Myles Turner has earned a starting role and the rookie is rising quickly in the ranks

The All-Star break kicks off this weekend and it’s the perfect time to re-evaluate your roster. With half the season being just about over, there’s been some pleasant, and not so pleasant surprises up to this point. Due to basketball being such a fast-paced sport, moves are constantly being made and this all plays into a player’s ascension or freefall in the rankings.

Nevertheless, we’ve reached out to our featured experts and asked them two questions to address a topic we’re all interested in.

Who’s rising and falling in the 2nd half?

Q1. What player ranked below 70 in the consensus rankings do you expect to have a big fantasy impact in the second half?

Myles Turner (C – IND)
“There are quite a few names outside of the top 70 that have significant second half appeal. However, the one that stands out to us from the rest is rookie Myles Turner. Since entering the starting lineup, he is averaging over 13 PPG, 8 REB, 1 AST and 2 BLK per game while shooting nearly 50% from the field. All of this is coming at the ripe age of 19 – which is truly amazing when you think about today’s NBA landscape. His arrow is pointing way, way up and should certainly be a top 50 fantasy option from here forward.”
– Jared Kwart (Moxyball)

“It seems crazy some people still have useless guys like Nikola Mirotic ranked ahead of Turner. Myles Turner is a shot-blocking machine with a starting role. He’s poised to be this year’s Hassan Whiteside type of breakout candidate with borderline top 50 value.”
– Trevor Crippen (RotoBaller)

Aaron Gordon (PF – ORL)
“The player that I feel will see the biggest rise over the second half of the year is Aaron Gordon. We’ve already begun to see what he can do, averaging 10.3 points, 9.6 rebounds, 2.6 assists, 1.0 block, 0.6 steals and 0.5 3-pointers in ten games since being named a starter. His points and shooting efficiency should increase as he becomes more comfortable in the offense, and he has potential to be near the 1+ trey, steal and block club. It was a tough decision for me between Gordon and Myles Turner.”
– Zack Rewis (The Fantasy Fix)

Chandler Parsons (SF – DAL)
“Parsons is finally fully healthy after offseason knee surgery and looks good to go. He’s been a top-30 player over the past month, when he’s averaged 18.6 ppg, 5.9 rpg and 2.5 3pt. He’s going to be huge for owners who held onto him.”
– Dalton Del Don (Yahoo)

Jrue Holiday (PG – NO)
“A guy who’s rapidly climbing the ranks and is pretty much considered off limits at this point is Jrue Holiday. His ability to play combo guard, along with the fact that those who drafted him want to reap the rewards are too much to overcome in a trade right now. The Pelicans’ back court is in question, with injuries and rumors of a Tyreke Evans or Eric Gordon trade. Jrue’s a stud who can easily put up top 40 production the rest of the way.”
– Matt Bohannan (Fantasy Couch)

Gorgui Dieng (PF,C – MIN)
“I know I’m barely dabbling below the cutoff, but I think Dieng is the biggest name that stands out to me outside of the ROS top-70.  After wallowing in reserve minutes, Gorgui is finally starting and getting a heavy dose of run next to Karl-Anthony Towns, and has ended January/started February on an absolute tear. There’s no reason to see it stopping either – maybe Garnett and Pekovic get the “seniority” starts for a few minutes if they’re ever healthy, but Sam Mitchell said he’d be willing to find out if Gorgui could handle 40 minutes regularly, and it’s not like the Wolves are going anywhere and need to save him for the playoffs. On top of some crazy good %s for a big (53.5 FG% 82.8 FT%), he’s now attempted 7 treys his last 5 games; given he’s hit only one, but if he makes over 0.5 3PTM a game on top of everything else, The Dieng Train is gonna leave the station!”
– JB Gilpin (Razzball)

Q2. What player do you expect will disappoint owners in the second half relative to their first half performance?

Carmelo Anthony (SF – NYK) 
“Having had 2 MRI’s in the last 3 weeks is not a good look, especially for someone who’s aging quickly and relies heavily on his knees to get up on his jumper. Anthony has already played more games now than he had last season, and I don’t see him toughing it out on a lottery bound team, Phil Jackson or not. If he doesn’t completely shut it down, I’m not expecting to see peak Melo much this season. Over the last 30 days he’s put up a pedestrian 19 points, 8 boards and just 1 combined steal/block. What’s telling is his .401 field goal %.”
– Matt Bohannan (Fantasy Couch)

“I worry Carmelo Anthony won’t be a top-50 player down the stretch. Just such an injury risk.”
– Dalton Del Don (Yahoo)

“He’s already somewhat of a disappointment relative to his 1st/2nd round ADP, but at least he’s been on the court and playing well. I want no part of his knee problems in the second half — he’s a prime shutdown candidate, and he’ll sit out games periodically no matter what.”
– Trevor Crippen (RotoBaller)

Tyson Chandler (C – PHO)
This is going a bit lower in the ranks than a top 100 conversation, but many of us are in leagues that roster 150+ players on our teams. As the Phoenix Suns continue to look towards the future, I expect to see a continued focus on growing their youthful core. That will mean less minutes for Tyson Chandler and more for Alex Len. Chandler’s USG and PER have trended quite low (11.7 and 13.4 respectively) and are both below his career averages (-18% and -14% respectively), and the PER in particular is 33% lower than last year in Dallas. Simply put, he is a less effective player and is not key to their future success. If you’re hoping to get some low-end double-double production from Chandler as a C2 or Util option, I think you’re going to be quite disappointed with where his numbers finish up come season’s end.
– Jared Kwart (Moxyball)

Khris Middleton (SG,SF – MIL)
“I’m not really “panicking”, but I was surprised Middleton made it to 36 in the ROS ranks. I think he’s a great player and emerging as a fantastic wing, but kudos to the Razzball comment section for bringing up just how bad Middleton has trended down with the return of Jason Kidd back to the coaching role. Since Jan. 26, Middleton has shot only 33% from the field with a 3.6:3.6 AST:TO ratio (I guess I could’ve simplified that to 1:1!) in 7 games. Given, it’s a pretty small sample, but in the 17 games immediately prior to when Kidd was out, Middleton shot 50% with a 5.0:2.5 AST:TO ratio (I mean 2:1!). And then the chunk at the beginning of the season until Kidd’s hip gave out, dimes were at 3.4 and he shot 39.9%. It could just be some statistical noise, but Middleton seemed to embrace a more facilitating role that was really in-stride with his game while Kidd was out. I still think he’ll have a strong finish, but he feels more like a top 55-60 asset than in the top-40.”
– JB Gilpin (Razzball)

Rudy Gay (SF,PF – SAC)
“I am pretty confident that the Kings will trade Rudy Gay before the February 18th deadline, and he will see a big drop in usage and statistical output on a team where he’s not as high on the offensive totem pole, nor will any team he lands on play at the fast pace that Sacramento does. He’ll fall more to the top-75 range, still not bad, but a disappointment from what he has done for his owners thus far.”
– Zack Rewis (The Fantasy Fix)

Get in-season advice for your team with My Playbook

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Thank you to the experts for naming their risers and fallers for the second half. Be sure to give them a follow on Twitter for more NBA advice.