Up:
Spencer Hawes is averaging top 10 numbers so far this season. Yeah, that doesn’t say too much, but his two-game averages of 9.5 points, 12.5 rebounds, 6.0 assists, 2.0 steals, 1.5 blocks and 2.5 turnovers, along with 56 percent shooting from the field and a perfect one-for-one from the free-throw line are impressive. If you say you saw this coming, I’ll call you a liar. But if you scooped him up, I’ll call you a savvy optimist. Hawes won’t keep this up for the whole season, but his current owners should squeeze him for all he’s got or shop him like there’s no tomorrow. [Sell]
Boris Diaw is eating up position eligibilities like – well, you get the picture. Not only does he have SF, PF and C eligibility in Yahoo! leagues, but he’s also averaging a awesome 12.5 points, 13.5 rebounds, 8.5 assists, 0.5 steals, 1.5 blocks and 3.5 turnovers through his first two games of the season. The salt to accompany this sweet news is that Tyrus Thomas has yet to suit up for the Bobcats. Once Thomas plays, Diaw could lose some of those rebounding and scoring opportunities. That said, Diaw looks primed to have a surprising season for his fantasy owners. [Hold]
Kris Humphries might be getting booed by real-life NBA fans, but he’s getting standing ovations from his fortunate fantasy owners. With Brook Lopez out of commission for the foreseeable future, Humphries is the only viable big man for the Nets. Through three games (two of which were blowout losses), Humphries is averaging 13.7 points, 10.7 rebounds, one assist, 0.7 steals and 0.7 blocks. The only thing that will stop him from racking up an endless string of solid double-doubles is limited minutes in big losses. [Hold]
Andre Miller is backing up the up-and-coming Ty Lawson, but that hasn’t stopped the veteran point guard from producing very usable numbers. Miller’s been a solid point guard for fantasy purposes for the vast majority of his career. While he’ll likely see something close to a career-low in minutes per game, he’ll continue to shoot steady percentages, score 10-12 points, grab 3-4 rebounds, dish out 5-6 assists and rack up about one steal per outing. He’ll turn out to be a solid value pick this season. [Hold]
Kyle Lowry would’ve had a triple-double last night if it weren’t for the Rockets’ lopsided victory over the Spurs. Still, Lowry’s averaging 18.0 points, 8.0 rebounds, 10.0 assists, 2.0 steals, 0.5 blocks and 1.5 threes in his first two games of the season. He’s pretty much picking up where he left off last season and seems like a safe bet to return top 25 value in 2011-12. [Hold]
Down:
Russell Westbrook is befuddling fantasy owners right now. He remains a poor shooter from the field, isn’t hitting many threes and turning the ball over more than he’s accumulating assists. Talk of his relationship with Kevin Durant aside, Westbrook has been the early bust of the season. While I was never a supporter of taking Westbrook in the first round of this season’s drafts, I understood why people would feel inclined to spring that early for him. The sour fact of the matter is that the point guard doesn’t seem like a lock to take that proverbial “next step” in 2011-12. His value won’t get much lower than it is right now though, so fantasy owners should try their hand at buying low on the kid. [Buy]
Deron Williams, like Westbrook, is having a subpar start to the 2011-12 NBA season. This is partly due to the absence of Lopez, which really depletes the Nets’ roster of a significant contributor on offense. Williams is shooting 29 percent from the field and averaging 14.3 points, 5.0 rebounds, 5.7 assists, a steal, a pair of threes and 5.3 turnovers in his first three games of the season. Buy low if you can, but the poor shooting from the floor, lower-than-normal assists and frequent turnovers will plague Williams for a while. [Buy]
Paul Millsap‘s 2011-12 NBA season started with a bum quad and the loss of his starting job to Derrick Favors. He’s still averaging 15.5 points, 8.0 rebounds, a steal and 0.5 blocks in his first two games, but owners who spent a pretty third-round pick on Millsap are probably a bit upset right now. That said, the Jazz lost both of their first two games by large margins, and Millsap will still get enough minutes to produce solid fantasy lines. The loss of the starting job definitely caps his value, but there’s no use in selling him low right now, nor is there much reason to buy low. [Hold]
Dorell Wright was an outright stud last season, finishing with top 25 value. The Warriors have played just three games so far, but Wright has looked lackluster in all three of those contests. He’s shooting 40 percent from the field, which is close to the 42 percent he averaged last season, but he’s averaging just 9.7 points, 6.7 rebounds, 1.3 assists, 0.7 steals and a three-pointer per game. Wright’s still getting minutes, so optimistic logic says the numbers will soon follow – when they’ll follow is the big question. [Buy]
Marcin Gortat had sparkly fantasy prospects heading into this season. Then he broke his thumb and turned in two forgettable performances. As his thumb heals and as that Suns rotation is settled down a bit more, Gortat’s numbers will rise. His price won’t get any cheaper than it is right now. [Buy]
Throughout the season, be sure to leave your questions, comments, concerns, trade offers, roster problems and more in the comments below.
Follow Jason on Twitter at @fbasketballblog.
Follow Dime on Twitter at @DimeMag.
Become a fan of Dime Magazine on Facebook HERE.
