Fantasy basketball managers sure miss the Ball brothers, but there is good news! One of them may return soon.
Yep, Charlotte Hornets PG LaMelo Ball is on the mend from his sprained left ankle! Ball originally hurt the ankle in an exhibition game in early October, then he made his season debut in mid-November, and in his third game he stepped on the foot of a fan at courtside and re-injured the ankle because... of course he did. Fantasy managers and Hornets fans cried but things are looking better now.
Meanwhile, in Chicago, older brother Lonzo Ball is on the mend from knee surgery and while there were initial pessimistic reports he may miss the entire season, the latest ones say Ball is making enough progress in his rehabilitation that he may return to the lineup in January. Since Lonzo Ball is rostered in only 22% of ESPN standard leagues, this seems like relevant information.
I've never been a strong admirer of the older Ball brother in fantasy -- in relation to expectations and his lofty ADP, mostly -- because of his rough shooting and inability to stay healthy, but he has a key role for the Bulls and certainly helps fantasy managers. Think about stashing him for next month (yep, it's already December).
The better Ball is a legitimate superstar, though, and should be rostered and coveted in every fantasy league. For his fantasy managers off to rough starts, well, things are soon to get considerably better in points and roto formats. Ball's usage will be whatever he wants it to be, as the Hornets have lacked any offensive cohesion this season.
Journeyman Dennis Smith Jr. had to start 11 games before he got hurt. Terry Rozier has played in only 13 games. Gordon Hayward is injured again. Ball should look to shoot and score more, and this may be like the progression made by Sacramento Kings PG De'Aaron Fox a few seasons back. If Ball wants to score more, he can, and yeah, we want him to!
Few would call the 6-15 Hornets interesting, but I can find optimism everywhere! Ball returning is a big deal and one reason he should score more than last season is because there is no Miles Bridges on this club. Bridges averaged 20.2 PPG last season, and his numbers were not replaced. He is a free agent with bigger problems than basketball right now and unlikely to play anywhere this season, so stashing him in redraft fantasy formats is pointless.
Use that slot on Lonzo Ball instead.
LaMelo Ball will score more. PF/C P.J. Washington has picked up the frontcourt scoring slack and gone from 10.3 PPG to 15.9 PPG, but his production may not slip when Ball returns, though. The Hornets, 26th in scoring after being 4th last season, will just score more.
The most underrated Hornet in fantasy may be C Mason Plumlee. No, he is not much of a scorer and courtside attendees may wish to duck when he shoots free throws, but only 11 players entered Wednesday with more rebounds and, of that crew, Kings PF/C Domantas Sabonis was the only one with more assists. It's fun to get assists from unique places!
Anyone can find a point guard. Getting an actual, readily available center to average more than 4 APG is truly a gift. Plumlee is shooting his free throws left-handed now, after hitting only 39% right-handed last season. He's at 56% now. Hey, that's improvement!
Of course, most Hornets fans probably want Plumlee moved to a contender as soon as possible so they can see what Duke rookie Mark Williams may do. Count me as wanting to see this as well. Williams, 20, and the No. 15 pick in the 2022 NBA draft, is a legitimate 7-footer. He should rebound and block shots, at the least, and I made an optimistic Clint Capela statistical comparison prior to the season, thinking Williams could average a double-double with 2 BPG, and hit a much better percentage of free throws. This remains in play.
Williams is laughably dominating the G League for the Greensboro Swarm, averaging 23.1 PPG, 12.6 RPG and 2.1 BPG, and yeah, it's the G League, but what are we doing here? Let the kid play in the NBA now! You're 6-15 with Plumlee averaging 8.9 PPG and 8.9 RPG. Send him to the Lakers or whatever.
Ultimately, injuries can be the great equalizer in fantasy hoops and ruin all our dreams. Minnesota Timberwolves PF/C Karl-Anthony Towns is the latest to go down, and we may not see him until January. We hope Portland Trail Blazers PG Damian Lillard, Milwaukee Bucks SF Khris Middleton and Philadelphia 76ers PG/SG James Harden return this weekend or soon after. We hope Detroit Pistons PG/SG Cade Cunningham returns this season. LaMelo Ball is nearly back, and as long as he can avoid courtside fans, perhaps he is among the top 10 fantasy options the rest of the way.
Other random thoughts
--My take on the Dallas Mavericks signing veteran Kemba Walker is not so positive. How could it be? Walker used to be great, fun to watch and an awesome fantasy option. Now he's an old 32 and trying to play on one knee. It's like watching Joe Namath as a Los Angeles Ram, which is before my time but still, my grandparents said it was ugly. Walker probably gets the backup point guard minutes behind Luke Doncic, and he'll aim to run the offense and fire up 3-pointers. We cannot expect 15 PPG or 5 APG, though, or good field goal shooting. Walker is a big name, and the Mavs have little risk in seeing what he can do. All they cut was Facundo Campazzo to sign him. You're probably cutting someone far more useful in fantasy to do the same. Think about it first.
--Pistons fill-in PG Killian Hayes is still only 21 and promising, as he is averaging 10 PPG and 6 APG as a starter, piling on the steals and hitting 38% of his 3-point attempts. These are good signs. Hayes is inconsistent from game to game, but the Pistons absolutely should give him the next few months with Cunningham out and see what they have. Hayes should be rostered in more ESPN leagues for the assists and steals alone. More Pistons: PF/C Isaiah Stewart is healthy now and available in 80% of ESPN leagues. He's averaging nearly 27 fantasy points per game! The Pistons are going to move SF Bojan Bogdanovic before the deadline - there's no reason not to - and it will give more opportunities to Stewart, Saddiq Bey and others.
--Not to pile on here, but Golden State Warriors SG Klay Thompson may be the most overrated fantasy option in the league. He ranks No. 132 on the Player Rater because nearly all his value comes on 3-pointers, as he doesn't rebound, pass or do much else to aid a fantasy team. He's shooting 40% from the field and a career-worst 80% from the line. He was on my "Do Not Draft" list for these reasons, and nobody's saying you should drop a player averaging a hollow 17 PPG, but at least see if you can trade this big-name player everyone likes - I do applaud Thompson for overcoming health obstacles, winning championships, etc. - before it's too late. Thompson went ahead of Anfernee Simons, O.G. Anunoby, Jarrett Allen and all but 74 others in ESPN ADP. He shouldn't have. Now he's behind his own teammate Kevon Looney (rostered in 11% of leagues) on the Rater.