It’s a dangerous time in the fantasy season. People are very antsy but frankly there’s not that much to get antsy about. We’re still exceedingly early in the campaign and a lot of what you see will be a distant memory in a few weeks. You can absolutely think that Nikola Jokic will still reign supreme as the No. 1 player in fantasy and second-guess your pick of Victor Wembanyama, but it’s absurd to truly regret the Wembanyama pick too. A 5-by-5 line last night will calm a lot of nerves, but we’re still so far away from nerves truly needing to be calmed, you know?

Almost anything that happens in a five-game sample can be completely random and it’s too soon to call most of what we see actual “storylines” but there’s a couple worth touching on in title hopefuls Denver and Milwaukee struggling out of the gates.

There’s open resentment from the team and coaching staff towards the Nuggets front office about Kentavious Caldwell-Pope’s departure. Nikola Jokic has already been blunt with the media, calling the Nuggets a collection of streaky and average shooters outside of two guys. He’s not wrong. That said, the Nuggets have gotten strong minutes from Christian Braun and have earned the benefit of the doubt, especially once Jokic and Jamal Murray get into peak shape — if that’s possible for Murray, anyway. The second unit being captained by Russell Westbrook is going to be problematic but if the Nuggets get into the dance, they won’t have to worry about that quite as much.

The same benefit of the doubt does not exist in Milwaukee, however, as this version of the Bucks hasn’t done anything but disappoint. Their perimeter defense is in shambles and their perimeter offense isn’t much better. Doc Rivers might not be the guy with the answers to the test and it has to sting seeing Jrue Holiday turn the Celtics into a world-beater while Damian Lillard looks like a shell of his former self. The Bucks’ starters had a ridiculously good net rating when together last year and the eventual return of Khris Middleton will help, but the pressure only intensifies as the losses — to Chicago, Memphis and Brooklyn — mount despite big games from Giannis Antetokounmpo. Those two look like real stories that may impact things all year long. In general, though — maybe give it some time.

Scottie Barnes Fallout

The big injury news of the week is Scottie Barnes suffering an orbital fracture that will keep him out for the next three weeks or more. It’s an awful development for the Raptors and of course Barnes, who had put up some impressive performances after a tough opening night. From the team perspective, nothing that happens over the next couple of weeks is great data for evaluation. Guys will put up big numbers in elevated roles, but the Raptors need to see how everyone fits alongside Barnes, not what they can do with excess usage without him. We’re going to see multiple players get a great opportunity to showcase their full complement of skills but it’s not Real Life, so to speak. Fantasy-wise, those guys are going to be gold.

First and foremost is Jonathan Mogbo, who slid into the starting five in Barnes’ place. He’s off to a very nice start and has been able to carry over the kind of production he showed as a standout at San Francisco in his final NCAA season. It may not stick and Mogbo’s playing time will fluctuate, but he’s got three weeks of runway here and is most definitely going to be a factor later in the season, especially if Toronto falls out of the postseason chase. For now, why not add him and see what happens? Worst case, you get a so-so player for three weeks and it only cost you the bottom guy on your roster. Best case, you get someone with middle-round potential that delivers across the box all year. Those are the kind of dice rolls you want to take early on.

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