Dr. A’s weekly risers and fallers: Herbert Jones, Kevin Durant make the list
Credit to Author: Steve Alexander| Date: Fri, 1 Mar 2024 13:47:25 EST
Several unexpected players have been returning surprisingly solid fantasy recently and we’ll take a look at what’s been happening around the NBA over the last couple of weeks.
Herbert Jones, Bennedict Mathurin, Ayo Dosunmu, Kevin Durant and Bam Adebayo all make the list.
Herbert Jones, SF/PF, Pelicans (34.9%): Jones has been a Top 30 fantasy player during his past five games with averages of 16.0 points, 3.6 rebounds, 2.8 assists, 2.0 steals and 2.4 3-pointers, while shooting a stellar 64% from the field and 80% from the free throw line. He was helped by the absence of CJ McCollum, who missed time recently with an ankle injury, but Jones appears to be locked in right now, with or without McCollum.
Bennedict Mathurin, SG/SF, Pacers (23.5%): Mathurin has been mediocre on most nights, but also blows up for a monster line about once every two weeks. The last explosion came last Monday when he hit 11-of-15 shots and five 3-pointers on his way to 34 points, nine rebounds, five assists, two steals and a block in 39 minutes against the Raptors, which helped make him a Top 40 player during his past four games. While he doesn’t do that every night, he’s averaged 19.8 points, 7.5 rebounds, 4.3 assists, 1.5 steals and 3.3 3-pointers over his last four games. And while you never know what he’s going to do next, Mathurin could go off against the Pelicans on Friday night, despite their stellar defensive play.
Ayo Dosunmu, SG, Bulls (18.7%): Alex Caruso is hurt again and Dosunmu has been playing well, returning Top 50 fantasy value with averages of 16.0 points, 4.8 rebounds, 6.5 assists, 2.0 steals and 2.3 3-pointers during his past four games. He’s shooting just 42% over that stretch, which is a buzzkill, but he’s also hitting 88% of his free throws. Regardless of the poor shooting, Dosunmu’s arrow is pointing straight up and he should be rostered in a lot more leagues than he is currently, especially given Caruso’s injury.
Royce O’Neale, SF, Suns (24.7%): O’Neale’s numbers don’t lie. He’s been a Top 55 fantasy player during his past four games and has averaged 10.5 points, 7.3 rebounds, 3.5 assists, 1.8 steals, 0.5 blocks and 2.8 3-pointers. He’s hit just 36% of his shots from the floor over that stretch, or his ranking would be much higher, but his 75% free throw shooting won’t hurt you. There’s nothing exciting about O’Neale, but he’s playing well enough to help fantasy managers across the board right now and he can’t shoot it any worse than he has.
Andre Drummond, C, Bulls (12.3%): Drummond has been a Top 70 player during his past four games and is coming off an epic Wednesday, when he had 17 points, 26 rebounds and three blocks. He’s averaged 18.5 points, 18.5 rebounds and 2.0 blocks over his last two games and has a nice matchup against the Hornets on Friday. Drummond has averages of 11.5 points, 12.1 rebounds and 1.1 blocks in February and is hot right now. Go get him.
Kevin Durant, SF/PF, Suns (99.9%): Durant has somehow only been a Top 120 fantasy player during his past four games, with poor shooting from both the field and the free throw line dragging him down. His averages of 24.3 points, 7.3 rebounds, 5.5 assists, 0.5 steals, 1.3 blocks and 1.5 3-pointers are nothing to sneeze at, but the 41% percent shooting and 74% free throws have not been fun. He’s still KD and he’s going to get it going again, so this is just a reminder that the 35-year-old is human.
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Tobias Harris, SF/PF, Sixers (88.8%): Harris has had a pretty nice season but he’s clearly missing Joel Embiid, being just a Top 120 fantasy player during his past four games. A paltry 10.8 points, 5.8 rebounds, 1.8 assists, 1.5 steals, 0.8 blocks and 1.0 triples per game tell a lot of story. But when you add in his 32% field goal shooting, the only thing keeping his value afloat is the fact he hasn’t missed a free throw over his last four outings. Harris has been rough to watch over the last two weeks and there are no guarantees that he’s going to get it turned around with Embiid’s season in jeopardy.
Coby White, PG/SG, Bulls (87.6%): Like most of the guys on this list, a shooting slump is to blame for White’s struggles of late. He’s shooting just 26% from the floor during his past four games, which has impacted his scoring and production, as well, turning him into a Top 140 player instead of the Top 50 guy we’d grown accustomed to. He’ll likely snap out of the shooting funk and the rest of his numbers will turn around, and we just have to hope it happens before the fantasy playoffs get here. White has averaged 15.0 points, 5.8 rebounds, 6.3 assists, 1.0 steals and 2.0 3-pointers over the last two weeks, which isn’t bad, but the shooting percentage has been a total buzzkill.
Bam Adebayo, C, Heat (99.5%): I was surprised to see Adebayo end up on this list and we’re only looking at a three-game sample size due to the All-Star Break. But any way you slice it, Adebayo has simply been a Top 150 player since the break with averages 21.7 points, 8.7 rebounds, 3.3 assists, 1.0 steals and 1.7 blocks. The culprits are the 4.7 turnovers combined with the 61% free throw shooting. There’s nothing to worry about here, but I just figured I’d let you know why your team is struggling if you’ve got Bam bricking free throws and turning the ball over so much. If you take those two stats out of the equation, he’s been great.
Alperen Sengun, C, Rockets (98.8%): Sengun has been rough during his past five games (Top 175) and then got ejected from Thursday’s game, adding insult to injury. The reason for his free fall has been that he’s basically just been a two-category guy over the last couple of weeks with averages of 17.4 points, 9.4 rebounds and a bunch of mediocrity. The 3.6 assists, 0.8 steals, 0.8 blocks, 0.4 3-pointers and 69% free throw shooting have all piled on to his dismal rankings. I still love him, he’s still getting big minutes and as long as he’s playing for the Rockets, he should be playing for your fantasy team.