Dr. A's weekly risers and fallers: Tre Mann, Damian Lillard make the list
Several unexpected players have been returning surprisingly solid fantasy value over the past two weeks, while some huge names have been letting their fantasy managers down by struggling in multiple fantasy categories along the way.
Precious Achiuwa, Al Horford and Tre Mann are heating up, while Damian Lillard, Karl-Anthony Towns and Alperen Sengun have fallen off a bit.
Here’s a look at five risers and five fallers during the past week of the fantasy hoops season.
Risers
Precious Achiuwa, PF/C, Knicks 17.1% rostered in ESPN leagues: Achiuwa has been a great pickup for both the Knicks and his fantasy managers, and is still somehow available in over 80% of ESPN leagues. With averages of 14.0 points, 11.7 rebounds, 1.6 assists, 1.3 steals, 1.6 blocks and 0.6 3-pointers on 52% shooting he’s nearly been a top-40 value over the past two weeks. And his 75% free throw shooting won’t hurt you, either.
Al Horford, PF/C, Celtics 22.2%: Horford has quietly been a top-35 player over his past six games with averages of 9.5 points, 6.3 rebounds, 2.7 assists, 1.3 steals, 1.5 blocks and 1.7 triples on 49% shooting. He has also hit 83% of his free throws over that stretch and the Celtics’ goal of keeping their bigs healthy for the playoffs has worked out nicely so far, even though Kristaps Porzingis still misses more games than I’d prefer. Horford is a sneaky fantasy plug-and-play right now.
Tre Mann, PG, Hornets 6.7%: In his three games in Charlotte, Mann has been going off, even though it’s a small sample size. He’s been a top-60 fantasy value with averages of 13.7 points, 7.0 rebounds, 7.3 assists, 1.3 steals and 2.0 3-pointers. He’s hitting 46% of his shots from the floor and hasn’t missed a free throw for his new team. LaMelo Ball remains out indefinitely and Mann is going to be a factor the rest of the way, even when Ball is back. Go get him.
Duncan Robinson, SG/SF, Heat 8.7%: Robinson has been a top-70 fantasy value over his past six games and the Heat are banged up with Jimmy Butler and Terry Rozier, among others, currently on the shelf. Robinson has averaged 14.6 points, 1.8 rebounds, 2.6 assists, 0.8 steals, 0.4 blocks and 3.2 3-pointers over those six games and is shooting 54% from the floor and 100% from the line. Even when the Heat are healthy again, he should offer some decent value.
Saddiq Bey, SF/PF, Hawks, 26.7%: Bey simply won’t go away and has been a top-75 fantasy player over his past seven games, despite ample competition for minutes and touches in Atlanta. He’s averaged 16.0 points, 6.1 rebounds, 1.3 assists, 0.6 steals, 0.3 blocks and 2.1 3-pointers on 46% shooting and 92% free throw shooting over his past seven. The trade deadline is in the rearview mirror and he has continued to produce despite sharing roles with Jalen Johnson and De’Andre Hunter.
Fallers
Damian Lillard, PG, Bucks, 99.9%: We haven’t seen much of vintage ‘Dame Time’ in Milwaukee this season, and he has been bothered by a lingering ankle injury that’s not helping his cause. He has been just a top-85 player during his past five games with averages of 20.4 points, 2.4 rebounds, 6.4 assists, 0.6 steals, 0.6 blocks and 2.4 3-pointers. He’s hitting 46% of his shots and 91% of his free throws, and while the overall numbers aren’t bad, he’s simply not playing up to his ADP. In fact, he hasn’t even been close of late.
Karl-Anthony Towns, PF/C, Wolves 99.6%: The Wolves are rolling and KAT is a big reason why, but he’s only been a top-90 fantasy value during the past six games with averages of 20.3 points, 5.3 rebounds, 1.5 assists, 0.3 steals, 1.2 blocks and 2.7 3-pointers. He’s shooting 46% from the floor and 90% from the line over that stretch, but the lack of boards, assists and steals, along with the poor shooting for a big man, has taken a toll on his recent fantasy value.
Dejounte Murray, PG/SG, Hawks 99.3%: Murray’s been outside of the top 100 in fantasy during the past six games with averages of 21.0 points, 6.0 rebounds, 6.5 assists, 1.2 steals, 0.5 blocks, 1.8 3-pointers and 2.5 turnovers. The big culprit is his shooting, as he’s hit just 40% from the floor, 79% from the stripe and a putrid 24% from downtown over the last two weeks. Maybe he’ll start shooting it better again now that the trade deadline has passed.
Jaren Jackson Jr., PF/C, Grizzlies 98.1%: Triple J has barely been a top-140 player in fantasy during the past six games and he was doubtful for Thursday with a quad injury as of this writing. We’re all on pins and needles waiting to see whether the Grizzlies are going to shut him down, and his averages of 24.8 points, 3.8 rebounds, 3.3 assists, 0.8 steals, 1.5 blocks and 3.0 3-pointers have him lingering around players like Jose Alvarado, Seth Curry and Chris Boucher in the recent rankings. The 47% shooting, 70% free throw shooting and dismal rebounding numbers have really slowed his roll.
Alperen Sengun, C, Rockets 98.6%: My son mentioned to me recently that Sengun has really cooled off, and he was right, as Alpe has come in around 160th in fantasy rankings during the past six games. He’s averaged 17.2 points, 8.0 rebounds, 4.7 assists, 0.5 steals, 0.8 blocks and 0.5 3-pointers over that stretch. The big culprit in his dip in value has been his 60% free throw shooting. He’s hit a wall, but also has time to turn things back around, especially if he can just start knocking down freebies again.
