Fantasy Basketball

2014-15 Fantasy Basketball: Weekly Leaders — Who’s Hot?

swaggy p
Swaggy P
Source: Jonathan Moore/Getty Images North America

In this article we will be going over the top 10 players in each major statistical category (excluding percentages). We will list and review each category to give you the best analysis for your fantasy basketball league. This is everything you need to know about the hottest players of the week.

Points
1. LeBron James, CLE 31.3
2. James Harden, HOU 31.0
3. Russell Westbrook, OKC 27.5
4. Blake Griffin, LAC 26.5
5. Chandler Parsons, DAL 26.0
6. Jeff Green, BOS 24.3
7. Kemba Walker, CHA 23.0
7. LaMarcus Aldridge, POR 23.0
7. Damian Lillard, POR 23.0
10. Kobe Bryant, LAL 22.7

Biggest Surprise
No real surprises here at all. All familiar faces.

Who’s For Real?
Harden has a real shot at winning the scoring title this season and in the future.

Who’s A Fraud?
Only person that can even be considered close to a fraud is Green. But he’s really not.

Who’s Missing?
Kevin Durant is still a no show on this list as is the banged up Carmelo Anthony.

Further Analysis:
King James is back on top this week. He missed a game with knee soreness but it did not seem like an issue when he eclipsed 40 points in his return.

Assists
1. John Wall, WAS 13.3
2. Chris Paul, LAC 11.8
3. Kyle Lowry, TOR 11.3
4. Michael Carter-Williams, PHI 11.0
5. Ty Lawson, DEN 10.3
6. Rajon Rondo, BOS 8.8
7. Deron Williams, BKN 8.7
8. Jrue Holiday, NO 7.8
9. Eric Bledsoe, PHO 7.3
10. 4 tied with 7.0

Biggest Surprise
Again, no real surprises. Just the regulars.

Who’s For Real?
Wall is averaging more than 10 assists-per-game this season. He continues to get better.

Who’s A Fraud?
One of the four tied with seven assists is Kyrie Irving. He will not continue to see such high assists totals. The absence of LeBron helped pad his numbers.

Who’s Missing?
LeBron. He’s been a regular and is by far the Cavs best distributor.

Further Analysis:
There are a ton of great young PGs in the league today. This assist category is chocked full of budding superstars every week.

Rebounds
1. Pau Gasol, CHI 15.3
2. DeAndre Jordan, LAC 14.8
3. Tim Duncan, SA 14.0
4. Jonas Valanciunas, TOR 13.7
5. Omer Asik, NO 12.8
6. Kevin Love, CLE 11.5
6. Al Jefferson, CHA 11.5
6. Andre Drummond, DET 11.5
9. Timofey Mozgov, DEN 11.0
10. Tristan Thompson, CLE 10.8

Who’s For Real?

Gasol is consistently putting up huge rebound numbers this year. It looks like he may be able to sustain this.

Who’s A Fraud
Mozgov has a ton of competition in Denver. Kenneth Faried is back from injury and J.J. Hickson will continue to get healthy as the year progresses.

Who’s Missing?
DeMarcus Cousins is still out with viral meningitis. Look for him to be near the top of this list when he returns. Hopefully sooner-than-later.

Further Analysis:
There are always guys you can grab to plug in if you need a few boards. There is a handful of people each week that are on this list that were not the previous.

Blocks
1. DeAndre Jordan, LAC 3.3
2. Serge Ibaka, OKC 2.8
3. DeWayne Dedmon, ORL 2.7
3. Rudy Gobert, UTA 2.7
3. Tim Duncan, SA 2.7
6. Marc Gasol, MEM 2.3
6. Taj Gibson, CHI 2.3
6. K.J. McDaniels, PHI 2.3
9. 6 tied with 2.0

Biggest Surprise
DeWayne Dedmond of course. I think that goes without saying.

Who’s For Real?
Jordan and Ibaka will most likely end the season as the top two shot-blockers much like they were this week.

Who’s A Fraud?
DeWayne Dedmond of course. I think that goes without saying.

Who’s Missing?
Anthony Davis is a premier shot-blocker but does not appear on any list this week. He did however, deal with a litany of injuries this week.

Further Analysis:
Shot blockers are one of the easiest to predict. You can grab one off the wire pretty much at any time and get a few blocks. People tend to not hold on to pure shot-blocking specialists.

Steals
1. Corey Brewer, MIN 3.8
2. Draymond Green, GS 3.7
3. Luc Richard Mbah a Moute, PHI 3.3
4. James Harden, HOU 3.0
4. Kawhi Leonard, SA 3.0
6. Kemba Walker, CHA 2.5
7. Ty Lawson, DEN 2.3
7. Shaun Livingston, BKN 2.3
7. Thaddeus Young, MIN 2.3
10. 13 tied with 2.0

Biggest Surprise
The biggest surprise here is that I spelled Luc Richard Mbah a Moute name right. I did spell his name right, right? But seriously I guess seeing Young up there is a bit surprising.

Who’s For Real?
Brewer showed why he is one of the premier ball stealers in the league.

Who’s A Fraud?
John Salmons is one of the 13 with two steals-per-game. He is clearly a fraud in any category he makes.

Who’s Missing?
Chris Paul may be the top steal guy in the league. It’s a surprise to not even see him on this list.

Further Analysis:
There are a lot of new faces on this list. Steals have been somewhat inconsistent this season. I guess it just comes down to the bounce of the ball sometimes. Much like fumble recoveries in the NFL.

3s
1. Chandler Parsons, DAL 4.3
2. C.J. Miles, IND 4.0
3. Patrick Beverly, HOU 3.7
3. Robert Covington, PHI 3.7
5. Kyle Korver, ATL 3.3
6. Nick Young, LAL 3.0
6. Trevor Ariza, HOU 3.0
6. Wilson Chandler, DEN 3.0
6. Damian Lillard, POR 3.0
6. Lou Williams, TOR 3.0

Biggest Surprise
Didn’t expect to see Miles in this article.

Who’s For Real?
Swaggy P is more than capable of getting hot and making this list somewhat frequently. Especially with limited options in LA.

Who’s A Fraud?
Miles is. He has the ability to get hot for a week, but those weeks are few and far between.

Who’s Missing?
Both Splash Brothers are absent from this list. That most likely will not happen too often this season or any season in the near future.

Further Analysis:
This list really shows how if you need 3s they are available on the wire. Not a whole lot of star power here.

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1 Comment

  1. Jack
    December 15, 2014 at 10:49 am

    Just a minor edit: Mozgov and co in Denver!