For the majority of fantasy leagues, we’ve reached the final week of the regular season. If your team is still in contention to make the postseason, congrats! And if you’re currently fighting for your season, needing a big week to get to the playoffs, then you might need to find a few players who are heating up and can help you win now. These players have seen their stock take a massive leap over the past handful of games, and many of them might be able to keep it up over the season’s final stretch. So let’s take a look at some of these stock movers, who could potentially play a major role in how your fantasy season concludes.
Fantasy Basketball Stock Report
Stock on the Rise
Marvin Bagley III, PF/C, Detroit Pistons
With Isaiah Stewart going down with a right knee injury, the path to minutes and opportunity has opened up for Marvin Bagley. The former second overall pick has had a rough start to his career, but he has played really well over the past two games, and he saw 36 minutes for Detroit last game after Stewart left the contest. Bagley averaged 18.5 points, 9.0 rebounds, and 1.5 steals on 56.3% shooting between those two games, and he would become a nightly double-double threat if he were to see consistent minutes down the stretch. As a result, his stock is very much on the rise, and even if Stewart doesn’t miss much time, the tanking Pistons have every reason to give Bagley more minutes over Kelly Olynyk across the season’s final weeks.
Immanuel Quickley, PG/SG, New York Knicks
Despite the fact that Tom Thibodeau insists on starting Alec Burks at point guard for the Knicks, that hasn’t stopped Immanuel Quickley from balling out over the past couple weeks. Quickley has topped double figures in each of his last five games, scoring 21 and 27 in each of his last two contests. And while Burks does continue to start, the sophomore’s minutes are certainly on the rise due to his impressive play, seeing 20, 27, 28, and finally 31 minutes across his last four. Burks meanwhile, who has seen 30 or more minutes in four of his last five, has reached double figures just twice in that span, shooting an ugly 35.6% from the floor. With Quickley’s stock on the rise, and Burks’ stock dropping by the day, it would seem like only a matter of time before Quickley has the lion’s share of the minutes as we head down the stretch of the season. He’s playing terrific basketball of late, and he’s capable of even more if Thibs finally comes to his senses.
Cameron Payne, PG/SG, Phoenix Suns
With Chris Paul out for the foreseeable future, Cam Payne has filled the starting point guard role for Phoenix, and he has been playing some of the best basketball of his career. After missing over a month of action, Payne was eased into action for his first game, but he has topped 30 minutes in each of his last three, and the numbers he’s produced have been outstanding. The former Murray State standout has averaged 19.3 points, 12.0 assists, 2.0 threes, and a steal in that span, making it seem as if CP3 never even left. Locked into heavy minutes for the next few weeks at a minimum while Paul recovers from a thumb injury, his stock is the highest its ever been. He could end up being a guy who helps win more than a few fantasy leagues this year.
Trendon Watford, SF, Portland Trailblazers
With his stock seeing a major increase after the injury to Jusuf Nurkic, Trendon Watford has seen his stock rise even more after making his first career NBA start on Monday. The talented rookie has been playing well of late, and he finally seems to be the number one big man in Portland. Across his last three games in which he topped 30 minutes in all of them, Watford has averaged 12.0 points, 9.3 rebounds, 4.3 assists, a three, and a block, accounting for the best three-game stretch of his young career. Now seemingly locked into a major role over these final few weeks for a rebuilding Trailblazers team, the 21-year-old should be a fairly consistent across-the-board contributor in fantasy the rest of the way.
Stock on the Decline
Gabe Vincent, PG/SG, Miami Heat
After seeing 28 or more minutes in five straight games, producing a solid combination of points, threes, and assists, Gabe Vincent has been relegated back to the bench with both Kyle Lowry and Victor Oladipo returning to action. Vincent saw just 3 minutes on Monday, and there is no reason to believe that number will increase any time soon, especially with Oladipo slowly ramping up his minutes as they prepare him for what they hope will be a deep playoff run. In the same way that the Heat stripped Omer Yurtseven of his fantasy value seemingly overnight, the same has unfortunately happened to Vincent. He is no longer worth holding onto in fantasy.
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