Buy/Sell: The Other Joker Level

With 12 games played for most NBA teams and 1/10 of the season already behind us, we can make some initial observation about this fantasy season. One easy one is that Nikola Jokic is playing on another fantasy level this season and is comfortably and by a margin ranked first in value. And how could he not with averages of 29.7 points, 13.7 rebounds, 11.7 assists, 1.7 steals and 1 block. These are NBA 2K level statistics with the difficulty set to Semi-Pro and he is not even as accurate from the field as last season with 56.3%, but he is hitting his triples with 56.4%. What’s more amazing is that it seems to effortless to him that he can make statements like this.

I can’t imagine the statlines he could produce if he was genuinely stat-chasing, but the only things he is chasing is another championship and wins for his beloved horses back in Serbia.

Regarding last week’s suggestions, Bub Carrington continues to start and be productive for the Wizards, while Peyton Watson has predictably taken over the role of Aaron Gordon and provided some bonus triples last week, besides his usual defensive contributions. Finally, Goga Bitadge also continued to start in the absence of Wendell Carter Jr and has been a great source of big man stats, while Alex Caruso has done nothing to convince me he can have standard league value this season and the unfortunate injury of Chet Holmgren does not change my view.

Buy

Jared McCain: At first I didn’t pay enough attention to the initial breakout of McCain as he is a rookie and historically it is very common for rookies to have a great game followed by four bad ones. However, after getting 30 minutes against the Lakers and scoring 18 points he has followed through with similar playing time and increased scoring in his subsequent 2 games. In the absence of Tyrese Maxey his usage has skyrocketed so as long as he has the hot hand and increased opportunities he is a great scoring option off the waiver wire (22% owned).

Luguentz Dort: Dort can end up as an indirect beneficiary of the Chet Holmgren injury as the Thunder have to play even smaller now so there will be plenty of minutes available for guys like Dort. His start to the season has flown under the radar but he is making 2.4 triples per game along with career bests 1.4 steals and 0.7 blocks and is thus ranked 64th in per game value. Granted his valuation is boosted by his nonexistent turnovers but a preemptive add of Dort can be a good move, especially with him having 3 games remaining this week (28% owned).

De’Anthony Melton: The rotations in Golden State were and still are kind of a mesh, but lately De’Anthony Melton has emerged as a starter for the Warriors and has produced admirably. We know his game is very fantasy friendly with triples, above average steals and some assists, so give him a look if he is sitting on your waiver wire (27% owned).

Sell

Brandin Podziemski: Highly correlated with the Buy suggestion of De’Anthony Melton, the Sell suggestion of Brandin Podziemski comes due to decreased playing time. Despite high hopes in the preseason and relatively high selections in fantasy drafts, he is averaging less playing time this season than last year as a rookie and his production is consequently decreased across the board. With the Warriors employing a 12man rotation it would take injuries for him to become standard league relevant so I don’t think there is value in keeping him as a permanent member of fantasy teams (63% owned).