Fantasy Basketball players we value differently now than at start of NBA season
Mid December means the Fantasy Football season is coming to an end just as the NBA is coming into full focus, highlighted by the upcoming Christmas slate. With that, it’s a great time to rollover your football league for basketball.
Drafting a fantasy team now would look a lot different than putting together a roster at the start of the NBA season. In some cases, very different. Let’s run through some of the big changes since action tipped off in October.
Which breakouts are real? Victor Oladipo was viewed as a sleeper entering the year, but his average draft position still hovered around a modest No. 60, making him a common mid-round pick. He’s returned first round value so far, as the move away from Oklahoma City (and sharing a court with Russell Westbrook and his league-leading Usage Rate) to Indiana has resulted in a career year, and there’s no reason to expect the 25-year-old to slow down anytime soon. But is a fantasy owner willing to pull the trigger in Round 1 based on eight weeks of evidence from a player who’s never sniffed this kind of value?
On the flip side, what about early disappointments? Will Carmelo Anthony, who’s shooting 34.7 percent over his past seven games, eventually mesh with his new Thunder teammates and bounce back? Or has he officially entered full-blown decline phase?
Those who haven’t paid attention will quickly glance at LaMarcus Aldridge’s numbers and consider him with an early pick, but Kawhi Leonard made his season debut Tuesday, so there’s a strong likelihood Aldridge’s value this season has already peaked.
What about Ben Simmons, who entered the year coming off an injury and as a fun rookie flier but has already proven to be one of the league’s best players, and his poor free throw shooting doesn’t hurt fantasy owners in this points format. Put differently, Simmons is the No. 60 ranked player in standard 9-cat leagues and the No. 10 player in this format. Teammate Joel Embiid has been No. 8. With such a small track record (and health concerns), it’s a risk to take either with your first pick, but they are also young and ostensibly only getting better, so the sky’s the limit. Rest assured, there’s someone in your league willing to take that gamble. The question is if that’s you.
There have been plenty of other surprises, such as Tyreke Evans, who went undrafted in most fantasy leagues yet has been a top-50 player so far. Forward thinkers will target others who entered the year off the radar, such as Will Barton, who’s now making a huge impact both for the Nuggets and fantasy owners. Brandon Ingram has improved faster than most expected and might be making the leap already, while Lou Williams went from a nice bench player to likely leading the Clippers in scoring (and becoming a major fantasy asset) thanks to injuries in Los Angeles.
Kris Dunn and Donovan Mitchell are in the midst of breakouts and look like the real deal, whereas Derrick Favors and Eric Gordon may look great in the current ranks yet are unlikely to keep up that pace with Rudy Gobert and Chris Paul now back in action. Jamaal Murray is heating up of late. Is he the next to break out?
What do you do with Isaiah Thomas, who’s creeping closer to a return but coming off a serious injury and joining a new team? And for that matter, how will his return affect LeBron James, who’s been a monster but just passed Michael Jordan in career games played and has seen more minutes than any player in the NBA so far this season.
Now that we have two more months of NBA action behind us and can make more informed fantasy draft decisions, why not get in on the debate and rollover your Fantasy Football league for basketball. It’s the Christmas gift you can give yourself.
