Fantasy Basketball Stock Watch: De'Aaron Fox rising, Jimmy Butler falling
STOCK UP
De’Aaron Fox: A sophomore leap is hardly unexpected, but Fox has seen his APG jump from 4.4 to 7.6. He’s also shooting 49.6 percent from the floor while running a Sacramento offense that’s sprinted to the second-fastest pace in the league. Fox has been a revelation (along with teammate Buddy Hield, who’s scoring a career-high 19.7 PPG on 53.1 FG%), as the 21-year-old looks like he’s going to be a fantasy PG star for years to come. It’s baffling just how poorly No. 2 pick Marvin Bagley fits into the Kings’ new, intriguing system.
JaVale McGee: An afterthought in fantasy drafts, McGee has been a top-25 player in Los Angeles. He’s averaging a career-high 14.4 points while leading the NBA in blocks (3.4) by a wide margin. The Lakers have their issues, but their fast pace (fourth in the NBA) works well with a center who can run like McGee. Tyson Chandler’s signing may hurt McGee’s value some, but fantasy owners are playing with house money with the enigmatic big man anyway.
Dennis Schroder: Russell Westbrook is as tough as they come, but his ankle sprain looked bad. Schroder stands to benefit as long as he’s sidelined. Schroder has struggled in two starts this season (26.5 FG%), but his Usage Rate spikes, and he’ll no doubt have some big games during RWB’s absence. Fun fact: Schroder had nearly 20 more shots blocked than any other player last season.
Justin Holiday: He’s taken advantage of injuries in Chicago, getting career-highs in MPG (35:29), 3PT (2.9) and SPG (1.5) with few turnovers (0.5), making him check in as a top-50 player in 9-cat leagues. Holiday saw 47 minutes during the Bulls’ last game, and he’s still available in nearly half of Yahoo leagues.
Boban Marjanovic: It’s best to temper expectations with Marjanovic, but he’s getting an opportunity to start with Marcin Gortat even receiving back-to-back DNPs thanks to a coach’s decision. The big man will never see huge minutes, but he doesn’t need more than 20 or so to approach a double/double. He also helps in blocks (his career per-36 are 23.1 PPG and 15.0 RPG!), so add him if you need center help. Boban might finally be freed.
Derrick White: Once Dejounte Murray went down with a torn ACL, White briefly looked like a strong fantasy add before he soon suffered a foot injury himself, but the second-year point guard is ready to return sooner than expected. White isn’t going to run San Antonio’s offense, but he’s ticketed for a starting role (or will be soon) with Murray out and Tony Parker gone (Patty Mills prefers to come off the bench). He’s an upside flier worth taking.
STOCK DOWN
Jimmy Butler: He’s been a top-10 fantasy asset when on the court, but Butler’s a risk to sit any game while still disgruntled in Minnesota. Basically, he’s holding fantasy owners somewhat hostage (and a real problem in DFS). The way Butler’s been playing, fantasy owners would love for him to make peace with the Timberwolves but would settle for fewer random DNPs on any other roster at this point.
Eric Gordon: With James Harden and Chris Paul missing games in the early going, Gordon’s had an opportunity to get off to a big start. Instead, he’s shot just 32.1 percent from the field (including 23.6 percent from downtown). Gordon’s currently sporting his highest Usage Rate since joining Houston (23.5) but has turned that into a career-worst PER (7.69) by a wide margin. He’s been playing banged up himself and will eventually get out of this shooting slump, but it’s been a rough start to Gordon’s year.
Larry Nance: He entered the season as a fantasy sleeper with hopes of finally getting unleashed on a depleted Cleveland team. Somehow, that opportunity has resulted in a career-low 19:04 MPG, and he’s been getting outplayed by Tristan Thompson recently. There’s still a prime chance in Cleveland with Sam Dekker now joining Kevin Love on the shelf (opening up power forward), but Nance needs to play far better to take advantage of it.
Kyle Anderson: Not that leaving San Antonio’s system is a good thing in itself, but count me among those who were bullish on Anderson’s fantasy value going to Memphis during the offseason, where he seemingly would be a much bigger part of the offense. Anderson has instead seen a similar Usage Rate but with a tumbling True Shooting Percentage (42.0), and it doesn’t help Memphis also sports the league’s slowest pace, resulting in Anderson being outside the top-225 fantasy players so far this season.
