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Points-league rankings and reaction
This is my second week on these fantasy basketball points-league rankings, and with each iteration, the rankings will look more and more like my view of the world. And in a season as dynamic as the NBA has been this year, you should expect that view to be modified often to stay current. Sometimes that means changing previously held ideas to keep up with new information. For example, let's take a look at the top of this week's rankings.
This week, James Harden takes over as the No. 1 fantasy prospect for the rest of the season, edging out Giannis Antetokounmpo. Before the season began, I went out on a bit of a limb and wrote that Antetokounmpo was my prediction for this season's MVP, and that he should also be the top player taken in points-based fantasy leagues. In my auction points-based league, I broke the bank in a bidding war to get Antetokounmpo with the highest bid for any player in the league. And once the season began, in the early weeks, my faith in the Greek Freak seemed well-placed as he raced out with the best volume production in the NBA.
However, the Bucks were able to pull an in-season trade that brought in Eric Bledsoe, another high-volume, high-impact player. Now, I believe that Antetokounmpo and Bledsoe can coexist, that both will put up great numbers, and that Antetokounmpo will still be one of the best fantasy producers in the NBA moving forward. After all, he slid only to No. 2 on the list this week. However, he had to slide because it was time for Harden to take over Pride Rock.
I also wrote before the season began that the Rockets were my favorites to come out of the West, in large part because I believe that Harden and Chris Paul could complement and support one another in ways that neither has had before. Thus, in terms of fantasy production for this season, Paul's presence was already factored into Harden's projections. Harden really got it rolling this season while Paul was out, but now that Paul is back, Harden is still putting up his monster volume as an all-around threat. Everything in Houston still runs through Harden.
And now that Antetokounmpo also has to learn to share the load with a high-volume point guard, something that wasn't reflected in his preseason projections, Harden was just able to scratch his way to the top of my rankings -- this week.
Next week, we'll have to look again to see if the story has once again changed.
Point guard
Russell Westbrook averaged 17.7 field goal attempts and 6.0 free throw attempts through the first 15 games of the season, but in his past four games, he has averaged 23.5 field goal attempts and 8.5 free throw attempts. If he locks into that level moving forward, Westbrook will find himself continuing to rise further up towards the top of the list.
John Wall slid just a few spots this week, based upon the knee injury that currently has him out for a couple of weeks. The injury is being treated by the team as though it's not a big deal, which is all we have to operate on, but I'm slightly uneasy and wonder if it is something that might be a lingering problem this season.
Bledsoe has slowly been integrating himself into his new team, but a one-game absence from Giannis Antetokounmpo that corresponded with a grudge match against the Phoenix Suns team that benched then traded him, led to a Bledsoe explosion on Tuesday. In the subsequent game, he continued to be more assertive with 18 points and seven assists against the Jazz in a game that could reflect his expected value moving forward.
Isaiah Thomas was spotted doing contact work with a trainer, and subsequently, his expected return date has moved up from January to December, which earns the little big man a raise in the rankings.
Shooting guard
Lou Williams is one of the biggest risers this week, as injuries to his LA Clippers teammates are thrusting him into primacy. Williams was already the man on the perimeter after Patrick Beverley was shut down, and with Blake Griffin out for a couple of months, he could be thrust into position to be the primary offensive option on the entire team.
Austin Rivers, much like his teammate Williams, also has a much larger role in the Clippers' offense moving forward, and this helped him surge onto the list this week as well.
Dwyane Wade has settled into his role as the leader of the Cavaliers' second unit, and it has translated into regular production to the tune of almost 14 points with just over 5 rebounds 4 assists and a steal over his past seven games. This was enough to earn him a slot near the bottom of this week's rankings.
Small forward
Rondae Hollis-Jefferson slid a few slots with his ankle injury, but it isn't considered serious, so he has the ability to bounce back and potentially slide back up in coming weeks.
Donovan Mitchell has taken over as the primary perimeter option for the Utah Jazz, which helps him explode way up the list this week. In his past eight games, he has averaged 17.6 points, 4.6 boards, 4.6 assists, 1.6 steals and even 0.5 blocks per game.
Rodney Hood has been demoted behind Mitchell, but he is still a primary scoring option for the Jazz. In his past 12 games, he is averaging 19.4 points, 2.9 rebounds, 1.8 assists and 1.1 combined steals and blocks to move up the list.
Power forward
Griffin slid well down the rankings due to his knee injury -- all the way down to the 100th slot. A two-month absence hurts, but he could be back in January, which would have him available for the second half of the season. With his history of knee injuries, though, we'll need to keep a close eye on his timeline as we continue to evaluate his potential moving forward.
Derrick Favors was once considered one of the bright young big man stars in the NBA, but injuries have derailed his past few years. This season, though, he has taken advantage of the extra opportunity with Rudy Gobert injured and has done enough to rise more than 30 slots in this week's rankings.
Center
Joel Embiid represents one of the greatest young talents that we've ever seen at the center position, and that strong statement is supported strongly by the analytics. Thus, the only reason that he's not been higher in the rankings is the well-deserved fear of injury. However, I can't just keep ignoring what he's doing, so for this week, he rises several spots on the list.
Willie Cauley-Stein has the opportunity to be as good as he wants to be in Sacramento, as he's the best young talent that they have to build around. He seems to be embracing this of late, as he has strong averages of 16 points, 7.3 boards, 1.5 steals and 1.2 blocks in his past six games, even including one terrible outing against the Nuggets.
Pau Gasol has been playing well all season, consistently putting up strong production lines. He has stepped it up even further in the past week, to the tune of 19.7 points, 7.3 rebounds, 2.7 assists and 2.4 combined blocks/steals in his past three games to rise several spots on the list.