Toronto, which lost to Orlando on Friday, is seven games behind Atlanta in the loss column in the race for the final spot in the play-in tournament. The Raptors’ chances of finishing in the top 10 in the East are incredibly slim considering RJ Barrett left the team following the death of his brother Scotty Barnes and Jacob Poeltl is out with an injury. Sometimes roster players rise to prominence during a “stupid season,” but Gary Trent Jr. It may increase in value in the short term.
Trent, who is registered in 49% of the Yahoo League, returned to action on Friday after missing two games with a groin strain. He was not restricted in any way, and he played 32 minutes against the Magic, recording 31 points, four rebounds, one steal, and seven 3-pointers. Trent was efficient, making 10 of 17 from the field and 4 of 5 from the foul line, while not committing any turnovers. The concern is that, as mentioned above, the Raptors are heading in the wrong direction and a possible shutdown. However, Trent could be a player that provides solid value early in the fantasy playoffs. Friday was a reminder of his ability offensively.
Managers looking for a Raptor with a low risk of being shut down should consider it. Jontay Porter (16%). The top-50 player in the 9-Cat format last week missed all four of his shots and was scoreless against the Magic. However, he had four rebounds, four assists, three steals, and two blocked shots in 26 minutes. Porter has reached double digits in points in the previous two games, and while he has scoring potential, it’s his assists and defensive stats that are most valuable among the big men on the lower tier.
Take a look at some more of Friday’s top picks.
Simone Fontecchio (43%)
Fontecchio, who led the Pistons to a point in Friday’s loss to the Heat, will be mentioned again in this column, and for good reason. He went 9-of-16 from the field and 1-of-2 from the foul line, finishing with 24 points, six rebounds, one steal and five 3-pointers in 34 minutes. Fontecchio’s future value will depend on the presence of Arthur Thompson, who has missed Detroit’s past three games due to illness. For now, Fontecchio should be registered in a more standard league, and once Thompson is cleared to return, he will have value in deeper formats.
Vasilije Micic (38%)
Two nights after scoring 25 points in a win over Memphis, Micic scored 21 points against the Suns on Friday. The 30-year-old rookie went 7-of-12 from the field and 7-of-9 from the foul line, adding three assists and one blocked shot to his total. By Friday, Micic had posted three consecutive games with at least seven assists and negated 25 dimes with just five turnovers. LaMelo Ball (ankle) hasn’t been officially ruled out for the rest of the season, but it’s fair to question whether it makes sense for him to play. Mitch has solid value as long as he’s in the starting lineup, and with Ball out there’s no strong candidate to replace him.
caleb martin (20%)
Martin had a good night in Detroit, posting 18 points, eight rebounds, six assists, two steals and one 3-point shot in 33 minutes. Over the past two weeks, he has averaged 29.0 minutes off the bench while contributing his 9 rounds of value per game in his Cat format. The Heat will play the Pistons again on Sunday, so it makes sense for them to jump on the Martin bandwagon, even if it’s just for one game.
taylor hendricks (8%) and bryce sensabaugh (Four%)
For the first time this season, the Jazz had all three first-round picks start in the same game. Point guard Keyontae George has been on the fantasy radar for a while, but Hendricks and Sensabaugh are solid “silly season” options, especially considering Lauri Markkanen is still out. There is a possibility that it will surface. In his first game back after missing three games with a toe injury, Hendricks had 10 rebounds and three blocked shots. He only played 19 minutes and scored just three points on 1-of-7 shooting, but his rebounding and blocking were incredible.
As for Sensabaugh, he had 14 points, four rebounds, and two assists in 28 minutes. Utah is in the same position as Toronto as they are six games behind Golden State in losses for the final play-in spot. That way, the rookies will continue to have plenty of playing time, increasing their fantasy potential.
