It took a little over a month, but James Harden has jumped to the top of ESPN's roto fantasy basketball rankings for the first time this season, passing Giannis Antetokounmpo.
The Houston Rockets star shared time with Russell Westbrook atop the rankings for much of last season and moves to No. 1 this week after another stellar stretch of games, nearly notching a triple-double against Denver (21 points, 8 rebounds, 9 assists) and following it up with consecutive 37-point performances against New York and Brooklyn. He also connected on 13 3-pointers and combined for five steals in those two games.
Cavs star LeBron James moves from No. 3 to No. 2 with a huge week of his own, highlighted by a triple-double against Charlotte, while the Bucks' Antetokounmpo settles in at No. 3 after an injury-marred week that limited him to two games.
An ankle injury that cost the Warriors' Kevin Durant the past three games -- and four of the past five -- drops him to No. 7, one spot behind the Pelicans' Anthony Davis. Behind them are a host of hot guards who have cemented themselves in the top 15 for the time being: Damian Lillard (11), Kyrie Irving (12) and Westbrook (14). Westbrook came alive last week and is averaging a triple-double in his past five games (25.2 PPG, 11.6 RPG, 10 APG) while also making 1.6 3PG and swiping 2.2 SPG during that span.
Another point guard on the rise is Toronto's Kyle Lowry, who started the season slowly but has turned things around in a major way. The 6-foot guard has reach double figures in rebounds in each of his past three games and has seen his scoring, steals and 3-point output make huge improvements over the past few weeks.
Jimmy Butler moves up to No. 41 as he starts to settle in and play a bigger role in Minnesota. He scored 25 points or more in three of his past five contests.
Larry Nance Jr. (86) returned from a broken finger and immediately was placed back in the starting lineup on Monday, moving Kyle Kuzma to the bench in the Lakers' crowded frontcourt. Coach Luke Walton called Nance the Lakers' best player in the loss to the Clippers, and his presence in the rotation downgrades Kuzma and Julius Randle going forward.
One other notable young big man who makes a big leap this week is Sacramento's Willie Cauley-Stein (99), who dominated in the second half of the Kings' upset win over Golden State on Monday and is starting to look increasingly like a young Tyson Chandler. He isn't quite the rebounder that Chandler was in his early years in the league, but Cauley-Stein has a similar body type and is starting to do more of the alley-oop thing that Chandler perfected with Chris Paul in New Orleans.
Nikola Mirotic won't play in Tuesday's game against Phoenix, but he is set to travel with the Bulls to Denver for Thursday's contest against the Nuggets and could make his season debut that night. Once he's back on the court, his presence in the lineup will reduce the production of Bobby Portis and promising rookie Lauri Markkanen, among others. Mirotic comes in at No. 128 in this week's rankings.
While Mirotic is set to return, Clippers star forward Blake Griffin is expected to miss the next two months after spraining his left MCL on Monday when the knee buckled in an awkward fashion. Keeping Griffin in leagues without an injured reserve spot is a no-go, but he's certainly worth stashing on the IR and replacing him on your active roster if your league has that option. I've moved him down to No. 131, right in the Jordan Clarkson/Justin Holiday range, for now.
