With the NBA playoffs rapidly approaching, a number of stars appear poised to take fantasy basketball owners to the promised land.
While Anthony Davis continues on his mind-bending tear — and cements his place atop our fantasy basketball rest-of-season rankings as a result — he isn’t the only All-Star putting up enormous numbers down the stretch. Just look at Portland Trail Blazers star Damian Lillard, who has been on a heater over his past 10 games.
During that span, Lillard erupted for 35.4 points on 48.9 percent shooting, 5.3 assists, 4.3 triples, 3.7 rebounds and 1.3 steals in 36.2 minutes, putting him as the third-best player on a per-game basis in nine-category leagues, behind only Davis and Karl-Anthony Towns. As the Trail Blazers continue to jostle for playoff positioning down the stretch, he’ll have to keep putting up monster numbers like those to carry his squad to home-court advantage in the first round.
Lillard has floated around top-10 territory all season, but in the wake of the carnage he’s left over the past month, he vaults up to No. 8 overall in the rest-of-season rankings, ahead of Chris Paul, Victor Oladipo, Kyrie Irving and Nikola Jokic. With Irving nursing an injury, Jokic struggling of late (more on that later) and Oladipo and Paul not matching Lillard’s night-to-night heroics, it’s impossible to deny the oft-overlooked Portland star his place among fantasy’s best options.
Who else is soaring or plunging down fantasy leaderboards as of late? Check out our latest batch of rest-of-season rankings for owners in nine-category leagues. Below, read about the notable risers and fallers from the past week.
2017 Fantasy Basketball Rankings powered by FantasyProsECR ™ – Expert Consensus Rankings
Larry Nance Jr., PF, Cleveland Cavaliers: With Tristan Thompson likely to miss at least the next two weeks, Kevin Love still on the mend from his hand injury and Jeff Green nursing a back ailment, the newly acquired Larry Nance Jr. is Cleveland’s next man up. During his first start for the Cavaliers on Monday, the bouncy 25-year-old went off for 22 points on 9-of-15 shooting, 15 rebounds, two steals and an assist in 32 minutes, but that’s just the latest in a string of promising outings. Nance has put up top-35 value since arriving in Cleveland, so make sure he isn’t still floating around on your waiver wire, as he’s owned in only 47.7 percent of ESPN.com leagues. He’s a top-50 option until Love and Thompson return.
Nikola Jokic, PF/C, Denver Nuggets: It’s officially time to be worried about Jokic. In the 20 games prior to Paul Millsap’s return in late February, the Serbian big man churned out 19.5 points on 47.2 percent shooting, 11.6 rebounds, 7.8 assists, 1.5 triples, 0.9 steals and 0.9 blocks in 32.7 minutes, delivering the well-rounded output fantasy owners expected when they invested a first- or second-round pick into him during drafts. Since Millsap’s return, however, Jokic has sputtered his way to 10.0 points on 40.7 percent shooting, 7.8 rebounds, 5.5 assists, 1.0 steals, 0.8 treys and 0.8 blocks in 29.8 minutes over the past four games. Until he proves capable of putting up monster numbers alongside the four-time All-Star — remember, he got off to an inconsistent start prior to Millsap going down — it’s difficult to envision Jokic as a top-20 value moving forward.
Jrue Holiday, PG, New Orleans Pelicans: Davis remains the alpha and omega for the DeMarcus Cousins-less Pelicans, but he isn’t the only one going off as of late. During New Orleans’ current nine-game win streak, Holiday has chipped in 25.1 points on 52.0 percent shooting, 8.6 assists, 4.8 rebounds, 1.4 triples, 1.3 steals and 0.7 blocks in 37.2 minutes per night, making him the No. 9-ranked player on a per-game basis in nine-category leagues over that span. After a 19-point, 17-assist outing against the Los Angeles Clippers on Tuesday night, he’s showing no signs of slowing down, either. Holiday is a legitimate top-30 rest-of-season option.
Myles Turner, PF/C, Indiana Pacers: I’ve continued to urge patience with Turner all season, but it’s getting harder and harder to do so. He flirts with early-round upside by going off for 24 points, 11 rebounds, three blocks and two triples one night, and then follows it up with a five-point, five-rebound clunker his next game. Turner currently sits as the 51st-ranked player on a per-game basis in nine-category leagues, so owners shouldn’t consider dropping him by any means, but he’s going to fall short of his mid-third-round average draft position. For the time being, he slides past the likes of Tobias Harris, Ben Simmons and Julius Randle and sits just outside of the top 50.
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Tobias Harris, SF/PF, Los Angeles Clippers: Speaking of Harris, anyone concerned about his midseason move to the Clippers should officially retire those fears. Rather than taking a step back, Harris has actually increased his per-game output, averaging 19.6 points on 48.0 percent shooting, 7.1 rebounds, 3.0 assists, 2.2 treys, 1.5 steals and 0.8 blocks in 35.0 minutes over his 13 games since arriving in L.A. He’s the 19th-ranked player on a per-game basis in nine-category leagues over that span, and his 27-point, 11-rebound outing against the Pelicans on Tuesday suggests he’ll keep being the Clippers’ No. 1 option moving forward. Harris looks like a legitimate top-30 rest-of-season value.
Tyreke Evans, PG/SG/SF, Memphis Grizzlies: Evans has missed each of Memphis’ past six games with a rib injury, and with the Grizzlies locked in a fierce battle for pingpong balls, they have no incentive to rush him back. They’ve already ruled him out for Wednesday’s contest against the Chicago Bulls, and they’ve given no timetable for his return. While Evans is posting top-50 value on a per-game basis in nine-category leagues this season, fantasy owners can’t know how much to expect from him down the stretch. As a result, he plunges outside of the top 75 for now.
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, March 7.