What did you guys dress up as this Halloween? Wendell Carter Jr. put on his FRANCHISE CENTER costume and then forgot to take it off. What a week for the big man from Duke – 25 PTS, 8 REB, 5 AST, 3 STL, 3 BLK, and 2 3PM on Halloween followed by 11 PTS, 8 REB, 6 AST, 1 apiece BLK/STL and then 14 pts, 13 REB, 2 STL, and 4 BLK. He is becoming a bigger part of the offense in Chicago and using his high basketball IQ to make things happen. Stock is way up. If he is still available in your league or you have an owner sleeping on him, get on it!
TOP PERFORMERS
Marvin Bagley III – Are the Kings kind of good? Nah, but they are watchable now and Bagley has had a hand in that. Averaging just over 20 minutes per game, Bagley has been consistently solid so far. He won’t help your FT% at all, but PTS, REBS, FG%, the occasional 3PM, and a few BLK sprinkled in is very good value from the PF spot. Once he works his way into more minutes, he could be a fantasy monster.
Collin Sexton – Sexton got the most minutes of the season during Cleveland’s sole win of the season last week against Atlanta. Then, the Cavs promptly reduced his minutes and hung two more L’s. Coincidence? Absolutely, but that doesn’t mean Sexton isn’t going to be a long term fixture for the Cavs. He hit a couple of 3’s and got a few more assists. He just needs to continue to work on that jumper and get to the line more (91% on the season).
Trae Young – My personal #1 rookie on the preseason rankings has not disappointed: 37 assists last week in four games, including back-to-back double-digit totals. FG% is moving in the right direction and his FT% will soon follow. I was hoping he would get more steals than he has, but that will come with more experience. Elite PG upside here – get him if you can.
Luka Doncic – Dropped 31 on the Spurs to start the week, then a more modest 14 and 18 in his other games, but he averaged 7.3 REB, 5.6 AST, 1 STL, and 3 3PM while shooting over 50% from the field. He is awesome.
Deandre Ayton – He’s getting a lot of minutes and he’s….fine. Had a monster 18 PTS and 17 REB game against Toronto, but then came back down to 9 PTS and 8REB against Memphis to close out the week, although he added 6 AST, 2 BLK, and 3 STLs. He is also very good – I just want to see more!
Mohamed Bamba – If you get a 5 block game, chances are I’ll write something about you. Averaged 20 MPG last week and did well with his time. Shooting well over 50% from the field and, in addition to his 5 BLK game on Tuesday, he recorded his first double-double on Sunday against the Spurs with 12 PTS and 11 REB. If he can earn more playing time (he should, Orlando is terrible), then Bamba will be a valuable contributor to your Championship run.
Mitchell Robinson – A preseason favorite of many, his last two games saw him average 30 MPG and put up a decent showing with it. Friday night he had 13 PTS, 10 REB, 3 AST(!), 1 BLK, and 3 STL, while Sunday wasn’t nearly as impressive, but he still got 10 PTS and 6 REB. The minutes are the most important thing though – if that stays consistent the numbers will be there. Grab him if you can.
Josh Okogie – Earned even more time last week with an average over 30 MPG and, aside from a dud on Sunday, really filled up the stat sheet considering his draft position and preseason expectations. Add him if you can, hold him if you got him.
Chandler Hutchison – Gee, the Bulls fan highlights the two Bulls rookies. Very original, right? I am surprised to see Hutchison here too. All the lead up to the draft about “The Promise” and how the Bulls did it so that they wouldn’t have to do any more scouting seemed only about half made up. The early showings by Hutchison weren’t inspiring either. The kid can play, though, and he has what appears to be a very high basketball IQ with good defensive instincts. The athleticism is there and his shot is starting to fall a bit. The stats aren’t great, but he is going to be getting minutes on a bad Bulls team, so they will come. If you have extra space and are willing to be patient, Hutchison could be a sneaky addition.
Donte DiVincenzo – The star of the NCAA tourney has carved out a nice role on a very good Bucks team, averaging a little over 20 MPG. The long range shot hasn’t been falling as much yet, but that will come. In the meantime, keep an eye on him, because if there are any injuries to the wings in Milwaukee his minutes and usage will both tick up.
Landry Shamet – If you need some cheap 3PM, go grab Shamet. Averaging about 20 MPG and at least 2 3PM in his last 5 games, Philadelphia needs all the shooting it can get, so expect his role to be consistent as long as the shots are falling.
BE PATIENT
Jaren Jackson Jr. – A lot of people were expecting a big minutes bump for the #4 pick, but it hasn’t materialized yet. He is doing fine and is going to be a monster once the minutes come, but for now he is a borderline roster guy in redraft leagues. Don’t cut him just yet though!
Elie Okobo – The headliner of my column last week, the brain trust in Phoenix decided to yank his minutes back down to the teens. The return of Devin Booker played a part, but I would imagine they would want both of them on the court more often to build chemistry as long term pieces of the organization. They’re losing to everyone already anyways. What do I know!
We have had some truly special games out of this rookie class already and we are only three weeks in. As they get more acclimated to the NBA game and schedule, the consistency should improve. Some will hit the rookie wall while some will drive right through it. As always thanks for reading and good luck in your leagues!
