Sport: NBA
Sometimes, life comes down to opportunity. Just because you are drafted, it doesn’t mean the red carpet is immediately rolled out. Not everyone is Cooper Flagg. There are multiple reasons why a draft pick doesn’t come with a guaranteed 25 to 30 minutes per night, at least initially.
We can talk all we want about the adjustments necessary to play successfully at the NBA level. But before we even get to that, it comes down to something out of the rookies’ control. For as talented as you could be, you need the opportunity to show it off. Of course, you then have to capitalize. So let’s take a look at two rookies who are doing just that.
Fantasy Basketball Rookie Report
Maxime Raynaud, C, Sacramento Kings
Drafted in the second round out of Stanford, Maxime Raynaud was an afterthought, at best, entering the season. After playing 11 minutes in the season opener, Raynaud logged a DNP in five of his next six games, which was only interrupted by a four-minute stint of action. His playing time continued to be spotty in November, but then an injury to Domantas Sabonis changed everything.
After a few games, Raynaud stepped into the starting lineup, and his success has only been growing. Sabonis is expected to be out for about another month. From a fantasy standpoint, that’s all we need to hear. Assuming his performance remains at its current level, and there’s no reason to expect otherwise, Raynaud isn’t coming out of the lineup. We also know that a lot can happen in a month. The NBA is a performance-based entity, and right now, Raynaud is performing.
Through 10 games in December, Raynaud is averaging 30 minutes per game. With 15.8 points and 8.9 rebounds per game, the center is performing as one of the top rookies in the game. This is the type of production that garners attention.
Raynaud is also averaging close to a steal and rebound per game while shooting a strong 55.1% from the field. As a center, it’s also hard to argue with his 73.1% free throw shooting. He should be rostered across all leagues as Raynaud continues to get more comfortable on the court by the day.
Caleb Love, G, Portland Trail Blazers
When you are an undrafted rookie, nothing is promised. In the case of Caleb Love, though, he’s in a pretty good situation. At this point, from a fantasy basketball perspective, I’m still reserving Love for deeper leagues, but the guard should be on our radars.
With both Jrue Holiday and Scoot Henderson dealing with injury and still sidelined, Love’s in a good situation. He’s emerged as a dependable option off the bench with a relatively consistent role. While there are some ebbs and flows, he’s averaging 18.1 minutes per game. In that stretch, Love has 8.2 points, 2.3 rebounds, and two assists per game.
If we are looking for improvement, it’s easy to point at his 35.2% shooting from the field. An improvement there, and we are likely looking at Love differently as he’d be averaging in double figures.
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