De’Anthony Melton – 32% Owned in Yahoo! Leagues
After getting a four-year, $36 million contract extension this summer, De’Anthony Melton is so far proving that the Grizzlies made a wise investment in his future. Melton has always been a very valuable contributor in steals, averaging 1.3 STL for his career, but this year his offensive game has taken a major leap. He’s currently averaging 10.6 PTS and 1.6 3PM on 48/42/80 shooting splits, all of which would be career highs if he is able to maintain this pace. This scoring outburst has won him a larger role in the Grizzlies’ rotation even with the return of Ja Morant. During the last week, he’s averaged 16.3 PTS, 4.3 AST, and 1.7 BLK with 3.3 3PM in 27.0 MPG. I don’t think he will be able to keep up this offensive production based on his track record, but due to his stonks value, all he needs to do is crack double-digit points nightly to be a top 100 player moving forward. Add him if you need a boost in steals.
TJ McConnell – 18% Owned in Yahoo! Leagues
Similar to Melton, TJ McConnell is never going to be an elite scorer, but he provides value in categories that are hard to find in fantasy basketball. He’s proving to be a great option if you need some dimes and steals and can afford to take a hit in scoring. This season, McConnell is averaging 6.3 AST and 1.7 STL, and in the last two weeks those assists have jumped up to 8.0 per game. Outside of those two categories, McConnell provides very little, as he’s only averaging 4.5 PTS, 0.1 3PM, 3.2 REB, and 0.2 BLK. McConnell is a great add if you’re already elite in points and need to shore up assists and steals, but he’s not a player who can be plugged into any team.
Joe Ingles – 39% Owned in Yahoo! Leagues
Joe Ingles has been a solid fantasy player for the past three seasons due to his production in steals, assists, and 3PM. However, upon seeing his minutes suffer massively early on the season (he had a run of three straight games with under 20 min), many owners decided to drop him, seeing a potentially washed player. His minutes have picked up recently, and he’s back to providing elite value in assists and 3PM. Unfortunately, his steals are massively down from previous seasons, as he has hovered around 1 per game for the last four seasons but only has 0.4 STL this year. I’d expect some positive regression in that regard, and with that positive regression, he’s capable of flirting with top 100 value.
