Point Guards

Spencer Dinwiddie, BRO: Dinwiddie has taken the reins of the starting point guard job in D'Angelo Russell's absence and is already thriving in his new opportunity. He's crossed 20 points in two of his first three games as the starter and is averaging 9.0 assists overall during that span. Given Brooklyn's fast-paced, high-scoring attack, Dinwiddie projects for ample usage as long as Russell remains sidelined, which is expected to be for several more weeks, at a minimum.

Chris Paul, HOU: Paul finally made his return to the court on Nov. 16 after having been sidelined with a knee issue since the opener and has looked good over his first pair of contests, averaging 14.0 points, 8.0 assists, 3.0 rebounds, 2.0 steals and 3.0 made threes on 50.0 percent shooting overall. He bumped his minutes from 21 to 24 in his second game and should be back to a full workload by the weekend.

Mario Chalmers, MEM: Like Dinwiddie, Chalmers is in for extended run thanks to an injury to a front-line player, as Mike Conley is set for a multi-week absence. Chalmers has a pair of double-digit scoring efforts in his first four starts and is also averaging 4.8 rebounds and 6.5 assists.

Eric Bledsoe, MIL: Bledsoe is adapting well to his new home, scoring in double digits in five of his first six games and averaging 12.2 points, 4.5 assists, 4.3 rebounds, 2.0 steals and 1.0 blocks. His shooting (36.1 percent) is still a work in progress, but in an offense that's heavily skewed towards Giannis Antetokounmpo --- and to a lesser extent, Khris Middleton -- Bledsoe's 25.7 percent usage rate thus far is encouraging.

TRENDING DOWN

Jerian Grant, CHI:Kris Dunn appears to have taken Grant's starting point guard job for the time being, as the latter has been in the midst of a week-plus slump after a strong start to the season. Grant has scored in single digits in six of his last seven games and is shooting just 34.8 percent over his last four. With a minutes reduction apparently in his immediate future, his stock is heading south.

Tyler Ulis, PHO: Ulis continues to be afforded a starting opportunity over Mike James, but save for one game, he hasn't been able to parlay it into any meaningful production. The 21-year-old guard is averaging a modest 6.0 points, 4.4 assists, 3.2 rebounds and 1.6 steals across 24.8 minutes in his five games with the first unit, rendering him one of the more marginal Fantasy options among starting point guards at present.

Shooting Guards

James Harden, HOU: Given the impossibly high bar he's already set, it's quite the feat when Harden actually trends above it for an extended period. Such is the case recently, however, as the prolific sharpshooter is averaging 35.7 points and 10.2 assists over his last six games, a span that includes a 48-point effort, two double-doubles, a triple-double and four games with six three-pointers apiece. Chris Paul's return may put a slight dent in his usage, but conversely, it also affords him one of the most effective facilitators in the league with which to continue piling up the numbers.

Jimmy Butler, MIN: Butler has started to look like himself after an acclimation period in Minnesota, eclipsing 20 points in four of his last six games after only accomplishing the feat twice in his first nine contests. He continues to fill out the rest of the stat sheet in typical fashion, as well, and although there are plenty of mouths to feed on the talented Timberwolves, Butler appears to be settling into his comfort zone.
Nicolas Batum, CHA: The oft-injured Batum is healthy again after elbow surgery, and his shot encouragingly appears to already be back to form. He's averaged 13.5 points on 44.4 percent shooting over his first four games, along with 4.5 assists, 4.0 rebounds, 1.3 steals and 1.3 three-pointers across 29.0 minutes. While Kemba Walker is the driving force in the Hornets' offense and Dwight Howard has made his presence felt, Batum has wasted no time in jumping into the fray, already averaging 11.3 shot attempts per game.

ALSO TRENDING UP:Gary Harris, DEN; Victor Oladipo, IND; Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, LAL; Allen Crabbe, BRO

TRENDING DOWN

Andre Roberson, OKC: Roberson has, unsurprisingly, become a complete offensive afterthought with the arrivals of Carmelo Anthony and Paul George. Roberson posted career-best scoring and rebounding numbers last season, but he's scored no more than nine points in any game thus far, and has put up five or fewer points in eight consecutive contests.

Small Forwards

Marcus Morris, BOS: A sore knee cost Morris the first eight games of the season, but he's quickly made his mark on a blistering hot Celtics squad. The veteran big man has hit double digits in the scoring column in six of his first nine games and is providing his usual solid work on the boards, averaging 5.7 rebounds. His shot has quickly rounded into form as well, as he sports a 44.6 percent success rate from the field, including 38.7 percent from three-point range.

Rodney Hood, UTA: Hood has bounced between the starting lineup and bench, but he's been able to produce regardless of his place in the rotation. He's averaging a career-high 17.4 points per game and is also boasting a career-best 40.2 percent success rate from three-point range. He's stepped his game up even further recently, averaging 22.8 points (on 47.2 percent shooting, including 44.2 percent from behind the arc), 3.3 rebounds and 2.5 assists in his last four.

Harrison Barnes, DAL: Barnes continues to be one of the most dependable cogs in a Mavericks offense that's still trying to find its way. The veteran wing enjoyed a solid first season in Big D last season and is surpassing many of those numbers thus far, averaging a career-high 19.4 points and 7.0 rebounds. Barnes has been more aggressive than ever from long distance as well, taking a career-high 4.1 three-point attempts per contest.

ALSO TRENDING UP: Kyle Anderson, SA; C.J. Miles, TOR; Denzel Valentine, CHI

TRENDING DOWN

Norman Powell, TOR: A hip injury is currently keeping Powell off the court, but he'd been struggling in the three games he'd played before the injury. The third-year forward was scoreless over a quick seven minutes in the game that he was hurt, but he'd scored in single digits in seven of his prior 10 contests as well. Powell is currently sporting career lows in overall shooting (40.9) and three-point (30.8) percentage.

Power Forwards

Kenneth Faried, DEN: Faried could be in for an extended stint as the Nuggets' starting power forward now that Paul Millsap is out indefinitely following wrist surgery. How many minutes per night that will translate to is still to be determined, considering head coach Mike Malone has options such as Juancho Hernangomez and Trey Lyles at his disposal, and he can also shift small forward Wilson Chandler over to the four. However, if Faried does see an appreciable bump in minutes, he should be in line to offer the above-average scoring and rebounding numbers he's generated in seasons past.

Derrick Favors, UTA: Favors has stepped up his contributions in the wake of Rudy Gobert's knee injury, and it's already resulted in appreciably better offensive numbers. The eighth-year pro has his scoring average back up to 11.8 points after mustering a modest 9.5 per game last season, and he's boosted his shooting percentage to 52.7%, up from last year's 48.7% figure.

ALSO TRENDING UP:Dirk Nowitzki, DAL

TRENDING DOWN

Marquese Chriss, PHO: Chriss was expected to blossom in his second full season, especially with the opportunity to hold down the starting power forward job. However, the results have been largely underwhelming from an offensive standpoint, as he's seen his scoring average drop from 9.2 to 6.7 points per game. Chriss has been notably less aggressive, taking just 5.9 shot attempts per game after averaging 7.7 in his rookie campaign. He's only hit double digits in the scoring column on two occasions thus far, and although his rebounding and assist numbers have seen slight bumps, Chriss won't maximize return for Fantasy owners until he can jack up his offensive contributions.

Centers

Marc Gasol, MEM: Gasol has taken on a greater workload in the wake of Conley's injury, generating a 28.0 percent usage rate with his teammate off the floor thus far and already posting a pair of double-doubles in the three games the latter has missed. Gasol has also put up 20 shot attempts or more in those contests, something he hadn't done in the first 13 games of the season when Conley was available.

Greg Monroe, PHO: Monroe finally took the court Nov. 16 following his arrival from the Bucks and immediately produced a 20-point, 11-rebound double-double in 26 minutes versus the Rockets. He's scored a modest 16 points over 37 total minutes in the subsequent pair of contests, but given his extensive body of work as a scorer, expect Monroe to make the most of his minutes on the floor, irrespective of where he slots on the depth chart.

ALSO TRENDING UP:Dwight Howard, CHA; Enes Kanter, NYK; Steven Adams, OKC; Robin Lopez, CHI

TRENDING DOWN

Timofey Mozgov, BRO: Mozgov hasn't seen the court in the last two games and played just six minutes off the bench against the Celtics in the contest prior to that stretch. He's been struggling to generate Fantasy-relevant numbers when he's been in the lineup anyhow, as he's averaging just 5.0 points and 4.4 rebounds across a sparse 14.9 minutes, the second-lowest allotment of playing time of his long career. The veteran big man is likely to continue giving way to the likes of Jarrett Allen and Quincy Acy going forward, keeping his Fantasy value decidedly depressed.