RADIO
Throughout the season, players get hot and see an increased role while others struggle and fight to stay relevant. Experienced fantasy players know this happens every year.
In this weekly column, we’ll showcase those who have taken important steps forward and those who have taken steps back.
Now, starting from this week I'll be taking over this column for a great fantasy basketball expert and fellow RotoBaller writer, JT Rosales. I hope I can at least fill one of his shoes with both my feet, give you guys some relevant fantasy info and help you do well in your leagues.
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!All three of our risers for this week are ranked in the top-11 for the last 7 days in my H2H 10-cat (double-doubles) league, and in the top-12 for the last 14 days. That's no fluke!
On the other hand, our fallers have a high ceiling and their current fall in production shouldn't worry their owners too much, but it still warrants caution.
These are the risers and fallers in the top-100 midway into Week 21 of the NBA season.
Mid-Week 21 Fantasy Basketball Risers
RISER - Paul George (F, IND) - Owww yeahhh! PG13 is back! He is ranked outside of the top-25 on the season, but it doesn't feel like it for the last week or two. In his previous seven games he has averaged 28.3 points with 3.6 3-pointers on 54.5% from the field and 96.7% from the stripe, 8.4 boards, 3.3 assists, 1.1 steals, 0.1 blocks and 3.7 turnovers in 36 minutes a game. He even double-doubled in four of those games, for all of us who're keeping track. His surge did coincide with Myles Turner's mini-slump, but I don't think that Myles coming out of it will have much effect on George. If his owners managed to claw their way into the playoffs with their first round pick producing on a third round level for most of the year, they have to be ecstatic to have their star back at just the right time!
RISER - Ricky Rubio (G, MIN) – Ricky Rubio is another player who was feeling under the weather in the beginning of the season, but is making it rain now! Ever since the trade rumors stopped with the deadline, and maybe even a little bit before then, he has been killing it. He's been averaging a double-double for over a month now, but he has been especially good lately. It all started with a triple-double against the Spurs and continued into his next five for averages of 18.3 PTS with 1.5 3PM on 48.1 FG% and 90.0 FT%, 5.2 REB, 11.5 AST, 1.7 STL, no blocks and 2.7 TO in 35 minutes per outing. I really hope you didn't drop him during his ice-cold November rain.
RISER - Marvin Williams (F, CHA) – Marvin's teammates have been injured more often than not, making him work really hard for his paycheck. First Cody Zeller was out. Then Frank Kaminsky. And when it finally looked like the Hornets will be at full strength, and Marvin might get a chance to take a breather, Nicolas Batum went down. His heavy workload hasn't affected his efficiency and his fantasy game has increasingly flourished along with the rise of playing time. In the last 14 days Charlotte has played seven times and Williams has 12.9 points with 0.9 threes on 50.0 field goal percentage and 88.9 free throw percentage, 11.6 boards, 3.1 dimes 0.6 steals, 1.3 blocks and 0.9 turnovers in 37 minutes per game. Not too shabby for a guy who was picked as the 104th pick on average. He is probable to continue to impress for his owners who definitely hit a jackpot.
Mid-Week 21 Fantasy Basketball Fallers
FALLER - Serge Ibaka (F/C, TOR) – From a Riser to a Faller in a matter of days, Ibaka has really left his owner's scratching their heads. First it was a pretty common opinion that he will have a drop off with the Raptors following his mid-February trade. He proved everyone who taught so wrong and made those who bought low on him at that time easy winners. Then everybody was sure he will keep filling it, especially when Kyle Lowry went down. He will have to step up, won't he? He proved everyone wrong again and has slumped hard in his last three getting a modest 9.3 PTS with 0.8 3PM on 36.8 FG% and no misses in two attempts from the line, 4.8 REB, 0.8 AST, no steals, 1.8 BLK and 2.8 TO in 29 minutes per game. The blocks are the only silver lining in Ibaka's dark, dark cloud. His owners can only hope that a ray of sunshine makes it's way through soon.
FALLER - Kristaps Porzingis (F/C, NY) – Now don't get me wrong, Porzingis hasn't been THAT bad when he's on the court, and has been insane on the blocking front, leading the NBA by far with 4.7 a game in the last 7 days. The problem is that he was scheduled to play only two games in the first week of the default fantasy playoffs. First of those two games saw him score 11 points on 5-of-17 shooting, no attempts from the line, one three-pointer, three rebounds, three assists, one steal, three blocks and two turnovers. But he injured his thigh and left early after only 24 minutes on court in that game. The injury caused him to miss the second and last game the Knicks had this week. If you're in a tough matchup, the Zinger didn't help you much.
FALLER - Giannis Antetokounmpo (almost every position, MIL) – In the light of Giannis getting PF eligibility in Yahoo leagues, he's decided to celebrate by limiting his limitless contribution to a moderate top-75 value in the last seven days. His owners, including your's truly, didn't see that coming. He has been leading the Bucks in points, rebounds, assists, steals and blocks for the course of the entire season, but has been the leader of his team only in points over that period, and that's with just 18.3 PTS, well below his season average of 23.0. He is still very useful with 5.5 REB, 5.3 AST, 1.5 STL and 1.0 BLK, but his owners were expecting him to annihilate their opponents, so these type of lines from the Alphabet are sort of a let-down. Let us hope that the Greek Freak gets back to his usual ways in time to save our Fantasy Freak behinds.
By popular demand, RotoBaller has aggregated all of our fantasy basketball NBA waiver wire pickups into a running list of NBA waiver options, so bookmark the page and check back often for updates.
