• As the season continues to slog on, we’re now looking at some trends that are settling in as full-on patterns. One of the most surprising has been the rise of the Washington Wizards, who might just be flat-out good rather than recipients of some luck in a hot start. Wes Unseld Jr. has Washington playing some inspired ball, with a quick rise to the top of the standings in the East.

    It’s happening in some unexpected ways, too. The Wizards don’t have a collection of players that you’d think would create a good defense, on paper. The games are played on hardwood, however, and Washington is fourth in defensive rating; way out in front of teams like the Heat, Jazz, Lakers, Bucks and Knicks who have been known to pride themselves on that end of the floor. The Wiz sit a mediocre 16th in offensive rating but are finding new ways to win games as a unit rather than lean on Bradley Beal or Russell Westbrook to carry the day as they have in the past. We’ll hold off on Westbrook trade takes for now, but it’s looking pretty good for Washington…

    So of course, with that split, it stands to reason that Washington is playing slow, grind-it-out games, but the team’s success has also led to fantasy success, too. The Wizards have six guys currently inside the top-150 in 9-cat, and seven inside the top-175 (we see you, Raul Neto).

    Perhaps the biggest surprise of Washington’s success is that they haven’t needed Bradley Beal heroics much yet, either. He’s currently outside the top-50, though most of that slippage from the top-10 stems from wayward efficiency. He’s at .409 from the field, which would be a new career-low, and just .250 from 3-point range. If you can spin this into a “the Wizards don’t need him to score now that they have a balanced roster” narrative, you might be able to buy low.

    Montrezl Harrell is currently the best Wizard in fantasy, sitting inside the top-20. His minutes are back up to what they were in his Clippers days, so it’s no shock that he looks like a 6MOY candidate again. His .845 mark at the line is ripe for regression so there’s a sell-high opportunity, but Harrell’s energy and offensive spark are a perfect fit for this roster. He looks totally different from the guy that couldn’t get on the floor in the playoffs.

    Spencer Dinwiddie has bounced back beautifully from last season’s ACL tear and is sitting inside the top-70. The thing here is that none of Dinwiddie’s numbers look to be that out of line with career numbers; he’s not playing unsustainably over his head in any one area aside from a .964 mark at the line. Efficiency was our main concern heading into the year but Dinwiddie has been able to thrive as a secondary scorer.

    Daniel Gafford is at the top-120 mark despite just 19.9 mpg, delivering where you’d expect with 1.6 blocks on .660 shooting. Kyle Kuzma is thriving, running with a starting gig in the absence of Rui Hachimura and Davis Bertans. He’s become much more than a salary filler in the Westbrook trade, currently averaging career-bests in threes, rebounds, steals and blocks. Although he’s only a top-130 player, Kuzma’s lines aren’t empty like they used to be — he’s being held back by a .481 mark at the charity stripe that’s well out of whack. He should actually get better in fantasy. Even Kentavious Caldwell-Pope has climbed into the top-150.

    Whatever is going on in Washington has been working in fantasy and reality, though that doesn’t mean you can’t maximize your value by swinging some classic buy-low, sell-high moves. In the meantime, we’ll see how things change as the team welcomes back a few injured players over the coming weeks. Onto the preview.

    Schedule Breakdown

    Two Games: Spurs

    Three Games: Hawks, Nets, Hornets, Cavs, Rockets, Grizzlies, Bucks, Sixers, Blazers, Jazz

    Four Games: Celtics, Bulls, Mavs, Nuggets, Pistons, Warriors, Pacers, Clippers, Lakers, Heat, Wolves, Pelicans, Knicks, Thunder, Magic, Suns, Kings, Raptors, Wizards

    Back-to-Backs

    Tues/Weds: BKN
    Weds/Thurs: CLE, MIA, MIN, WAS
    Thurs/Fri: DEN, GSW, LAC, TOR
    Fri/Sat: BOS, CHA, IND, MIL, NOP, OKC, ORL, SAC
    Sat/Sun: NYK

    Schedule Maximizers

    With Tuesday (three games), Thursday (six) and Sunday (five) as the light dates on the schedule, you’re probably looking at the Clippers and Warriors as the teams to tide you over given that they play on all three. A team like Boston, for example, plays exclusively on the heavy nights this week, so if you have a fringe Celtic — does one even exist? Maybe Josh Richardson in the wake of Jaylen Brown’s injury? — you could be better served by swapping him out for someone like Terance Mann, who you’ll actually be able to plug into your lineup every night he’s active. We don’t want to go dropping just anyone for the sake of squeezing in an extra game, but it can make a difference if you touch up the fringes of a roster just right.

    Best Schedule: Pacers (@ Knicks, @ Pistons, @ Hornets, vs. Pelicans)

    A three-game road trip with two solid opponents doesn’t usually make for the best schedule in the world, but the Pacers are starting to roll and this should be a big week for their frontcourt core. The Knicks are scuffling and Julius Randle looks a little worn down already, while the Hornets have a thin front line and are better suited to offensive bonanzas than grind-it-out affairs. Mix in matchups with cupcakes like Detroit and New Orleans, and there could be some busy box scores coming up.

    Worst Schedule: Spurs (@ Clippers, @ Wolves)

    It’s impossible to avoid the “honor” when you’re the only team with two games on deck. Outside of Dejounte Murray, you’d be excused for benching your Spurs in leagues with weekly lineup locks. Derrick White is slumping and Thad Young just might not have enough firepower in him across two games.

    Shoutout to Dallas, too, who get four games that should all be tough: vs. Denver, two in a row in Phoenix and one in LA against the Clippers.

    Game of the Week: Golden State Warriors @ Brooklyn Nets, Tuesday, November 14 @ 7:30 pm ET

    As if it could be anything else.

    Quick Adds

    Kevin Huerter, G, Atlanta Hawks

    News of De’Andre Hunter’s wrist surgery clears the runway here, as four healthy wings made it tough to trust anyone in Atlanta — now there’s room for everyone to get their minutes. Huerter is a safe top-130 guy with top-100 upside if he settles around 28 minutes a game, which looks attainable.

    TJ McConnell, G, Indiana Pacers

    McConnell simply should not be available on any waiver wires in competitive leagues. We know what he did last season and getting a few spot starts for Malcolm Brogdon a couple weeks back seems to have done the trick for him, as McConnell is now up to top-115 value on the year. Don’t let his spot on the depth chart scare you.

    Devin Vassell, F, San Antonio Spurs

    Vassell is another player who seems to be going overlooked by virtue of coming off the bench. That needs to change quickly, as he’s posted top-60 value over the last two weeks of play. The Spurs talked up his expanding game this offseason and they’ve let Vassell showcase his talents despite sticking in the second unit. He can shoot the three, grab rebounds and play strong defense, which to this point has led to workable defensive counters. Over those two weeks Vassell has averaged 15.4 points, 3.7 rebounds, 1.6 assists, 1.0 steals, 1.0 blocks and 2.4 triples on .514 from the field in 27.5 minutes a night. Even when the shooting and blocks cool off, there’s enough there for him to carry late-round appeal at minimum.

    Tony Bradley, C, Chicago Bulls

    Bradley didn’t impress in his first crack at holding down the starting center spot for the Bulls, but we’ll cut him some slack given the matchup in Golden State. We know that he’s a solid traditional big man who can post decent value when given the chance. After last season’s trade deadline, he turned 18.0 mpg into value just outside the top-200 while splitting minutes with Moses Brown and Isaiah Roby. The competition won’t be as stiff this time around and Bradley deserves a little bit of leash.

    Injury Report

    It was a pretty rough week as far as injuries and absences go, though there’s some light at the end of the tunnel for a few guys.

    Nikola Vucevic tested positive for COVID-19 and will be out for the next week and possibly beyond.

    De’Andre Hunter will be out for at least eight weeks following wrist surgery, which actually helps Atlanta’s team-wide fantasy stock out a little bit. The value will be easier to read now that the rotation isn’t quite as jammed.

    Bradley Beal will miss at least Monday’s game while he mourns the loss of his grandmother.

    Deandre Ayton continues to miss time with his mysterious right leg contusion, though he at least progressed to pregame work by the end of the week.

    LeBron James remains day-to-day with his abdominal strain though Frank Vogel said that he wouldn’t necessarily need a full practice session before getting cleared to play. That means that LeBron has no timeline to return, but could also play on any given night. Fun to manage around!

    Jaylen Brown‘s hamstring injury will keep him sidelined to start the week, though he’s nearing the end of the initial (informal) timetable offered up by coach Ime Udoka.

    Collin Sexton should be out a while with his torn left meniscus; bad news for a player angling for a huge contract on a team that wasn’t really willing to play ball in negotiations. Lauri Markkanen remains out in the health and safety protocols but is nearing the two-week mark from his entry, so hopefully it’s not much longer.

    Khris Middleton is expected to be out of the health and safety protocols and into the lineup on Wednesday, which is great news.

    Jakob Poeltl, similarly, could be back on Tuesday. He is with the Spurs as of this writing and just needs to clear another couple of conditioning-related hurdles.

    Kelly Olynyk will miss six weeks with a left knee injury, though there’s no direct fantasy beneficiary. Isaiah Stewart should play more but the issue was more with Stewart’s own play than anyone else pushing him. At least the pressure should be off.

    Nerlens Noel is back on the injury report with a right knee sprain; extra concerning since right knee/quad issues kept him out of the lineup for all but two games to start the year.

    Jimmy Butler is dealing with a right ankle sprain but seems like he’ll be back soon. The same can be said of Fred VanVleet and his groin soreness.

    Best of luck next week to you and your teams. Stay off the injury report if you can.

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