We’re heading into Christmas week, about a third of the way into this season. On Christmas Day this year we’ll have five NBA games: Spurs at Knicks, Timberwolves at Mavericks, 76ers at Celtics, Lakers at Warriors, and Nuggets at Suns.
Any surprises so far regarding the standings? In the East, it’s pleasant to see the Orlando Magic doing so well despite missing more and more players as the season goes on. But it’s hard to envision them holding on to their spot for much longer. Backup big man Mo Wagner is now out for the season with a torn ACL; another addition to the long list of significant injuries that have afflicted Orlando this season.
In the West, the Spurs (15-13) have overtaken the Timberwolves, Suns, and Kings. The fight for the play-in spot in this conference will be fierce and bloody.
We’re shooting the Three Lists of Threes today for your weekly dose of fantasy tips: Buy-lows, sell-highs, and streams.
Here are some buy-lows we can consider.
Buy ’em
Alex Sarr, C, Washington Wizards
Alex Sarr is averaging 11.1 PPG with 6.4 RPG as a rookie in only 27.3 minutes per game. He’s also averaging 1.8 blocks, and it’s clear the Wizards are focused on developing him this season. There will be growing pains for sure, but I’m interested in Sarr’s defensive upside. His current 2.4 blocks per-36 minutes are the 18th highest ever for a rookie, ahead of other rookie seasons by Tim Duncan, Kristaps Porzingis, and Yao Ming. I can see Sarr’s minutes climbing into the 30’s later this season, in which case his value should skyrocket.
DeMar DeRozan, SF/PF, Sacramento Kings
DeMar DeFrozan started off the season scorching hot but has cooled off lately. His steal numbers are still abnormally high, which bodes well for his rest-of-season outlook on the Kings. Should we be worried about the 13-17 Kings, who have gone 4-6 in their past 10 games? I think so. There typically are adjustment periods whenever big players get added to a team, and this could just be one of them. But last season, the Kings went 46-36 and were just the 9th seed in the west. The Golden State Warriors had the same record with the 10th seed. All this to say, things are tough in the West and it’s costly to be behind so early.
DeRozan’s recent stats are heavily skewed by their most recent loss to Indiana, a blowout in which DeRozan put up a putrid two points, two rebounds, and two assists in 28 minutes. DeRozan registered 12 points the game before, and 10 the game before that. His price will likely never be lower this season than it is right now.
Fred VanVleet, PG, Houston Rockets
Ah, the streaky cycle of Fred VanVleet, whose streakiness is rivaled only by his fellow backcourt teammate, Jalen Green. VanVleet will shoot well for a bit, and then shoot poorly for a longer bit. Rinse and repeat. Fortunately for the Houston Rockets, they do not live and die by efficiency numbers like we fantasy basketball players do. The Rockets are able to win games in spite of the inefficiency of the back court. The Rockets are dead last in shooting efficiency from 25-29 feet, 13th last from 20-24 feet, 4th last in 15-19 feet, 8th last from 10-14 feet, and 6th last from 5-9 feet. We’re at the bottom of the VanVleet cycle, which features 32.7% FG over the past 10 games on 15 attempts a game. That’s a whole lot of missing, but the Rockets have gone 7-3 in that span. That’s the beauty of defense, I guess.
Set your DraftKings fantasy basketball lineups here: NBA $200K Fadeaway [$50K to 1st].
All odds provided by DraftKings Sportsbook and all odds subject to change.
I am a promoter at DraftKings and am also an avid fan and user and may sometimes play on my personal account in the games that I offer advice on. Although I have expressed my personal view on the games and strategies above, they do not necessarily reflect the view(s) of DraftKings and do not constitute a representation that any particular strategy will guarantee success. All customers should use their own skill and judgment in building lineups. I may also deploy different players and strategies than what I recommend above. I am not an employee of DraftKings and do not have access to any non-public information
