It might not be much longer before Jabari Parker becomes a consistent, viable fantasy starter

In this weekly column, I will be focusing on the best/worst performances over the past week. I will focus on out of the ordinary trends, or players that have strayed greatly from their average draft position. Great performances by top players or bad performances by bench warmers will be ignored.

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RISERS

• Gorgui Dieng (PF/C – Minnesota Timberwolves) – Gorgui Dieng had been relegated to deep bench status over the first month of the season, rarely playing 22 minutes in a game. Over the last two weeks, Dieng has seen 26.5 minutes per game and has even played alongside rookie Karl-Anthony Towns. Dieng does enough across each of the nine categories to be very fantasy relevant, even though with just seven fewer minutes he completely falls off the board. No one is sure why Towns’ minutes are dropping, and Dieng’s are increasing. Maybe Minnesota is trying new things, or maybe they are looking to showcase Dieng to increase his value for a trade. Either way, he should be owned in most leagues.

• Jabari Parker (SF/PF – Milwaukee Bucks) – Parker has played his way back from injury. While the Bucks organization has him under a minutes limit, Coach Jason Kidd has recently moved Parker into the starting lineup, where he played almost 36 minutes in a win against the Knicks. He finished with 17 points, seven rebounds, two steals, two assists and a block. Parker’s value might not be high enough to be considered a standard fantasy player today, but the steady increase in playing time coupled with his potential to be a quality starter in the league shows his stock is on the rise. There are probably few players on the waiver wire that have a ceiling as high as Parker’s, which makes him a great flyer pickup in standard leagues. You might see his minutes limited over the next few weeks, but it won’t take much longer for Parker to become a starter in all standard leagues.

• Patrick Beverley (PG/SG – Houston Rockets) – After hitting rock bottom, Houston realized it needed to scrap the Lawson/Harden starting backcourt. Beverley has been given the start alongside Harden over the last week averaging 12 points, two rebounds, one and a half steals, almost a block and three three-pointers per game. While shooting 49% from the field is well above Beverley’s career average, he still provides good value in three-pointers and steals, while contributing a little bit in the other categories. I don’t expect his production to continue at these levels, but he is good enough to be on a roster in most standard leagues.

FALLERS

• Danny Green (SG/SF – San Antonio Spurs) – Green’s shot has fallen off the planet. What started out as a slow start has turned into a pretty distinct pattern. Green’s ability to knock down threes and pitch in a steal and a block while not hurting you anywhere else made him a top nine-category fantasy player. He is shooting an abysmal 32% on the year, which completely negates any of his value. His other stats are either similar or a little down from last year, but without his elite threes and acceptable field goal percentages it is time to move on from Green. Continue to watch is production, but only from the waiver wire.

• DeMarcus Cousins (PF/C – Sacramento Kings) – After returning from a lower back strain, Cousins put in a very poor week for a first-round draft pick. Last week, Cousins averaged 18 points, nine rebounds and three assists while shooting under 30% from the field and 74% from the line. While these stats would be impressive for most players, Cousins is capable of destroying other teams. His poor shooting can be related to coming back early from a back injury. Back injuries can easily affect shooting mechanics and I expect Cousins to return to his career averages sooner than later. If you have any panicky owners, send him a few offers of Cousins.

• Clint Capela (PF/C – Houston Rockets) – Capela moved into the starting lineup for the Rockets and produced a few impressive lines. Rightfully so, fantasy players jumped on the opportunity to pick up some production off the waivers. Almost as quickly as he arrived, his minutes dropped back down and so did his production. Over the last week, Capela only averaged seven points, five rebounds, a half a block and almost two steals in 21 minutes. If Capela could get more than 30 minutes a game, his fantasy value would skyrocket, but this bump was only temporary, and that frontcourt is still crowded enough to keep Capela’s minutes in the 20-minute range.

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Mike Catron rambles on about the fantasy impact of NBA box scores and provides other insights on strategy at WatchtheBoxes.com. You can follow him on Twitter @WatchtheBoxes where he will be live tweeting various NBA games, answering your fantasy questions and mostly retweeting stuff you need to know from people you already follow.