If you were officially eliminated from your fantasy football league this past weekend, don't fret. The NBA season is just heating up, and you can still draft a fantasy basketball squad on Yahoo.
As we prepare you for your drafts, and catch you up on what you might have missed through the first quarter of the NBA season, here are some players to target in the middle-to-late rounds.
Will Barton, Denver Nuggets
It's been a rough start to the season for the Nuggets. Already down Jamal Murray (knee), they also lost Michael Porter Jr. to back surgery after he appeared in just nine games. Those are two of their top three scorers. Nikola Jokic can mask a lot of issues, but they need others to step up and take some of the pressure off of him.
One of the main secondary options behind Jokic now is Barton, who is averaging a career-high 34 minutes per game. His usage rate checks in at 22.2 percent, which is more than three percentage points higher than last season. The result has been averages of 16.3 points, 5.1 rebounds, 4.2 assists and 2.6 three-pointers per game. That's good enough for him to be ranked 79th on a per game basis in nine-category leagues. With Murray still expected to be sidelined for a long time, Barton's role isn't likely to decrease anytime soon.
Cade Cunningham, Detroit Pistons
The top pick in the 2021 Draft saw his career get off to a rocky start when he missed five of the Pistons' first six games. When he did finally take the floor, he struggled, averaging 13.2 points and shooting 34.0 percent from the field across 13 games. Turnovers were also a problem at 3.5 per game, but he showed why he is so highly thought of by averaging 6.2 rebounds, 5.2 assists, 1.5 steals and 1.8 three-pointers during that stretch.
It looks like Cunningham is starting to get more comfortable. He's shot 46.3 percent from the field over the last seven games, averaging 21.6 points and 3.6 three-pointers during that span. That's in addition to averages of 6.3 rebounds, 3.7 assists and 1.6 steals. Turnovers should remain a problem for him, and he'll continue to have efficiency issues, but shot attempts shouldn't be difficult for him to come by, especially with Jerami Grant (thumb) out for at least the next six weeks. If you're in a points league, Cunningham carries even more fantasy value.
Alex Caruso, Chicago Bulls
Most of the hype about the Bulls' offseason moves centered around the additions of DeMar DeRozan and Lonzo Ball. They've instantly made them a better team, although a recent outbreak of COVID-19 has put a bit of a damper on their start.
As good as those additions have been, don't sleep on Caruso. He's become an integral part of the team, whether he starts or comes off the bench. No, he doesn't score a ton, averaging 8.4 points and 1.0 three-pointers per game. However, he's provided averages of 3.6 rebounds, 4.1 assists and 2.2 steals to help boost his value. Across a 10-game stretch before suffering a hamstring injury, he had averaged 9.1 points, 5.4 rebounds, 4.9 assists, 2.0 steals and 1.0 three-pointers.
Caruso returned in the Bulls' last game and will now have added time for his hamstring to heal with Chicago's first two games this week (Tuesday and Thursday) postponed. Expect him to continue to be a key part of Chicago's rotation, so if you're hunting for assists and steals as your draft moves into the middle rounds, don't forget about Caruso.
Josh Giddey, Oklahoma City Thunder
The Thunder are loaded with young talent. They added Giddey to the fold by selecting him with the sixth overall pick in the 2021 Draft and immediately have made him an important part of the team. He's averaged 30 minutes per game and has started every game that he has appeared in. Like Cunningham, he's struggled with his efficiency, hitting at just a 39.4 percent from the field. Also, he's shooting an unappealing 70.0 percent from the charity stripe. With that being said, Giddey has provided value across the board in counting stats by way of 10.4 points, 6.7 rebounds, 5.8 assists, 1.0 steals and 0.9 three-pointers per game.
What's intriguing about Giddey is what he has done in games that Shai Gilgeous-Alexander has missed. In two contests that he's played without SGA, Giddey averaged 17.0 points, 7.0 rebounds, 8.0 assists and 1.5 three-pointers. If the Thunder get back to their tanking ways down the stretch and rest SGA more, Giddey could provide significant returns for fantasy managers.
Chris Duarte, Indiana Pacers
The Pacers have been in the headlines after reports came out that they are looking to shake up their roster. Domantas Sabonis, Myles Turner and Caris LeVert are all reportedly on the trade block, which should have several teams in the league making calls before February's deadline. Duarte could be one of the players the Pacers plan to rebuild around after selecting him 13th overall in the 2021 Draft.
Duarte has started 21 of the 27 games that he's played in, averaging 13.3 points, 4.0 rebounds, 1.8 three-pointers and 1.0 steals in that role. Across the six games that he came off the bench, he averaged only 11.7 points while shooting 37.8 percent from the field. A lot can depend on what the Pacers would receive back in trades, but if Duarte can solidify his status as a starter, he can be a good source for three-pointers late in drafts.
Alec Burks, New York Knicks
Burks seemed to be an afterthought on the Knicks' roster given their offseason moves. They added both Kemba Walker and Evan Fournier to the backcourt, forming a deep group with holdovers Derrick Rose, Immanuel Quickley, RJ Barrett and Burks. That positional logjam contributed to Burks only averaging 21 minutes through the Knicks' first 19 games.
However, with the team off to a slow start, coach Tom Thibodeau decided to remove Walker from his rotation altogether while sliding Burks into the starting five. Since that move, Burks has averaged 15.4 points, 4.0 rebounds, 3.1 assists, 1.5 steals and 2.0 three-pointers over right games. There are no indications that Walker is going to play again anytime soon, so Burks' spot in the starting five appears to be safe for the time being.
