We are already a quarter of the way through the NBA season. It's time to take stock of some individual performances across the league and highlight some players who are on the rise in fantasy basketball compared to the expectations that came with them entering the season.
Tyrese Haliburton, Indiana Pacers
Haliburton was the centerpiece of the return for the Pacers when they sent Domantas Sabonis to the Kings at the trade deadline last season. He formed an awkward pairing with De'Aaron Fox in Sacramento since both players thrive when they have the ball in their hands. After taking over as the Pacers' point guard, he averaged 17.5 points, 4.3 rebounds, 9.6 assists and 2.2 three-pointers over 21 games. He shot 50.2 percent from the field, making him even more valuable in fantasy.
This season, Haliburton met lofty expectations. He was drafted in the late first round in some fantasy leagues. He's exceeded those expectations by providing 19.3 points, 4.6 rebounds, 11.2 assists, 1.8 steals and 2.6 three-pointers per game. He recently had a stretch where he totaled 40 assists without committing a turnover across three games. He's playing a ton, is the undisputed leader of the Pacers, and won't turn 23 years old until February. Haliburton's stock is certainly on the rise.
Anthony Edwards, Minnesota Timberwolves
After acquiring Rudy Gobert from the Jazz, the Timberwolves set their sights on becoming one of the best teams in the Western Conference. They have struggled, though, posting an 11-11 record
We are already a quarter of the way through the NBA season. It's time to take stock of some individual performances across the league and highlight some players who are on the rise in fantasy basketball compared to the expectations that came with them entering the season.
Tyrese Haliburton, Indiana Pacers
Haliburton was the centerpiece of the return for the Pacers when they sent Domantas Sabonis to the Kings at the trade deadline last season. He formed an awkward pairing with De'Aaron Fox in Sacramento since both players thrive when they have the ball in their hands. After taking over as the Pacers' point guard, he averaged 17.5 points, 4.3 rebounds, 9.6 assists and 2.2 three-pointers over 21 games. He shot 50.2 percent from the field, making him even more valuable in fantasy.
This season, Haliburton met lofty expectations. He was drafted in the late first round in some fantasy leagues. He's exceeded those expectations by providing 19.3 points, 4.6 rebounds, 11.2 assists, 1.8 steals and 2.6 three-pointers per game. He recently had a stretch where he totaled 40 assists without committing a turnover across three games. He's playing a ton, is the undisputed leader of the Pacers, and won't turn 23 years old until February. Haliburton's stock is certainly on the rise.
Anthony Edwards, Minnesota Timberwolves
After acquiring Rudy Gobert from the Jazz, the Timberwolves set their sights on becoming one of the best teams in the Western Conference. They have struggled, though, posting an 11-11 record out of the gate. Things became even more difficult for them when Karl-Anthony Towns went down with a calf injury that will sideline him for at least four weeks.
When Towns had to leave the game early against the Wizards with his injury, Edwards stepped in to record 29 points, eight rebounds, two assists, two steals and one three-pointer over 37 minutes. In the next game against the Grizzlies, he posted 29 points, three rebounds, five assists, five steals, three blocks and two three-pointers over 40 minutes. As good as Gobert is defensively and on the glass, he's not much of a scoring threat. That should mean even more scoring attempts for Edwards for however long Towns is ultimately out.
Jalen Green, Houston Rockets
Green was fairly one-dimensional in fantasy basketball during his rookie season. He immediately stepped in as a productive scorer, averaging 17.3 points and 2.3 three-pointers per game. However, he wasn't efficient, shooting 42.6 percent from the field. He also provided very little everywhere else, sporting averages of 3.4 rebounds, 2.6 assists and 0.7 steals.
Green has taken on an even larger role within the Rockets' scoring attack this season, increasing his usage rate by more than three percentage points to 27.2 percent. That has enabled him to average 21.3 points and 2.6 three-pointers per game. Maybe even more encouraging for his fantasy outlook is that he's provided 4.1 rebounds and 4.0 assists per game. As one of the building blocks of the Rockets, expect the team to continue to look for ways to get the ball in the hands of their talented young guard.
Mikal Bridges, Phoenix Suns
Bridges doesn't shine in one area, but he does many things right. Last season, he provided 14.2 points, 4.2 rebounds, 2.3 assists, 1.2 steals and 1.4 three-pointers per game while shooting 53.4 percent from the field and 83.4 percent from the charity stripe. He also turned the ball over just 0.8 times per game, making him even more valuable in nine-category leagues.
The Suns have needed more production from Bridges this season because of injuries to Chris Paul (heel) and Cameron Johnson (knee). Jae Crowder is also away from the team after having requested a trade. Their absences have proven to be a boon for Bridges' production, leaving him with averages of 15.7 points, 5.3 rebounds, 3.5 assists, 1.2 steals and 1.5 three-pointers per game. He has also provided 1.1 blocks per game, which is a surprise given that he had just 0.4 per game last season. Crowder isn't returning to the team, Johnson could be sidelined for another month, and there is no indication when Paul will return, leaving Bridges' stock pointing up for the foreseeable future.
Ivica Zubac, Los Angeles Clippers
Zubac was a productive fantasy option last season when he put up 10.3 points, 8.5 rebounds and 1.0 blocks per game. The problem was, his upside was capped because he was only logging 24 minutes per game. As limited as that was, it was actually the highest mark of his career.
With minimal size on the roster outside of Zubac, the Clippers have finally unleashed him. He's logging 31 minutes per game, leaving him to provide 10.7 points, 11.5 rebounds and 1.8 blocks per game. While his 68.1 percent shooting from the free-throw line isn't great, he is shooting 61.6 percent from the field. That should be no surprise since he has shot 59.9 percent from the field for his career. Unless the Clippers make a trade to add some size, there is no reason for Zubac to see a decline in playing time moving forward.
Nicolas Claxton, Brooklyn Nets
The Nets are a win-now team, so they didn't give the youngster Claxton many opportunities to contribute last season. He showed flashes of promise, though, including when he provided 11.3 points, 6.9 rebounds and 1.4 blocks over 27 games in which he played at least 20 minutes. The Nets did not bring Andre Drummond back during the offseason, making Claxton their starting center.
Much like Zubac with the Clippers, Claxton is in an ideal situation because the Nets don't have much size behind him. As a result, he has played 27 minutes per game. That has left him to average 11.7 points, 8.5 rebounds and 2.1 blocks while shooting 72.5 percent from the field. His 45.6 percent shooting from the free-throw line is an issue, but he's not exactly killing fantasy managers in that department because he is only attempting 2.6 free throws per game. Ben Simmons (knee) is hurt again, preventing the Nets from deploying their small-ball lineup with him at the five. Simmons hasn't proven that he can stay healthy, which leaves the arrow trending upwards for Claxton.
