Two weeks into the 2017-18 NBA campaign, we’ve had no shortage of early-season surprises.
Did anyone expect the Detroit Pistons to enter Monday with the best record in the Eastern Conference? Who thought the Cleveland Cavaliers would drop three straight games to the Brooklyn Nets, New Orleans Pelicans and New York Knicks? If you believed the Memphis Grizzlies would have the NBA’s top record overall, there’s a 99 percent chance you hail from Memphis.
Fantasy basketball owners are likewise sifting through some shocking early-season results. While breakout campaigns from Victor Oladipo, D’Angelo Russell and Aaron Gordon were easy to prognosticate, the same can’t be said for Evan Fournier outpacing LeBron James in per-game fantasy value in nine-category leagues. Steven Adams (25th overall), Joe Ingles (30th), Darren Collison (31st), Tobias Harris (37th) and Jayson Tatum (39th) are among some of the other small-sample-size fantasy superstars through two weeks of the year.
Thankfully, the second week of the season was far less devastating in terms of injuries than the opening week, but you still may find yourself with some end-of-bench fodder whom you’re looking to replace. If so, you’re in luck, as waiver wires remain plentiful with both short- and long-term pickups at this juncture of the season.
The following six players, all of whom are owned in fewer than 50 percent of ESPN.com leagues, each merit attention from fantasy owners in leagues of all sizes.
Next: Lauri Markkanen