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 sell-highs we can consider.
Sell ’em
Jalen Green, PG/SG, Houston Rockets
Green is still on this list despite being featured here last week, and he’s still hot. He’s averaging 26.4 PPG in his past seven games on 50% shooting from the field. We’ve never seen Jalen Green sustain good shooting numbers for an extended period of time. In fact, we sort of expect him to come crashing back to Earth, and he probably will.
It’s difficult to say with absolute certainty that he hasn’t improved, though. Green’s defense, specifically, has looked impressive and is a key part of how the Rockets are the two seed in the West. His athletic, run and gun play style coupled with newfound patience and balance in his shooting motion are good for Houston’s offense. He’s having an impressive January and I wouldn’t blame you if you wanted to hold on, but aren’t you curious what you could get for him right now?
Mark Williams, C, Charlotte Hornets
The Duke product has been utterly sensational in his last six contests, posting 23.3 PPG, 13.2 RPG, and 1.7 BPG while shooting 63% from the floor. His athleticism is jaw-dropping and his length is stifling. So why are we selling?
Well, we don’t have to. Williams is on this list as a soft suggestion because I’m not confident about his health, nor the Hornets’ late season plans. If you can flip Williams into a more established, underperforming center, then I’d be tempted to do so. Williams has all the upside in the world, but there are situations in which you could flip him if you’re worried about his late season availability. His success is also, unfortunately, a bit linked to LaMelo Ball’s availability. Ball is an exceptional playmaker and can create for Williams and set him up for dunks and easy looks around the rim. By holding onto Williams, you’re relying on the health of two injury-prone players on a team that’s going nowhere. Just my two cents.
Scoot Henderson, PG, Portland Trail Blazers
Are we finally here? Is it finally Scoot season? It’s really tough to say. Henderson’s second season in the NBA has been as lackluster as his first. His recent stretch has included high highs and low lows. The highs include a spectacular 39 point performance with eight triples against the Nets. His lows include a 23 minute, two point game against the Hornets.
To me, it feels like Henderson will continue to get all the opportunities he can handle, but it will be a frustrating ride for managers. I’m eager to ship him off to make him somebody else’s problem; that is, if the return is good.
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
