By Elvis Gutierrez
In this week’s Fantasy Bucket, we highlight an Allen Iverson-lookalike, Danny Ainge’s favorite son, and other guys you should care about if you know a thing or two about fantasy basketball.
First Bottle: Trey Burke
Trey Burke, who was given a second life in the NBA, has been an absolute tear as of late. He has surpassed both Emmanuel Mudiay and rookie Frank Ntilikina in the Knicks’ rotation and in the fantasy landscape. This week, he averaged an eye-opening 26 points per game, 11 assists per game, 2.3 3s, and 1 steal per game. But the question remains: Have the Knicks finally found their PG of the future? Nah.
Second Bottle: Terry Rozier
Terry Rozier is proving to everybody that he is capable as an NBA starting PG. The thing is, Kyrie Irving is the Boston Celtics’ starting PG. But after Irving and Marcus Smart both went down with injuries, Rozier has stepped up big time, making Danny Ainge look like a genius once again. Ainge’s favorite son averaged 17 ppg, 6 rpg, 4.3 apg, and 3 3s last week.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fdp9COT356U
Third Bottle: Mike Muscala
We have been waiting for 2nd-Half-of-the-2017-Season version of Mike Muscala to grace our fantasy teams this season, and it looks like the long wait is over because he has finally arrived. Muskie went into a semi-tear to end the season last year and looks like he’s doing the same this year. He averaged 14 ppg, 5 rpg, and 2.7 3s for the week, and that’s pretty good for Muskie standards.
Fourth Bottle: Dante Exum
Dante Exum has been an afterthought in NBA circles the past few years, while his career has been ravaged by injuries. He has attempted a comeback every year with no real signs of improvement or success, but he has now popped up on the fantasy radar after having a pretty solid week. He averaged 14 ppg, 3 apg, 2.5 rpg, 1 3ptmg, and 1 spg for the week. His numbers aren’t necessarily league-winning stats but he could be a helpful streamer during the stretch run. Exum is also a name to watch out for the next season.
Fifth Bottle: Anthony Tolliver
Anthony Tolliver’s career has really benefited from the change of gameplay in the NBA. He wasn’t known to be a guy you can depend on in the perimeter when he first entered the league, but he’s now known as a knockdown three-point shooter. He’s proving that given the opportunity, one can improve a skill. He averaged 14 ppg, 5 rpg, 3 apg, 1 spg, .5 bpg, and 2.5 3s per game for the week. Those numbers are good enough to be a matchup-changer in deep leagues for the last week of the season.
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