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USA Today
Week two of the fantasy basketball season is down, and there are many more still to go. Are you pushing the panic button yet? Or are you sitting still trying to be patient? Week two wasn’t too different from a wild week one, but there were a considerable amount of major and minor injuries that you probably needed to adjust for.
Week 2 Fantasy Studs
LA Times
Andre Drummond. Drummond has had back-to-back-to-back 20+ rebounding games. While the Detroit Pistons may not be winning many games to start the season, Drummond has already started his campaign to lead the league in rebounds once again. He’s also scored 20 or points in each of those games too.
Anthony Davis. Davis is averaging 32 points, 13 rebounds, 2 assists, and almost three blocks over the past three games. Three games is a small sample size, but he’s putting up MVP numbers and has the Los Angeles Lakers on a five-game win streak.
Luka Doncic. After laying up a stinker (if you can consider a 12/4/5/2 game a stinker) in the Mile High City against the Denver Nuggets, Doncic dropped back-to-back triple doubles. In those two games he averaged 30 points, 13.5 rebounds, 15 assists, and 4.5 made threes. This marks Doncic’s third triple-double on the year, and he was one assist shy of making it a fourth one. He’s also been a surprising contributor in the steals category.
James Harden. The James Harden / Russell Westbrook backcourt hasn’t shot very well to start off the season. But real life and fantasy life don’t always tell the same story. Harden is averaging 41 points over his last four games, while also adding almost four rebounds and six assists per game.
Kemba Walker. Walker has the Boston Celtics on a five game winning streak. In his last three games he’s scored 32 points each night to go along with six assists, five rebounds, and a steal. He’s also draining 4.6 threes a night too.
Week 2 Fantasy Duds
NY Post
LaMarcus Aldridge. In his last four games Aldridge’s field goal percentage is 36.7%. He’s also only scoring 12.5 points a game with 6 rebounds per night. Two of those four games he failed to break double-digits in scoring.
Draymond Green. Green is battling a torn ligament in his finger, so there is some grace to give, however his last week wasn’t pretty. Before sitting out against the Charlotte Hornets, his previous two games saw Green average 5 points, 6.5 rebounds, 5.5 assists each game. Not terrible numbers, but when you factor in his 26.6 shooting percentage, not good either.
Jaren Jackson Jr. Like Green, Jackson Jr. was slightly banged up. He missed a game, but everything appears to be ok. The two games he did play in, he scored 7 points each contest and only brought down 7 rebounds combined.
Miles Bridges. Someone has to be the bright spot on the Charlotte Hornets, right? So far, it hasn’t been Bridges. When Bridges has a good game, it’s usually pretty good. However, when he has a bad game, it’s really bad. Consistency is going to be an issue for the young player, but hopefully he can carve out a roll and be a contributor for steals, threes, and rebounds.
Larry Nance Jr. Sure Nance Jr. isn’t super-relevant in the fantasy landscape, but with the way both Kevin Love and Tristan Thompson have been playing lately, and in a new system under a new head coach, it doesn’t bode well for him going forward. Owned in 78% of Yahoo Fantasy Basketball leagues, Nance Jr. over his last two games is scoring a mere 6.5 points a game and only bringing in 4.5 rebounds a game.
Week 2 Overview
The biggest stories in week two were just the sheer amount of injuries that transpired. You hate to see so many guys dealing with issues so quickly into the season, but that’s just professional sports.
The Good News - Trae Young should be back any day now, Joel Embiid and Karl-Anthony Towns were only suspended a few games, guys like D”Angelo Russell, Domantas Sabonis, Jaren Jackson Jr. are just day to day and nothing more serious.
The Bad News - Steph Curry is going to miss significant time with a broken hand. While no one else suffered an injury as bad as Curry’s, many guys are on the mend who may be out a few weeks. Guys like Draymond Green, Myles Turner, Marvin Bagley III, are going to miss more than just a few games.
We are also starting to see guys resting. You knew “load management” was going to play a factor at some point in the season, but you hate to see it this early. Kawhi Leonard has rested once so far, and Russell Westbrook will too his next game. Overall it shouldn’t hinder your team too badly, but it’s still frustrating to see a perfectly healthy player get a night off.
Waiver Wire Potential
CBS
Here are a few options that you hopefully still have that are owned 50% or less in standard Yahoo fantasy leagues.
Dario Saric, PF/C (49%). Saric hasn’t necessarily taken advantage of Ayton’s absence, that has gone to Aron Baynes. However, If you have an extra spot to take a flyer on potential Saric could be a quality pick-up if he figures it out.
Luke Kennard, SG (47%). Kennard appeared on this list last week at only 33% owned. People have jumped on the bandwagon and for good reason. Kennard is going to be a good source of points scored and threes made. He’s chipping in a nice amount of assists too. Chance are, he won’t be on this list next week as many will continue to add him to their squads.
Terrance Ross, SG/SF (46%). Like Saric, Ross hasn’t really done anything to impress so far, but the potential is always there. The Magic are desperately searching for someone to get buckets, Ross averaged 15 points a game last season and could be that guy again. He’s hard to trust, but the potential is there.
Tomas Satoransky, PG, SG (43%). Satoransky hasn’t hit a 30-minute night yet, but the last three games he’s averaging over seven assists a night. So if you need help and want the potential of him taking on more minutes, he’s worth a look.
Kevin Huerter, SG (43%). Huerter is still on a minutes restriction, and he may never put up huge numbers in any individual category, but he’s likely to put up solid numbers all across the board. With Trae Young’s injury, it has exposed the Atlanta Hawks weak spot, back-up point guard. Huerter could possibly be there best option as the 6th-man, and back-up point guard, and all-around glue guy off the bench.
Maxi Kleber, PF (36%). The Dallas Mavericks have been good offensively, but defensively they’ve been below average. Kleber is the best defensive option the Mavs have, and even though he will battle for minutes with Dwight Powell, Kleber could be a sneaky good options for blocks, rebounds, and points (depending on the night).
Eric Paschall, SF/PF (34%). With all of the injuries plaguing the Warriors, Pascall has emerged as a possible bright spot moving forward. He’s scored 20 points or more in two of his last three games and will have the green light to continue putting up numbers.
Jahlil Oakfor, C (29%). The injury bug has bitten the Pelicans, with Favors now on the sidelines with Zion Williamson. Favors injury isn’t near as serious, but it has opened the door for Okafor to produce. In his last two games he’s averaging 20.5 points and 8.5 rebounds a night.
Jordan Clarkson, SG (28%). After a very rough opening night, Clarkson has scored in double digits the past five games, and with a good field goal percentage too. He’ll mainly be a source of points, but he’ll also scatter in a few threes, assists, and rebounds here and there.
Markelle Fultz, PG/SG (24%). I’m going to keep beating this drum for awhile. I know the numbers aren’t there yet, but they could be. Fultz projects to be the starter for a little while at least, and the Magic need to find someone who can score. Fultz could very well be that guy. Add him now, and be patient.
It’s still too early to push the panic button on your top-tier players. Players take time to adjust to knew schemes, and being in new surroundings, so don’t fret just yet. Play the long game, not the short game.
At the same time, don’t be afraid to pull the trigger on one of the guys listed above. Out of the 10 guys we featured as possible waiver wire adds for your team last week, six jumped up considerably and probably are no longer available in your league.