Fantasy Basketball: A Dozen Dimes, Week 25
Welcome back to our weekly transactions article, where we dish out 12 dimes of fantasy hoops advice.
Because most fantasy hoops trade deadlines have already passed and the playoffs in the majority of head-to-head leagues are underway, A Dozen Dimes has essentially converted into a waiver wire column for the rest of the season. In other words, instead of offering up 12 nuggets of adding, dropping, buying, and selling advice for this upcoming week and beyond, we're focusing on just the adding.
These are generally listed in relative order of importance. If you're looking for even more advice, check the "related news" section underneath to cycle through other recent editions of this column. We try not to repeat ourselves too much from one week to the next, so you might find more ideas you like from previous weeks that are still valid.
All fantasy rankings are courtesy of BasketballMonster.com.
Okay, let's get down to it.
Trey Burke
Trey Burke has started the last four games for the New York Knicks and put up 13th-ranked value in nine-category leagues over that span for his averages of 24.3 points, 1.8 three-pointers, 2.5 rebounds, 9.0 assists, 1.5 steals, 0.0 blocks, and 2.0 turnovers in 33.6 minutes per contest, and shooting split of 52.6% from the field and 88.9% from the free throw line. He's basically the hottest hand in fantasy basketball right now and is available in 60% of Yahoo leagues and 50% on ESPN.
Marcus Morris
Marcus Morris has been in and out of the Boston Celtics' lineup with an ankle injury, but when he's played, he's been quite good. Over his last four, he's been the 10th-ranked player in nine-category leagues with averages of 24.0 points, 3.0 threes, 4.5 rebounds, 1.0 assist, 0.3 steals, 0.5 blocks, and 1.0 turnover in 30.8 minutes per contest, and a shooting split of 61.2% from the field and 96.0% from the line. You can grab him in 55% of Yahoo leagues and 70% on ESPN.
Fred VanVleet
Fred VanVleet might technically be third on the Toronto Raptors' depth chart at point guard, but he's been one of the best fantasy assets up north over his last five games. Over that span, he's been the 42nd-ranked player in nine-category leagues, averaging 14.8 points, 3.4 threes, 1.8 rebounds, 3.0 assists, 1.0 steal, 0.2 blocks, and 0.4 turnovers in 25.2 minutes per contest, while shooting 55.1% from the field and 50.0% from the line. Believe it or not, FVV has been a mid-round asset (67th overall) since January 11th (32 games) yet is only owned in 20% of Yahoo leagues and 10% on ESPN. Go fix that.
Bojan Bogdanovic
Bojan Bogdanovic is going to finish the year as a borderline top-100 player in nine-category leagues but is only owned in 50% of Yahoo leagues and 35% on ESPN. Those low ownership rates are particular egregious when you consider that he's been the 42nd-ranked player over his last five. Over that span, he's averaged 20.6 points, 2.4 triples, 4.0 rebounds, 1.2 assists, 0.4 steals, 0.0 blocks, and 1.8 turnovers in 34.2 minutes per contest, while shooting 56.7% from the field and 93.8% from the line. Get him in your lineup if you could use his scoring, threes, or solid percentages.
Anthony Tolliver
Blake Griffin is out at least another week with an ankle issue and probably doesn't even need to come back this season, considering the fact that the Detroit Pistons only have a 0.8% chance of making the playoffs, according to our algorithm. In the meantime, Anthony Tolliver has been the 22nd-ranked player over his last five games (including three starts in place of Griffin), averaging 16.2 points, 3.2 threes, 5.0 rebounds, 1.8 assists, 0.8 steals, 0.6 blocks, and 0.4 turnovers in 30.0 minutes per contest, while shooting 54.3% from the field and 88.2% from the line. He's out there in 85% of Yahoo leagues and 90% on ESPN if you're interested.
Caris LeVert
Caris LeVert has been a mid-round fantasy value over the last month or so off the Brooklyn Nets' bench, but he's been even better over his last three, coming in as the 40th-ranked player. Over that span, he's averaged 15.0 points, 1.0 three, 5.3 boards, 7.0 assists, 1.3 steals, 0.3 blocks, and 2.0 turnovers in a healthy 30.1 minutes per contest, while shooting 45.9% from the field and a perfect 8-for-8 from the line. He's out there in 60% of Yahoo leagues and 70% on ESPN if you want a piece of that great overall line.
Jarrett Allen
Jarrett Allen hasn't been getting a ton of minutes lately, but he's quietly been the 68th-ranked player in nine-category leagues over his last eight contests. Over that span, he's averaged 9.8 points, 0.1 three-pointers, 5.9 rebounds, 0.6 assists, 0.5 steals, 2.4 blocks, and 1.4 turnovers in 25.1 minutes per contest, while shooting 59.6% from the field and 77.8% from the line. If you're in need of a blocks specialist with some boards and decent percentages sprinkled in, Allen's available in 75% of Yahoo leagues and 80% on ESPN.
Marquese Chriss
It's only fitting that Marquese Chriss be the cover boy of our last A Dozen Dimes of the year because he's been a staple of the column for both and good bad reasons throughout this up-and-down season. He appears to be finishing on an upswing for the tanking Phoenix Suns, ranking 48th in nine-category leagues over his last six contests with averages of 14.7 points, 0.7 threes, 8.7 rebounds, 1.7 assists, 1.3 steals, 1.3 blocks, and 2.2 turnovers in 29.7 minutes per game, and a shooting split of 54.7% from the field and 66.7% from the free throw line. He's available in 60% of Yahoo leagues and 75% on ESPN if you want to ride the rollercoaster one last time.
Tyler Ulis
The Suns are in full tank mode, and Tyler Ulis has been one of the main beneficiaries of the team sitting most of their best players for minor injuries. Over his last four games, Ulis has been the 87th-ranked player in nine-category leagues, averaging 17.5 points, 2.3 threes, 4.5 rebounds, 7.8 assists, 1.0 steal, 0.3 blocks, and 4.0 turnovers in 36.4 minutes per contest, and shooting 45.6% from the field and 81.8% from the line. The turnovers are an eyesore, but everything else makes him worth grabbing in the 85% of Yahoo and ESPN leagues in which he's available.
Troy Daniels
Troy Daniels is another player benefitting from that tank festival happening in Phoenix. Over his last four contests, Daniels has averaged 14.5 points, 4.3 triples, 3.5 rebounds, 0.3 assists, 0.5 steals, 0.0 blocks, and 0.8 turnovers in 30.5 minutes per contest, while shooting 43.5% from the field and 50.0% from the charity stripe. There's not a whole lot to fall in love with there, but Daniels is still a solid three-point specialist if you're in need of the triples, and he's available in a whopping 90% of Yahoo leagues and nearly 95% on ESPN.
Jonathan Isaac
Speaking of specialists, Jonathan Isaac is bringing the defensive numbers if you're in need. Over his last three games, he's been the 33rd-ranked player in nine-category leagues, averaging 9.7 points, 1.7 triples, 4.3 rebounds, 1.0 assist, 3.0 steals, 1.0 block, and 1.7 turnovers in 23.1 minutes per contest, while shooting 43.5% from the field and 80.0% from the free throw line. There's not a whole lot to like there outside of the defensive numbers, but those alone are worth the add in the 95% of Yahoo leagues and darn near 100% of ESPN leagues in which he's available.
Isaiah Taylor
Dennis Schroder is out the rest of the season with an ankle issue and Isaiah Taylor is starting in his place at point guard. Over his last six contests (five starts), Taylor has averaged 14.7 points, 0.7 threes, 2.0 rebounds, 5.3 assists, 1.0 steal, 0.0 blocks, and 2.5 turnovers in 27.7 minutes per game, while shooting 46.5% from the field and 75.0% from the free throw line. He's only been the 197th-ranked player over that span, but those in need of an assists specialist could do worse in the 95% of Yahoo leagues and 90% of ESPN leagues in which he's available.
