Injuries are the rules of the road these days, and we’ll stick with finding some injury replacement, under-the-radar guys, as well as looking at some big names who appear to have hit a wall.
Note: Stats are as of Wednesday night.
Risers
Grayson Allen, SG, Suns (45.3% rostered in ESPN leagues): Allen seems to always appear on this list, but he deserves it because he just keeps getting better and better as the season progresses. He’s been a top-20 player over the past two weeks and has racked up averages of 20.1 points, 2.9 rebounds, 3.3 assists, 0.9 steals, 0.6 blocks and a whopping 4.9 3-pointers on 59% shooting and 87% free throw shooting over his past seven games. The Suns play three times in the upcoming week and then finish 4-4 over the final two weeks of the season. I’m not sure how I was able to pick him up in a Yahoo! league on Thursday morning, but it happened.
Gary Trent Jr., PG/SG, Raptors, (27%): Trent has been a top-30 player over the past two weeks with averages of 23.4 points, 4.4 rebounds, 1.6 assists, 1.4 steals, 0.2 blocks and 4.2 triples on 46% shooting and 83% free throws in his last five games. The Raptors finish out the season 3-4-4 over the next three weeks as far as games played per week.
Amen Thompson, SG, Rockets (32.6%): Thompson has been fun for the Rockets with averages of 16.3 points, 7.5 rebounds, 1.8 dimes, 1.2 steals and 1.0 blocks on 76% shooting and 81% free throws. Those percentages are incredible and the stat line is equally impressive as long as you’re not looking for 3-pointers. He’s hitting just 0.2 of them over his last six games, but has otherwise been fantastic. The Rockets finish the season 4-4-4.
Sam Hauser, SF, Celtics (1.7%): Check on Hauser’s status, as he missed Wednesday’s game with a left ankle sprain. That makes two straight misses but he was absolutely cooking before the injury, returning top-40 fantasy value with averages of 13.8 points, 3.2 rebounds, 1.0 assists, 0.8 steals, 0.8 blocks and 4.2 3-pointers on 55% shooting over his last six games. That included a 30-point explosion on Sunday before he went down. Just make sure he’s good to go for Friday before picking him up and deploying him. The Celtics finish up 3-4-4.
GG Jackson, PF, Grizzlies (12.2%): Jackson has nearly been a top-40 player over his past six games, racking up a whopping 36 minutes per game to go along with 25.2 points, 4.7 rebounds, 1.8 assists, 0.5 steals, 0.5 blocks and 3.8 3-pointers on 50% shooting and 86% free throws. He’s showing no signs of slowing down, and the Grizzlies finish the season 3-4-4 schedule-wise.
Fallers
Tobias Harris, SF/PF, Sixers (88.4%): Harris has been just a top-120 player over the past two weeks, and the numbers aren’t very pretty. Despite 32 minutes a night, he’s averaged just 12.3 points, 7.3 rebounds, 2.3 assists, 2.0 steals, 0.5 blocks and 0.5 3-pointers on 40% shooting and 70% free throws. Obviously, the lack of scoring combined with the poor percentages and pedestrian numbers have left plenty to be desired. Maybe he’ll bounce back soon, and the Sixers go 4-4-3 to finish up the season.
Brandon Ingram, SF/PF, Pelicans (98.6%): Ingram and teammate Zion Williamson have traded places, as Ingram has only been a top-125 player over his past six games with averages of 15.0 points, 5.8 rebounds, 5.8 assists, 0.7 steals, 1.2 blocks and 1.0 3-pointers on 45% shooting and 74% free throws. Meanwhile, Zion is hot, posting top-10 fantasy value with 28.5 points, 8.5 rebounds, 3.8 assists, 1.3 steals and 1.2 blocks on 64% shooting. Zion’s rise, along with the strong play of Trey Murphy III, has really limited Ingram. The Pelicans finish up the season schedule 3-4-4.
Editor’s Note: Ingram will miss at least two weeks due to a bone contusion in his left knee, effectively ending his fantasy season.
Miles Bridges, SF/PF, Hornets (90.4%): Bridges has returned just top-130 fantasy value recently and is in the midst of a disastrous two-game week, meaning he might have been dropped in your league. Over his past seven games he’s averaged 22.0 points, 8.3 rebounds, 4.4 assists, 0.7 steals, 0.3 blocks and 1.4 3-pointers on 47% shooting and 69% free throws. The free throws are a big reason for his fall and he, along with teammates Brandon Miller and Vasilije Micic, should be hot pickups for next week as the Hornets go 4-4-4 to finish this thing out.
Kelly Olynyk, PF/C, Raptors (27.9%): Olynyk has been serviceable with top-135 fantasy value but not quite as great as we were all hoping for. Averages of just 13.7 points, 5.4 rebounds, 4.1 assists, 1.1 steals, 0.9 blocks and 1.4 3-pointers on 57% shooting and a gross free throw percentage of 55% over his past seven games have been brutal. The Raptors finish up 3-4-4 so he might still have a little gas left in the tank, but those free throws have been really bad.
Franz Wagner, SG/SF/PF, Magic (93.5%): Wagner has only returned top-140 fantasy value over his past six games with averages of 15.3 points, 4.7 rebounds, 3.2 assists, 1.5 steals, 0.2 blocks and 0.2 3-pointers on 44% shooting and 88% free throws. The lack of points, blocks and triples have not provided an enjoyable stretch run for Wagner and his managers, but he’s got time to turn it around. The Magic finish up 3-4-4 schedule-wise.