Week 21 Risers and Fallers

Week 21 Risers and Fallers

This article is part of our NBA Barometer series.

GUARDS

GAINING VALUE

Landry Shamet, LAC: The move to the west coast has sat well with Shamet thus far, as the rookie is getting a chance at playing time he otherwise wouldn't have seen in Philadelphia. Shamet is now manning the starting small forward role for the Clippers and has posted two 20-point efforts in the last three contests, while logging at least 26 minutes in each. He's continued to be aggressive from three-point range, putting up a whopping 28 attempts from behind the arc in the last three games alone and draining them at a 53.6 percent clip.

Avery Bradley, MEM: Bradley's shot had been broken for most of the season, but the move from Los Angeles to Memphis has worked wonders. The veteran two-guard has three 20-point games, and one 30-point games, in his last nine contests after not reaching the 20-point mark in any other game prior to that stretch. Bradley is also shooting 48.8 percent since joining the Grizzlies, a drastic improvement over his 38.3 percent mark as a member of the Clippers.

ALSO GAINING VALUE: Wesley Matthews, IND

LOSING VALUE

Tyreke Evans, IND: Wesley Matthews recently arrived in Indiana following his buyout in New York, and he's immediately slotted into the starting shooting guard role. Evans' playing time had already been limited, but Matthews' addition essentially put an end to any possibility of Evans taking on a larger role down the stretch. It's been a wildly disappointing season, overall, for the

GUARDS

GAINING VALUE

Landry Shamet, LAC: The move to the west coast has sat well with Shamet thus far, as the rookie is getting a chance at playing time he otherwise wouldn't have seen in Philadelphia. Shamet is now manning the starting small forward role for the Clippers and has posted two 20-point efforts in the last three contests, while logging at least 26 minutes in each. He's continued to be aggressive from three-point range, putting up a whopping 28 attempts from behind the arc in the last three games alone and draining them at a 53.6 percent clip.

Avery Bradley, MEM: Bradley's shot had been broken for most of the season, but the move from Los Angeles to Memphis has worked wonders. The veteran two-guard has three 20-point games, and one 30-point games, in his last nine contests after not reaching the 20-point mark in any other game prior to that stretch. Bradley is also shooting 48.8 percent since joining the Grizzlies, a drastic improvement over his 38.3 percent mark as a member of the Clippers.

ALSO GAINING VALUE: Wesley Matthews, IND

LOSING VALUE

Tyreke Evans, IND: Wesley Matthews recently arrived in Indiana following his buyout in New York, and he's immediately slotted into the starting shooting guard role. Evans' playing time had already been limited, but Matthews' addition essentially put an end to any possibility of Evans taking on a larger role down the stretch. It's been a wildly disappointing season, overall, for the veteran, who at this point last season looked to have revived his career as a member of the Grizzlies.

FORWARDS

GAINING VALUE     

Bruno Caboclo, MEM: Caboclo looks to be in line for a multi-week stint as the starting power forward with Jaren Jackson, Jr. out with a deep thigh bruise. Caboclo has already seen extended run since Jackson went down, and he's started the last four games with varying degrees of production. His offensive usage is limited – Caboclo hasn't put up more than eight shot attempts in any of those games – but he's already delivered one double-digit rebound tally and one double-digit point total. Expectations should be very much tempered, but Caboclo certainly has appeal in deeper formats and as a low-cost DFS flyer.

JaMychal Green, LAC: Green is a player whose trade helped facilitate Caboclo's current opportunity, and he's thriving in his own right out West. The five-year veteran is holding down a steady role in the frontcourt rotation for coach Doc Rivers and has already contributed five double-digit scoring efforts in 10 games with the Clippers. He's pulled down at least eight boards in seven of those contests, as well. Then there's Green's floor-spacing ability, which has led to him shooting a career-best 40.5 percent from three-point range this season, including 39.6 percent since arriving in Los Angeles.

LOSING VALUE

Davis Bertans, SAN:  Bertans saw a nice spike in production leading up to the All-Star break and in the first game coming out of the layoff. However, it's been downhill since then, as he's scored in single digits on four occasions and was held scoreless in a sixth game in that stretch. The downturn hasn't been due to a significant drop in playing time, either, as the big man has over 20 minutes in three of those games. With LaMarcus Aldridge and Rudy Gay ahead of him on the depth chart, he's facing an uphill battle to get back to relevance, especially with the Spurs recently leaning more heavily on Jakob Poeltl up front.

CENTERS

GAINING VALUE

Marc Gasol, TOR: It took a bit, but Gasol appears to be hitting his stride in Toronto. While the veteran was limited to just 18 minutes in a bad matchup against Houston on Tuesday, he had three double-digit scoring efforts in his previous four games, while logging at least 32 minutes in two of those. The Raptors will continue to alternate between Gasol and Ibaka based on matchups, but look at the upcoming schedule, Gasol should have plenty of opportunities for extended minutes against more traditional opposing centers.

Jakob Poeltl, SAN: Pau Gasol is now in Milwaukee following his buyout, a move that should consistently open up more minutes for Poeltl moving forward. The Utah product is currently dealing with a hamstring issue, but it doesn't look to be anything serious, and the Spurs have three off days following Wednesday's game against the Hawks. Poeltl started and played a season-high 34 minutes in a win over Detroit last week, finishing with 11 points, 14 rebounds and three blocks. He followed up with five points, seven rebounds, three blocks and two steals against Oklahoma City over the weekend and should return to a sizeable role once healthy. Poeltl offers reasonable potential for a double-double any time he sees sufficient playing time, and he's also an above-average blocks contributor

ALSO GAINING VALUE: Mason Plumlee, DEN

LOSING VALUE

Luke Kornet, NYK: Enes Kanter's recent departure from the Big Apple has meant nothing for Kornet's production, despite the fact he's seen elevated minutes in some recent contests. The rookie has scored in double digits only twice in the last 10 games, a stretch that includes two sub-30-percent shooting efforts. Even with solid playing time the last two games – 21 and 26 minutes, respectively – he's averaged just 6.5 points and 3.0 rebounds. With Henry Ellenson now in the mix and DeAndre Jordan set to return to the starting five Wednesday night, Kornet should return to afterthought status in most formats.

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Juan Carlos Blanco
Winner of the FSWA 2016 Newcomer of the Year Award, Juan Carlos Blanco has been playing fantasy sports for over 20 years and covers NBA, MLB, NFL, CFL and Arena Football for Rotowire.com, including serving as the beat writer for teams in multiple sports. He has previously written for KFFL.com and remains an avid season-long and daily fantasy player in multiple sports as well.
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