All-Star Break Player Report Card - Eastern Conference (top-150ish)
ATL
26. Murray - A: As expected, assuming you didn't reach
41. Capela - A: Solid considering the injury risk
49. Young - B: Struggled with efficiency
70. Collins - B-: Has looked lost and disengaged at times
A month into the season, here's a list of must-roster players in standard leagues. These are basically guys who should be on at least one roster, based on production, be it current or potential.
ATL: Young, Murray, Johnson, Capela, Okongwu, Bogdanovic
Merry Christmas/happy new year/happy festivus to anyone following me or reading/listening to my stuff. I'm constantly blown away by by your loyalty and dedication to fantasy basketball. Finally, a shoutout to the analysts who make this the best job in the world.
@HiddenUpside
For no reason at all, my five favorite players at the moment, in no particular order are:
🏀Markelle Fultz
🏀Jalen Williams
🏀Tyrese Haliburton
🏀Jaren Jackson Jr.
🏀Alperen Sengun
Anyone feeling my vibes.....?
Players rostered in under 50% of Yahoo leagues who are arguably must-roster players:
Brandon Miller
Coby White
Keyonte George
Dyson Daniels
Alex Caruso
Saddiq Bey
Eric Gordon
Grayson Allen
Bismack Biyombo
Jonathan Isaac
Santi Aldama
Gratitude Thread...
Somehow, I am within striking distance of 10k followers. Shout out to everyone who has followed me over the years. I'm totally blown away by what this has turned into, given it is basically a hobby that went too far.
1/3
🧵🧵Industry 'My Guys' thread🧵🧵
As analysts, we love talking up our guys. Here's a list of names we can look back on throughout the season...
@ZaktheMonster
- Mobley, Poole, Kessler, Edwards, Scottie Barnes
@Rikleen
- Conley, Simons, Reaves
If you're punting assists, here are some guard-eligible players to target.
Pre-100:
Mikal Bridges
OG Anunoby
Kawhi Leonard
Bruce Brown
Gary Trent
Buddy Hield
Josh Hart
Post-100:
Quentin Grimes
Malik Beasley
Norm Powell
Bennedict Mathurin
De'Anthony Melton
Kevin Huerter
I'm bored. Here's a quick summary of standard fantasy-relevant players, team by team (12=Hold/Add, 12/14=Add/Stream/Consider Dropping, 14=Drop)
ATL
Murray 12
Capela 12
Collins 12
Young 12
Okongwu 12/14
Griffin 12/14
Hunter 14
Continuing the 'I miss fantasy basketball' fantasy basketball content, here are a few guys who could have strong ROS value relevant to their current rank:
Top-70
101. Fultz
102. Giddey
103. Porter Jr.
106. Jalen Williams
136. Mark Williams
Top-100
198. Collins
159. Smith Jr.
Based on Yahoo ADP data, here are a few of my favorite final-round targets (outside top 130) in standard formats.
132. Obi Toppin
133. Bennedict Mathurin
134. Ben Simmons
134. Mark Williams
138. Zach Collins
140. Josh Hart
143. Dennis Schroder
143. PJ Washington
145. Deni Avdija
Based on current Yahoo ADP data, I think this is my All-FUN team:
5. Haliburton
20. Sabonis
29. Wembanyama
44. Cunningham
53. Poole
68. Vassell
77. Reaves
92. Fultz
101. Okongwu
116. Brown
125. Toppin
140. Eason
149. Jalen Johnson
Players we're talking about: Week One
Jalen Duren
Cam Thomas
Ben Simmons
Max Strus
Keegan Murray
Jalen Johnson
Walker Kessler
Markelle Fultz
Nikola Vucevic
Josh Hart
Josh Giddey
Paul Reed
Patrick Williams
Happy new year to the entire Fantasy Basketball community. Without all of you guys, I would be providing advice to myself, which would be a little sad.
Thanks for supporting all of the analysts. I can't speak for all of them but personally, you make all of this worthwhile.
Lets roll with a list of must-roster players (not including stream guys) by team:
ATL: Young/Murray/Capela/Collins/Bogdanovic
BKN: Durant/Irving/Simmons/Claxton
BOS: Tatum/Brown/Horford/Williams/Smart
CHA: Ball/Rozier/Washington/Plumlee/Oubre/Hayward
CHI: DeRozan/LaVine/Vucevic
You know what's awesome? Having Coby White, Steph Curry, Luka Doncic and Kristaps Porzingis on your roster for the first week of the fantasy playoffs, not to mention having dropped Trae Young to free up an IR spot. Good times.
Nightly News 1/8
🍆We're adding McConnell and considering Nembhard.
🍆With Ja out for the season, I don't mind Vince Williams.
🍆Kennard could also get a bump.
🍆I'm continuing to hold Nesmith for now.
🍆Likewise, I'm holding Drummond until further notice.
Some interesting rotation questions going into tonight. Here are a few guys I'm keeping a close eye on:
Jalen Johnson
Jaden Hardy
Deni Avdija
Amen Thompson
Killian Hayes
Cam Thomas
Coby White
Jazz guards
Robert Covington
Naz Reid
Been a minute, so here is my current list of must-roster players by team:
ATL - Young/Murray/Capela/Collins/Bogdanovic
BKN - Durant/Irving/Simmons/Claxton/O'Neale
BOS - Tatum/Brown/Smart/Horford/Williams
CHA - Ball/Rozier/Washington/Plumlee
CHI - LaVine/DeRozan/Vucevic
Players ranks are obviously not the only tool for gauging value, but based on preseason ADP, here are the biggest busts so far (must have played at least 10 games):
JJJ - 21/99
Siakam - 30/144
Cunningham - 35/187
Brown - 36/97
Garland - 41/111
Poole - 48/203
Anunoby - 51/123
Based on our
@FBIBasketball
x
@lockedonfantasy
World Cup ADP data, here are some post-110 targets I like.
112 - Hart
115 - Ausar Thompson
116 - Reed
119 - Jaden McDaniels
126 - Melton
130 - PJ Washington
139 - Patrick Williams
141 - Toppin
149 - Grimes
168 - Richardson
All-Star Break Player Report Card - Western Conference (top-150ish)
DAL
9. Irving - A: Has stayed relatively drama-free
13. Doncic - A+: Even better than advertised
63. Wood - A-: Let's see in a month
193. Hardaway Jr. - B: On the radar, just
218. Green - B: Trending up
This could be me overthinking things but I love this. It tells me that Sengun is out there defending with emotion. Most people just accept these kinds of shots by Steph. Sengun getting frustrated shows a sense of growth. Or maybe it's nothing.
If you're punting blocks, here are some center eligible players to target.
Pre-100:
Nikola Jokic
Domantas Sabonis
Pascal Siakam
Nikola Vucevic
Wendell Carter Jr.
Post-100:
Kevon Looney
Jonas Valanciunas
Isaiah Stewart
Jusuf Nurkic
Now that I can sit down and absorb everything that has happened, let's look at the fantasy impact of all the free agency news to this point.
🚨🏀FREE AGENCY TRACKER🏀🚨
⬇️⬇️⬇️⬇️⬇️⬇️⬇️⬇️⬇️⬇️⬇️
In lieu of a daily update, here's a list of must-roster players. There is obviously some flexibility but at this time of the season, you have to make tough decisions.
ATL
Murray, Bogdanovic, Johnson, Bey, Capela
BKN
Bridges, Claxton
BOS
Tatum, Holiday, Brown, Porzingis, White
Another night with very little basketball, so here's a list of my must-roster players as of Friday 12/2
ATL
Young
Capela
Collins
Murray
Griffin
BKN
Durant
Irving
Simmons
O'Neale
Claxton
BOS
Tatum
Horford
Brown
Smart
White
CHA
Oubre
Washington
Ball
Rozier
Plumlee
Nightly News 2/26
🍆Dick is rising, and can be grabbed
🍆Olynyk is ok to roster, but isn't a must
🍆Both Nembhard and McConnell are fine if they do what you need
🍆Not the best night for Fontecchio, but can be held
🍆I'm keeping an eye on Grimes
The finest minds in Fantasy Basketball got together to deliver their hottest of hot takes as draft season rapidly approaches.
Who is on the money and who could be a bit hot under the collar?
@FantasyNBALayup
@kevinso
@FFProfessorST3
@MikeApotria
Struck gold on our recent holiday. For anyone in Australia, all-you-can-eat pizza hut is the stuff of legend. Fair to say I was in heaven. 1994...come at me!
Despite
@redrock_bball
's frowny face, I bring to you my stupidly early 2023-24 player ranks. Ill be updating these regularly over the next few months.
It's never too early for ranks is it?
Scoring often blinds people when considering players' overall fantasy value.
For those who may not be across statistical values, the following may offer some clarity.
In a vacuum, 14.7 points per game is equivalent to:
5.7 rebounds
3.1 assists
1.5 3pts
0.9 steals
0.6 blocks
Based on current ADP data, here are a few guys who could blow through their current rank should luck be on their side:
Kawhi Leonard (27)
Zion Williamson (56)
Khris Middleton (80)
Robert Williams (91)
Jalen Duren (96)
De'Anthony Melton (120)
Ben Simmons (124)
Paul Reed (145)
Heading into week two, here are some streaming options.
Points:
Harrison Barnes
Kelly Oubre
Eric Gordon
Cole Anthony
Tim Hardaway Jr.
Max Strus
Naz Reid
Alec Burks
Assists:
Delon Wright
Malik Monk
Kyle Lowry
Kyle Anderson
Caris LeVert
Keyonte George
Alex Caruso
With less than a week until the season and fantasy drafts in full swing, here's a list of fantasy analysts we should all be following (sorry if I forgot anyone).
So much great content available at the moment!
@docktora
@Rikleen
@MattStroup
@Alex_NBArutha
@JonasNader
Nightly News 2/12
🍆Hopefully, we held Reed
🍆Keep rolling with Hield and Oubre
🍆The buy-low window for Garland is closing
🍆No need to hold Strus
🍆Nembhard plays enough to be considered
🍆Micic cooled off but I would hold for another game or two
I'm slowly rolling out an idea I've had for a while, the Fantasy Basketball Podcast Hub.
This will provide listeners with a daily hub for all fantasy basketball podcasts. Included will be direct links to the episodes, as well as the legends bringing you the content.
Mondays Thoughts
DET
@CHA
Tough to get a good read given the Pistons are just giving guys the night off. Bagley and Wiseman should probably be added for now. Diallo typically puts up numbers when afforded decent minutes.
First round of our industry mock is in the books.
No Curry.
No Embiid.
No Kawhi.
1. Wembanyama
2. Jokic
3. Doncic
4. Gilgeous-Alexander
5. Haliburton
6. Antetokounmpo
7. Tatum
8. Davis
9. Edwards
10. Mitchell
11. Holmgren
12. Irving
13. Barnes
14. Durant
Here are some guys I was actively targeting in the final rounds of my drafts (ADP>100), both hits and misses, as well as my best pickups thus far:
Hits
102. Nurkic (60)
118. Jalen Johnson (48)
127. Ausar (95)
128. Conley (74)
138. Suggs (63)
139. Coby White (144)
@Itamar_17_10
I'm not sure how Silas still has a job to be honest. Unless he is getting direction from above, they need to find a coach who can develop their young core properly.
If you're punting rebounds, here are some power forward/center eligible players to target.
Pre-100:
Cam Johnson
DeMar DeRozan
Jaren Jackson Jr.
Brook Lopez
Jerami Grant
Post-100:
Patrick Williams
Jaden McDaniels
PJ Washington
Kyle Anderson
Al Horford
Trey Murphy
Ranks aren't everything. Here are some players who finished outside the top 120 who I think should be drafted
Cam Johnson
Cam Thomas
Randle
Avdija
Poole
Giddey
Banchero
Daniels
Carter Jr.
Kuminga
Ausar
Podziemski
Sharpe
Mitch Robinson
Barrett
Jackson-Davis
Who have I missed?
Nightly News 1/9
🍆Despite a two-week re-evaluation, I still think McConnell could have a month of value
🍆Sharpe can be dropped, for those who were holding
🍆Give Reed a look with Embiid ruled out tomorrow
🍆Strong night for McDaniels, but I'm not running to grab him
Alperen Sengun Appreciation Thread
Despite their hand being somewhat forced by an injury to KPJ, the Rockets appear to have figured out how to use Sengun. He has been a top-20 player over the past two weeks, and boy has it been fun.
A few guys I was high on coming into the season who look fantastic
42. Ausar Thompson
Even better than I had hoped. The free throws have been a nice surprise, while the rebound numbers are wild. Defensively, he is already a stud. I do wonder how high he might go next season...?
Nightly News 2/8
🍆Keldon remains a hold but only in certain situations
🍆Fultz, on the other hand, might be a drop (sadly)
🍆Wendell is fine but is not a must-roster
🍆The same goes for Wiggins I think
🍆Keep an eye on Quinones in deeper leagues
Players rostered in over 50% of Yahoo leagues who are arguably not-roster players:
Lu Dort
Isaiah Stewart
Tre Jones
Bennedict Mathurin
Jaden McDaniels
Andrew Wiggins
Kentavious Caldwell-Pope
Kelly Oubre
Based on preseason ADP's, there is a chance someone could have drafted the following team:
Curry (1)
AD (8)
Mitchell (5)
SGA (2)
Bane (25)
Anunoby (17)
Markkanen (24)
Hield (37)
Turner (16)
Dinwiddie (40)
Lopez (21)
Bol (56)
Basically 12 top-50 players so far.
Well, this is silly. Here's a look at my early first round for 2024/25. Could we see Jokic dethroned as number one?
1. SGA
2. Jokic
3. Embiid
4. Haliburton
5. Doncic
6. Wembanyama
7. Holmgren
8. Giannis
9. Curry
10. Davis
11. Tatum
12. Ball
If you're punting steals, here are some guard/wing-eligible players to target.
Pre-100:
Damian Lillard
Michael Porter Jr.
Austin Reaves
Anfernee Simons
Klay Thompson
Brandon Ingram
Spencer Dinwiddie
Post-100:
Bojan Bogdanovich
Kenyon Martin Jr.
Luke Kennard
Keldon Johnson
Nightly News 2/13
🍆Giddey can go
🍆Fultz can go
🍆Carter Jr. is worth grabbing, just in case he stays relevant
🍆Keep holding Simmons where possible
🍆Robinson and Jazquez are worth adding for now
🍆Jovic is more of a flier
🍆Lillard remains a buy-low
🍆Don't add NAW
Another interesting day in the NBA, despite there being no NBA. Assuming we are done for today in terms of player news, so let's go with all the day 2 fantasy news.
🚨🏀FREE AGENCY TRACKER🏀🚨
⬇️⬇️⬇️⬇️⬇️⬇️⬇️⬇️⬇️⬇️⬇️
Based on our current ADP data, here are a few names you can get outside the top 12, with potential first-round (per-game) upside:
Ball
Harden
Irving
Butler
VanVleet
Leonard
Wembanyama (unlikely)
Towns (unlikely)
Kessler (very unlikely)
Edwards (very unlikely)
As has been obvious, doing nightly news has been an issue in terms of consistency, mainly because of my other work and family. So, starting tonight, I'll be trying a new format. It will be a more succinct version, focusing on player/transaction trends. I'm hoping people like it.
Fantasy playoffs are here, meaning streaming is all the rage. Here are some stream guys that have actually had sustained value over the past week (9-cat rank), some of whom could actually be available in your league.
18. Dunn
28. Hardaway
39. G. Allen
44. Reddish
50. Lyles
For those following along, firstly thank you so much, but secondly, I apologize for the sporadic content over the past few weeks. Rest assured that once I'm home, I will be back to nightly twitter recaps, weekly articles and regular episodes of Balls Deep.
I've had a few people DM me on Twitter/Discord, asking for a season recap thread. For reference, it will be top 120 players, including per-game rank/total rank/projection arrow
ATL
Murray - 36/24/⏸️
Capela - 42/61/🔽
Young - 51/32/🔼
Okongwu - 76/36/⏸️
Collins - 104/90/🔼
Nightly News 11/10 (Finally back at my computer...)
CHA
@WAS
Williams has been a top-40 player over the past two weeks. Possibly a sell-high moment but only if you're getting equal value in return. Same goes for Hayward if you think anyone in your league will bite.
Nightly News 2/10
Note: Sometimes, I'm unsure regarding how honest/definitive to be with my takes. I'm going to try and rectify that.
🍆Not looking good for Giddey once Hayward is cleared
🍆Both Gafford and Washington remain holds
Nightly News: 10/25
HOU
@ORL
Rough opening night for the Rockets. Garbage time meant some low minutes, so don't go making any hasty moves. Despite the blowout, Sengun played 28 minutes. Hopefully, he cracks 30 minutes most nights.
Nightly News 1/19
🍆A step back for Fultz but I'm holding him
🍆We're adding Carter at this point
🍆Hopefully, people watched the show earlier and picked up Collins for tonight
🍆Make sure Miller isn't available anywhere
Nightly News 1/30
🍆Kessler is rapidly trending in the wrong direction unless you simply need blocks
🍆Dunn and George are basically cutting each other's grass
🍆In case he has been missed, Hart needs to be added
🍆I don't mind Grimes in slightly deeper formats
Merry Christmas guys. Thanks for all the support this year. It's been a bit surreal as I get used to navigating this thing called Twitter.
I really appreciate the follows and, hopefully, the content keeps improving moving forward.
Shoutout to Miles Bridges for having his worst game of the season in the first round of the fantasy playoffs. KAT grabbing a whopping four boards is also appreciated.
Fridays Thoughts
MIA
@WAS
A lot of streaming here, but nothing long-term. It feels as though a day off could be coming for Lowry. Keep rolling with Strus. Martin is really just a streamer.
For those in deeper leagues or just wanting to take an absolute flier in 12's, here are some players who don't even have a current ADP:
Jaden Hardy
Kris Dunn
Josh Green
Payton Pritchard
Robert Covington
Dennis Smith Jr.
Max Christie
Shake Milton
Peyton Watson
Andrew Nembhard
As we near the climax, the list of must-roster players gets thinner and thinner. Of course, this can also be schedule based.
ATL: Young/Murray/Capela
BKN: Bridges/Dinwiddie/Claxton/Johnson
BOS: Brown/Tatum/White/Horford
CHA: Rozier/Oubre/Washington (2 games)
Fridays Thoughts
🎇🥳HAPPY NEW YEAR (in Australia)!!!! 🥳🎇
WAS
@ORL
Hard to read too much into this one given the outs. Gafford was solid. If he saw 26 minutes per night, he would be a clear must-roster. Wright is the primary backup but let's hope he can get to 22 minutes.
Nightly News 1/13
🍆Brooks is back. Don't really care.
🍆Keep streaming Whitmore.
🍆Wright remains a decent steals streamer.
🍆The Hawks were pathetic.
🍆Hold Suggs. Not sure why he played given he was clearly unwell.
🍆Bitadze/Wagner can be rostered. I'd still lean Bitadze
Based on
@Fantrax
ADP data, here are the best waiver wire pickups of the season (ADP lower than 150), based on per-game numbers.
35. Bridges
47. Jalen Johnson
49. Bogdan
71. Suggs
77. Coby White
85. Lively
88. Strus
89. Monk
94. Murphy
95. Lowry
97. Hayward
103. Gordon
Very early trade reactions, not including the Nets. This is not to say we run and grab anyone in particular, just gauging their shift in value.
⬆️Collins
⬆️Agbaji
⬆️Sexton
⬆️Reddish
⬆️Green
⬆️Vanderbilt
⬇️Achiuwa
⬇️Grimes
⬇️Quickley
⬇️Schroder
⬇️Beverley
Who doesn't love punting? For all of you, here's a list of players whose value changes dramatically, both good and bad, when punting a single category (not including to's).
Giannis/FT% - 20⬆️2
Trae/FG% - 44⬆️18
Gobert/FT% - 55⬆️12
Claxton/FT% - 102⬆️32
Jabari Smith/FG% - 130⬆️68
Nightly News 1/26
🍆If Nurkic misses time, maybe we see more Eubanks
🍆Toppin was great but let's see more before making a move
🍆McConnell is really just a stream guy at this point
🍆Stream Whitmore until Smith actually returns
🍆Washington remains a decent enough stream
Nightly News 3/1
🍆Grant Williams remains a 12-team option
🍆I'm holding Mann for now
🍆Micic in 28 minutes, can be considered
🍆Reed is still the option over Bamba
🍆Give Lowry a look if you need assists
🍆Welcome back Ausar
🍆Short-term Moody is a thing
🍆Add Olynyk now
Mondays Thoughts
TOR
@DET
Breakout game for Banton. Can be streamed but keep in mind both FVV and Trent will return soon. Boucher remains viable, as does Thad.
Tonight was a great example of why benching a player because of early fouls is often a mistake. Herb played only a handful of minutes in the first half because of three very early fouls. He ended the game with three fouls in 26 minutes.