With preseason, of course you need to take stats with a massive grain of salt. Reading preseason box scores needs to be done with discernment (here’s a guide). That’s why we’re here, y’all. Pounding box scores and using discernment to help you out. Here are some notable things from the preseason so far, by teams with fun things to notice
THUNDER
OKC is resting most of their rotation, which makes sense. Jalen Williams is healthy and ready to resume his normal role. If you’re looking for guard depth, Jared McCain is getting a lot of minutes and looks like their three-point specialist. He’s worth a later pick.
Sorry for burying the lead. Aday Mara! He’s absolutely killing fools this preseason. Of course, they’re not NBA starter fools all the time, but a 17/10 double-double with four blocks and six assists gives something to monitor. If Isaiah Hartenstein or Chet Holmgren miss time, he’s a must-add, and there’s a chance he gets reserve minutes over Jailyn Williams during the season. Draft him with a late pick, this could really pay off.
BULLS
The Bulls offense has looked different this preseason, prioritizing the playmaking for all the players. This is bad news for Josh Giddey and you shouldn’t draft him expecting last season’s stats. His rebounding rate has cratered, and the passing numbers are still low. Factor in an offseason where he was recovering from an ankle procedure, not giving him the opportunity to improve. Instead, he’s looked slow and passive. This is possibly not caring about preseason, but the new ecosystem (as I predicted) isn’t set up to help Giddey get numbers. Hard fade.
Leonard Miller is intriguing to me. He’s a 6-10 lanky combo forward who’s getting minutes and producing in the preseason. Caleb Wilson and Matas Buzelis obviously are going to get priority, but they need a backup. Miller could back up both of these players and clear 20 minutes per game. He won’t shoot much from distance, but he’s quite active and physical and coaches love that. Keep an eye on him as the season starts and take a late flier on him.
WOLVES
Ayo Dosunmu has been playing off the bench all preseason, and that’s likely his role for the year. With Jonathan Kuminga sitting, the Wolves opted to see what Cody Williams could do with the starters. There are a lot of guys in front of Ayo in the pecking order. I still think he’s worth a pick after 100, but Anthony Edwards and LaMelo Ball definitely will monopolize the ball. There’s still hope, and Ayo is a good player, but we do need to watch his opportunities.
Joan Beringer is a dynasty buy and stash if you have the room, but he’s likely just a blocks streamer unless Rudy Gobert misses time.
NETS
Um, so, maybe I pumped up Day’ron Sharpe too much. He’s going too high. When I called him a strong buy, that was before his ADP was in the 90s. I loved him at like 120, but at 90 the upside isn’t there. Sharpe got just one shot in his last game with the Nets starters. Playing with Michael Porter and Julius Randle is going to leave Day’ron with the offensive scraps. Don’t draft Sharpe unless he falls; the downside is too high in the 90s. Nothing has really changed since I started pumping him up, but the draft position isn’t nearly as nice.
HORNETS
Coby White and Kon Knueppel are down to start, so look for Liam McNeeley and Denis Schroeder to fill in to start. Then, look for me and most other fantasy managers to ignore them. Neither look to be significant contributers except in deep leagues.
Now at center? Give me all the Moussa Diabate. He’s been running with the starters this preseason and played as many minutes as Ryan Kalkbrenner and Hannes Steinbach combined. The defensive stat specialist looks like a 30 MPG guy, and you can count on double digit rebounds and a couple of stocks per game in that time. He’s being played as a clear starter at center, clearing his path.
You know what? Wanna hear a bold-ish prediction? Diabate is going on Yahoo at pick 144. Not only do I like him better at that cost than Sharpe, I think he’s actually going to have a better season than Day’ron on the old player rater. No longer do I stan for Sharpe; I’m a Diabate man.
WIZARDS
In a shocking turn of events, Anthony Davis did not play in the latest preseason game. Alex Sarr and DeAndre Ayton both started and played about the same amount of minutes. We obviously want Sarr to be the man inside, but he hasn’t been playing well (5 fouls, 3 TO in 23 minutes). The counter to this argument is, well, it’s DeAndre Ayton he’s competing against. Whoever starts, and it’s still likely Sarr, looks like the fifth option behind Trae Young, Davis, AJ Dybantsa, and Kyshawn George. Don’t be surprised if, say, Moussa Diabate outperforms Sarr. I sadly need to fade Sarr in my drafts coming up this week.
And what a week for drafts! I have a Fantrax Guillotine league ongoing with 20 analysts, where I started with Giannis as my first pick. I move to a couple home leagues, after this. Oh, almost forgot. There’s a Razzball Invitational tonight with myself, Jay, and several luminaries like Andy Behrens and Dan Titus that I’ll write about soon.
Have a good one! Who are you noticing in preseason?
