Point Guards

 

RANKNAMETeam# GamesAnalysis
1Russell WestbrookOKC4Top player in the game with a full slate of games this week? Yes please!
2James HardenHOU3Even with one less game, Harden continues to be THAT much more dominant in all areas, even with a ton of other skilled guards and shooters on his team. 
3John WallWSH4Wall will not be able to take rest games because he is the glue of the Wizards offense and it does not run the same way with him off of the court.
4Stephen CurryGSW4Curry continues to look to drive to fake out defenders and he has been seeing a bit more openess in the paint to get easy lanes to the basket. 
5Isaiah ThomasBOS4Thomas continues to not only shoot the ball well and with extremem confidence, but he has been balancing his act a bit and making sure to look for defensive holes in the paint. 
6Kyrie IrvingCLE4Even though Irving does run out of gas when his minutes hit the upper 30's, he continues to be one of the best drivers in the game and is great at drawing contact and extending plays. 
7Eric BledsoePHX4The Suns have made moves meaning that Bledsoe will continued to be relied on to handle most of the offense. The Suns are trying to give younger bigger players a chance to learn. 
9Chris PaulLAC3Paul is back and playing a ton of minutes again and fantasy owners who have been waiting patiently for him to be at full strength will get paid off down the stretch. He is still an elite guard. 
10Damian LillardPOR3Lillard handles so much of the offense and Portland did not fully help themselves up front and Lillard will need to do what he always does and take over the game himself. 
11Goran DragicMIA4Now that the Heat are as close to full strength as they have been for most of the year, Dragic can return to being more of a playmaker and his assists should impove down the stretch. 
12Kemba WalkerCHA3Walker moves down a bit without the fourth game, but he can still be relied on to handle the majority of the Hornets scoring himself and he will still be the main playmaker. 
13George HillUT4There are games Hill will have in which you will see nothing but scoring because he is the ultimate bailout option when the other guards are slashing. His assists will be higher vs good defense.
14Mike ConleyMEM3Conley is another guard who is excellent at extending plays in the air. He draws a lot of contact when he drives and he is still able to get tear drop openings from mid range. 
15Dennis SchroderATL4Schroder has stepped up his scoring, but it remains a challenge figuring out which Schroder we will see per night because he has quiet nights and has improved his passing.
16Jrue HolidayNO3Even with two talented big men in the middle Holiday will do a ton of creating from the perimeter and both Anthony Davis and DeMarcus Cousins set solid screens for easy layups. 
17Jeff TeagueIND3Teague continues to be a good shooting option off the ball and he has been solid at finding space for himself right outside the paint and can hit the knock down jumper. 
18Derrick RoseNY4It is hard to tell when Rose will have a big game because he is a lot slower than he used to be, but at this point he should be motivated to audition each night for a big long-term contract. 
19Ricky RubioMIN3Rubio has improved his scoring throughout the season and LaVIne being out gives him more shots, but he is more of an assist and steals guy and will score only in great match ups. 
20Marcus SmartBOS4Even if Avery Bradley plays the full slate, Smart will still see a lot of minutes as it will take a bit for Bradley to get back in the swing of things. He is used to playing deep into games. 
20Reggie JacksonDET3Being that he was not traded, things can only go up for Jackson as he has been shooting the ball inconsistently. If he sticks to being a play maker and looks to drive more, it will raise his shooting percentage.

 

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Shooting Guards

RANKNAMETeam# GamesAnalysis
1DeMar DeRozanTOR4With the full slate, DeRozan returns to the top spot and he should be even more productive with Kyle Lowry hurting.
2Gordon HaywardUT4Hayward continues to prove that he can be an all around force. He can hit the knockdown jumper, but has been driving a lot more this season and has done a good job setting up Rudy Gobert.
3Bradley BealWSH4Beal has improved his game throughout the season and remains healthy. He has been driving the lane more through the middle and moving on the court more in general as Wall drives the lane
4Klay ThompsonGSW4Thompson gets his chunk of shots because of the attention some of his teammates get on the perimeter and like Curry, he looks to cut back door when the lane is free.
5Nicolas BatumCHA3Batum moves down the list just a little with the lack of fourth game, but of all of the guards listed above him, he is the most consistent rebounder.
6C.J. McCollumPOR3McCollum is the other portion of the Portland offense and due to lack of other Forwards and Centers who can score consistently, McCollum looks to create from mid range.
7Devin BookerPHX4Booker is other portion of the Suns offense and with P.J. Tucker gone, he will have to stay on the elbow more until change of possesion to get long rebounds.
8Dwyane WadeCHI3Wade has been consistent from a scoring and assist stand point and he WILL rebound. He is one of the few players who can rest at any given time and screw fantasy players.
9Dion WaitersMIA4It can be argued that Waiters is the Heat's most reliable shooter. He doesn't have as much of a complete game as other options, but he has been able to take over from long and mid range.
10Tyler JohnsonMIA4Johnson will attack the basket a big more than Waiters and is a bit of a better ball handler. He has been very effective coming off of the bench and can rotate to both guard spots.
11Wesley MatthewsDAL4Matthews will continue to create from the elbow and he can use his size to back down other guards and he will wait for long rebounds as well. He is good at stepping through screens.
12Avery BradleyBOS4Still dealing with the Achilles injury, but all signs point to Bradley playing this week and with the full slate we have to rank him, but are unsure about his restrictions.
13Victor OladipoOKC4Dealing with back soreness and already questionable for his first game of the week.
14Patrick BeverleyHOU3Pat-Bev is explosive and that will give him a bit more of an edge as a change of pace option for the Rockets and he will continue to slash and get a healthy amount of playing time.
15Lou WilliamsHOU3Williams will get time coming off of the bench and can rotate to both guard spots, cut back door and hit the open corner three-pointer.
16Eric GordonHOU3Gordon is more likely to lose minutes because he is a bit more scoring dependant than the other guards. He can drive, but not as quickly as the other two. The other guys play better defense.
17Kentavious Caldwell-PopeDET3KCP will be relied on a bit more when it comes to shooting because of how bad Reggie Jackson has been shooting from the field. He will help out on the perimeter with steals.
18Gary HarrisDEN3Harris will get his chunk of shots due to how erratic Emmanuel Mudiay is from the field and he will have chances to create from the elbow with the ball. Denver utilizes all of their shooters.
19Sean KilpatrickBKN3Even with Jeremy Lin back in, the Nets will bring him back slowly and at least for this week, Kirkpatrick should be able to score in double figures consistently and rotate to PG.
20J.J. RedickLAC3With Chris Paul back, Redick returns to more of a running and shooting role as he has been great at reading screens and he will tire out defenders and that will keep him on the court longer.

 

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Small Forward

RANKNAMETeam# GamesAnalysis
1Kevin DurantGSW4Durant moves up because his all-around game has not been impacted at all since he went to the Warriors and continues to play deep into games and gets time to create with the ball.
2Giannis AntetokounmpoMIL4The Greek Freak will have to continue to play multiple positions each game and he will get a bit a breather when Khris Middleton eventually is able to take on a full workload.
3LeBron JamesCLE4LeBron is sick and that has kept him out of action and he could be in danger of missing at least one game this week. Status uncertain.
4Carmelo AnthonyNY4

Coming off of a clutch game-winning shot and Kristaps Porzingis being banged up should give 'Melo even more opportunities to produce, even if Porzingis plays.

5Kawhi LeonardSAS3Leonard will continue playing one of the most effective two-way games in basketball and use his new-found shooting range to burn defenders for three.
6Jimmy ButlerCHI3Butler will need to command the ball from the elbow down the stretch and he will have to use his size to attack immediately rather than simply posting.
7Paul GeorgeIND3George does not call for the ball as much as other stars, but he will stay in the lane and keep plays alive and he is still one of the best perimeter defenders in the game.
8Otto PorterWSH4Porter has been majorly productive and has widened his shooting range throughout the season and will never lose minutes because of HIS strong perimeter defense.
9Robert CovingtonPHI4With Joel Embiid still out and Ersan Ilyasova traded away, Covington is going to get a ton more shot opportunities down the stretch and has improved both sides of his game in the last month.
10Harrison BarnesDAL4Barnes will get even more time with the ball with Deron Williams out of the way and he has been a 20-point scorer and will be the 1A option along with Dirk Nowitzki and he plays great D.
11Jae CrowderBOS4Crowder will get most of his production from slashing in the lane and hitting jumpers from right outside the paint. He does look to post often and on defense he sizes up defenders well.
12Andrew WigginsMIN3With LaVine out, Wiggins will be taking the majority of the jumpers per game and get a lot of time to create from the perimeter. Wiggins will need to continue to attack more down the stretch.
13Ersan IlyasovaATL4We will see how many shots Ilyasova gets per night, but he will earn his minutes based off defense and if he can be an efficient long-range rebounder and scorer, he will take time from Bazemore
14James JohnsonMIA4

Johnson will attack the basket a big more than Waiters and is a bit of a better ball handler. He has been very effective coming off of the bench and can rotate to both guard spots.

15Wilson ChandlerDEN3Chandler can play multiple positions and he will play deeper into games down the stretch and even with most of the Nuggets healthy, he should not lose much playing time.
16Danilo GallinariDEN3Gallinari was the top shooting option for most of the season and will return to that. The key is for Gallo to attack the rim more so he naturally has more time with the ball outside and inside.
17Tobias HarrisDET3Harris has been dominant versus second units off the bench and he is goo at attacking the middle of the paint and has one-handed post moves that give him open looks to the basket.
18Will BartonDEN3Gallinari being back will hinder Barton a little bit, but of all of the Nuggets options, he is the most effective post player and mid-range defender and his defense should save some of the time.
19Evan FournierORL3Fournier continues to be the No. 1 shooting option for Orlando and he will follow his shots to try to grab rebounds, but he mainly gets caught up at the elbow.
20Trevor ArizaHOU3

Ariza's playing time is safe because of his excellent perimeter defense, but be aware of him losing shots as the season continues due to the addition of Lou Williams.

 

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Power Forward

RANKNAMETeam# GamesAnalysis
1Anthony DavisNO3AD will still produce whether its from the elbow, inside, from the perimeter and he is hard to get by on defense due to his size and is the top option even with three games and Boogie Cousins.
2Draymond GreenGSW4Green moves to the second spot as he IS the Warriors inside game and is excellent at keeping plays alive on the offensive glass. He is a reliable blocker and has a full slate.
3Paul MillsapATL4Millsap will continue to be the top scoring option and with the addition of Ilyasova, he should be able to get more opportunities to post up inside.
4Blake GriffinLAC3Even with Chris Paul back, Griffin will still produce and hopefully he does not return to old habits of giving up on the drive and solely shooting from the outside.
5Nikola JokicDEN3Jokic has been a huge force inside for the Nuggets, and with Kenneth Faried hurting, he should be able to grab even more rebounds this week.
6Kristaps PorzingisNY4

Been dealing with an Ankle injury, but all signs are pointing towards him playing the full week. We can't predict soreness though, but he has no damage to the Ankle.

7Serge IbakaTOR4

We will see how many shots Ibaka gets from the perimeter moving forward, but for at least this week with Lowry's sore wrist, Ibaka will be taking more shots than normal.

8Markieff MorrisWSH4Morris has developed a full mid-range game and gets fed a lot from Wall when he drives and draws the double. On defense, it has been hard to muscle him in the paint all year.
9LaMarcus AldridgeSAS3With Pau Gasol back, Aldridge will be playing more on the perimeter looking for open elbow jumpers.
10Dirk NowitzkiDAL4Nowitzki looks to be as close to full health as possible and with Deron Williams waived, he will get more time to create from the elbow and post for the rest of the way.
11Greg MonroeMIL4Monroe is stating to show that he may very well be able to fill in for the injured Jabari Parker, but the key is for him not to turn the ball over and be consistent in the post on both sides of the ball.
12Julius RandleLAL3Randle has been playing well in the paint and will look to attack the rim when he gets the ball rather than look for a shot. He will continue to draw a lot of contact.
13Taj GibsonOKC4

The Thunder need help defensively and the veteran Gibson was a good piece to add. He's not flashy, but he will make baby hooks, draw contact and clean up the glass inside.

14Trevor BookerBKN3Booker will continue to be the Nets most reliable rebounder and he will score off of offensive rebounds and plays in the low post.
15Gorgui DiengMIN3Dieng has not been as productive on the scoring front lately when it comes to consistency, but he is a good compliment to Karl-Anthony Towns and gets good positioning inside for boards.
16Zach RandolphMEM3Randolph continues to test Father Time and has been productive on both sides of the ball. He starts at the elbow and creeps his way inside as soon as the ball is put up.
17Thad YoungIND3

Young's wrist is healthy and he will return to playing solid on the ball defense and will be a steals help and he will attack the basket with force on offense.

18Ryan AndersonHOU3Anderson will get some time to create with the ball as he does have the ability to drive, but often resorts to the pick and pop, drawing out bigger defenders.
19Marcus MorrisDET3Morris will continue to look to slash inside and draw contact. He is very diligent in the post and will not go for too many shot fakes and will help out on the glass.
20Al-Farouq AminuPOR3By default, Aminu wil have time with the ball to attack the rim. He is a complete attacker and he will draw contact. He is limited otherwise on offense. On defense, he can be relied on for rebounding.

 

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Center

RANKNAMETeam# GamesAnalysis
1DeMarcus CousinsNO3True test to see if Boogie can be JUST as productive with a three-game slate as he has been all season, except, this week, he has Anthony Davis playing the shorter slate with him. HUGE TEST!
2Hassan WhitesideMIA4Whiteside will continue to bulldoze his way in the paint as he is one of the hardest players to stop when on the drive. We can always rely on him for scoring, rebounding and blocks.
3Karl-Anthony TownsMIN3Towns is still one of the most dominant Centers in the league and he will have time with the ball and get even more shots with LaVine out, especially from the perimeter.
4Rudy GobertUT4Gobert has developed a complete inside game with post moves, up and under moves and he continues to be a menace on the glass and he is a huge reason the Jazz are the best team defensively.
5Dwight HowardATL4Howard continues to be productive as he always is with points, boards and blocks and has been committed a bit more this season on defense.
6Al HorfordBOS4Horford will continue to produce mainly from the perimeter as he is very dangerous from the outside. He will look to attack, but shooting off of the high screen is his specialty.
7Andre DrummondDET3Always one fo the top rebounders in the game, but moves down a bit due to limited offense and lack of fourth game.
8Marcin GortatWSH4We can never expect Gortat to have a huge scoring night, but he gets the job done inside and commits himself to the glass and putbacks consistently and the Wizards have a very tight rotation.
9Marc GasolMEM3Gasol creates both in the post from the elbow and spots up for three and is an effective post defender and can always be relied on for boards and blocks.
10DeAndre JordanLAC3Jordan is a one-way player with a shorter slate, however, with Paul back on the floor, he should see more ally-oop opportunities.
11Nikola VucevicORL3Vucevic will get even more time with the ball due to Serge Ibaka being off the team and how raw Bismack Biyombo is on offense as he has great footwork in the post and will clean up the glass.
12Jonas ValanciunasTOR4Valanciunas does have a strong mid-range game, but in order to keep up with the amount of plays he gets on offense due to the Ibaka trade, he has to force himself inside more and gain positioning.
13Brook LopezBKN3Once Jeremy Lin is able to run the floor a bit more, Lopez may have a better chance of cutting inside due to the passing upgrade, but we all know he loves playing on the elbow especially on defense.
14Myles TurnerIND3Turner gets the job done inside and fights for rebounds, but it is his strong mid-range shooting that will mess with the opposition on defense and the Pacers balance their possesions very nicely.
15Steven AdamsOKC4Enes Kanter is back, and even if he takes some of Adams minutes, Adams is gritty, the better defender and is a volume producer and the Thunder will ultimately stick with him in close games.
16Tristan ThompsonCLE4Thompson continues to be more of a rebounding help than scorer. His playing time is safe and will be a tad more productive with Kevin Love out on offense.
17Pau GasolSAS3Gasol will create from the elbow and grab longer rebounds from the top of the paint. He is good at setting the screen at the elbow giving the Spurs guards room to drive.
18Mason PlumleeDEN3

With Kenneth Faried hurting, it will give Plumlee more playing time even for the next couple of games. Plumlee is known more for his offense than defense and Jokic is dominating, he won't see the ball.

19Enes KanterOKC4Kanter is back and there will be a chunk of playing time saved for him because of his long-range shooting ability. Adams is the better defender and Kanter knows he is No. 2 on the depth chart in OKC.
20Nerlens NoelDAL4

The good news for Noel is that there is zero competition at the position for him and should be able to play a lot of minutes down the stretch IF HE CAN STAY HEALTHY. That's a big IF.