Injuries have hit the NBA hard early this season and many of those impacted are very big names. We aren’t here to look not at those players, instead focusing on the healthy ones. Who is in a groove and rising up the ranks? Who is in a cold stretch and trending down?
Here’s Week 4’s risers and fallers:
Risers
Jalen Williams, SF/PF/C, Oklahoma City Thunder (98% rostered in ESPN leagues)
Williams is absolutely on fire and has found himself playing a new position (center). He’s been a top-10 talent over the past two weeks and has made two straight starts at center since Chet Holmgren went down with his fractured pelvis. Turns out he plays just as well at that position as he does from any other. Now eligible at center, the positional flexibility adds even more value to one of the game’s most versatile players.
OG Anunoby, SF/PF, New York Knicks (76.8%)
Anunoby has been a top 10 fantasy player over the last couple of weeks and his 52% shooting and 88% free throws are helping him lead the charge. And the 20 points, 5.3 rebounds, 3.3 assists, 1.7 steals and 0.8 blocks certainly aren’t hurting his cause. He’s also knocked down 2.8 3-pointers a game during that stretch, making him one of the hotter players in the league. He’s found a home in New York and is finally healthy, but this could be a ‘trade him’ moment, as he can’t play any better than he has over the last 14 days.
Michael Porter Jr., SF, Denver Nuggets (88.9%)
MPJ has been a top-15 player during the past two weeks and has averaged 21.2 points. 6.5 rebounds, 3.3 assists, 1.2 steals, 0.7 blocks and 3.8 triples over that stretch. Those rebounds, assists, steals and threes would all be career highs if we’re only counting the last 14 days. He’s sure to cool off at some point, but the loss of Aaron Gordon has sparked MPJ into being the fantasy player we always thought he could be. And with Gordon nowhere near a return, Porter should continue to put up numbers like this for the next few weeks.
Robert Williams III, C, Portland Trail Blazers (10.9%)
The “Time Lord,” seemingly out of nowhere, has quietly emerged to start making some fantasy noise, as in a top 15 player during his past three games. His first appearance, last Friday, resulted in 13 points, three rebounds, two steals and a block. He had a quiet game on Sunday, and then exploded for 19 points, nine rebounds, three blocks and three steals on 9-of-10 shooting on Tuesday. The downside is that he wasn’t able to play in Wednesday’s back-to-back (rest), but if he’s going to stay somewhat healthy and play regular minutes for the Blazers, he could be a very sneaky pickup, especially in deeper leagues.
Carlton Carrington, PG/SG, Washington Wizards (18.3%)
I’ve been calling ‘Bub’ a must-add for a couple weeks and a lot of people have listened. However, he’s still lowly rostered in ESPN leagues, just continues to produce, and I don’t see anyone else playing point guard for the Wizards this season. He’s been a borderline top 50 player during the past two weeks with averages of 8.8 points, 5.2 rebounds, 6.4 assists, 2.4 steals, 0.4 blocks and nearly a 3-pointer per game. And he had 13 points, five boards, five assists and three triples on Wednesday. The scoring will come with time but the other numbers are there.
Fallers
Brook Lopez, C, Milwaukee Bucks (64.9%)
Lopez has been a bit of a bummer thus far and he’s returned just top-120 fantasy value during the past two weeks. He finally had a decent game on Tuesday with 13 points, seven rebounds, two steals, three blocks and two 3-pointers in a win over the Raptors, but he low-key spoiled it by hitting just 5-of-14 shots. He simply hasn’t played well enough to be considered a must-have center in smaller leagues. But, it’s still early and he absolutely went off on Wednesday night with 29 points, eight rebounds, three steals, five blocks and five 3-pointers on 9-of-17 shooting. These are the kind of lines we were expecting coming in, and the fact he did it on a night when Giannis Antetokounmpo scored 59 points is encouraging.
Julius Randle, PF, Minnesota Timberwolves (96.9%)
Randle is barely cracking the top 120 recently with averages of 18.4 points, 6.1 rebounds, 4.0 assists, 0.7 steals, 0.1 blocks and 1.1 3-pointers. The counting stats are serviceable, but he’s also shooting 47% from the floor and turns the ball over 3.0 times per game. Randle is still finding his way in Minnesota with a chance of getting better, but his poor ranking is a result of a lack of threes, steals and blocks; aka the ‘fantasy gold.’
Jordan Poole, PG/SG, Washington Wizards (87.8%)
Poole was off to an incredibly hot start this season so it’s not all that surprising to see him cool off a bit, returning just top 130 value lately in nine-cat leagues. He’s been a 3-pointers and steals machine (not to mention blocks), which can salvage his off-shooting nights if he can keep swiping the ball. Poole has averaged 18.0 points, 2.4 rebounds, 2.8 assists, 1.8 steals, 1.2 blocks and 2.0 triples per game recently. The blocks are a bonus, but he’s also hit just 39.5% of his shots. However, he bounced back on Wednesday night and hit 15-of-22 shots for 42 points, six dimes, six triples and two more steals. He’s a chucker, so you have to be ready to take the bad nights with the good ones. Wednesday was a good one.
Jarrett Allen, C, Cleveland Cavaliers (91.5%)
Allen is a big reason the Cavaliers are undefeated as he got off to an incredibly hot start. We knew the return-to-the-mean was coming and he’s been just a top 130 player of late. The 61% free-throw shooting, 10.5 points, 0.9 steals and 0.9 blocks are all a part of the problem but the blocks will come back. That’s what he does and on the season he’s at 13.5 points, 0.8 steals, 1.3 blocks and is shooting 72% from the line. He’ll be fine, but he may still be a little overvalued going forward.
Jalen Green, SG, Houston Rockets (96.7%)
Green got off to a red-hot start and has since crawled away, while guys like Tari Eason and Amen Thompson are starting to take over in Houston. Green has returned just top 170 nine-category value during the past couple weeks behind 16.1 points, 5.0 rebounds, 3.0 assists, 1.0 steals, 0.6 blocks and 2.0 3-pointers. Those numbers are actually fine, but it’s the 36% field goal shooting and 3.0 turnovers a game that are the problem. If you’re in a points league, Green is fine, but if you’re in a head-to-head or roto league, Green needs to figure out his shot before he shoots your way out of a title.
