If your league has been around a while, you have likely started the fantasy playoffs already. If not, you’re likely starting them very soon. There’s always a shift that happens after the all-star break as teams decide they need a drastic shift or they choose to tank.
As a result, players often slip into fantasy relevance that were once forgotten or borderline plays. All rankings in this article were taken from Basketball Monster and are the 9-category player rankings for the last two weeks of the season in PER GAME value, not total value.
Kelly Oubre Jr. (Rk: 6)
Yep, Kelly Oubre Jr. is the 6th ranked player over the last two weeks in fantasy basketball. Admittedly, he has benefited by only playing three great games, but I’m going to include him because of all the hubbub at the start of the season about his struggles. It was obvious that he was going to turn that around after being a top-50 player last season with the Phoenix Suns. He was pretty dreadful the two weeks before, but at this point, you just have to hold him and hope for the best.
Caris LeVert (Rk: 19)
LeVert is really digging his new team. If you drafted Caris LeVert at the start of the season, you likely had very low expectations. His average draft position across Yahoo! leagues was just 102.9, which makes sense since the Nets added Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving to the roster.
Caris LeVert was traded at the deadline to the Indiana Pacers, and that changed entirely. Over the past few weeks, he has been fantasy gold as he carries a large offensive workload with the struggling Pacers. He should continue to be important and put up stats, though it’s hard to see him maintaining second-round value.
Kyle Anderson (Rk: 20)
Kyle “Slo-Mo’ Anderson is playing well recently and a big reason for that is the absence of Brandon Clarke. When Clarke misses games, Kyle Anderson slides to the power forward position where he is much more successful statistically. Clarke has missed four games in this two-week stretch.
There’s not much incentive to rush back Clarke since they have won two in a row, but he has been doing on-court work so it seems likely he’ll return before your fantasy playoffs are over. Kyle Anderson is still a strong hold in all formats though and he’s been playing well.
Darius Garland (Rk: 25)
Garland has been crushing it recently and there’s no indication that will slow down anytime soon. He’s averaging 22.7 points, 7.7 assists, and 3.3 three-pointers while shooting 48.1% from the field. That’s not drastically different from his season averages, so this will probably stick and will help owners a TON during the playoffs. Congrats if he’s on your roster.
Kelly Olynyk (Rk: 28)
This one is super surprising, but the move to the Houston Rockets has been a boon to Kelly Olynyk’s fantasy value. The best part is that Olynyk isn’t directly in the way of a young player the Rockets are trying to develop, so this should stick. I don’t expect him to be a 3rd-round value, but an early mid-round value is totally feasible and a steal for someone who likely went undrafted in your league.
Bogdan Bogdanovic (Rk: 30)
Bogdanovic was a fantastic addition for the Atlanta Hawks. He has benefited from injuries to players like Danilo Gallinari, De’Andre Hunter, Cam Reddish, and even Trae Young for a few games, so he probably won’t return third-round value reliably, but mid-round value the rest of the way is pretty attainable.
Luguentz Dort (Rk: 38)
Dort has only managed three games in this stretch and the Oklahoma City Thunder keep randomly sitting people as they protect the tank, so take this with a grain of salt. Dort is a great streaming option, but returning this value reliably is going to be a tall order for a guy who is typically a borderline option.
Terry Rozier (Rk: 39)
Rozier ended last season as a 7th round value on a per-game basis. That’s nothing to sneeze at, but here he is seeing some increased opportunity with Gordon Hayward and LaMelo Ball on the sidelines. He’s been slightly better than average for Scary Terry and Hayward isn’t close to returning. He might not return at all. LaMelo, on the other hand, may come back in about a week. If he does, expect Terry to slide back down to around that 7th round value he was last season.
Chris Boucher (Rk: 41)
This isn’t super surprising to anyone who has followed fantasy basketball closely in the last few seasons, but I’m including it since his name has popped up virtually every week with people asking if they should or shouldn’t keep him. Yes, Chris Boucher is a keeper. Stop asking. Since the Raptors committed to giving him minutes over Aron Baynes, he has reliably returned early middle-round value with early-round upside in individual games. That should continue no problem.
Miles Bridges (Rk: 42)
Bridges is another Charlotte Hornets player who has been the beneficiary of Gordon Hayward being on the sidelines. As noted, Hayward isn’t returning soon. Bridges is averaging 20.1 points, 6.6 rebounds, 2.1 assists, and 3.1 three-pointers over that span. That should continue over the next two weeks, and perhaps until the end of the season if the Hornets decide to play it out with their young guys.
Davis Bertans (Rk: 43)
Bertans has been up and down this season, and mostly down, but recently he has been up. The downside is that he’s sitting out games now for unclear “personal” reasons. He’s okay to leave on the wire right now, but Rui Hachimura is banged up so if we get an update that Bertans is for sure playing it’s time to go out and get him. If you’re rostering him, just hang tight until you get some clarity.
Nerlens Noel (Rk: 44)
How far the former lottery pick has fallen. Noel was only drafted back in 2013, and since then he has had a rocky career. Yet, wherever he goes he has some nice fantasy output with the ability to post defensive stats in a hurry. He’s found a nice home on the Knicks and obviously has seen an increased opportunity with Mitchell Robinson on the sidelines. Robinson is expected to miss the season, so hang tight to Nerlens, especially if you’re hungry for steals and blocks. He’s only rostered in 59% of leagues, which is a tad bit too low, so go get him if he’s available for some reason.
Malachi Flynn (Rk: 46)
The Toronto Raptors seem intent to tank the rest of the season and probably trade Kyle Lowry in the offseason. It remains to be seen what the long-term role will be for Flynn, but for the remainder of this season, he should continue to be a mid-round value with early-round upside as Lowry and Fred VanVleet sit games left and right. Flynn is averaging 13.3 points, 6.1 assists, 2 steals, and 2.4 three-pointers during that two-week span. Keep an eye on how the Raptors handle being fined, but they’re resting everyone for Sunday night’s game too as of the writing of this article, so the tank is on.
T.J. McConnell (Rk: 48)
Malcolm Brogdon did miss a few of these games included here, but McConnell probably wasn’t drafted in your league and has a fantastic chance to return mid-round value the rest of the way. He’s number 76 on the season as a whole, so there’s no reason to doubt that McConnell can’t keep producing at this level or near it for the rest of the season. He’s only rostered in 59% of Yahoo! leagues, so go get him if he’s available somehow, especially if you need assists and steals.
