Is your fantasy team alive and thriving in the playoffs? Hanging on for dear life and needing some tips? Or is your team out, and you’re simply here for the love of the sport? Either way, we’ve got you covered in this week’s column. Check out these three players whose stock is up, and the three whose stock is not.
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NBA: Detroit Pistons at Toronto Raptors
Fantasy Basketball Waiver Wire: Daniss Jenkins delivers in fantasy semifinals
Daniss Jenkins has stepped up in a big way with Cade Cunningham sidelined, and he can help fantasy managers win their semifinal matchups.
STOCK UP
Quentin Grimes — SG/SF, 76ers
No Paul George. No Tyrese Maxey. No Joel Embiid. Just lots of Quentin Grimes lately. The wing scorer had fully taken advantage of his opportunities before missing Monday’s game with an illness. His most recent stat lines have gone like this: 25/5/4, 27/5/7, 12/2/1, 31/3/2, 28/8/4 — quick math shows that’s an average of 23.0 points, 4.6 rebounds, and 3.4 assists for Grimes over the past five games. The only thing to escape him over this stretch is the subpar 29.2 percent shooting from beyond the arc, which has been a weakness throughout the season. Nonetheless, Grimes is playing as good basketball as anyone on the Sixers at the moment. It’ll be interesting to see what happens once the Sixers’ top guys return. But until then, the production should remain.
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Darius Garland — PG, Clippers
No hidden gem here. Garland, now 10 games into his tenure with the LA Clippers, has tallied at least 20 points and six assists in six of those games, with one of his most recent appearances being a 41-point, 11-assist outing against the Mavericks to help the Clippers end a four-game losing skid. Along with the points and assists, the one-time NBA All-Star has provided value as a three-pointer shooter, making at least four triples in half of his games since being traded. Injuries have been a concern for Garland over the past couple of seasons, but he’s currently healthy and making a huge splash on the offensive end, which has come at the perfect time for those fantasy managers currently in the playoffs.
Bones Hyland — PG/SG, Timberwolves
Perhaps no one on the Timberwolves has benefited more from Anthony Edwards’ absence (knee) than Hyland. In under 30.0 minutes per game, he’s posted averages of 20.0 points and 3.3 three-pointers in the four games that have taken place since Edwards has been sidelined. Those numbers may not be extraordinary, especially since there hasn’t been much impact in other statistical categories; however, they could certainly be useful off the waiver wire for those fantasy managers needing to stream scoring and three-pointers during the fantasy playoffs. Edwards’ return date is still unclear, meaning Hyland should remain a priority on offense for the time being.
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STOCK DOWN
Jonathan Kuminga — SF/PF, Hawks
The start to Kuminga’s Hawks tenure was a fun one. He debuted with a 27-point, seven-rebound outing against the Wizards, which he followed up two days later with a 17/9/3 line in the rematch before a 20-point outing against the Trail Blazers in Game 3 of his tenure. However, knee inflammation took him out of the lineup for three straight games, and his impact has not been nearly the same in the five games since returning. Specifically, Kuminga has been held to single digits in three of those games, in which he combined to shoot 3-of-20 from the field with zero three-pointers. He did, however, post 16 points and four three-pointers in the Hawks’ 39-point win over the Grizzlies on Monday — perhaps this couldn’t be the performance that gets him back on track. However, it’s hard to assume his stock will rise enough to become a reliable contributor in fantasy leagues before the playoffs conclude.
Myles Turner — C, Bucks
It’s not inaccurate to say the Bucks have had a tough season. From injuries to underperforming players, the season has gone south, and it doesn’t appear to be in a salvageable place with less than a handful of weeks left in the season. One of the players who has really struggled to find his way throughout the season is Myles Turner. Across his 12 appearances in March, Turner’s minutes per game are easily at his lowest of any month, and the 8.3 points per game also certainly are. The first-year Buck has reached double figures in scoring only two times this month, while shooting 39.0 percent from the field. It’s hard to imagine things going much worse than they currently are for Turner, but given Milwaukee’s place in the Eastern Conference standings with less than a few weeks left in the season, I can’t actually see things getting much better. By this point, there likely aren’t too many fantasy managers leaning on Turner for production in the fantasy playoffs.
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Immanuel Quickley — PG/SG, Raptors
Following an exceptional February — arguably Quickley’s best month from a production standpoint — March hasn’t been nearly as kind. He’s shooting 39.2 percent from the field through 10 games this month and has had some noteworthy struggles from behind the 3pt line during that stretch. Continued success as a passer has kept his floor from lowering even more in terms of nightly fantasy production, but a safe floor may not be what fantasy managers need at this point in the season. Quickley is battling a foot injury, which caused him to miss Monday’s lopsided win over the Jazz — perhaps the ailment has been at the root of recent unspectacular play. Regardless, more production is preferred around this time of the year.
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