We’re in the second half of week 18, which means the fantasy playoffs are only a few weeks away, but on top of that, the trade deadline (for most Sportzshala leagues) ends next Thursday, March 2nd. week or fight for the final places in the playoff race, it’s time to make moves.
You’ll find my full rankings for the rest of the season at the end of this column, but first I’ll break down the top 3 and outliers to close out the season. Let’s jump.
RISERS
Mikal Bridges – SF/PF, Brooklyn Nets (30)
Preseason Rating: 55
ROS rank: 20
Rank Difference: +35
We got a glimpse of what Bridges could be like as the best dog in Brooklyn right before the All-Star break, where he scored a career-high 45 points along with 8 rebounds, 5 assists, 2 blocks, 2 steals and 4 triples in 36 matches. minutes. This game was the party that made me believe that Bridges could be the next BC star. He was already a top 30 Phoenix Suns player thanks to a career year of points, rebounds and assists per game while maintaining a level of efficiency that sets him apart from most forwards in the league today.
And that is why I am delighted with his views on the rest of the season.
He used to be the third option in Phoenix, but now with so much 3D and depth on the wing and not so many clean scorers around, Bridges has the potential to become a major threat to this new Nets franchise going forward. Bridges has averaged 17 points on 4 rebounds, 4 assists, and just over 1 steal for the Suns this season, but there’s still plenty to be excited about the significant increase in usage. That’s a small sample size, but in two of his first three games in which he played at least 30 minutes for the Nets, he scored at least a 26% utilization rate.
The top 20 is definitely around the corner as I expect him to continue the trajectory of his career year and close the gap by becoming one of the best fantasy players in the 9-cat leagues.
Markelle Fultz – PG/SG, Orlando Magic (101)
Preseason Rating: 188
ROS rating: 71
Rank Difference: +117
I don’t own Fultz fantasy stock, but since the trading deadline is around the corner, I’d like to buy it. He has been in tears lately and has shown such a big increase compared to the beginning of the year. He is still a liability from the three-point line, but surprisingly turns into Kyle Lowryesque point guard at 24. I mean, look at the comparison:
At this point in his career, he is much more effective than Lowry, hitting a career-best 52.9% of two-point field goals. Fultz has been in the top 70 in the last two weeks, increasing his scoring to 15.7 points, 7.0 rebounds, 5.3 assists, 1.3 steals and 0.8 blocks in 34 minutes per night. Everyone is healthy after the All-Star break, according to Magic HC head coach Jamal Mosley, so we’ll see Cole Anthony or Jalen Suggs eat Fultz’s minutes, but at the moment they pose no real threat.
Mosley’s recent post-game pressure sounds like a manager trusting Fultz to continue to be the engine of this team as they fight for their playoff spot for three seasons.
The arrow points to Fultz, who averaged the most minutes (33.4), points per game (16.5), rebounds per game (5.5), free throw percentage (95%), utilization rate (21.6 %) and the percentage of accurate shots. (58.8%) in February.
Walker Kessler – C, Utah Jazz (81)
Preseason Rating: 191
ROS rating: 35
Rank Difference: +156
While this may seem like an overreaction, it is not. Kessler is fantastic beast. All year he has been steadily climbing up my rankings, but in the last month he has entered the top 40 players. He entered the elite echelon of big men in leagues with nine cats, joining such Kristaps Porzingis, Miles Turner, Nikola Vucevic, Domantas Sabonis And Jarrett Allen (yes, I still don’t know Rudy Gobert – sorry not sorry).
Since joining Utah 17 games ago, Kessler has averaged 11.4 points, 10.3 rebounds and 2.5 blocks per game. According to Basketball Monster, Kessler is ranked 37th in the rankings for his game during this stretch. He also has the second largest blocks in this gap, too much. So if he continues to play at that level, he will finish the season in the top 35.
FAILURES
Tyreese Maxi – PG/SG, Philadelphia 76ers (118)
Preseason Rating: 48
ROS rating: 105
Rank difference: -57
It hurts—not as bad as the Eagles’ defensive failure in the Super Bowl, but disappointing nonetheless.
I’ve been touting Maxi as a breakout player all season, and that damn leg injury in mid-November really set him back. He was on his way to breaking into the top 50, but when he returned in early January, his role with the Sixers was reduced and production followed.
He scored over 22 points per game with just under 4 rebounds and 4 assists in 36 minutes of play in the first two months of the season. However, his results in February were terrible, averaging 16.8 points per game with less than 3 rebounds and 3 assists in 29.1 minutes per night.
He was downgraded to sixth man, which makes sense since the first wing attack goes through Joel Embiid And James Harden. However, Maxi playing less than 30 minutes a night isn’t perfect, and the Sixers’ second unit doesn’t scare anyone. His performance can certainly return to adolescence. However, if there is no injury De’Anthony Melton or James Harden, I see little room in other areas that would be useful in 9-cat formats, with the exception of points, triplets, and free throw percentage.
He’ll have spike games here and there, much like Jordan Pool earlier this season, but it would take a lot of work to expect the earlier season’s version of Maxi to appear at the end of the season.
Jalen Green – SG, Houston Rockets (186)
Preseason Rating: 64
ROS rating: 180
Differential: -116
The Houston Rockets are firmly in the Wemby draw, especially when their owner, Tilman Fertitta comes out during Mardi Gras lit up and openly admits it. But more importantly, Green has a groin injury and was ruled out ahead of Friday’s game against the Warriors, which is not a good sign for fantasy managers approaching the most critical point of the season (especially those without IL+). and potentially have to wait three games to be able to hide it on IL).
He was already behind in leagues out of 9 categories, ranking 186th in value per game on Thursday. But now, after a week off, he’s coming out of the All-Star break with a daily injury ahead of the weekend.
Kevin Porter Jr. returned to 3-on-3 practice in practice, but given their current position and injuries, the Rockets will also be wary of Green with just 24 games left in the season. Hopefully he’ll be back soon because despite his bad reputation in the 9 cat leagues, he’s still solid in the leagues on points (top 80 player) and his ability to score on the board and knock down triples has been useful in categories. leagues.
However, Green has a chance to be in the top 100 fantasy players, which will remain the same in the later stages of this season. I was ambitious, thinking he could enter the top 70 in leagues with nine cats this season, but his lack of defensive input, low field goal percentage and high frame turnover will continue to hamper his fantastic value.
Check out my full rating below:
Fantasy Basketball Ranking 2022 based on FantasyProsEKR™ – Expert Consensus Ranking
Source: sports.yahoo.com
