1. DeAndre Ayton, C, POR, 8.8PTS, 14.8REB, 1.5AST, 1.5STL, and 1BLCK. Ayton might have gotten a little bump on his average last night with his career high 23 board game, and win against the Raptors. Portland on the court and most likely on the win column look like a dumpster fire. Ayton is also averaging about 8 field goal attempts a game. The hope was for him to be a focal point of this team, and his ADP reflected that. It's still early in the season, and there are plenty of new guys in this system to get acclamated. If Ayton's offensive attempts get minimized he needs to continue to have good defense numbers and these rebound numbers to justify a roster spot. As of right now I like Ayton on my team, and can't really sell him at this moment.
2. Jayden Ivey, G, DET- I hate sometimes to say I'm right, but last year when Cade was injured Ivey had free reign of the offense, and my breakdown of his performance over the season was that he was a 6th man off the bench scorer at best. He was proof that guys that get extended minutes and have the bafll in their hands can put up empty stats on bad teams. This year under a new coach, Ivey finds himself coming off the bench, he has 12.2PTS, 1.5REB, and 3.2AST. The only fantasy relevance Ivey will have is if more injuries occur.
3. Josh Giddey, G/F, OKC- Josh Giddey is a rather interesting candidate for this list. His minutes are lower than last year, although the Denver blowout sort of messes up his overall average. It seems the ball as has found it's way to SGA's hands more in games, and well to be honest, I can't really blame OKC for that. Josh Giddey for a majority of leagues still offerers a good amount of points and periphial stats. We just need OKC to stay in games which I believe they possess the ability to do that. Giddey has an absolutely insanely high basketball IQ, and an oversized frame for a guard. I can't see his rebounds and assists going down from his career high. OKC also doesn't have much behind him to take his spot, keeping his role in the roster secure. The coach in the past has staggered Giddey's minutes on the second unit as well allowing him to be the primary ball handler outside of SGAs ball dominant play. The hope is we continue to see that, and he can just chip in a few more points a game to get him back on track with his career average.
4. Immanuel Quickley, G, NYK- Your guess is as good as mine with how coach Thibs will deploy his roster on an given night, and who is in the dog house. This does not spell well for fantasy sports. One game he could have 34 minutes, and the next he could be down to 18. With that being said the next game Quickley puts up any reasonable stats I'd try and trade him.
5. Christian Wood, PF/C - LAL- This one's easy. Wood is not enough in the rotation enough to validate any sort of starting on your roster. The hope coming into the season was maybe Wood could sort of carve out a little role on this laker team, and then the news broke that Lebron's minutes we're going to be capped nightly. Wood during these moments has not been an immediate benefactor as expected, and when push came to shove and the game was on the line LeBron played longer than his restrictions as well. I don't even think Wood is worth a speculative add as a handcuff to AD. I think the Lakers will approach an injury to their stars with a committee approach. It's a shame Wood showed alot of promise over the years.
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