Maybe it's the overlap with fantasy football that causes some truly underappreciated, yet productive, NBA commodities to float freely in so many leagues. Fantasy basketball market trends are influenced by a multitude of factors, such as the early nature of the season -- we're still just 18.2 percent of the way into the marathon, or the equivalent of three games in the NFL. It doesn't matter as much why C.J. Miles of the Indiana Pacers or Jeff Green of the Memphis Grizzlies are so widely available as it does who you will drop to make room for them on your roster.
Green can be found for the cost of a few clicks in nearly 70 percent of ESPN leagues despite averaging 15.3 points, 5.9 boards and 1.1 steals on 32 mpg with a healthy usage rate at 19.7 over his last seven games. It makes sense for Green to have been pushed to the wire earlier in the season given he averaged just 6.6 points and 22 minutes in the first nine games of his campaign, yet we need to pivot and prove proactive when players surge and usage scenarios improve. Miles has enjoyed rare freedom from beyond the arc as Paul George's partner in perimeter production. Miles is 10th in the league in 3-point attempts per game.
In a pace and space era, Miles should be universally rostered, but is available in more than half of ESPN leagues. In the player pickups section below, we find a number of meaningful waiver wire assets to consider, while we survey the full week of NBA action ahead with our matchup ratings table.
Matchup ratings are based upon a scale from 1 (poor matchup) to 10 (excellent matchup), and are calculated using a formula that evaluates the team's year-to-date and past 10 games' statistics, their opponents' numbers in those categories, and their performance in home/road games depending on where the game is to be played. The column to the left lists the team's total number of games scheduled as well as home games, and lists the overall rating from 1-10 for that team's weekly schedule.
Player tracking
The NBA's sophisticated camera-driven statistical software has offered us so many useful indexes and metrics to consider. We suggest you delve into the league's deep offerings in order to help identify meaningful and telling trends around the league.
For example, we find the Pistons' Reggie Jackson first in the league in points from drives per game. As one of the top usage assets in the league and with such a sustainable drive-heavy game, Jackson's stock appears quite stable even with Brandon Jennings on the mend. The aforementioned Miles from the Pacers is proving special as a catch-and-shoot asset, while Andrew Wiggins joins some top high-post scorers in points from the elbow, evidence into his emerging inside-out post game.
One of the most helpful and actionable angles we can find from the league's advanced database would be rebounding chances, defined as opportunities within 3.5 feet of an available rebound. If we peruse the most recent results on a five-game sample, we find Mason Plumlee of the Portland Trail Blazers second only to Houston's Dwight Howard with 22.4 rebounding chances per night. We'd look to add Plumlee where possible ahead of of his frontcourt peer Ed Davis.
Ratings roundup
The Timberwolves and Hornets are the lone two-game teams of the coming week, while the Pistons claim the favorable distinction of hosting all four games. It's hard not to like the Kings' favorable pace-friendly schedule that features a weekend stretch guaranteed to host huge implied point totals. Shares of the Kings, Rockets and Nuggets will be fun in daily fantasy for the coming week given each team's rich blend of matchups.
Player pickups: Identifying values in both ESPN leagues
For this early small sample of the season, we discuss an undervalued asset available in at least half of ESPN leagues at each position.
Point guard: As the premier source of assist, steals and high-usage lead guards, this position is picked clean in most leagues at this stage. We can find some interesting loopholes to consider, as Isaiah Canaan of the 76ers has shifted to a combo role that largely has him playing shooting guard, and thus offering rare upside in the 3-point department. ... Jeremy Lin is quietly proving productive for the Hornets and can help in steals and blocks (he has 0.6 per game).
Shooting guard: While he won't wow you in any one stat, the Celtics' Evan Turner continues to offer a balanced floor game with a surprisingly high steal rate. ... With more minutes and offensive usage as he proves increasingly efficient in a fun offense, the Hornets' Jeremy Lamb is thriving on Charlotte's productive offense (ranks fourth in offensive rating with 105.2 points per 100 possessions). ... After a sluggish start to the season, Gary Harris is finally turning in some helpful box scores. With nearly 30 minutes each time out, it's possible this second-year guard continues to improve.
Small forward: The 76ers' sorry start to the season doesn't mean we can't find some fantasy fun on their roster. If Miles is shooting his way onto rosters for the Pacers, Robert Covington served that role last season, as he ranked 10th in 3-pointers made. Covington is available in more than half of ESPN leagues and merits immediate ownership as he's in line to consume meaningful minutes going forward. ... Even if it's a short-term run, Omri Casspi is enjoying big minutes for the Kings. Minutes, as they say, are the coin of the realm in fantasy hoops.
Power forward: The Raptors' Luis Scola is the starting stretch 4 in a depleted Toronto frontcourt. With little competition for minutes and at least 11 shots in four straight games, Scola provides depth at a thin power forward position past the upper tier. ... For as long as DeMarcus Cousins is ailing, we find starting interest in Kosta Koufos in both redraft and daily fantasy competition. ... The Timberwolves' Gorgui Dieng hasn't earned much hype this season with so much exciting young talent on the roster, but his role as a backup big earning more than 20 minutes most nights offers a worthy blend of blocks and boards in deeper formats.
Center: This has always been a thin position for waiver wire upside, but a recent surge from the Blazers' Ed Davis proves intriguing, as he's averaged 12.7 points and 10.3 boards over the past three games. We can't really trust a double-double clip from Davis, but helpful stats at a shallow position remains reasonable given a surge in minutes of late for a patchwork Portland frontcourt. ... Bismack Biyombo of the Raptors has enjoyed a jump in exposure with Jonas Valanciunas sidelined. The blocks haven't shown up yet, but an awesome rebounding rate is already supporting 12-team-league usage. ... He's not an HBO character. Instead, Joffrey Lauvergne is a stretch big for the Nuggets on the mend from a back injury and with the potential to thrive in a space and pace system.