The Minnesota Timberwolves open a six-game road trip in Indiana on Thursday (and play on ESPN on Friday and Sunday night) without Karl-Anthony Towns, who will be out for an undetermined amount of time with a left meniscus injury. This is clearly bad news for Towns' fantasy investors, who have enjoyed a solid season with 22.1 PPG, 8.4 RPG and nearly 2,300 fantasy points, good for No. 30 in the league.
Then again, one person's despair is often another's opportunity, and we should recall the Timberwolves played most of the previous season without Towns, and they still made the playoffs. Kyle Anderson stepped into the starting lineup for 46 games and averaged 10.5 PPG, 5.6 RPG and 5.5 APG in that role, certainly worthy of fantasy attention in deeper formats. Anderson (rostered in 19% of ESPN standard leagues) has started four games this season and has seen his numbers considerably rise in that role. Those in roto formats will appreciate his assists.
Fantasy managers in points formats may be more interested in Naz Reid, but he likely retains his sixth-man role in lieu of the unfortunate Towns news. Still, Reid may see more minutes than typical. He averaged 16.5 PPG, 7 RPG and 1.4 SPG over 11 starts last season, mainly when Rudy Gobert was out. Reid (rostered in 38.9% of leagues) has continued to develop as a stretch big man, draining 1.9 3PG on 4.6 attempts, each figure considerably better than last season. Anderson, who is an underrated playmaker, may start, but Reid likely provides better fantasy numbers.
Some will presume that Gobert will pick up the offensive slack for the 43-19 Timberwolves (tied with the Oklahoma City Thunder atop the West), but this seems unlikely. Gobert does not need to score a myriad of traditional points to provide excellent fantasy value in points leagues, though we sure appreciate it when he does put the basketball in the basket. Gobert scored 25 points in a win over Portland on Monday, one point shy of his season high. Add in 16 rebounds and three blocked shots -- each statistic for the third consecutive game -- and Gobert scored an excellent 59 fantasy points, averaging 37.5 FPG, just outside the top 50.
Gobert continues to provide excellent value for fantasy managers that selected him over top scorers in drafts. The long-time veteran, now in his 11th season, has never averaged as many as 16 PPG in a season -- and his scoring did not rise when Towns went down last season -- but for the past eight seasons -- six with the Utah Jazz -- few players have offered comparable statistical consistency, especially considering his best work comes on defense.
In fact, looking at the ESPN Fantasy points scoring leaders, Gobert, who has missed only two games this season, is 32nd in fantasy points, and nobody ahead of him has averaged fewer than 17 PPG. Gobert averages 13.8 PPG, along with 12.8 RPG, 2.1 BPG, and a small number of missed field goals and turnovers, which really matter in points formats. These numbers have barely changed over the past eight seasons. Those who bypassed Gobert in fantasy drafts because he fails to score traditionally at a high level missed out. There is more way than one to accrue fantasy points!
Losing Towns for any length of time may cost the Timberwolves the top seed in the West, but Reid and Anderson should step up statistically and otherwise. Anthony Edwards continues to blossom as a fantasy superstar, and he leads the Timberwolves in total fantasy points and fantasy points per game. Towns is second, but only barely ahead of Gobert, ever the bargain, who went 62nd in ESPN ADP. Look for Gobert to continue his excellent play for the final month-plus.
Here are other underrated fantasy options providing excellent production without piling on the traditional points.
Evan Mobley, PF/C, Cleveland Cavaliers
Mobley suffered a left ankle sprain in Tuesday's game and is slated to miss at least a week of action, but fantasy investors should keep him rostered. Mobley gets his fantasy production similar to Gobert, and over the past 30 days, Mobley is 11th in ESPN fantasy points, averaging better than 40 FPG with his 15.1 PPG, 10.4 RPG, 3.4 APG and 1.7 BPG. This is an ascending, building block player, but already a points-league star, and his teammate Jarrett Allen is excellent as well.
Tyus Jones, PG, Washington Wizards
The tanking Wizards curiously kept Jones at the trade deadline, and fantasy managers have been the big winners here. Jones averaged 10.8 APG and only 1.4 TPG in February, hitting 50.4% of field goals, and he is starting March off nicely as well. The Wizards did not win a game in February, but Jones certainly is doing his job, and he remains available in more than 10% of ESPN standard leagues.
Josh Hart, SG/SF, New York Knicks
Hart has averaged 8.8 PPG for the season, but that figure is at 13.4 PPG since the start of February, as the Knicks continue to deal with injury issues. Hart has averaged 11 RPG game in that span (14 games), and he recently dropped a triple-double on the Cavaliers, with 13 points, 19 rebounds, 10 assists, two steals, two blocks and three 3-pointers (65 fantasy points). As long as the minutes are there, Hart -- still somehow available in 40% of ESPN leagues -- will continue to produce.
Jalen Johnson, SF/PF, Atlanta Hawks
Johnson may not win most improved honors this season because Philadelphia's Tyrese Maxey, Houston's Alperen Sengun and Chicago's Coby White have gaudy numbers as well, but Johnson has more fantasy points than all of them over the past 30 days. He has done so by averaging 16.2 PPG in that span, with 9.8 RPG and 3.8 APG. Johnson suffered an ankle injury in Wednesday's game and may miss time but expect him to improve even more next season, and probably average closer to 20 PPG.
Austin Reaves, SG/SF, Los Angeles Lakers
Reaves has averaged 15.7 PPG for the season, and curiously enough his numbers have not altered much as a starter. He has done his best work recently, averaging 17.4 PPG since the start of February, and he tallied 14 assists in a recent game against Denver. Depending on the availability of the future Hall of Famers around him, Reaves could start scoring 20 PPG soon.
Derrick White, PG/SG, Boston Celtics
An eighth-round selection in ESPN ADP, White has been a top-40 fantasy option over the past 30 days, even though his traditional scoring has dropped since the calendar turned to 2024. White has averaged 15.3 PPG for the season, but 13.7 PPG over the past 30 days. His 5.8 APG, 1.2 SPG and surprising 1.4 BPG compensates for tepid scoring numbers. However, fantasy managers in points leagues should not care how White produces valuable numbers.