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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.
Which players were the Reddit stock traders this week and which were the bankrupt hedge funds? Let's dive in and see.
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Fantasy Basketball Risers
Reggie Jackson - G, Los Angeles Clippers
Huh, where'd Jackson come from?
Despite spending a good portion of this season essentially being out of the Clippers rotation, Jackson has seen his stock soar with Patrick Beverley (knee) sidelined. In the past three games, Jackson is averaging 16.7 points per game. In the past two games as a starter, he's up to 18 points per game, plus 7.5 rebounds and 7.0 assists.
Jackson's still a serviceable player, and as long as he's playing this expanded role with Bev sidelined, he's someone who needs to be on your roster and in your lineup. His uptick in usage will probably be too short for there to be any trade value here, but overall you should be satisfied with what Jackson's going to give you.
Wayne Ellington - G/F, Detroit Pistons
Wayne Ellington just keeps showing that he's Detroit's best offensive weapon right now.
The 33-year-old guard was clearly trending down last year in New York, playing just 15.5 minutes per game. But a move to the Pistons has rejuvenated him. He leads the NBA in three-point field goal percentage and over the past seven games has just been incredible:
I mean...what? Ellington looks like the NBA's best shooter right now. He's always been a really good long-ball threat, but not at this level.
He's also the classic sell-high guy right now. We've seen a lot of Wayne Ellington over the year. We definitely know from his track record that this current level of production isn't sustainable. Ellington's shot won't keep falling at a near 60 percent rate. It won't. His trade value right now is as high as it will ever be, and with the right move you could set yourself up for the rest of the season in a big way.
Naz Reid - C, Minnesota Timberwolves
Reid's streak of games with double-digit points has reached five. Karl-Anthony Towns (COVID-19) will be back at some point in the near-ish future, but Reid is just playing such high-level basketball right now that the Wolves are going to have to find ways to keep him on the floor.
That shouldn't be hard. Ed Davis and Jake Layman are getting some decent run off the bench, but Reid could easily take some of those minutes plus some of Jarred Vanderbilt's minutes as well. I trust this team to find ways to keep Reid on the floor, even if it takes a little creative thinking like using some Reid/KAT lineups, something that hasn't happened yet this season but could have promise on the offensive end.
Al Horford - F/C, Oklahoma City Thunder
Not only is Horford a proud new father again -- that's why he missed the past six games -- but he's also playing good basketball. In his first game back, Horford scored 21 points on five threes and grabbed 11 rebounds. He also had three steals and a block.
Sixers fans were often frustrated with Horford last year, but in OKC he's shooting 38.2 percent from three and is averaging some solid numbers -- 12.1 points, 7.5 rebounds, 0.6 steals, and 0.8 blocks per game. That's factoring in a couple of uncharacteristically bad games early in the season too. Horford seems poised to have a strong rest-of-season.
Fantasy Basketball Fallers
Kelly Olynyk - F/C, Miami Heat
Olynyk's shot has been really off over the last five games. Among all players to average 20 minutes per game and play more than one game over the past five, Olynyk has the fourth-worst field goal percentage at 27.8.
His 25 percent mark from three doesn't help that either. It's becoming clear that Olynyk's role in Miami isn't one that's going to make him an appealing fantasy option down the stretch. He'll probably shoot better at some point, but now isn't the time to buy low on him, because you'd probably just be wasting a transaction.
Draymond Green - F/C, Golden State Warriors
This isn't the first time this year I've mentioned Green as a faller.
Over the last five games, he's averaging five points per game on 33.3 percent shooting. Maybe you forgive that if Green is putting up the kind of well-rounded numbers we're used to, but his four rebounds per game hurt a lot. 6.4 assists and 1.2 steals per game over that span do help him maintain some value, but his 2.8 turnovers per game rank in the top 30 of the league over this span.
I understand the allure of Green, but he hasn't blocked a shot since January 10th. He hasn't had a multi-three game since that date either and has scored double-digit points once since then. The assists are nice, but where's everything else at?
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