After the madness to begin the season, the NBA has finally begun to settle down. Eight to ten games are plenty long enough to get a good sense of whether a player you drafted in fantasy is going to work out or not. It’s not always easy to give up on a guy you were high on entering the season, but these decisions need to be made sooner rather than later. If you don’t make them now, all of a sudden it’s now January and you’re sitting well out of the playoff picture in your fantasy league. Don’t let that happen.
On the flip side, when you drop someone, you’re going to need someone to add to your roster. I know, crazy concept, right? Well, in addition to a few early-season duds below, I have a few guys on the rise that can help your team both short-term and long-term.
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Players to Buy
Tim Hardaway Jr. (SG – NYK)
A slow start to the season soured some fantasy owners on Hardaway and I can’t really blame them. Chalk that up to a poorly timed slump. Over the last three games, Hardaway has averaged 23.3 points, 5.0 rebounds, 5.0 assists, 2.3 steals, and 4.3 three-pointers. I won’t make you read more stats, but those are all around double (or better) of the stats he put up in the first four games of the season.
Coming into the season, I was probably one of the highest around on Hardaway. I even went as far as saying that he could put up similar numbers to Klay Thompson. Is Hardaway as good as Thompson? No, of course not. But when you look at the situation he’s in, Hardaway has a golden opportunity to shine this season. He’s the No. 2 scoring option on the Knicks behind Kristaps Porzingis and that’s not going to change anytime soon. His early-season slump caused some impatient owners to give him the boot. If he’s available, welcome him onto your team with open arms. If not, try and buy-low before his stock continues to rise.
Mike James (PG – PHO)
Eric Bledsoe isn’t walking through that door folks. With Bledsoe on the way out (at some point), somebody needs to play point guard for the Phoenix Suns. That man is Mike James. Who the heck is Mike James you ask? Well, he’s a 27-year-old undrafted “rookie” from Lamar University. Hold your vomit for one second. He’s actually holding his own and has little competition for the starting point guard spot in Phoenix. There’s not a particularly high ceiling here, but if you’re in need of a point guard that can help you out in points, three-pointers, and assists, James is your guy.
Alex Len (C – PHO)
Two weeks into the season and Tyson Chandler is already showing that he’s an old, slow pile of junk. But you know who’s the exact opposite of that? Alex Len, that’s who. Len is a double-double machine waiting to happen. All he needs is a chance for more minutes. Just take a look at his per36 stats for the last three-plus seasons below to get a sense of the type of player Len can be.
| Season | PPG | RPG | BPG |
| 2014-15 | 10.2 | 10.8 | 2.5 |
| 2015-16 | 13.9 | 11.7 | 1.2 |
| 2016-17 | 14.1 | 11.8 | 2.3 |
| 2017-18 | 14.6 | 14.6 | 0.8 |
Sure the blocks are down from the last three years, but it’s only been seven games. I’ll take three years of track record over seven games any day of the week and twice on Sundays. Len’s minutes are right in line with the last few seasons, which isn’t preferable, but Chandler is looking as old and as slow as ever this season. It’s only a matter of time before Len’s minutes begin to rise close to 30 and maybe higher. The rebuilding Suns have no reason to continue giving minutes to Chandler. Sooner or later they’re going to realize that, and when they do, make sure Len is already on your team.
Players to Sell
Markelle Fultz (PG – PHI)
Wait, a top 76ers draft pick is injured? Where have I heard this story before? Oh yeah, for the last three seasons with Joel Embiid (twice) and Ben Simmons. I’m sure 76ers fans are having some déjà vu with Markelle Fultz now sidelined for the next couple weeks, at least, with a shoulder injury. With their recent history of injuries, don’t expect Philadelphia to bring Fultz back until he’s 100% and ready to go.
There’s one reason, and one reason only, why people are holding onto Fultz, and that’s upside. Expectations were high for Fultz after dominating during his one collegiate season. However, he didn’t impress at all when he was on the court before the injury and we have no idea when he’s going to be back on the court. There’s still a good chance he provides value at some point in the season, but expectations need to be tempered.
Jae Crowder (SF/PF – CLE)
As a Celtics fan, I loved Jae Crowder during his Boston tenure and what he brings to a basketball team. Every team needs a Crowder in my opinion. However, with his current situation in Cleveland, not every fantasy team needs a Crowder. The Cavaliers simply have too many mouths to feed on offense and Crowder isn’t producing enough elsewhere to warrant being on fantasy rosters.
For the season, Crowder is averaging 7.5 points, 3.4 rebounds, 0.9 assists, 0.9 steals, and 1.1 threes per game. That’s not going to get it done in the fantasy world. Not even close. Scoring isn’t everything in fantasy basketball but it sure does play an important role in a player’s value. There are probably going to be some nights where he’ll be a sneaky low-cost DFS play when LeBron James and/or Kevin Love get rested, but that’s about it. It’s probably going to take an injury for Crowder to make his way back on season-long rosters.
George Hill (PG – SAC)
When George Hill joined the Kings in the off-season, it was pretty well known that he was just keeping the seat warm for De’Aaron Fox. However, most believed that Fox wouldn’t be ready to take over until later in the season. Less than three weeks in and that timeline has drastically changed. Sure, Fox has had a few duds, but those rare duds have been surrounded by plenty of strong performances. And with each passing good game from Fox, Hill slides further and further into fantasy irrelevance.
After two strong showings to start the season, Hill has disappeared quicker than Carmelo Anthony in the playoffs. Over the last five games, Hill has put up a disastrous line of 6.0 points, 2.4 rebounds, 2.8 assists, and 0.6 steals on 32.4% shooting. He shouldn’t be this bad all season, but the quick emergence of Fox (12.5 PPG, 4.1 RPG, 5.1 APG) is putting a major dent in Hill’s fantasy value. If there’s a hot free agent out there, don’t hesitate to cut ties with Hill.
Eric Cross is a featured writer at FantasyPros. For more from Eric, check out his archive and follow him @EricCross04.