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Week 2 of fantasy leagues is officially in the rear-view mirror. I hope everyone is doing ok in their respective leagues, as I’m already biting a few injuries (Ricky Rubio, Jae Crowder) myself. Hopefully everyone isn’t panicking yet as I stated this is a long season and there’s plenty of basketball to be played. Let’s take a look at some of the standouts from this week.
Standouts of Week 2:
Chris Paul LAC PG – The veteran general is still getting it done on both ends, averaging 18.8 PPG 7 RPG 9.5 APG with 4 swipes over the last week. He’s still a rock solid 1st rounder, which is what you expected anyway. The Clippers looks dominant early on in the season, rocking the league's best defensive rating as a team.
Tyler Johnson MIA PG/SG – Who needs D-Wade in South Beach when you have Tyler Johnson? All jokes aside, Johnson has been ballin’. Ranked #2 overall over the past week, he has filled up the stat sheet with 19 PPG 4 RPG 2 APG with 2.5 steals and 2 blocks(!). Oh, he’s also hitting 3 triples per game. Make sure he’s not available in your waiver wires. Ride him until he cools off.
Kevin Durant GSW SF/PF – I don’t need to really say much. Durant is pretty good at basketball.
Marcin Gortat WAS C – Gortat is a boring player to own, but there’s never really been a doubt that he’s still a great fantasy asset to have. He’s as consistent as they come. He’s going to flirt with mid-round value all year long and you probably got him at a great discount on draft day.
DeMar DeRozan TOR SG/SF – DeRozan probably won’t lead the league in scoring all year long, but he’s certainly going to try. His mid-round is absolutely money in the bank right now. He did just score 22 points against the Kings on Sunday which lowered his scoring average to 32.5 Who would’ve thought the Kings out of everybody actually contained DeRozan?
George Hill UTA PG – I highlighted Hill is a sell-out candidate. I’m starting to think I was wrong. I watched the Jazz-Knick game courtside on Sunday and it’s crazy how much of an upgrade Hill is at the point guard position. He’s the best point guard the Jazz have had since Deron Williams and he’s giving opposing point guards nightmares. The return of Gordon Hayward didn’t kill his vibe as he torched the Knicks for 23/2/9 with 2 steals and ZERO turnovers. What a line.
Larry Lance JR. LAL PF – Larry Nance made a lot of appearances on Vine videos Friday when he dunked on a few Warriors. The Lakers actually look dangerous this season because everyone is overlooking them and they just love playing basketball. They run a lot of small ball lineups so this benefits Nance as he’s doing more than enough from your waiver wire to warrant standard league consideration. Larry Nance over the past week; 12.3 PPG 7 RPG 1.3 APG 2.7 steals and 1 block on 68% FG. Stellar. He shouldn’t be on any waiver wires in 12+ teams, but you also shouldn’t be cutting someone with a brighter outlook for him. *UPDATE* Just got sidelined with a concussion tonight vs the Suns. Will be ruled out Tuesday and possibly longer. Bummer.
Sean Kilpatrick BKN SG – Kilpatrick is similar to the breakout of TJ Warren, as both are scorers who can fill it up quickly. He’s getting major minutes off the bench and he has really provided a scoring punch that the Nets desperately needs. Jeremy Lin is out of at least another week so he’s going to continue eating.
Pickups:
Malcolm Brogdon MIL SG – Jason Kidd and his rotations are pretty random and he tends to ride the hot hand every night. Do I trust Malcolm Brogdon? No, but he’s getting enough minutes right now. If you have a player you won’t miss, he’s worth a pickup especially in deeper leagues.
Jaylen Brown BOS SF – There was a lot of hype following his 19 point 5 rebounds 2 assists 3 steals and 1 block performance on Thursday against the Cavs. So of course he drops a dud on Sunday with a 4 point performance. He’s not the most trust worthy as his jumper is still very suspect. If he’s not hitting his shots he probably won’t get crunch-time minutes.
Nick Young LAL SG/SF – “Uncle P” has really been a changed man in LA. Under his new identity, he has carved out a role with the new-look Lakers. He’s flirting with mid-round value early on in the season and while he might disappear any minute, he’s still worth a look right now. He can provide a good source of 3-pointers with a trickle of upside in points and steals.
Kris Dunn MIN PG – Ricky Rubio is still out indefinitely and as long as that is the case, Kris Dunn should be owned in all leagues until further notice. Simple.
Terrence Jones NOR SF/PF – The stats don’t lie, he’s always been able to provide with early-round upside when he’s healthy and given the minutes. He was probably dropped in your league so he’s worth a pickup to see where this goes after his 19/7/6 explosion with 1 3-pointer, 1 steal and 4 blocks on Friday.
Ersan Ilyasova PHI SF/PF – Ghostface Ilya got shipped to Philly in a trade involving Jerami Grant, which kind of works out for both teams on paper at least. He has really taken a liking to Coach Brett Brown and he can possibly flirt with late round-value.
Sell Highs:
Dwyane Wade CHI SG – Nothing has changed, sell high guys.
Rudy Gay SAC SF/PF – See above
Marc Gasol MEM C – Ditto
Deron Williams DAL PG – You see where I’m going with this.
Kentavious Caldwell-Pope DET SG/SF – He’s been ballin’ lately and he’s probably not going to sustain this type of production.
George Hill UTA PG – Depends where you got him really, but he’s not going to give 1st round-value all season like he is now, is he?
Lou Williams LAL PG/SG – I doubt he’s in the Lakers plans to rebuild and he’s a candidate to be traded to a contender or so come February. No way he has this type of value with another team.
Buy-Lows:
Steph Curry & Klay Thompson GSW G – Chef Curry and Klay are too good to not get better.
Joel Embiid PHI C – The Process is a fantasy stat-stuffer. He’s still under a minute restriction and it might not be lifted all season. But that’s a risk you should be willing to take before this monster breaks out of his cage.
Brook Lopez BKN C – His value is at an all-time low right now, sitting at 11th round-value on the year. There is some risk with the coach randomly resting Brook, but there’s still enough upside if you can get him a discount price.
D’Angelo Russell LAL PG – He hasn’t been unleashed yet and it’s going to take a bit longer for him to truly bust out. It will happen though, be patient fellow owners. The keys are his in LA and that’s not changing.
Week 3 Schedule Analysis:
4 Games - CHA, CHI, DEN, DET, GSW, IND, LAC, LAL, MIN, NOR, OKC, ORL, PHI, PHO, POR, UTA, WAS
3 Games - ATL, BKN, BOS, CLE, HOU, MIA, NYK, SAC, SAS, TOR
2 Games - DAL, MEM, MIL
Good luck to everyone this week! Feel free to tweet any questions or anything basketball @fungo24!