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Cheers to 2018, and here's hoping good fortune for every fantasy owner out there the rest of the way. The fantasy basketball season has been flying by, and it is crucial you find solutions if you are still still facing struggles. Our staff at RotoBaller has great insight and daily columns how to improve your squad and tips to make your team successful, be sure to check them out.
Some injury news around the association: Stephen Curry (ankle) returned from nearly a month-long absence and didn't miss a beat, draining 10 three-pointers for 38 points on Saturday. He's not fair. Isaiah Thomas is close to returning any day for the Cavaliers, so make sure you remember to take him off your IR when you hear more about his status this week. James Harden went down with a hamstring injury late in an overtime win against the Lakers, and his outlook for this week is very murky. Mike Conley could return as early as Friday, in case owners forgot about him.
Now let's look back on Week 11 and get prepared for Week 12.
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Week 12 Schedule
4 Games – Spurs, Trail Blazers, Suns, Timberwolves, Bucks, Knicks, Lakers, Bulls
3 Games – Celtics, Nets, Hawks, Cavaliers, Pistons, Heat, Nuggets, Mavericks, Warriors, Rockets, Clippers, Thunder, Magic, Raptors, Jazz, Wizards
2 Games – Hornets, Pacers, Grizzlies, Pelicans, Sixers, Kings
Week 11 Breakout Performers
Tyreke Evans, SG/SF, Memphis Grizzlies
Week 11 averages: 26.3 PPG 5.5 RPG 6.5 APG 0.8 SPG 0.3 BPG 3.0 3PM 52% FG 82% FT 1.5 TO
Evans continues to obliterate projections, as he's cruising on top-20 value over the past month. He's been unreal and has been the lone bright spot for the Grizzlies this season. Another impressive thing about his play this season is he's taking care of the ball, turning it over just 1.9 times per game. Mike Conley (Achilles) could come back as soon as Friday and will almost certainly take some touches away. However, there's no reason why the Grizzlies can't make it work as they want to make one last push for playoff contention.
Otto Porter, SF/PF, Washington Wizards
Week 11 averages: 17.5 PPG 6.5 RPG 2.5 APG 1.8 SPG 0.8 BPG 3.0 3PM 52% FG 75% FT 0.5 TO
Porter has struggled a bit over the past month with a nagging hip injury and the absence of John Wall has caused the rest of the rotation to do things outside their comfort zone. But since the return of their All-Star point guard, Porter is back to being a 9-cat gem. Don't let his average scoring fool you. Not many players can consistently give you this amount of points together with rebounding, steals to go along with elite 3-pointers and field-goal percentage. He's going to continue being a top-25 player the rest of the way.
Jimmy Butler, SG/SF, Minnesota Timberwolves
Week 11 averages: 30.8 PPG 5.0 RPG 6.3 APG 2.0 SPG 0.0 BPG 3.0 3PM 52% FG 91% FT 2.0 TO
There's a good reason why Tom Thibodeau wanted Jimmy Butler in Minnesota. Butler is a perfect fit for this young T-Wolves team that needs his veteran leadership to take them into the next level. Butler took some time to get going earlier in the season, but he's been locked and loaded as a first-round play ever since.
Lou Williams, PG/SG, Los Angeles Clippers
Week 11 averages: 28.0 PPG 2.7 RPG 4.7 APG 0.3 SPG 0.3 BPG 4.0 3PM 50% FG 86% FT 1.3 TO
The Clippers are hammered with injuries in the back court, having just lost Austin Rivers (Achilles) on Saturday night. Rivers is day-to-day right now, but Sweet Lou will continue to bomb away regardless of whoever is on the roster as the Clippers need him and Blake Griffin to provide the offense. Williams has averaged 30.4 points over the last five games.
Terry Rozier, PG/SG, Boston Celtics
Week 11 averages: 14.5 PPG 5.8 RPG 2.5 APG 1.3 SPG 0.8 BPG 2.8 3PM 58% FG 83 % FT 0.8 TO
Rozier has pulled off four double-digit games, and he's getting it done with across the board with peripheral stats. He is shooting 54 percent over the last five, which is not sustainable. However, his play lately has regained the trust of Brad Stevens again, especially given his ability to play along side Marcus Smart and Kyrie Irving. Rozier was a second-round play this week.
Dirk Nowitzki, PF/C, Dallas Mavericks
Week 11 averages: 14.8 PPG 7.5 RPG 1.5 APG 0.5 SPG 1.3 BPG 1.5 3PM 57% FG 75% FT 0.5 TO
Who said the old man was done? The future Hall of Famer continues to surprise us year after year, and he's done it again with a red-hot shooting December. The ole reliable has really gotten it done over the last two weeks, averaging 14.3 points and 2.3 treys on 51 percent shooting. He's crushing it in 9-category scoring formats, turning it over just 0.8 times per game. What's more impressive is he has not missed a single game this season and has even played in all back-to-back sets.
Week 12 Standard Leagues - Waiver Wire Pickups
Terry Rozier, PG/SG, Boston Celtics (22% Ownership)
It's time to pick up Rozier, as he was posting second-round value over the past week. He could be a nice source of steals with some some nice input in 3-pointers and rebounds from a guard position. With a safe role, he could very well flirt with at least late-round value rest of the way.
Ish Smith, PG, Detroit Pistons (41% Ownership)
Reggie Jackson (ankle) is going to miss 6-8 weeks, and Smith is going to be a full-time starter until he's ready to return. Smith has played well in his two starts, and he is a very capable fill-in player with mid-round upside.
Tyus Jones, PG, Minnesota Timberwolves (32% Ownership)
Jeff Teague (knee) is out for at least 2-4 weeks, and Tyus Jones will see all the minutes he can handle at point guard. Jones has been killing it from the defensive end, with averages of 9.8 points, 6.2 dimes, 1.0 triple, 0.6 turnovers and an elite 3.8 steals per game in 36.4 minutes a night as a starter this season.
Marquese Chriss, PF/C, Phoenix Suns (44% Ownership)
Chriss has suddenly reemerged on our radars, including a 14-point, eight-rebound, four-assist performance against the Kings on Friday. He would add three treys with a block and a steal, just displaying some of his forgotten upside. He's been pretty awful all season, but the Suns could really be turning to youth development again at this point of the season. It wouldn't hurt to pick him up and see where it goes. Just make sure you don't drop anyone you'd miss.
Shabazz Napier, PG, Portland Trail Blazers (18% Ownership)
Napier has been a sneaky play for over a month now, ranked #60 for December. He's thriving with or without Damian Lillard (hamstring), as Coach Terry Stotts has gone a lot of with three-guard lineups lately. Napier has been red-hot, averaging 18.6 points, 4.2 assists, 2.2 steals on 48 percent shooting. Don't expect to last, but you have to pick him up and hope he continues to sustain value.
Week 12 Deep Leagues - Waiver Wire Pickups
Gerald Green, SG/SF, Houston Rockets (1% Ownership)
James Harden (hamstring) could not return on Sunday night's game against the Lakers, so newly acquired Green could be looking at a couple of starts. He doesn't offer much outside of points and 3-pointers, but he's worth using in deep leagues if Harden misses times. Green has scored 18 and 10 points in his two games with the Rockets this past week.
Lance Stephenson, SG/SF, Indiana Pacers (23% Ownership)
The injury to Victor Oladipo (knee soreness) and the Pacers only play twice this week, which is why Stephenson isn't much more than a deep league asset at this moment. Unless we hear more bad news on Oladipo, Stephenson's upside is likely capped. Lance can really fill it up across the board, but turnovers and the poor shooting off-sets his upside. Pick him up as a handcuff to Oladipo if you have nothing to lose.
Frank Ntilikina, PG, New York Knicks (12% Ownership)
Coach Jeff Hornacek just recently teased the media and us again with the idea of starting the French rookie. He did not however state a timeline on when this would actually happen, but the minutes has been steady lately at 27.2 per minute over the last five. All signs are pointing to him having a sneaky good second-half of the season. Give him a look if you want to boost your assists and steals numbers. Just don't expect consistency.
Buy Low
Kawhi Leonard, SG/SF, San Antonio Spurs
I don't usually recommend buying Spurs players, but the track record of Leonard is too good to ignore. Leonard has never finished below top-7 in the previous three seasons and I would count on the Spurs taking the chains off soon rather than later. There is always going to be a risk of him sitting out back-to-backs for the foreseeable future, but he's an elite play when healthy.
Sell High
Lou Williams, PG/SG, Los Angeles Clippers
Williams has seen his usage spike with all the injuries, but he will have to hand the keys back over to Blake Griffin now that he's returned to the lineup. There's a good chance that Williams could still continue putting up outstanding numbers, but he's also a key candidate to be traded should the Clippers decide it blow it all up before the trading deadline.
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