DALLAS SUMMER LEAGUE

UPSYDE SPORTS PRESENTS:

FANTASY HOOPS: 5 PLAYERS TO WORRY ABOUT, 5 PLAYERS TO NOT:

So the title of the article is self-explanatory, yet I'll brief you on the point of his article. Honestly, the inspiration of this article was from personal experience - mostly Robert Covington. While, the temptation to abandon him crossed my mind, his reliable production over the years quickly squelched the idea. Then, like clockwork, Kevin Love goes down and thus, an article is formed. Here's my list of players I'd be worried about if they were on my fantasy team, and players you should just hold onto before doing anything rash.

WORRY:

Kevin Love - He's already hurt, putting up lows across the board, and just looks run down. The Cavs team is 3-1 to start the season and the offense runs through their backcourt and Andre Drummond. With this fast paced team, Larry Nance is probably the better fit at the 4, possibly even small ball Isaac Okoro. Love has a very difficult contract to move, but if playoff team like Phoenix is trying to go all-in, he could be moved closer to the deadline. Normalcy bias probably has Love finishing out his contract in Cleveland, but stranger things have happened. It's possible a month on the sidelines to rest his calf could help him return to a more athletic state, but I am not optimistic.

Marvin Bagley - I'm old enough to remember when Sacramento management was being very cryptic about who they would choose in 2018, stating that it would be franchise-altering. Well, they're off to a pretty good start to the season, but isn't because of Bagley. The one thing Bagley still has going for him is his insane athleticism. Everything else about his game is pretty subpar. He's averaging his lowest point total of his career, shooting 25% from beyond the arc and 42% overall. He's making less than 60% of his free throws. His defensive stats are basically non-existent and his turnovers are twice his assist totals. Third year players should not be on a downward slope, and with both Holmes, Whiteside, and Bjelica all producing much better on a per-minute basis, you have to wonder if he could be shipped out. It's possible that he's just getting used to his new teammates, but you have to wonder how much slack they'll actually give him. The only saving grace is that if he does get traded, we've seen it happen before that a player will start to produce in a new setting - look at Markelle Fultz. I'm not bullish on Bagley at the moment.

Al Horford - He's looked really bad all year, even worse than last year. People will roster him because he starts and will get heavy minutes, but they are not productive minutes. His defensive production is sporadic, his offensive production is non-existent, but once again, because of the high assist numbers for his position and rebound-upside, he'll somehow stay rostered. There's a chance he could turn things around, yet he's averaged less than 14 points per game for 3 years straight, has averaged less than 8 rebounds per game for the the last 6, and his percentages have been mixed bag. Many reached in their drafts to get him thinking with Adams out of town and the team full of young players, he'd return to his All-Star form, yet the 34 year old seems to be running on fumes. You might look to include him in a large trade package while you still have his name to sell people on.

Daniel Theis - Boston seems like a team that will make a big move this year. They moved off of the Hayward contract, extended their superstar in Tatum, and they figure to be in an uphill battle with Kemba on the shelf. The Celtics brought in veteran Tristan Thompson to help defensively, yet the future of this team is with Robert Williams. This sort of leaves Theis on the outside looking in, and his production has fallen off, even in 21 minutes per game. His shooting has been poor, his defense has underwhelmed, and he's been a negative in the box score 3 out of the 4 games he's started. Robert Williams has been highly effective in limited minutes and has seen as much as 21 minutes in Sunday night's game. Theis' short term value might remain in tact for the next couple weeks, yet as we enter the New Year, I could see his role diminishing further.

Paul Millsap - His age is finally starting to catch up to him. While he's been solid from beyond the arc, the rest of his game has been really ugly. A lot of has to do with Michael Porter Jr entering the starting line-up and being assertive early on, but this Denver team has struggled to catch fire. Jamal Murray is already a little banged up, they have issues at the 2-guard, and it really has been the Joker carrying this team. Millsap was brought back on a veteran deal and doesn't factor into their long-term plans. Everyone that owns Paul Millsap should have Bol Bol on their watch list, as it's only a matter of time before gets serious about his development. Bol has some nice glimpses in the bubble and pre-season, so it'll be interesting to see when they make the move official. With Plumlee and Grant no longer with the team, those minutes should be up for grabs.

NOT WORRY:

Kelly Oubre - After 21 3-point attempts, he finally got a 3. Despite his ridiculously bad start, I'm not terribly worried about him. He's been a pretty bad career 3-pointer and with the lack talent around him (sans Curry), he's playing a new role for him. His productive game against the lowly Pistons might have been the spark he needs to get things going. He was effective on both offense and defense and another game like this might slam the buy-low window shut. At 25 years old, he's somewhat of a young veteran and has averaged over a steal and over 1.5 3PG over the last three years. While many were expecting him to have numbers closer to his 18.7 PPG, 1.9 3PG, 1.3 SPG season last year, I wouldn't be surprised if we start seeing numbers like this soon.

LaMelo Ball - On the season his Per-36 numbers are 13.4 PPG, 7.8 RPG, 6.4 APG, 2.8 SPG, and 2.8 3PG. The percentages suck, the turnovers are high, but his lack of production early on is more of a product of low opportunity. Rozier has made a strong case early on in the season to be a lock in the starting 5, but a slow start for Devonte' Graham could leave the door open for Ball to get more minutes - at the very least, a window. Ball is 6' 7" and his ability to guard multiple positions could allow him to get used in creative ways. Cody Zeller is out a month and a half, so more than ever the Hornets will rely on their guard rotations. As the game slows down and he starts settling in, he should start seeing his numbers improve. He was solid in the limited action he saw in preseason, so if you managed to get him in the late rounds of your draft, it's worth hanging on to him over the next few weeks to see how things develop.

Robert Covington - Whenever you see a veteran that is still in their prime, you shouldn't really be too concerned by a slow start. Covington, however, has had a really slow start. The defensive numbers are still there, he's low risk with his FT% still being solid and lack of turnovers, but he's looked really bad early on. It's his first year in Portland, so there might still be a learning curve, yet I see him busting out of this slump sooner, rather than later. Zach Collins is out indefinitely, so his role is secure for now, yet fantasy owners that drafted him early on his for his elite 3-and-D performance have been less than thrilled thus far.

DeAndre Ayton - So why is a guy averaging a solid double-double on this list at all? Well, he's averaging a subpar 11.5 points per game. My take for this production could be a few different reasons. For one, two of the games were won handedly. He's averaging a career low in minutes, so it's possible that they're trying to save Ayton for games that matter more. He's also performing badly at the line, almost 15% lower than his career average. All of these seem like short term problems, and I think he starts producing more now that they're adjusting the depth chart. Nobody on the Suns roster has really stood out as an offensive powerhouse early in the season - nobody is averaging over 20 PPG - yet as players start settling into their roles, their veteran playmaker (Chris Paul), will make sure to get everyone involved.

Ben Simmons - You could make the case that it is somewhat of a reach to have him on this list, but his numbers are down across the board. With a team finally surrounding him and Embiid with shooters, the expectation is that his numbers would improve. That has not necessarily been the case at this point in the season, but I still think this could be a breakout year for him. We've started to see his defensive numbers improve and he's starting to become a more Draymond-type role. As per the norm, he has yet to attempt a 3-pointer, his free throw percentage is ridiculously bad, and his turnovers are a career high. That being said, I think we'll continue to see a slow increase in his offensive production and the triple-double machine will likely land on his third consecutive All-Star team. He's only 24 years old and I think we start to see him emerge into the superstar we were promised.

- Adam Safianow - NBA Analyst [Copyright 2020]