Was Mike Brown really the problem? The Sacramento Kings are rolling with seven straight wins, shooting them up to the ninth seed, closely trailing the eighth seeded Timberwolves. Furthermore, the Kings also did it with limited availability from star point guard De’Aaron Fox. The bottom of the West continues to be tightly contested, with the 5th seeded Mavericks sitting only three games ahead of the 12th seeded Spurs. Every game here carries weight, and it’s going to be yet another tight squeeze for that play-in spot as the season continues.
In the East, we’ll see a bit less parity. The 76ers, after seemingly regaining Joel Embiid, have started to stutter as Embiid battles additional injuries to his lower body. The Pacers have won six straight as the Cavaliers pace the East atop the mountain. The Hawks also seem due for another play-in appearance, especially if they cannot get rising star Jalen Johnson back soon.
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
Zach LaVine, SG/SF, Chicago Bulls
LaVine has been on an absolute tear in the past two weeks, averaging 33.3 PPG in his last six games. He’s shooting 58% from the field, which is unlikely to continue, but he’s been a force and effortlessly getting buckets lately. He’s also a hot name on the trade market, and while his contract is difficult to stomach for some, it’s hard to imagine that most teams wouldn’t benefit from acquiring the amount of offense he can give.
For fantasy, I’m totally on board for moving off LaVine for a top 40 player. His shooting streak, while glorious, won’t continue much longer and it’s a bit risky holding him late into the season if he doesn’t get moved. Chicago doesn’t have much incentive to play LaVine as they aren’t looking to win. But they’re surely picturing the type of return he can fetch on the market, especially given how well he’s been playing lately.
Jalen Green, PG/SG, Houston Rockets
The cycle of Jalen Green dictates that most of the time, he’s going to shoot poorly. And then sometimes, especially in the latter part of the season, he turns it up for a monster end-of-season run that’ll convince you of his improvement until next October when he’ll inevitably start shooting poorly again. This season’s a bit different. We’re seeing a few more flashes of consistency. Green started the season hot, cooled off, and has heated up again in his past five, averaging 27.6 PPG alongside 47.7% shooting from the floor.
I don’t trust his shooting to stay this hot. The caveat is that he’s still young and thus an improvement isn’t out of the question, but still it’s been tough to trust Green to sustain good percentages over extended periods of time. We’ve all seen his ceiling, but I’m not quite sure he’s hit it yet.
Malik Monk, SG, Sacramento Kings
Monk is somehow averaging 7.6 APG in his last seven games, which is surely not sustainable. Monk’s been a revelation this season for the Kings, popping off for a career-high 17.2 PPG in his 31 minutes per game, which is also a career-high. He’s one of their best floor spacers and while his value is apparent, I’m not sure this current seven game run as the rank 26 player in 9-cat is sustainable. In fact, I know it isn’t. I’d be comfortable offloading Monk for any top-50 asset.
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
