RADIO
Welcome to the fantasy basketball risers and fallers column, a weekly look at a few players whose stock is rising and a few who've been struggling with some analysis of why that's been the case. As always, this doesn't mean you need to drop these players who are struggling, but this could be a useful piece for making some trade decisions or for making some tough lineup choices.
We're now far enough into the season that we can start to consider Cleveland's .500 record is maybe not some grand illusion and that the Raptors, Nuggets, and Rockets should be worried.
If you have any fantasy basketball questions, follow me on Twitter, where I'm always willing to respond to your tweeted questions: @juscarts
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Fantasy Basketball Risers
Clint Capela - C, Atlanta Hawks
Over the past three games, something's happened with Clint Capela.
Through nine games, the former Rocket was averaging a respectable 10.7 points and 12.7 rebounds on 8.4 shot attempts per game with 26.5 minutes of playing time.
Over the last three, Capela's numbers have exploded. 25 points and 18.7 rebounds per night on 16.7 attempts with 38.2 minutes per game. He's also blocked four shots per night.
The Hawks having some forwards out and needing to play less of John Collins at the five accounts for some of the increased minutes, but Capela is also playing at such a high level that the Hawks can't deny him the ball going forward. His rim-running and offensive rebounding in particular make him such a great fit on this team. Remember preseason concerns that Onyeka Okongwu could eat into Capela's minutes down the stretch? Nope, nevermind, not happening.
Immanuel Quickley - G, New York Knicks
I mentioned Quickley as a waiver add last week, but let's touch some more on the young point guard.
While he's still coming off the bench for the Knicks and hasn't supplanted Elfrid Payton in the starting five, Quickley had five consecutive games with double-digit shot attempts before Thursday night, when Quickley played just 11 minutes.
That's a concern, which is part of why I'm highlighting Quickley here. He's been playing very good basketball, scoring efficiently and making smart passes and limiting his turnovers. He's also a rookie on a Tom Thibodeau-coached team.
And by that, I mean this: you have a very brief window right now to take Quickley's production and sell high on him. There's a decent chance he's in next week's article as a Faller because of Thibs. Get you some value for him on the trade market.
Jeremy Lamb - G/F, Indiana Pacers
Look who's back! Lamb had missed all of the season so far with a knee injury but returned to the floor on Wednesday night He played 19 minutes, finishing with 10 points, two rebounds, and two steals.
While Lamb played about 10 minutes less than he averaged per game last year, he only took a couple fewer shot attempts than he averaged in 2019-20. I take that as an encouraging sign in Lamb's first game back.
And with Caris Levert sidelined after a mass was found on his kidney, Minutes on the wing should pretty easily open up. Justin and Aaron Holiday are both playing heavy minutes right now, but some of those will start to go to Lamb as he works his way back to full strength.
Collin Sexton - G, Cleveland Cavaliers
Sexton's third season has seen the Cavs guard blossom as a scorer, with him currently sitting at 27 points per game.
Sexton missed five games with an ankle injury, but his first game back against Brooklyn saw him play 38 minutes, scoring 42 points on 16-for-29 scoring to go along with five rebounds and five assists.
Now, that game did go into double OT, so the raw numbers can be a tad misleading. But Sexton was only fourth on the team in minutes in that one behind Cedi Osman, Larry Nance Jr., and Isaac Okoro, yet he had 12 more shot attempts than the closest player. The Cavs are short-handed right now and played just eight players in that game. Sexton's another sell-high option, though you could also just keep him on your team and reap the rewards.
Fantasy Basketball Fallers
Anthony Edwards - G/F, Minnesota Timberwolves
Rookies struggle sometimes.
This year's No. 1 overall pick, Edwards has shot the ball really, really poorly over the last four games, with a shooting split of 20.5/23.1/50.0.
Minnesota also seems to be cutting down on his minutes, which is obviously not good if you expect him to contribute right away.
I think we always knew Edwards would take some time to adjust to the NBA, but the lack of efficiency is a real issue for fantasy basketball managers, and his 5.5 points, 3.5 rebounds, 1.0 assists, and 1.3 turnovers per game over this stretch are not good.
Grant Williams - F, Boston Celtics
A second-year player I thought might be able to take a leap this season, things aren't going so well for Williams.
On the season, he's averaging just 4.9 points, 3.2 rebounds, 0.5 steals, and 0.5 blocks per game. And while his three-point shooting is up to 33.3 percent after hitting just 25 percent of them last season, that shot has disappeared over the last three games, as he's connected on 14.3 percent of his threes and just 27.3 percent of his overall shots. That's led to an average of just three points per game over this span, and he hasn't been contributing the defensive numbers that we hoped we'd get from him either.
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