It’s time we delve into the stock charts of Fantasy Basketball for the Week of November 20! So far, it’s still Boston, Denver, and Philly as the best teams in the league, just like last week. I use net ratings as my metric for team rankings. Everyone else is chasing. In terms of individual players, we’ve still got plenty of surprises in which to take notice and adapt.
My favorite difference between the NBA and the NFL is that there is a game every single night. You have a rough night in fantasy basketball? Ok, that’s fine. Get over it! Tonight is a new night! That said, it can be tough to stay up to date on the entire league’s dealings, injuries, role changes, and performances.
That’s where our NBA Fantasy Basketball Hype Report comes in! Every Sunday, we’ll give you two players you should be buying low on (either via trade or waiver wire), and two players you should be selling high on (dropping, trading, or benching). When it comes to fantasy sports, FantraxHQ will always have your back! Let’s get into NBA Week 5’s Hype Report.
Fantasy Basketball Buy Low, Sell High
Buy Low
Jaden Ivey, Detroit Pistons, PG/SG
The Pistons are a league-worst 2-13. It’s bad in Detroit. I’ll admit, before the season, they were my dark horse to make the playoffs in the East. With a 26th-ranked net rating, that’s looking highly unlikely. But, in seasons where a team shifts to tanking, we see teams max out usage of their young talent to see what their ceilings may be. Jaden Ivey is one of those young stars that we will see maxed out. He’s officially played his 5th game of the season after a lengthy injury and has just been ramped up to 30 minutes per game. Last year he averaged 16/5/4/1 as a rookie. He’s going to be much better now, especially with Cade Cunningham next to him this time around to take the pressure off of him offensively. He will get better looks. He will initiate the offense less, and be asked to score more, and above all, there’s no one else the Pistons really need to showcase at the moment (Ausar Thompson is a do-everything type of player, and doesn’t require high usage). Get in on Ivey before his stats start to blow up.
Miles Bridges, Charlotte Hornets, PF/SF
The question isn’t whether or not Bridges is talented. The question is whether or not he would be allowed to play. He is officially allowed to play, and the Hornets aren’t putting him on any type of minutes limit to start the season. He’s now played 33,32, and 45 minutes so far this season in three games. In this past game vs. Boston (the number-one-rated defense in the league), he had 14 points, 15 boards, and 5 assists. He’s only 58% owned and could finish the season as a top-ten SF this year, despite missing the start of the season. If you can stomach having someone with abuse allegations on your fantasy team (I don’t blame you if you can’t), he’s worth a roster spot.
Sell High
Josh Giddey, Oklahoma City Thunder, PG/SG/SF
The Thunder are an incredible up-and-coming team. They are 10-4 and are the 3rd seed in the conference. Shai is a bonafide All-Star and is the ball-dominant player on OKC. I always thought he would cede those responsibilities to Josh Giddey running the point, but the Thunder are subscribing to giving their best player the ball the most. Makes sense to me. On top of that, Chet Holmgren is officially the second-best player on the team, as an actual basketball player, and as a stat stuffer. So is Josh Giddey the third option on the team? No. That title probably belongs to Jalen Williams. So while it’s incredible that Giddey has three-position flexibility, I don’t know that a fourth option needs to be 92% owned. Last year Giddey averaged 17/8/6. Beast. This year he’s averaging 12/6/5. Still strong. But not what you expected. He should be traded for wherever your roster is deficient.
Jerami Grant, Portland TrailBlazers, PF
Jerami Grant is getting to do what Grant has done all his career. He’s getting paid to chuck up shots. He’s averaging 22/4/2 this year. Can you believe that? A starting power forward, getting 36 minutes per game is averaging 4 rebounds. I hate it. On top of that, we are two to three weeks away from Simons returning from his wrist injury. And Scoot Henderson will get going soon on top of this. When Simons comes back to reclaim his status as the number one option on this rebuilding team, and Henderson starts his learning process of becoming an NBA point guard, Grant will be shooting far fewer shots. Fewer shots, plus no rebounding upside, means Grant’s value is about to plummet. He’s 76% owned. Get out in front of this and trade him while you still can.