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Fantasy Basketball: Rest-of-Season H2H Rankings

I was walking through a department store, minding my own business, sometime ago when a small child, who I'd never met before, whirled around a clothing rack, lifted his hand in the air to me, and declared with the cadence and fervor of a carnival director, "I present to you the tallest man in the world!".

It is with that same childish excitement that I present to you the RotoWire Head-to-Head Rest-of-Season Rankings. As we discussed in the preseason, our recommended strategy for head-to-head leagues is to focus on being as dominate as you can in the six positive counting categories (points, rebounds, three-pointers, assists, steals, and blocks), even if that means you aren't competitive in the other three categories (field goal percentage, free throw percentage, and turnovers). These rankings are meant to capture a player's value in this format from today through the rest of the season and are based on the RotoWire Player Projections. For custom rankings go here.

Before we get into the rankings, I've identified and researched a few players whose rankings are potentially surprising, but if you are here just for the rankings, scroll down a few paragraphs to find your prize.

BUYING

Kyrie Irving: Irving ranked 31st in our preseason head-to-head rankings, in part because we knew he'd be sharing possessions with Kevin Love and LeBron James, and we expected his numbers to decline as a result. Through 18 games this season, that has not been the case. Irving has scored right around his career average of 30 points per 100 possessions and is averaging a career high in steals (2.3 per 100 possession), blocks (0.7 per 100 possessions), and threes (2.9 per 100 possessions).

In addition to his stellar per-possession production, Irving has played 38 minutes per game, nearly 3 mpg over his previous career high. We've projected him for 37 mpg for the remainder of the season, which would slot him in as the 14th best player going forward. There are certainly some risks in acquiring Kyrie Irving (namely his injury history and his poor fantasy playoff schedule), but I'd be looking to buy if you can.

SELLING

Carmelo Anthony: Historically, wing players entering their 12th season see significant declines in their fantasy stats across the board (if you need convincing go check out the per-possession stats of Vince Carter, Metta World Peace, and Joe Johnson from year 11 to year 12 on basketball reference). As a result, we ranked Anthony 17th overall in our preseason head-to-head rankings, well below his average draft position on ESPN of 7th overall. It turns out that even we may not have been low enough. Anthony is now ranked 35th in our the rest-of-season rankings.

This large drop in value comes because Anthony is averaging fewer points (35.0 vs. 37.7), rebounds (9.9 vs. 11.1), threes (2.2 vs. 3.0), steals (0.9 vs. 1.7), and blocks (0.5 vs. 0.9) per 100 possessions than he did last season. In addition, he is playing fewer minutes under new coach Derek Fisher (35.5 vs. 38.7 last season). Anthony is still a big name, and so he may be easier to move than most players you are trying to sell. If that's the case in your league, I'd go ahead and try to move him.

PICK UP

Demarre Carroll: Despite coming in on our preseason rankings at 87th overall, DeMarre Carroll is still owned in just 33 percent of ESPN leagues. Carroll has been a strong contributor in steals (averaging 1.2 spg) and three-pointers (1.5 per game) this season, something that we project will continue for the rest of the season. As a result, Carroll comes in ranked 76th overall. If he's available on your waiver wire, go pick him up. It's the equivalent of adding a 7th rounder in a 12-team league.

DROP

David Lee: During the preseason, David Lee ranked just 122nd in our head-to-head rankings (compared to his ESPN ADP of 54) because some of the categories that he excels in (field goal percentage, free throw percentage) are less important in the head-to-head format. Since then, things have only gotten worse for Lee, and he has fallen to 197th on this list. Lee has sat out the majority of the season with a hamstring injury, and there are real questions about what role he will play when he returns. He is still owned in 73 percent of ESPN leagues. If you are holding onto him, feel free to drop him for someone higher on this list.

ROOKIES

Nerlens Noel: Nerlens Noel is still the rookie you most want to own. We've projected him for 9.6 points, 7.8 rebounds, 1.5 steals, and 1.9 blocks for the rest of the season, which would rank him 50th overall for the rest of the season. He's had some uneven performances so far this season, but those blocks and steals will be valuable going forward. I would recommend targeting him before he starts to produce on a more consistent basis.

Without further ado, here are our rest-of-season rankings for head-to-head leagues as of December 8th:

RankPlayer NameTeamPre-SeasonESPN Own%
1LeBron JamesCLE2100%
2Anthony DavisNOP4100%
3Stephen CurryGSW1100%
4James HardenHOU3100%
5Kevin DurantOKC15100%
6Chris PaulLAC8100%
7John WallWAS7100%
8Paul MillsapATL1498%
9Damian LillardPOR6100%
10Russell WestbrookOKC5100%
11Kevin LoveCLE12100%
12DeMarcus CousinsSAC10100%
13Blake GriffinLAC9100%
14Kyrie IrvingCLE31100%
15Michael Carter-WilliamsPHI2189%
16Kemba WalkerCHA1393%
17Kyle LowryTOR2299%
18Andre DrummondDET1197%
19Deron WilliamsBKN3893%
20DeAndre JordanLAC3297%
21Ty LawsonDEN2497%
22Jrue HolidayNOP1990%
23Klay ThompsonGSW2099%
24Serge IbakaOKC2999%
25Marc GasolMEM4199%
26Rudy GaySAC3599%
27Jeff TeagueATL3791%
28Chris BoshMIA39100%
29Trevor ArizaHOU4487%
30Josh SmithDET4790%
31Derrick FavorsUTA4693%
32Gordon HaywardUTA4396%
33Kobe BryantLAL51100%
34Rajon RondoBOS3096%
35Carmelo AnthonyNYK17100%
36Tim DuncanSAS5896%
37Mike ConleyMEM3494%
38Nicolas BatumPOR2789%
39LaMarcus AldridgePOR45100%
40Wesley MatthewsPOR4089%
41Monta EllisDAL2399%
42Darren CollisonSAC5380%
43Dwight HowardHOU2899%
44Kawhi LeonardSAS6099%
45Brandon JenningsDET2681%
46Al JeffersonCHA36100%
47Tyreke EvansNOP8987%
48Draymond GreenGSW9873%
49Nerlens NoelPHI4956%
50Goran DragicPHO2593%
51Victor OladipoORL1882%
52Eric BledsoePHO5795%
53Jeff GreenBOS6587%
54Markieff MorrisPHO7280%
55Jimmy ButlerCHI10194%
56Danny GreenSAS12362%
57Thaddeus YoungMIN5483%
58Chandler ParsonsDAL3393%
59Roy HibbertIND5084%
60Joakim NoahCHI5696%
61Brandon KnightMIL6790%
62Channing FryeORL7917%
63Dirk NowitzkiDAL5999%
64Joe JohnsonBKN8290%
65Lance StephensonCHA6487%
66Pau GasolCHI6697%
67Nikola VucevicORL6996%
68Kyle KorverATL8683%
69Trey BurkeUTA7351%
70Greg MonroeDET4888%
71Mario ChalmersMIA7056%
72Jared SullingerBOS9285%
73Marcin GortatWAS9089%
74Kenneth FariedDEN4285%
75Jamal CrawfordLAC10287%
76DeMarre CarrollATL8733%
77Al HorfordATL6395%
78Paul PierceWAS6161%
79Dwyane WadeMIA7697%
80Andrew WigginsMIN9568%
81Zach RandolphMEM9395%
82Ryan AndersonNOP7778%
83Bradley BealWAS11085%
84Tobias HarrisORL14287%
85Mirza TeletovicBKN13919%
86Reggie JacksonOKC7879%
87K.J. McDanielsPHI11132%
88Bojan BogdanovicBKN1152%
89Gorgui DiengMIN10834%
90Terrence JonesHOU7437%
91Courtney LeeMEM12835%
92Tyson ChandlerDAL14587%
93Robin LopezPOR9472%
94Ben McLemoreSAC13115%
95Jordan HillLAL13580%
96Ricky RubioMIN1652%
97Jabari ParkerMIL8085%
98Luol DengMIA9678%
99Alec BurksUTA10535%
100David WestIND9177%
101Omer AsikNOP10950%
102Terrence RossTOR11645%
103Solomon HillIND17813%
104Brook LopezBKN15188%
105Tony ParkerSAS14492%
106Andrew BogutGSW15770%
107Manu GinobiliSAS15039%
108Kentavious Caldwell-PopeDET9713%
109Timofey MozgovDEN14030%
110Corey BrewerMIN15415%
111Josh McRobertsMIA9911%
112Giannis AntetokounmpoMIL8362%
113Amir JohnsonTOR11836%
114Kelly OlynykBOS13029%
115Patrick BeverleyHOU10428%
116DeMar DeRozanTOR5581%
117Enes KanterUTA10737%
118Taj GibsonCHI13452%
119J.J. RedickLAC14753%
120Jose CalderonNYK8546%
121George HillIND6226%
122Jeremy LambOKC19418%
123Tony WrotenPHI16363%
124J.R. SmithNYK8133%
125Steven AdamsOKC2007%
126Andre IguodalaGSW11730%
127Evan FournierORLUnranked34%
128Harrison BarnesGSW16740%
129Ed DavisLALUnranked13%
130Derrick RoseCHI8897%
131Wilson ChandlerDEN18965%
132Elfrid PaytonORL10318%
133Wesley JohnsonLAL1556%
134Mike DunleavyCHI19012%
135Isaiah ThomasPHO10669%
136Miles PlumleePHO1197%
137Jonas ValanciunasTOR12176%
138Boris DiawSAS17412%
139Cody ZellerCHA1484%
140Tony AllenMEM1597%
141Kevin GarnettBKN13713%
142Gerald GreenPHO14948%
143Marcus SmartBOS755%
144Arron AfflaloDEN14169%
145P.J. TuckerPHO1325%
146Jarrett JackBKN15314%
147Matt BarnesLAC1247%
148Eric GordonNOP13812%
149Larry SandersMIL7140%
150Greivis VasquezTORUnranked21%
151Donatas MotiejunasHOU18314%
152O.J. MayoMIL17916%
153Avery BradleyBOS17538%
154Anderson VarejaoCLEUnranked40%
155Chris CopelandINDUnranked15%
156Iman ShumpertNYK16629%
157Shawn MarionCLE1813%
158Marcus MorrisPHO1865%
159Hollis ThompsonPHI1731%
160Jeremy LinLAL5261%
161Patrick PattersonTORUnranked4%
162Dion WaitersCLE1269%
163Spencer HawesLAC1149%
164Mo WilliamsMINUnranked32%
165James JohnsonTOR1713%
166Jason ThompsonSAC1982%
167Tristan ThompsonCLE12516%
168Nene HilarioWAS15230%
169Jameer NelsonDAL1648%
170Ronnie PriceLALUnranked1%
171Henry SimsPHIUnranked7%
172Amar'e StoudemireNYK18860%
173Jason TerryHOU1686%
174Luis ScolaIND1997%
175Rodney StuckeyIND16912%
176Carlos BoozerLAL8452%
177Tyler ZellerBOSUnranked9%
178Marvin WilliamsCHA1581%
179Andre RobersonOKC1331%
180Tiago SplitterSAS1722%
181Kirk HinrichCHIUnranked5%
182Khris MiddletonMILUnranked9%
183Devin HarrisDAL19311%
184Rudy GobertUTA1962%
185Norris ColeMIA1703%
186Louis WilliamsTORUnranked45%
187Kostas PapanikolaouHOUUnranked2%
188Nikola PekovicMIN16550%
189Rasual ButlerWASUnranked8%
190Nick YoungLAL18551%
191Kevin MartinMIN12747%
192Michael Kidd-GilchristCHAUnranked9%
193C.J. MilesIND1602%
194Dante ExumUTA1004%
195Steve BlakePORUnranked1%
196Danilo GallinariDEN6821%
197David LeeGSW12273%
198Shabazz NapierMIAUnranked4%
199Jodie MeeksDETUnranked4%
200Samuel DalembertNYK1613%