Rest-of-season fantasy basketball rankings for roto leagues
It has been a renaissance campaign for Tyreke Evans early this season. How high has he risen in our rankings? Photo by Cameron Browne/NBAE via Getty Images
Joe Kaiser, ESPN Staff WriterNov 14, 2017, 03:27 PM
Once upon a time back in 2009-10, Tyreke Evans was named the NBA's Rookie of the Year after averaging 20.1 points during 72 games with the Sacramento Kings. That might not seem like a big deal until you remember some of the other names who were in that draft class.
Blake Griffin, the No. 1 pick that year, missed his entire rookie season due to a broken knee cap, so we can't include him, even though he's another star in this class.
The point is that Evans once took the league by storm. Fast-forward all these years later, and he's doing it again with the Memphis Grizzlies. In fact, the 28-year-old wing has scored at least 20 points in each of his past five games while shooting a blistering 60.9 percent in that stretch, vaulting himself all the way up to No. 48 in this week's rankings.
As always, the key with Evans will be staying healthy after a lengthy history of knee problems that contributed to his playing in 72 games or fewer in all but one of his previous eight seasons.
While consistency was a common theme behind those players moving up in the rankings, that wasn't the case with Ball. As you probably know, his shooting troubles haven't gone away. The Lakers' rookie has a polarizing style of play, and his inefficiency certainly hurts him in roto leagues, but any time a first-year player puts up the type of numbers he did against Milwaukee on Saturday (19 points, 11 rebounds, 13 assists, 3 steals, 3 blocks and 3 3-pointers), there is reason to reconsider just how much of an asset he can be, regardless of his low shooting percentages. I moved him up 22 spots to No. 99 this week.
On the flip side, we have some big names who slipped down for various reasons.
Rudy Gobert goes from a top-15 player to No. 60 because of the knee injury sustained against Miami. He is expected to be sidelined four-to-six weeks.
Hassan Whiteside's reduction in minutes (from 32.6 MPG last season to 27.9 MPG this season) has resulted in fewer points, rebounds and blocks. He tumbles to No. 31, one spot behind Detroit's Andre Drummond, who is the better option right now.
Myles Turner, a popular second-round pick in fantasy drafts this season, falls to No. 39 after a slow start; an early-season concussion that forced him out of the lineup for seven games certainly hasn't helped. Turner is a good candidate to return to form in the weeks and months ahead.
Lastly, it's worth noting the impending return of Nicolas Batum (74), who is expected to make his season debut Wednesday against Cleveland after missing the first month due to an elbow injury. Batum's presence in the Charlotte lineup hurts the value of Jeremy Lamb, which is why Lamb slides to No. 91 even after playing like a top-75 player in the Hornets' first 12 games.
