, but head coach Nate McMillan said that his star guard still has hurdles to clear before playing in a game.
The lack of a time frame on a return date tells me that Oladipo is still not as close as some may think, so enjoy your production with Brogdon and worry about the rest later. Between Oladipo's injury and Brogdon's success so far in 2019, I see no reason why this level of production should stop any time soon.
