Ring in the new year by taking a fresh look at your fantasy basketball roster’s rest-of-season outlook.
Injuries continue to be one of the prevailing storylines of the 2017-18 NBA season, as James Harden, Victor Oladipo and Austin Rivers have all gone done in recent days. Each player’s rest-of-season outlook takes a temporary hit until they return, while some of their teammates’ short-term value jumps up significantly. (Here’s looking at you, Lou Williams.)
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Luckily, it isn’t all bad news on the injury front. Isaiah Thomas made his season debut Tuesday, while Blake Griffin returned last week and looks like he hasn’t missed a beat. Hassan Whiteside also made his way back to the Miami Heat’s lineup, and Rudy Gobert could soon rejoin the Utah Jazz, too. That bodes well for each player’s rest-of-season fantasy outlook.
Check out our latest batch of rest-of-season rankings tailored for nine-category head-to-head leagues. Below the rankings, read up on some of the more notable risers and fallers from the past week.
2017 Fantasy Basketball Rankings powered by FantasyProsECR ™ – Expert Consensus Rankings
Isaiah Thomas, PG, Cleveland Cavaliers: He’s baaaaack! Isaiah Thomas made his Cavaliers debut Tuesday night against the Portland Trail Blazers, finishing with 17 points on 6-of-12 shooting, three 3-pointers and three assists in 19 minutes. Cleveland has already ruled him out for Wednesday night’s tilt against his previous team, the Boston Celtics, but head coach Tyronn Lue effectively confirmed Thomas will move into the Cavaliers’ starting lineup Saturday when they take on the Orlando Magic, according to Joe Vardon of Cleveland.com. He told reporters Tuesday that Cleveland’s medical staff isn’t allowing him to play in back-to-backs for the time being, but aside from that, his minutes are likely to ramp up in the weeks to come. The buy-low window on Thomas is already slammed shut, as he’s a top-50 option moving forward with top-25 upside once his playing time returns to normal.
James Harden, SG, Houston Rockets: When a player falls from the No. 1 spot in the rest-of-season rankings, it’s a noteworthy change. With Harden sidelined for at least the next two weeks due to a Grade 2 hamstring strain, per ESPN.com’s Tim MacMahon, he can no longer stay atop these rankings. As Jeff Stotts of In Street Clothes noted, a “hamstring injury for a start-and-stop player like Harden will be particularly problematic,” and given the Rockets’ cushion in the Western Conference standings — they were a full seven games ahead of the fifth-seeded Oklahoma City Thunder heading into Tuesday — they’ll have little incentive to rush Harden back. He’s still a top-10 rest-of-season value, but fantasy owners should brace themselves for a potentially Beard-less January.
DeMar DeRozan, SG/SF, Toronto Raptors: Welcome to the NBA’s 3-point revolution, DeMar! After going eight straight years without averaging at least one made 3-pointer per game, DeRozan is setting new career highs in makes (1.1) and attempts (3.0). Over his past seven games, he’s been particularly potent from deep, having gone 20-of-38 (52.6 percent) while averaging 28.7 points, 4.7 assists, 3.9 rebounds and 1.0 steals over 35.8 minutes. DeRozan’s career-high 52-point eruption against the Milwaukee Bucks on New Year’s Day will draw the headlines, but if his evolution into a half-decent 3-point shooter isn’t a mirage, it only further bolsters his fantasy stock. He’s looking like a potential top-30 rest-of-season option at the moment.
Jeff Teague, PG, Minnesota Timberwolves: The Timberwolves announced last Thursday that Teague had been diagnosed with a Grade 1 MCL sprain in his left knee and would be sidelined indefinitely, although ESPN.com’s Adrian Wojnarowski reported the team was optimistic he could return “within two to four weeks.” Regardless, his temporary absence sends him tumbling down the rest-of-season rankings, as it could open the door for backup point guard Tyus Jones to carve out a larger role moving forward. Though Jones hasn’t put up huge numbers in Teague’s place yet — he’s averaging only 5.7 points on 40.0 percent shooting, 5.3 assists, 3.3 steals and 2.3 rebounds through three starts — head coach Tom Thibodeau may realize his starting unit can function with the backup point guard at times, thus allowing him to reduce Teague’s minutes once he does return. Whereas Teague was a fringe top-50 rest-of-season option prior to his injury, he’s closer to the top-75 range now.
Lou Williams, PG/SG, Los Angeles Clippers: The Clippers just can’t catch a break, huh? On the night Blake Griffin returned from his 14-game layoff due to an MCL sprain, Austin Rivers suffered a right Achilles injury that has sidelined him for the Clippers’ past three contests. According to Tomer Azarly of Clutch Points, Rivers’ initial MRI came back “negative for a tear or any structural damage,” but Brad Turner of the Los Angeles Times reported Tuesday that Rivers is set to undergo more testing after missing the Clippers’ 115-103 win over the Memphis Grizzlies. In the meantime, Lou Williams remains en fuego, having dropped 20-plus points in six straight games, including four 30-plus-point outings. With per-game averages of 30.8 points, 4.8 assists, 4.3 triples and 2.3 rebounds in 33.8 minutes over those six games, Sweet Lou is the definition of a sell-high if Rivers’ return is imminent, but his rest-of-season upside is astronomical if injuries continue to besiege the Clippers.
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Ben Simmons, PG, Philadelphia 76ers: As the 76ers have slowed down of late, so too has their rookie phenom. Prior to his 21-point, nine-rebound, six-assist outing on New Year’s Eve, Simmons had averaged only 12.4 points on 49.5 percent shooting, 7.2 assists, 7.1 rebounds, 1.2 steals, 0.8 blocks and a whopping 4.1 turnovers in 36.1 minutes over his previous nine games. He remains a stat-stuffer in rebounds and assists, but his recent decline in scoring and uptick in turnovers isn’t doing any favors to his fantasy value, particularly given his lack of 3-point shooting. Simmons has plunged to 89th on a per-game basis in nine-category leagues in large part due to his turnovers and horrendous free-throw shooting, so owners must be wary of those weaknesses moving forward. (Conversely, owners punting those categories should try to buy low on him ASAP.)
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, Jan. 3.