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We’re coming down the home stretch of the NBA season and the injuries and “rest” games are sure piling up.
Anyone in the thick of the fight for a league championship, make sure to keep a constant pulse on each of your players, knowing when you’ll need to make a replacement pickup off the waiver wire.
This week’s column features some of the most-added players in all fantasy leagues over the past week. Despite their recent strong play, it’s their futures that offer the most cause for excitement.
Editor's Note: Our incredible team of writers received five total writing awards and 13 award nominations by the Fantasy Sports Writers Association, tops in the industry! Congrats to all the award winners and nominees including NBA Writer of the Year, Best NFL Series, MLB Series, PGA Writer and Player Notes writer of the year. Be sure to follow their analysis, rankings and advice all year long, and win big with RotoBaller! Read More!
Landry Shamet (PG, BKN)
With both James Harden (hamstring) and Kevin Durant (thigh) sidelined, Brooklyn Nets guard Landry Shamet has stepped into a featured role alongside Kyrie Irving. He’s played over 30 minutes in three of his past four games and hasn’t been shy about letting the ball fly from downtown.
Over his last four games, Shamet is averaging 21.3 points, 3.8 assists and 4.3 threes per game while shooting 54.9% from the field. On Sunday against the Miami Heat, Shamet scored a career-high 30 points by shooting 10-for-15 from the field and 7-for-12 from three-point range.
Shamet has a smooth jump shot with picture perfect form and a quick release. However, his offensive game doesn’t end there. He’s a well-rounded point guard who can be a solid floor general, setting up teammates with on-point passing. He’s also able to beat defenders off the dribble and finish at the rim as long as he isn’t too heavily contested.
This recent surge from Shamet shouldn’t really surprise anyone as he’s shown flashes of brilliant shooting through various spurts of his two-plus years in the league. As a rookie, he was traded to the Los Angeles Clippers midway through the year and gave the team a huge boost with his three-point shooting prowess, averaging 2.7 threes per game while shooting at a 45% clip from deep over 25 games.
Shamet is locked in with the Nets for at least one more year after this one, then he has a qualifying offer for 2022-23. He’s the perfect low-cost, role-playing piece for where the team is currently at. His shot opportunities will certainly go back down once the team is fully healthy again, but the quality of shots should increase due to how much defenses need to focus on the trifecta of superstars on the Nets. Look for Shamet to be a fantastic source of threes over the next few years at least and he could also help out in efficiency and assists.
Grayson Allen (SG/SF, MEM)
Memphis Grizzlies guard/forward Grayson Allen has been getting things done on both ends of the floor over the past few weeks. He’s of course always been known for his scrappiness on the defensive end, so his five total steals over his past two games aren’t much of a surprise, especially given the fact that he’s logged a total of 76 minutes over the two-game stretch.
The biggest surprise from Allen’s recent surge has been his scoring and in particular, his efficient outside shooting. Over his last four games, Allen averaged 21.0 points per game while hitting 4.8 threes per game. Last Wednesday, he shot 6-for-11 from downtown against the Dallas Mavericks. Two games later, he went 7-for-10 from three-point range against the Milwaukee Bucks.
The Grizzlies are a team with a promising future that’s primarily built around their franchise point guard Ja Morant. Outside of Morant, the team also has a lot to be hopeful for with injured power forward/center Jaren Jackson Jr. (knee). If Jackson can return to health and continue to progress next year, he and Morant will make up a great 1-2 combo to build around.
Beyond that, the rest of the team’s makeup is very much in question.
Allen’s recent play could go a long way in determining the team’s offseason plans. If he can continue knocking down his outside shot at a reliable rate, he makes a lot of sense as a complement beside Morant. With proper minutes over the next few years, Allen could be a great source of steals, assists and, as these past few weeks have shown us, threes.
Cole Anthony (PG, ORL)
Orlando Magic rookie point guard Cole Anthony has found himself in a position he couldn’t have imagined during his first year in the league. Taken 15th overall in the 2020 NBA Draft, Anthony has become the team’s default starting point guard due primarily to the season-ending ACL tear suffered by Markelle Fultz (knee) at the start of the year.
Anthony missed a good amount of time himself in the early going this year due to injury and he really struggled with his shooting early on, but lately he’s started to come around.
Over his last four games, Anthony has averaged 15.5 points, 6.8 assists, 4.8 rebounds and 1.3 threes per game while shooting 45.8% from the field and 86.7% from the line. He’s notched at least five assists in seven of his last eight games.
Anthony certainly has the skillset and the moxie to be the primary ball-handler for an NBA team. He sees the floor well and isn’t shy to hoist up his own jump shot or attack the rim. The main questions with him are whether he can shoot consistently well from outside and whether the Magic are going to be willing to give him the keys to the franchise amidst their very clear rebuild.
The Magic are going to have a very high pick in the loaded 2021 NBA Draft. The player who they draft will have a drastic effect on the next few years of Anthony’s career. If the team takes a point guard like Cade Cunningham or Jalen Suggs, Anthony might find himself in a confusing scenario or even shipped out of town. However, if the team went with a wing like Jonathan Kuminga or a big man like Evan Mobley, Anthony could have an ideal running mate to help take some of the load off of him. Either way, Anthony has a great deal of upside as a well-rounded point guard who can help fantasy managers a great deal in points and assists.
Bruce Brown (SG, BKN)
We conclude this week’s article right where we began, with the superstar-laden Brooklyn Nets. But of course, it’s not the superstars we’re focused on here. It’s the emerging role players.
Shooting guard Bruce Brown has flourished lately in a similar context to the above-mentioned Shamet, but the output couldn’t be any more different.
Where Shamet has become a deadly outside shooting threat to help space out the offense, Brown has emerged as one of the team’s top glue players. He has made his mark in a variety of different aspects of the game over the past few weeks while the team has dealt with the Harden and Durant injuries.
Brown has grabbed double-digit rebounds in three of his past five games. He’s also swiped at least four steals in three of his past seven games and has at least one block in seven of his last 10 games.
Brown has done a great job playing within himself on the offensive end this year. With the Detroit Pistons last year, Brown had to take on more responsibilities due to the lack of alternatives on the team. He shot 44.3% from the field and averaged 1.7 turnovers per game in about 28 minutes per contest. This year, he’s averaged about 22 minutes per game and has shot 53.7% from the field while committing just 0.9 turnovers per game.
Like Shamet, Brown is an ideal fit for where the Nets currently are. He’s a low-cost player who seems best fit for a supporting role. He has a minimal qualifying offer after this year and it’s hard to imagine the Nets passing on it. Brown is a player who can contribute in minor but notable amounts across the stat sheet with the chance to be a major contributor in steals. He should be a top-100 drafted player next year with room for upside.
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