RADIO
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.
Who is trending up this week? Who's trending down? Let's dive in and find out.
If you have any fantasy basketball questions, follow me on Twitter, where I'm always willing to respond to your tweeted questions: @juscarts
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Fantasy Basketball Risers
Saben Lee - G, Detroit Pistons
I swear: the Pistons are just an unending parade of guard after guard after guard. Lee is approximately the 28th different Piston perimeter player I've written about this season.
But hey, we can't ignore his production, even if he plays for a team that keeps discarding guys who are producing. Lee's youth gives him an advantage in terms of sticking in this rotation, as the Pistons need to try out young guys.
Over the past three games, Lee is averaging 27.7 minutes per game. That's translating into 15.3 points, 3.0 rebounds, 4.3 assists, and 2.3 steals per contest. With Derrick Rose traded and Delon Wright out, the point guard rotation in Detroit is Lee and Dennis Smith Jr., and Lee is outplaying DSJ. When Wright comes back, it figures that either Lee will stay in the rotation, or the team will just keep both DSJ and Lee going and reduce Wright's role.
Jalen Brunson - G, Dallas Mavericks
It's been a disappointing year for Dallas, who sit at 15-16 on the season so far.
But Brunson has seen an uptick in minutes lately, which has corresponded to an uptick in production. Over the last four games, Brunson is averaging 28.8 minutes per game, scoring 15.8 points on 53.8 percent shooting. He's not doing a ton outside of scoring -- four points and two assists per game in that span -- but his 2.3 threes per game is a nice added touch.
Malik Monk - G, Charlotte Hornets
While we're on the subject of bench guards who are playing well, we have Hornets guard Malik Monk!
Monk has scored 20-plus points in three of the past four games, and the one time that he didn't, a 1-for-7 night from three was the biggest reason why, not a lack of opportunity.
Monk has been shooting the ball well lately (aside from the game I just mentioned), shooting 47.6 percent or better from the field in three of the past four. He's also grabbing a handful of rebounds per game. Like Brunson, the assists and steals aren't as there as you might like, but the fourth-year guard seems to be making some major strides this season.
Tristan Thompson - F/C, Boston Celtics
The Celtics' bigs aren't doing a ton right now, so the fact that Thompson's numbers are up could be a signal that they'll stay up, because it's not like he's competing with stars for minutes at the five.
Over the last five games -- all starts -- Thompson is playing 26.4 minutes per game, shooting 65.9 percent from the floor and averaging 13.2 points and 8.8 rebounds per game, as well as 1.2 steals per contest. Those are extremely helpful numbers for fantasy managers who are in need of depth in the frontcourt, and you could probably trade for Thompson cheap right now, if not just grab him off waivers in the 65 percent of Yahoo! leagues where he's still available. You (probably) won't regret it.
Fantasy Basketball Fallers
Hamidou Diallo - G/F, Oklahoma City Thunder
Currently out with a groin injury for at least the next two games, Diallo is a victim of the "Thunder have a lot of young mouths to feed" syndrome. He's been an inconsistent scorer lately, going from scoring in the mid-teens in one game to not finding the bottom of the bucket in the next game.
That rollercoaster production in terms of points could be made up if he gave you something else. But the rebounds rarely go over five. The assists stick around two per game. The threes don't happen. The steals and blocks don't happen much.
Overall, Diallo just doesn't give you enough things to make him a strong fantasy play. As a streaming option, fine. But I think we don't need to consider him a must-play fantasy play when he returns.
Davis Bertans - F/C, Washington Wizards
Currently day-to-day with a knee injury, Bertans teased us all with a 35-point showing back on the 17th, but since then he's just been pretty meh, shooting 27.3 percent in the past three games and averaging 6.7 points per game.
He doesn't do a ton outside of scoring, so when Bertans isn't scoring, he's actively hurting your fantasy team. The highs are incredibly high, but are you really prepared to ride out all the lows just to get those occasional highs?
Maybe! It depends a lot on your roster construction and league size. But it's pretty hard for me to justify playing Bertans most nights if I've got other options on my team.
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