Week 12 Matchup Rankings

This weekly ranking is based on opponents’ points given up per possession based on pace.

4 Games	3 Games	2 Games	1 Games
Chicago Indiana Minnesota LA Lakers Boston Milwaukee Miami Houston Golden State Washington Oklahoma City San Antonio Brooklyn Dallas	Utah New Orleans Charlotte Atlanta Portland Memphis Sacramento New York Phoenix Cleveland Denver Detroit	LA Clippers Philadelphia	Toronto Orlando

And we're back!

Quite a few players are either playing their way back into game shape, are just getting back from injury, or are soon to be back for their first start in a while. This has messed up rotations across the league with new guys playing sporadic minutes, resting back to backs, other guys who were fantasy relevant moving back to the bench, etc.

So, we might as well go through a few and discuss their value and effect on other players:

Rudy Gobert

Gobert came back last week and has quickly jumped back into the starting role, playing almost 30 minutes in the last two games. He has so far looked healthy and ready to resume his value from earlier this year. There will probably be a few bad starts and might take a few weeks to get back into the swing of things but without any major setbacks, we could see Gobert finishing the year at the rate he did last season. A most own in all leagues. Take advantage of slow start to buy low.

Brandon Jennings

Jennings’ return has not been much to write about. Averaging only 18 minutes per game, he has not had much of an opportunity provide any fantasy value. Outside of a 17 point, 6 assist outing against Orlando, Jennings has mostly been sharing bench minutes with Steve Blake. Jennings has shown enough talent to have standard league value in the past, but the opportunity to play enough minutes to reach a production level worth owning is probably not in the cards this year. He’s worth watching and if Jackson gets injured he would be a must own, but until then there is not much to talk about here.

Kyrie Irving

It did not take long for Kyrie to show he still has the talent, but with any injury, there will be some bad games and poor shooting performances as he plays his way back in to form. Cleveland will also be very cautious by limited minutes and resting him on even the most minor of setbacks. How he meshes with Love and if Love’s touches decrease is yet to be seen, but with Kyrie’s need to have the ball in his hand to be most effective, expect a reduction in value for Love.

Deron Williams

Deron’s return to the Mavs saw him get into the starting lineup quickly, though there was a small setback with an arm contusion. If Deron is healthy enough to play, he will play starter’s minutes and will knock the value of Felton and Barea back to their pre-injury value. Barea seems to be favored as the biggest upside for fantasy value if Deron is out.

Danilo Gallinari

Danilo didn’t take long to get into old form, over the last five games he has averaged 26 points, 6 rebounds, and almost 2 three-pointers a game. Though, his heavy minutes and high usage rate has seemed to hurt Will Barton’s hot-streak dropping Barton’s minutes and production. I’m getting a little concerned about Barton’s value, but his ceiling is too high to do any panic dropping. Gallo and Barton have played well together in the past, this is probably a temporary slump for Barton.

Jo Noah

Noah’s absence has allowed Taj Gibson to start in his place. Gibson has averaged nine rebounds and two blocks a game in the last two weeks. The Bulls have played so well with their current lineup that I’m not sure how quickly they will want to mess up their rotation by putting Noah back into the starting lineup. Expect Noah to get minutes from Gibson, but Gibson’s value might not drop out of standard league value. Portis will probably drop off and will no longer be worth a spot in deep leagues.

Omri Casspi

Some people in your league might have gotten a little drop happy with Casspi, pick him up immediately. It could be a while before he gets back from this back injury, and might look pretty bad in limited minutes when returns, but Casspi is favored as the running starter and I don’t see there being much competition for his spot if Casspi is fully healthy. Belinelli has seen more minutes and will have value until Casspi returns.

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