Week 10 marks the halfway point of the fantasy basketball regular season in ESPN.com leagues, which makes now an ideal time for owners to re-evaluate their rosters.
At this point in the season, where you drafted a player is meaningless. If a 10th-round pick is outperforming a third- or fourth-rounder, ask yourself what circumstances are contributing to their respective outputs. If the early-round player isn’t likely to bounce back from his disappointing start, it may be time to shop him around your league to see if anyone buys into his name value and offers more than they should.
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The same goes for the inverse, too. Owners may be less attached to late-round picks or waiver-wire pickups who have performed better than expected to date, as they may believe that output to be a mirage moving forward. Again, ask yourself whether those players are capable of sustaining their impressive production, and if so, float an offer to their owner to see just how much they have bought in to a particular player.
Paying attention to recent performances helps as well. Which players are shaking off slow starts to begin rewarding owners of late? Who is tumbling down fantasy rankings? Here’s a look at our updated rest-of-season rankings for owners in nine-category, head-to-head leagues, with lengthier explanations for certain risers and fallers below.
2017 Fantasy Basketball Rankings powered by FantasyProsECR ™ – Expert Consensus Rankings
Lonzo Ball, PG, Los Angeles Lakers: After a roller-coaster start to his rookie season, Ball appears to be finding his way as of late. The Lakers first-year point guard averaged 12.2 points on 46.2 percent shooting, 8.0 assists, 7.0 rebounds, 2.0 triples, 1.6 steals and 1.6 blocks in a whopping 36.2 minutes over his past five contests, but his long-range shooting is perhaps the most notable improvement over recent days. With three or more 3-pointers in each of his past three outings, Ball is poised to surge up fantasy leaderboards if he can become more consistent with that long ball, as he’s already a stat-stuffer when it comes to rebounds and assists. He rockets up to a top-75 rest-of-season value in nine-category leagues, and he soon could flirt with top-50 status.
Reggie Jackson, PG, Detroit Pistons: Jackson started the 2017-18 season off well, but his output has taken a turn for the worse as of late. Over his past seven games, the 27-year-old averaged just 11.4 points on a horrendous 36.0 percent shooting, 3.6 assists, 2.7 rebounds and 1.1 triples in 25.8 minutes while turning the ball over a whopping 2.9 times per game. With Avery Bradley sidelined for at least the next week, according to James Edwards III of The Athletic, Jackson will have a chance to get back on track, but the recent returns hardly inspire confidence. For the time being, he’s plunging outside of the top 75.
Nikola Mirotic, PF, Chicago Bulls: Here’s hoping you took our advice last week to pick up Mirotic off your league’s waiver wire. At the time, he was owned in only 15.4 percent of ESPN.com leagues, but his ownership percentage has surged past 50 percent as he continues to help fuel the Bulls on the furious six-game rally they’re currently riding. Even though Lauri Markkanen returned Monday against the Philadelphia 76ers, sending Mirotic back to the bench, the 26-year-old erupted for 22 points on 7-of-16 shooting, a season-high 13 rebounds, three triples, two assists, a steal and a block in just 26 minutes. Mirotic is showing no signs of the inconsistency that plagued him throughout much of last season, making him a rock-solid top-75 rest-of-season option.
Rudy Gobert, C, Utah Jazz: On Friday, I encouraged fantasy basketball owners not to panic over Gobert as he worked his way back from the right tibia contusion he suffered in mid-November. That night, he suffered a sprained PCL in his left knee and a bone bruise in his tibia, according to Shams Charania of The Vertical, which is reportedly expected to sideline him for the next month. Between his mounting injuries and disappointing production to date (relative to expectations), Gobert slid outside of the top 50 for the time being. This could be an excellent buy-low opportunity if you’re cruising toward a playoff spot, as his value is only likely to rebound from here.
Gary Harris, Denver Nuggets: Harris attracted all sorts of attention as a breakout player heading into the season, but he got off to a slow start as a scorer this year even though he was pouring in plenty of 3-pointers (2.2 per game over his first 12 outings) and steals (1.8). Since missing two games in mid-November due to right shoulder soreness, however, Harris has been on a tear. Over his past 16 outings, he poured in 18.9 points on 47.7 percent shooting, 3.6 assists, 3.3 rebounds, 2.4 triples and 2.0 steals in 36.1 minutes, good for top-30 value on a per-game basis in nine-category leagues over that span. Much of that production has come with Paul Millsap sidelined, but with Millsap not likely to return until after the All-Star break, per Harrison Wind of BSN Denver, Harris should remain hot over the next month-and-a-half. At this point, how can he not be considered a top-50 rest-of-season option?
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Brook Lopez, C, Los Angeles Lakers: In Monday night’s overtime loss to the Golden State Warriors, Lopez suffered a moderate right ankle sprain that will sideline him for at least the next three weeks, according to Lakers beat reporter Mike Trudell. Even prior to going down, however, Lopez had fallen back into the rut he seemingly shook off earlier this season. In his past 10 games before Monday, the Stanford product averaged just 9.0 points on 38.5 percent shooting, 3.6 rebounds, 1.4 assists, 1.3 blocks and 0.8 triples in only 20.4 minutes. Those in deeper leagues won’t find better options floating on the waiver wire, but owners in 10-team leagues should give serious consideration to dropping Lopez if a surging player such as Mirotic, Kris Dunn or Jamal Murray is available.
All ownership percentages via ESPN.com. All average draft position info via FantasyPros. All rankings via Basketball Monster are based on nine-category leagues and are current heading into Wednesday, Dec. 20.