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Welcome back, RotoBallers! Somehow, we already have arrived at Week 8 of the NBA season and the Christmas Day games are right around the corner. Ejections have been rampant across the league and Draymond Green has already been handed another suspension. Plenty of fans probably had that on their season-long bingo card.
Keeping up with suspensions, off-court issues, and other drama is just another day in the life of dynasty fantasy managers. All of these factors go into players' value. Some guys have outstanding people surrounding them and it shows with the way they develop and play, while others drop like a lead balloon. That happens to be exactly what we're talking about in the dynasty risers and fallers series this season.
What we're aiming to do each week is show which players are losing value and those that are gaining value. Hopefully, this will help some of you buy low, sell high, or brag to your league mates that you chose the right players from day one. So, let's get into the list of risers and fallers in Week 8 of the NBA season.
Editor's Note: Our incredible team of writers received five total writing awards and 13 award nominations by the Fantasy Sports Writers Association, tops in the industry! Congrats to all the award winners and nominees including NBA Writer of the Year, Best NFL Series, MLB Series, PGA Writer and Player Notes writer of the year. Be sure to follow their analysis, rankings and advice all year long, and win big with RotoBaller! Read More!
Risers For Dynasty Fantasy Basketball Leagues
Dante Exum (PG/SG, DAL)
One of the biggest surprises and comeback stories in the NBA this season has to be Dante Exum. He was the fifth overall pick in the 2014 NBA Draft, injured his knee and sat out his entire second year, then couldn't play at a high enough level until he was forced to play overseas for the last two seasons. This year, he joins the Dallas Mavericks and slowly wins a starting role!
In his four starts this season, Exum averaged 17.5 points, 5.8 assists, 5.0 rebounds, 1.3 steals, 2.8 threes, and 1.3 turnovers per game. Sure, his shooting percentages will probably come back to Earth at some point because it's not likely that he'll continue to shoot 55.6% from the floor and 55.0% from three. He can definitely still contribute in more ways than scoring and that could be a huge addition in deeper dynasty leagues.
If rebuilding teams happened to stumble upon Exum in their lineup, selling high could be a huge move. For the competing teams, adding someone like Exum could propel a fantasy team to win as he hits his big stretches like the one he's in now. Exum has yet to hit 30 years old and he can play pressure-free with Luka Doncic finding him open all over the floor.
Brandin Podziemski (PG/SG, GSW)
There is one small bright spot in Golden State right now and it doesn't even include Stephen Curry. Don't get up in arms, I'm not saying that Curry has been bad, but the rest of the team has been. The exception has been the 19th overall pick in this past draft, Brandin Podziemski. The curly-haired assassin has now posted two games with at least 20 points, five rebounds, and five assists, and his latest game was a stat line that only Curry matched in his rookie year.
Podziemski has gone from DNP-CD to playing a handful of minutes and now to 27 minutes or more off of the bench. We did talk about how the Warriors don't have many bright spots, so at least they're getting something out of a rookie this time. Looking at you, James Wiseman.
The fact of the matter is that Podziesmki is playing his way into a steady role. Klay Thompson was benched at the end of a game and Draymond Green was suspended indefinitely for hitting another opposing player. Mix that with an Andrew Wiggins disaster class type of season and you get plenty of opportunities! Oh, did I mention Podziemski also averages 6.0 rebounds per contest since receiving more minutes? Well, there's a fun fact for those needing guards and rebounds.
Chet Holmgren (C/PF, OKC)
Look, Chet Holmgren didn't make this list as a surprise. There shouldn't be anyone surprised that his dynasty value is through the roof. He was going number one in rookie drafts although every fantasy manager knew he wasn't going to play his first year. Now, he's just backing up the hype in every way possible.
Sometimes, the things left unsaid are the most important. So, instead of going into all the reasons why he's rising the ranks of dynasty leagues even higher than previously thought, we're going to drop some of his stats and move right along. 17.0 points, 7.8 rebounds, 2.5 assists, 2.4 blocks, 1.6 threes, 2.o turnovers per game while shooting 52.4% overall, 38.0% from deep, and 88.1% from the free throw line.
By the way, he's only 21 years old and technically still a rookie.
Fallers For Dynasty Fantasy Basketball Leagues
Josh Giddey (SG/SF/PF, OKC)
Well, we've entered the not-so-great portion of this piece. There's a lot that could be said about Josh Giddey right now, but we're not going to touch the off-the-court issues at this moment. Instead, we'll point out how he's falling behind the other prospects on this young, up-and-coming Oklahoma City Thunder team.
There's an MVP candidate in Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, a young phenom in Chet Holmgren, a promising big-time scorer in Jalen Williams, the defensive stopper in Luguentz Dort, and another up-and-coming scorer in Cason Wallace. This doesn't even mention the solid role players coming off of the bench. Giddey's name hasn't even been mentioned yet either.
Giddey, in his first two seasons, was shaping up to be the do-it-all type of player who could be a great secondary ball-handler alongside Gilgeous-Alexander. Then, others around him either got healthier or got better and left him behind. He's seeing lower averages in points, rebounds, assists, and threes from last season. On top of that, his shooting percentages aren't exactly fantasy game-winners either. So, where does this leave him in terms of fantasy value? 205th is where Basketball Monster has him ranked in category league value.
Jakob Poeltl (C, TOR)
For the longest time, the Toronto Raptors needed a true center. Since they won a ring in the 2018-19 season and Marc Gasol moved on, analysts and fans beat the same drum. They needed a true center to be successful, so instead of sellers at the last trade deadline, they decided to be buyers and bring in Jakob Poeltl.
The seven-footer was averaging 12 points and nine rebounds per game to go along with a few assists and a block per night. What could possibly go wrong? Well, he helped them finish with a .500 record, but he continues to see fewer than 28 minutes per night. The starting center is playing the same minutes that a bench player would see and his stats reflect it.
Poeltl is supposed to be in his prime right now, but he took a step back from last year. He's now averaging 10.8 points, 8.3 rebounds, 2.2 assists, and 1.1 blocks per contest. The only thing that improved was his field goal percentage, 66.7% of his field goal attempts come within three feet of the hoop. He could help in deeper leagues that start multiple centers, but outside of that, he's not going to contribute much.
Karl-Anthony Towns (C/PF, MIN)
Before anyone freaks out after they see Karl-Anthony Towns make the fallers list while being a part of the team with the best record in the league, let's talk about a few things. Towns is now 28 years old and in the thick of his prime. He was once talked about like he was a unicorn and had the potential to take over the league. Currently, he's the number-two guy on his team and his stats have taken a hit from two seasons ago.
Towns may be listed as a faller, but don't get that twisted and think it means that he's not producing great numbers to help fantasy teams win. This just means that his ceiling doesn't seem to be as high as everyone once believed. He's averaging 21.6 points, 9.1 rebounds, 3.0 assists, 2.1 threes, and 2.9 turnovers per game. That's good enough to rank him right outside of the top 30 in per-game value for nine-category leagues.
The issue is that he has never ranked outside of the top 12 throughout his entire career until this season. His lowest-ranked seasons in per-game value were his rookie and sixth seasons when he was number 12. Every other year, he was eighth or higher. Maybe some fantasy managers want to jump-start a rebuild and Towns is on their roster. This would probably be a perfect time to receive a haul for the Kentucky product.
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