
Welcome back, RotoBallers, to the fifth and final edition of my monthly fantasy basketball risers and fallers series for the 2024-2025 season!
The fantasy basketball playoffs are now upon us, but plenty of work remains to do. If you're playing in a dynasty league, you always have to keep an eye on young players so you can add them to your team. You can never fall behind in dynasty fantasy basketball!
With that being said, let's look at the risers and fallers from the fifth month of the NBA season. We will focus on players who have 1-5 years of NBA experience.
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Fantasy Basketball Risers: March
Toumani Camara - F, Portland Trail Blazers
Despite being a second-round pick, Toumani Camara played his way into the Blazers' starting five in his rookie season. He ended his first year in the league on a bittersweet note, as he scored 11 points or more in each of his last four games of the year, but missed the final nine games of the season due to a rib injury.
TOUMANI CAMARA POSTER MY GOODNESS. 🔥🔥🔥
— Hoop Central (@TheHoopCentral) March 10, 2025
It took a while for Camara to get going this year following the injury, but now he's playing the best basketball of his life and has turned into a great 3-and-D player.
Camara has averaged 12.2 points, 6.6 rebounds, and 1.9 steals on 47.1% shooting from the field and 40.3% shooting from three in his last 18 games, and helped the Blazers go 8-4 in February.
He plays the type of basketball coaches love, as he plays stifling defense (named February's Western Conference Defensive Player of the Month) and loves to draw charges.
He currently leads the league with 26 charges drawn, and his hustle ensures that he'll always get a lot of minutes on the floor, making him a great and underrated dynasty pickup.
Matas Buzelis - F, Chicago Bulls
The Bulls decided to move into a new era after trading Zach LaVine at the trade deadline, and this trade has opened up some new opportunities for their younger players. One of those players is Matas Buzelis, the 11th overall pick of the 2024 NBA Draft.
In his first 45 games as an NBA player, Buzelis only averaged 12.9 minutes and 5.0 points per game on poor shooting splits. He only had four games with double-digit points during that span, but now, scoring double-digits has become easy for him.
In his last 18 games, the Lithuanian has put up 12.9 points a night while shooting 49.2% from the field. After scoring 15 points in a close loss to Phoenix on February 22, Kevin Durant heaped praise on the young star.
"He’s long, athletic, and can really shoot it," Durant said. "He’s going to face some challenges over the next few years as he figures things out, but he’ll get better."
Kyle Filipowski - C, Utah Jazz
Another rookie who is taking advantage of his new opportunities is Kyle Filipowski. Filipowski was the talisman of two great Duke teams before getting drafted 32nd overall in the 2024 NBA Draft by the Jazz.
Kyle Filipowski is the best prospect on the Jazz and he was the latest of their 6 picks in the rebuild lol
— g (@freewave3) March 8, 2025
Unfortunately, opportunities were hard to come by when he first arrived in Utah. But now that Lauri Markkanen is hurt, Filipowski is getting the chance to shine.
Over his last 12 games, the rookie has put up 15.7 points and 7.4 rebounds a night, shooting 55.6% from the floor and an absurd 48.1% from deep.
To put his elite shooting into perspective, his effective field goal percentage (65.9) ranks second among all players in the NBA who have taken at least 120 shots during this span.
While this efficiency is unsustainable, it wouldn't be far-fetched to expect him to become one of the more efficient stretch bigs in the league over the next few years.
Brice Sensabaugh - F, Utah Jazz
Let's stick with another young player on the Jazz. Brice Sensabaugh shot 40.5% from three in his only year at Ohio State before getting picked 28th overall by the Jazz in the 2023 NBA Draft. However, he struggled to carry his shooting touch over to the pros.
Sensabaugh shot 29.6% from beyond the arc in his rookie season but is now proving he can make it rain from deep when given the opportunity. Sensabaugh has averaged 14.1 PPG in his last 11 games, and he's shooting the three-ball better than ever, with a great 45.2% from deep.
Some players get more efficient when they play more minutes or take more shots, and Sensabaugh is one of those players. As the Jazz continue to rebuild, they'll likely give Sensabaugh an even bigger role as the starting SF in 2025-26.
Fantasy Basketball Fallers: March
Josh Green - G, Charlotte Hornets
It's heartbreaking when you finally have to accept that one of your favorite prospects will never pan out. Many analysts had high hopes for Josh Green, and despite never breaking out in Dallas, there were hopes that he could prove himself in Charlotte.
Josh Green and DaQuan Jeffries might be the worst wing pairing of all time dawg
— 𝙻🇧🇧 (@HornetsRuinedMe) March 9, 2025
Sadly, this hasn't happened yet and it's looking more and more likely that it never will. Green had a pedestrian start to the season and is only getting worse as time passes.
In his last nine games, all starts, Green has put up just 4.6 points per game while shooting a disgusting 27.7% from the field. Despite his defensive ability, the Hornets have been 2.3 points worse per 100 possessions whenever Green has been on the floor, and the team will have to pay him $28.2 million over the next two seasons.
Tidjane Salaun - F, Charlotte Hornets
LaMelo Ball and Brandon Miller need some real help. The Hornets tried to address that by signing Josh Green and drafting Tidjane Salaun in the offseason. So far, neither of these moves has worked out.
The sixth overall pick of the 2024 NBA Draft was viewed as a project player coming out of France, but Salaun has yet to show the potential to convince everyone that he'll be a future star.
Salaun has averaged just 5.1 points on 32.0% shooting in his last 10 games and was recently sent down to the G-League. When you can't even get playing time on a terrible team, you'll have a long way to go before you're ready to become relevant in fantasy basketball.
Paul Reed - C, Detroit Pistons
There was a time when "BBall Paul" Reed was beloved by Sixers fans. He had the best season of his career in 2023-24, averaging 10.3 points and 7.7 rebounds in 24 games as a starter when Joel Embiid went down.
But all good things must come to an end, as he had a terrible defensive performance in the playoffs against the Knicks. Reed was waived and signed with the Pistons for his last chance to prove himself.
He was waived again midway through the year but re-signed with the team almost immediately after. Unfortunately, he hasn't done much to convince the team to keep him, as he has only played 67 total minutes of basketball since the start of February.
Cam Whitmore - F, Houston Rockets
After falling to the 20th overall pick on draft night in 2023, Cam Whitmore had a good rookie season which included a great stretch in the end, as he averaged 14.4 PPG in his last 27 games. But now, he feels like an outcast on a great Rockets team.
Cam Whitmore tonight:
2 whole minutes
1 whole defensive rebound pic.twitter.com/QtnukNk1j7— Whitmore HQ (@CamWhitmoreHQ) March 11, 2025
In his last 17 games, Whitmore has played just 16.7 minutes a night. Whitmore is sometimes sloppy with his passes and shot selection and isn't a positive factor on the defensive end due to his lack of hustle.
The Rockets are now a playoff team and simply can't afford to be patient with a player who makes these mistakes. Whitmore is very talented and has all the potential in the world to succeed, but he's not in the right situation right now, which has tanked his fantasy value.
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