NBA Stock Watch: Myles Turner rising, Carmelo Anthony falling
STOCK UP
Myles Turner: It looked like the Turner excitement was finished with Ian Mahinmi’s return to action Tuesday, although he did score 16 points in just 18 minutes. Instead, Turner got his first career start Thursday, replacing Lavoy Allen alongside Mahinmi in the Pacers’ frontcourt. The result was a 19-point win over the Hawks, and the rookie has averaged 19.7 points, 6.2 rebounds, 0.5 steals and 2.5 blocks (with just 1.0 tpg) while shooting 62.2 percent from the floor over the past six games, a span in which he’s been a top-20 fantasy player. Indiana spent the No. 11 pick on Turner in last year’s draft, and there’s little reason for them to remove him from the starting lineup. The 19-year-old looks like a future star and needs to be owned in all leagues right now.
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Archie Goodwin: He’s averaged 18.8 points, 4.0 assists, 1.6 steals, 1.0 blocks and 1.2 3pt over five starts this season. With Eric Bledsoe out for the year and Brandon Knight dealing with a groin injury that’s left him without a timetable to return, Goodwin’s run of fantasy relevance may not be going away any time soon. Turnovers are going to be a major problem, although Goodwin has managed to be a top-60 player over the past week despite coughing up 4.3 tpg over that span. Phoenix’s fourth-best Pace (100.5) in the league helps boost his value.
Gorgui Dieng: He’s been a top-80 player this year despite seeing just 23:50 mpg, and Dieng has been getting a look as Minnesota’s starting power forward of late. It’s a limited sample, but the frontcourt featuring him and Karl-Anthony Towns has worked well, so it’s a combo that could be here to stay. Dieng was a top-50 fantasy player last season and has been top-25 over the past two weeks on a per-36 minute basis. He’s a must-own player in all formats.
Kentavious Caldwell-Pope: Over the last month, he’s gotten 17.1 ppg, 1.4 spg and 1.9 3pt on 47.0 percent from the field and 84.8 percent from the line, when he’s been a top-50 player. KCP ranked outside the top-125 last year, but he continues to improve as a shooter, and it sure helps that his 37.5 mpg is second only to Jimmy Butler in the NBA. Caldwell-Pope has drastically outperformed his ADP so far in 2015/16.
Chris Paul: He’s averaged 20.8 ppg, 5.0 rpg, 11.0 apg, 2.3 spg, 0.5 bpg and 2.3 3pt while shooting 47.5 percent from the floor in January, as Paul continues to thrive in Blake Griffin’s absence. You don’t need me to tell you CP3 is good at basketball, but his current Usage Rate (27.8) is actually the second-highest of his career, and his opportunity to completely carry the load for the Clippers won’t end any time soon with Griffin suffering a broken hand during a now infamous fight with a team staff member. Griffin’s estimated time sidelined of 4-to-6 weeks sounds optimistic.
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STOCK DOWN
Carmelo Anthony: Over the last two weeks, he’s shot 28-for-71 (39.4%) before missing time with soreness in his surgically repaired knee. After finishing as the No. 8 and No. 7 fantasy player in 2012/13 and 2013/14, respectively, Anthony came in at No. 30 (on a per-game basis) last season. The hope was the drop was due to playing through the knee injury and he’d return to elite status back to 100% in 2015/16. Instead, he’s been the No. 41 ranked player this year and is now missing games thanks to pain in the same knee. Anthony is actually averaging a career-high 4.0 apg this season, but his Usage Rate (28.1) is his lowest since 2007/08 (albeit still strong), and it’s possible all that mileage is catching up to him. It’s tough to treat Melo as a top-25 asset moving forward. In fact, there’s a strong argument teammate Kristaps Porzingis is the more desirable player to own.
Tyreke Evans: He’s shooting just 5-for-18 from the floor and 3-for-7 from the charity stripe over his last two games. Over the last two weeks, Evans hasn’t been a top-150 player while seeing just 23.8 mpg. He’s also dealing with a knee injury that could put him on a minutes restriction for the foreseeable future. Evans’ Usage Rate is his lowest since joining New Orleans, and the likelihood of decreased minutes is a real concern for his owners.
Trey Lyles: He had a nice six-game stretch when he averaged 13.3 points, 5.2 rebounds, 0.7 steals, 0.7 blocks and 1.7 threes with a 56.6 FG%, holding near top-100 value. But that’s come to a screeching halt over the past two contests, as Derrick Favors has returned to action. Lyles has gone 1-for-10 over those two games, so he’ll be headed back to the bench and fantasy irrelevance imminently.
Salah Mejri: He’s started three straight games and was fairly effective in two before playing just 13:50 minutes against a fast Warriors team that was a bad matchup, but Mejri is currently one of the most dropped players in Yahoo leagues. Starter Zaza Pachulia is listed as questionable for Friday’s game, so his run as starter isn’t necessarily finished. Still, owners very well may be dumping him in droves thanks solely to this amazing face dribble.
Mike Conley: He’s been mired in a massive shooting slump all month, when he’s shot an ugly 32.5 percent from the field during January. Conley has been the No. 132 ranked player over this span, which is about 100 spots lower than his ADP. He’s been dealing with a sore Achilles, which is likely partially to blame, and he’s just 1-for-10 from downtown over the past three games. While he’ll almost certainly bounce back, Conley has seen his fantasy value decrease in each of the past four seasons, and Memphis has ranked in the bottom-five in Pace in each of the past five years.
