It’s interesting what happens with LaMelo Ball’s ADP with the recent news that he has suffered a Grade 2 high-ankle sprain and will miss the beginning of the year, according to Shams Charania of The Athletic. What does that mean for Ball’s fantasy status and where should we be looking to select him in fantasy basketball drafts? According to reports, the Charlotte Hornets point guard will only be absent for 1-to-2 weeks, so he’ll be back before you know it. Still, should we adjust the fantasy basketball rankings on our draft boards because of the injury? Ball is a consensus late-first, early-second round pick this year. Right behind him, being drafted in the second round, are many of his peers at the point-guard position, one of whom is Ja Morant. The Memphis Grizzlies' star is being drafted around 15.6 according to aggregate ADP. Which of these should we draft? Let's dive into the latest NBA fantasy basketball ADP player debate. Be sure to check out Fantasy Alarm's fantasy basketball player rankings for the 2022-23 NBA season. Plus, take advantage of our FREE Ultimate Fantasy Basketball Cheat Sheet.

 

Why You Should Draft LaMelo Ball

We saw Ball take the next step offensively last year, averaging 20.1 points per game after 15.7 during his rookie campaign. Ball took a leap in assists, rebounds, minutes, and three-point percentage, which has led him to where he is; a first-round pick. The team around Ball is going to look a little different when he returns to the floor. Miles Bridges has a lot of off-the-court issues and isn’t with the team and Gordon Hayward has been linked to a LOT of trade talks and we’re unsure if he can stay healthy. Everything is going to funnel through Ball this year, but they’re not going to be very good will he still be on the floor by the end of the year comes around? We know how many teams will be tanking for the chance to end up with Victor Wembanyama.

Why You Should Draft Ja Morant

On the flip side, everything seems to be trending upward for Ja Morant and the Memphis Grizzlies. Morant, who finished seventh in last year’s MVP race, averaged 27.4 points, 6.7 assists, 5.7 rebounds, and 1.2 steals per game. All massive increases from the year prior. That said, he only played 57 games, so what could’ve been if he made it the entire season? I think that’s something we can see in 2022 as he enters the year at full capacity. The Grizzlies are a good team, he has great pieces surrounding him, and the Grizzlies will have something to play for all the way up until the end of the year.

Verdict

I don’t see a reason why you wouldn’t want to just wait on Ja Morant, coming into the season healthy, compared to LaMelo Ball who’s injured and his team is potentially horrible. The Hornets' win total being 36.5 could drastically change if Ball misses upwards of two weeks and with Morant continuing to play for something throughout the year, I’ll wait another half of a round and draft Morant. 

 

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