The fantasy basketball postseason has arrived. Congratulations if you’re still here with us, but there’s a lot of work left to do. Every decision you make can now be the difference between advancing through the playoffs or having your season cut short, which means it’s now that much more important to have the right guys starting in your lineup every night. So let’s dive right in and identify a handful of trending players who could have a matchup-changing impact in the immediate future!
Fantasy Basketball Stock Report
Stocks on the Rise
David Roddy, SF/PF, Memphis Grizzlies
After being largely irrelevant for the bulk of his rookie year, David Roddy has come out of nowhere to put up back-to-back monster stat lines at the most crucial time of the fantasy basketball season. The late first-round pick dropped 43 points and 7 threes over the two-game span, adding 3 steals and 2 blocks while shooting a ridiculous 75% from the floor. This efficiency is legitimately impossible to maintain, but Roddy is more than capable of producing numbers across the board when given enough minutes. If he can maintain 20+ minutes a night even for the next week until the Grizzlies are back to full strength, he can prove to be a difference-maker in your playoff matchups.
Jabari Smith Jr., PF/C, Houston Rockets
The second overall pick in the NBA draft has had a solid, but unspectacular rookie season for the most part, but that seems to be changing just in time for the fantasy basketball playoffs. The rookie has ripped off three straight double-doubles, scoring over 20 points in each of them. Smith is averaging 24.7 points, 11.0 rebounds, 3.3 triples, 1.3 steals, and 1.3 blocks in that span, suddenly providing early-round fantasy value when it matters most. While he hasn’t always been a must-start player this year, his stock has skyrocketed of late, so sit back and enjoy the ride.
Killian Hayes, PG/SG, Detroit Pistons
Killian Hayes has had an up-and-down season overall, but he seems to be peaking at just the right time, stringing together three really strong games in a row. The former seventh overall pick has amassed a whopping 31 assists across this three-game span, adding 15.7 points and 2.3 steals per game. The Pistons are in full-on tank mode, so Hayes will see as many minutes as he can handle down the stretch, and he figures to produce some major stat lines over these final couple of weeks, despite some turnover numbers that might be higher than you’d like to see (15 in his last three games). Either way, he is definitely someone who can help in points, assists, and steals, and he is a strong candidate to lead the league in assists the rest of the way.
Nick Richards, C, Charlotte Hornets
Entering the starting lineup over the past few games for the injured Mark Williams, Nick Richards has produced well across this four-game span. The big man is averaging a solid 11.0 points, 9.5 rebounds, and 2.8 blocks in that time, giving you everything you could reasonably hope for from a starting big man in fantasy basketball. With the status of Mark Williams completely up in the air at this point, it is entirely possible that Richards holds onto the starting role for the remainder of the season, making him a valuable asset down the stretch for a tanking Hornets team that has no reason not to keep feeding him minutes.
Stock on the Decline
Mitchell Robinson, C, New York Knicks
Mitchell Robinson has completely disappeared when it matters most, scoring a combined 6 points with 9 rebounds over his last two games. Robinson is also reportedly unhappy with his current role, or lack thereof, on offense, so this is turning into a concerning situation at a time when you need everyone on your team to produce. With the Knicks winning both games during this stretch, and Tom Thibodeau stubborn as an ox, there is no guarantee that Robinson gets back to his usual level of production before it’s too late. This is a situation that needs to be monitored closely, and all we can do is hope things turn around sooner than later.