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Fantasy Basketball Risers & Fallers: 02/29/16 – 03/06/16

Fantasy Basketball Risers & Fallers: 02/29/16 – 03/06/16
Kristaps Porzingis

Kristaps Porzingis is dealing with an injury and has watched his minutes decrease

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 benchwarmers will generally be ignored.

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RISERS

  • Giannis Antetokounmpo (SF/PF – MIL) Antetokounmpo is finally producing at freak-like levels and it is quite a sight. His minutes are up to 40 over the last week, and the Bucks are heavily relying on him to run the offense. Now with news that Michael Carter-Williams will be out for the rest of the season, Antetokounmpo should continue to dominate possessions for the Bucks. In the last two weeks, he has averaged 20 points, 10 rebounds, nine assists, two steals and two blocks per game. That is beyond amazing. If Antetokounmpo can ever learn to shoot threes and make free throws, he could become an elite fantasy player.
  • Trevor Ariza (SG/SF – HOU) Ariza has had a secretly great fantasy season in both nine-category and punting leagues. His elite steal production bumps him into a top tier player, and over the last two weeks, he has been hitting his stride. Ariza has averaged 12 points, two three-pointers, four rebounds, five assists and almost three and a half steals per game. Owners of Ariza will hope this hot streak continues throughout their playoffs.
  • D’Angelo Russell (PG – LAL) The young point guard of everyone’s favorite train-wreck team has finally been given the starting spot owners wished he had the entire year. Playing more minutes and with the other starters, Russell has shown some promise. In the last week, Russell is averaging 22 points, three rebounds, five assists and almost four three-pointers per game. His free throws are still pretty terrible for a guard, but it’s good to see him producing real nine-category value.

FALLERS

  • Kristaps Porzingis (PF/C – NY) The rookie has had a rough shooting week and has seen his minutes decrease over the last two weeks. He is also dealing with a bruised left leg. He hasn’t fallen out of nine-category value, even with reduced minutes, but over the last week, he is only averaging 13 points, six rebounds and one and a half blocks while shooting 41% from the field and 57% from the line. Given some time to recover from his bruised leg, Porzingis should be back to his normal fantasy level.
  • Ryan Anderson (PF/C – NO) Another versatile big man who has seen his minutes reduced, Anderson is struggling to find his shot. Shooting only 30% in the last week, Anderson has averaged 10 points, five rebounds and a little over a three-pointer per game. Anderson’s value relies on his scoring and three-pointers, without his shot his value drops him out of most leagues.

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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.

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