Good luck to everyone traveling down the bestball streets, as money time has commenced. To those of you in head-to-head league playoffs, may the injury, scheduling and matchup gods look favorably upon you. While variance is mitigated for my Roto brethren, injuries are still a huge part of the game, so make the proper sacrifices. While there are a plethora of variables beyond your control, you can call some shots. Hopefully, the following will assist you in your journey to glory.<\/p>\n
Egalitarianism in Memphis<\/p>\n
Since Jaren Jackson was traded nine games ago, Memphis has gone full egalitarian, with 10 players getting at least 20 minutes a night and none consistently receiving 30 minutes. There have been two games over that span in which a player hit the 30-minute mark, but Memphis only suited up nine players in those games due to injury. I\u2019m not expecting Ja Morant or Cedric Coward to play much down the stretch, if at all. I\u2019m not even sure we\u2019ll see Santi Aldama either, but even if any of the three return, they likely won\u2019t sniff 30 minutes, depressing their fantasy values. One man\u2019s loss is another\u2019s gain, though, so there have been quite a few Grizzlies players who have become fantasy viable.<\/p>\n
Javon Small is literally small at 6-foot-1, but he\u2019s averaged 25 minutes, 13.6 points, 4.6 rebounds, 3.6 assists, 2.1 treys and 1.0 steals over eight of the past nine games. On the season, he\u2019s draining 43% of his 2.8 attempts per game from downtown. He\u2019s a very good shot and playmaker, so it\u2019s surprising to see that he\u2019s only 9% rostered on Yahoo.<\/p>\n
Olivier-Maxence Prosper has started the past three games and averaged 24.9 minutes over the past eight games. Prosper has contributed 14.0 points, 4.3 rebounds, 1.6 treys and 1.0 steals. Taylor Hendricks has averaged 23.8 minutes, 9.4 points, 4.8 rebounds, 1.5 assists, 1.1 treys and 1.3 steals over the past eight games. Memphis currently doesn\u2019t have much size in the front court, so the minutes should be secure for both.<\/p>\n
GG Jackson started eight of the past nine games, averaging 26.8 minutes, 17.4 points, 6.0 rebounds, 2.1 assists, 2.2 treys, 0.8 steals and 1.1 blocks. His usage rate has spiked to 30% over the past four games, and he\u2019s been a top-100 player on a per-game basis. He\u2019s always been known as a bucket-getter, but the contributions in the defensive categories are certainly a welcome sight.<\/p>\n
Memphis has a plethora of guard options, including\u00a0Ty Jerome,\u00a0Cam Spencer,\u00a0Scotty Pippen,\u00a0Rayan Rupert,\u00a0Walter Clayton\u00a0and Jahmai Mashack. Rupert is on a 10-day contract, while Mashack (two-way contract) is eligible to play in 18 of the final 25 games for Memphis. Mashack had a recent eight-game stretch averaging 7.0 points, 2.5 rebounds, 1.8 assists and 2.4 steals, but was a DNP last game. Spencer had his moments earlier in the season, but he\u2019ll only play around 20 minutes now. Pippen, Clayton, and Spencer are the Spider-Man pointing-at-each-other meme. Jerome was only playing 20 minutes when he returned from injury, but he\u2019s up to 24 minutes now. With Cleveland last season, Jerome averaged 1.15 fantasy points per minute. In eight games with Memphis, he\u2019s up to a whopping 1.45. I don\u2019t think that level is sustainable, but Jerome should still be a productive per-minute contributor.<\/p>\n
Injuries Schminjuries<\/p>\n
Dillon Brooks is out 4-6 weeks after surgery on his left hand. Ryan Dunn started the past two games for Brooks, but he\u2019s not fantasy relevant due to the low usage, poor shooting efficiency and lack of defensive stats. Brooks was garnering a usage rate of 28.7% on the season, so with Devin Booker also out, the biggest beneficiaries are Jalen Green and Grayson Allen.<\/p>\n
Anfernee Simons is out indefinitely with a wrist fracture. It\u2019s a good thing Chicago has a million guards, though the Bulls are going big with Guerschon Yabusele playing alongside Jalen Smith. Yabusele has started the past three games and averaged 27.0 minutes, 11.3 points, 8.7 rebounds, 3.3 assists and 2.7 treys. Yabu Yabu do!<\/p>\n
Deni Avdija has been dealing with a back injury since January, which has kept him out of 11 games. Back injuries are tough since they can often linger. I\u2019ve had lower back issues in the past, and I could barely walk or bend over. I can\u2019t imagine trying to barrel through the paint to score a layup. I guess that\u2019s why I\u2019m writing this from my mom\u2019s basement while Avdija is a multi-millionaire. We are just built differently. That said, I\u2019d be wary of decreased effectiveness and the chance of reaggravation.\u00a0Kris Murray got the start for Avdija, but he\u2019s a low-usage player who won\u2019t contribute many fantasy goodies outside of a few points and rebounds with some steals sprinkled in.\u00a0Avdija has a 29.1% usage rate on the season, so Jrue Holiday, Donovan Clingan and Jerami Grant should all see an uptick.<\/p>\n
Jusuf Nurkic is done for the season after undergoing nose surgery. Kyle Filipowski has started the past three games and averaged 27.3 minutes, 16.0 points, 6.7 rebounds, 3.7 assists, 1.0 trey, 4.3 steals and 1.0 block. The defensive contributions are a welcome sight, but likely unsustainable. However, Filipowski can still be a fantasy beast down the stretch due to his ability to score from all three levels, rebound and dish dimes. He\u2019s only 38% rostered on Yahoo. I guess everyone is prepping for baseball.<\/p>\n
Jalen Johnson suffered a hip injury on Tuesday. While he\u2019s considered day-to-day, Johnson has been ruled out for Thursday\u2019s contest. With Johnson out on Tuesday, Jonathan Kuminga played 25 minutes and balled out with 27 points, seven rebounds, four assists, three treys and two steals. The usage rate was 26.5%, and he should thrive while Johnson is out. When Johnson returns, Kuminga will likely revert to a reserve role. Kuminga is a ball-dominant scorer who wants to get buckets, which is one reason for the friction in Golden State. In addition, Kuminga\u2019s defense is suspect, so his best role is likely as the microwave off the bench.<\/p>\n
James Harden suffered a right thumb fracture. No surgery is scheduled, and Harden said that he will play through it. Harden sat on Wednesday, allowing Dennis Schroder to start. Schroder played 35 minutes and contributed 26 points, two rebounds, five assists and a steal. Donovan Mitchell did not play on Wednesday, so that 26.4% usage rate won\u2019t be the status quo.<\/p>\n
Lauri Markkanen injured his ankle and hip during Wednesday\u2019s practice. He will undergo an MRI, and his status is unknown. John Konchar and Brice Sensabaugh started the past two games Markkanen missed. Konchar is a low-usage player who can provide some steals, while Sensabaugh is the high-usage bucket-getter who won\u2019t contribute much outside of points.<\/p>\n
Keegan Murray suffered an ankle injury. He was playing 34 minutes a night, which was way more than I thought he would, so anything is possible in Sac Town. That said, I don\u2019t see a reason why the Kings would rush back their former fourth-overall selection. On Wednesday, Patrick Baldwin was the biggest beneficiary, receiving 21 minutes. Baldwin is known as a shooter and a weak defensive player, so he fits right in with the Kings!<\/p>\n
Son\u2019s brain dump<\/p>\n
Jarace Walker has been solid for fantasy. The shooting efficiency still isn\u2019t great and he\u2019s been all over the map this season, but over the past eight games, he\u2019s averaged 31.3 minutes, 16.5 points, 8.9 rebounds, 4.4 assists, 1.8 treys and 1.3 steals. He\u2019s still only 22 years old, and I can\u2019t wait to see how he looks, possibly playing alongside Tyrese Haliburton.<\/p>\n
CJ McCollum entered the starting lineup two games ago, relegating Zaccharie Risacher to the bench. Risacher is shooting 44% from the field, 34% from downtown and 59% from the line after posting marks of 45\/35\/71 last season. McCollum is a vet who can produce in any environment, but he takes a usage-rate hit moving into the starting lineup.<\/p>\n
Donovan Clingan has been a top-10 fantasy beast on a per-game basis over the past four games, averaging 29.2 minutes, 18.0 points, 14.0 rebounds, 4.3 assists, 2.0 treys, 1.0 steal and 2.3 blocks!<\/p>\n
Collin Murray-Boyles started the last game with Jakob Poeltl active. Unfortunately, Murray-Boyles suffered a thumb injury, allowing Poeltl to play 28 minutes. Three games ago, Poeltl got the start with Murray-Boyles playing 20 minutes. It looks like Murray-Boyles and Poeltl will play musical chairs in the starting lineup, with Sandro Mamukelashvili locked into around 20 minutes off the bench. When healthy, all three should get around 20 minutes.<\/p>\n
Kam Jones has played well in February, and Rick Carlisle spoke positively about him. In nine games, he\u2019s averaged 26.6 minutes, 7.2 points, 2.3 rebounds, 3.9 assists and 1.0 treys. In the three most recent contests, Jones started all three, averaging 33.0 minutes, 9.0 points, 3.7 rebounds, 5.7 assists, 1.7 treys and 1.3 steals. He\u2019s played for and alongside Andrew Nembhard in the starting lineup and should continue to get significant playing time down the stretch.<\/p>\n
DeAndre Jordan is a thing once again. What a time to be alive. Jordan has started the past two games and averaged 27 minutes, 11.5 rebounds and 3.0 blocks. Derik Queen played 18 minutes off the bench. Both first-round picks from last year\u2019s draft, Queen and Jeremiah Fears, have been relegated to reserve roles. Jordan Poole has been pulled off the shelf and averaged 24 minutes after being a DNP in nine straight. What is going on in New Orleans?<\/p>\n
Marvin Bagley has been good since arriving in Dallas, averaging 13.5 points and 8.8 rebounds in 23 minutes over six games.<\/p>\n
Gui Santos has started the past nine games and averaged 30.3 minutes, 15.2 points, 5.9 rebounds, 4.2 assists, 1.9 treys, 1.7 steals and 0.8 blocks \u2014 fantasy beastliness.<\/p>\n
Kobe Brown has averaged 28.8 minutes, 10.4 points, 7.6 rebounds, 1.6 assists and 1.4 treys over the past five games. Aaron Nesmith and Pascal Siakam have been out, but Brown has shown he can be effective, so he is fantasy viable if either Nesmith or Siakam is out.<\/p>\n
Jericho Sims has averaged 27.1 minutes, 7.7 points, 8.6 rebounds and 2.3 assists over the past nine games while shooting 83% from the field. It\u2019s too bad he doesn\u2019t block many shots, but if you need rebounds, Sims can deliver.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Good luck to everyone traveling down the bestball streets, as money time has commenced. To those of you…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":506396,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[574],"tags":[64,63,726,91191,590,85],"class_list":{"0":"post-506395","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-basketball","8":"tag-au","9":"tag-australia","10":"tag-basketball","11":"tag-fantasy-basketball","12":"tag-nba","13":"tag-sports"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/506395","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=506395"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/506395\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/506396"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=506395"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=506395"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=506395"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}