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 sell-highs we can consider.
Sell ’em
Anfernee Simons, PG/SG, Portland Trail Blazers
The rank 14 player in 9-cat leagues over the past two weeks, Anfernee Simons has recently found his groove and has been cooking with 24 PPG with 3.5 threes per game, seven assists, and 2.3 steals. It all looks quite good, but for some reason, I just don’t want anything to do with Simons. Or rather, I don’t want anything to do with Portland. I find it hard to trust Simons, who is young but unsure to be playing later in the season. Simons has sniffed the top-100 only one time, and it is very unlikely that his strong defensive numbers lately will stick. Find another manager in need of points, because we can leverage Simons’ recent play to flip him for someone who provides a bit more across the board with a bit more consistency.
Jabari Smith Jr., PF/C, Houston Rockets
After struggling mightily in the beginning of the season, the third-year Smith Jr. has been heating up as of late, posting top-50 numbers in the past two weeks with 14.8 PPG, 2.3 3PG, 4.5 RPG, and 1.8 BPG on (finally) 48.7% FG. He wasn’t going to keep shooting terribly forever and we’re now seeing the mid-round version of the player we all hoped for at the beginning of the season. Strong block numbers have inflated his value and reintroduced him to the middle echelon, but does he really belong there? His usage hasn’t cracked 16% in his recent run, and has cracked 20% just twice this season out of 28 games. There are too many mouths to feed in this crowded Rockets’ rotation, and once Tari Eason returns, it’ll trim away Smith’s numbers enough to make him difficult to drop, but also difficult to own. I’d move on from this headache now while you can.
RJ Barrett, SG/SF, Toronto Raptors
Barrett has been balling this season. He’s averaging 23.5 PPG, 6.8 RPG, and 6.1 APG. If he can keep up these stats, he’ll be averaging career-highs in points, assists, rebounds, steals, and FG%. Barrett is a strong contender for MIP and would be one of my top picks for the award. Unfortunately we still don’t know what the return of Immanuel Quickley will do for him, but we can infer that Toronto’s got to be thrilled with the improvement that Barrett has shown and will prioritize his touches moving forward.
It’s always tough to part with someone who’s playing the best basketball of their lives, but unfortunately, that’s just what we do here on the Sell ’em column. Barrett is enjoying a career-high usage mark of 30.2%, and it’s tough for me to envision that continuing all season, especially when Quickley returns. Barrett should continue to play well, but not this well.
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
