My favorite difference from the NBA and the NFL is that there is a game every single night. You have a rough night in fantasy basketball? Ok, that’s fine. Get over it! Tonight is a new night! That said, it can be tough to stay up to date on the entire league’s dealings, injuries, role changes, and performances.
That’s where our NBA Fantasy Basketball Hype Report comes in! Every Sunday, we’ll give you two players you should be buying low on (either via trade or waiver wire), and two players you should be selling high on (dropping, trading, or benching). When it comes to fantasy sports, FantraxHQ will always have your back! Let’s get into NBA Week 2’s Hype Report.
Fantasy Basketball Buy Low, Sell High
Buy Low
Derrick White, Boston Celtics, PG/SG
Is Derrick White good? That’s the question that a lot of people are asking themselves this week. I mean, yeah, obviously he’s good to earn starting minutes for a Championship contenting team. But are we talking All-Star good? My answer to that is no. But he should be on your fantasy basketball team, 100%. He’s only rostered in 70% of leagues (which says a lot), and he’s now averaging 34 minutes per game on a team that’s getting next to nothing from their bench players. Through two games, he’s averaging 20 points on 10.5 shots per game (5 of which are threes), 6 rebounds per game, 2.5 assists, and 3.5 stocks (steals + blocks).
These are the type of numbers I was expecting to get from Tyrese Maxey this season, and to be honest, White is going to have a lot of upwards mobility to those numbers in points and rebounds when Porzingis misses time (he will). With dual eligibility at point guard and shooting guard, he provides added flexibility to your lineup. Now is the best time to trade for him or add for him, because chances are, your league-mates think this is a fluke.
Naz Reid, Minnesota Timberwolves, PF/C
We often talk a lot about unicorns in the NBA, and players like Victor Wenbanyama come to mind, obviously. But at 6’9″, 260 lbs, this player looks like a Center, moves like a wing, and has no business being 29% rostered in leagues. The reason he’s so under-owned is because he plays behind Karl Anthony Towns and Rudy Gobert. Right?….Well, through his first two games, he’s averaging 26 minutes per game. Enough to consider him a starter, to be honest. With that, he’s averaging 6 rebounds and 17.5 points.
When we get to the mid point of the season, you’re going to be begging us to find 17/6 off of the waiver wire. We are at a moment in time right now when roles are still getting discovered, and Naz Reid is going to have a very large role on this team. There’s a reason he signed a contract extension this year. The Wolves have him in the plans.
Sell High
Jordan Poole, Washington Wizards, PG/SG
Boy, was I wrong about Jordan Poole. I know it’s early, but there’s a couple major things I was wrong about when it came to his role on this team. I thought when the Wizards traded for him, they were going to be in the ultimate tanking position for fantasy, and he was going to be the Houston version of James Harden (taking 30 shots per game).
While he is averaging a career-high usage rate (36%), his time on the court is providing for much more facilitation than shot taking. He’s only taking 21 shots per game, and the added usage is taking a toll on his efficiency. He’s shooting 22% from three (33% for his career) and he’s 48% from the field (52% for his career). People are still expecting Poole to provide plenty of volume and antics, but he’s likely headed to his worst shooting of his career. That’s not something I was expecting. Wait for a big game and ship him off for pieces.
Kevin Durant, Phoenix Suns, SF/PF
If you thought the new rules prohibiting “excessive” load management of stars was going to help your fantasy team, you are sorely mistaken. Through three games, Bradley Beal has missed all of them, and Devin Booker has missed two. Could both of them be truly injured. Yes. In fact, they probably are. This team needs to learn how to gel together, and missing valuable court time is probably not the way the Suns wanted to start the year.
One issue with this, however, is they are not resting Kevin Durant with the other two. The eldest, potentially the most prone to season-threatening injuries, is playing 35 minutes per game through three games. He’s playing well, averaging 28/9/4 over that time frame, but playing well is never going to be an issue with Durant. It’s making sure his body doesn’t give out on him down the stretch. He’s not 25 anymore. He’s 35, and there’s a lot of hard-working playoff minutes on his body. It’s obviously too early to trade KD, but I’d be lying if I said I didn’t have a bad feeling about this. If he continues to average these kind of minutes, and Book and Beal remain absent, you need to consider trading Durant for a haul.