Welcome to Week 14 of the NBA fantasy basketball season. Not much has changed since last week; the Cavs are still atop the East, and the Thunder are still dominating the league. I suppose we all sort of knew already, but we have a good idea of which teams are shamelessly dropping their anchors to sink their ships to the bottom in the search for buried treasure, AKA Cooper Flagg.
The 6-38 Wizards are the losers of 13 straight, holding an astonishing 1-20 Away record in the process and a pathetic 13.6% win percentage. The next worst team is the Jazz, who are 10-33 and spiraling straight down into the lottery. Despite the NBA’s efforts to curb blatant tanking by changing the rules a few seasons ago, the issue is still rampant. The bottom three teams who missed the playoffs all have an equal 14% chance of securing the number one pick. Last season, the Atlanta Hawks won the lottery despite having 3% odds to do so.
Enough about the lottery. These teams suck; your fantasy teams might too. Let’s fix that.
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
Trae Young, PG, Atlanta Hawks
As the 79th ranked player over the past two weeks in standard 9-category leagues, Trae has been struggling from several places: his shooting percentage, his turnover, and his free throw percentage. The latter has been the most surprising, and to me this is an indication that it’s time to start floating offers for the Hawks’ star guard while his value is low. Additionally, he’s going to be out on Monday. He’s also been a regular on the Hawks’ injury reports, with his Achilles nagging him throughout the season.
There is a clear window here to acquire Young if you’re in need of assists. His scoring may not soar into the high 20’s this season as it has in years prior, but he’s still one of the premier guards in the association and is a walking double-double.
Jayson Tatum, SF/PF, Boston Celtics
Tatum’s shooting has become unstable over the past two weeks, posting just 41.4% FG and 74.3% FT over his last seven games. His scoring is also down to just 22.1 PPG, a far cry from his typical 27 PPG. This won’t be an easy buy, as Tatum owners likely know to ride out his shooting streaks, but he’s still an excellent target if you’re willing to ship out an over-performing second round player or want to swap your first-rounder. Tatum will be the cornerstone of the Celtics and should remain as stable an asset as they come for the remainder of the season; another reason why it’s intriguing to throw out some offers now.
Josh Giddey, PG/SG/SF, Chicago Bulls
Giddey has mainly disappointed in his first stint on the Bulls. Despite some flashes of brilliance during his early years in OKC, Giddey has failed to live up to the pre-season expectations. In his best statistical season on the Thunder, Giddey averaged 16.6 PPG, 7.9 RPG, and 6.2 APG as a sophomore. This type of output in 76 games laid the groundwork for some high hopes for Giddey as a player; not many 20-year-olds, or even NBA players in general, can pump out those counting stats.
But we haven’t seen Giddey blossom into the triple-double machine we’ve been clued in on. This season on the Bulls, Giddey is averaging 11.5 PPG, 7.5 RPG, and 6.6 APG. His defense is still lackluster. He’s shooting just 43.7% from the field and 75% from the line. Given he’s only 22 years old, I’m bullish on Giddey’s rest-of-season outlook, especially if the Bulls can successfully move Zach LaVine.
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
