The OKC Thunder get a three-game week for players to step up in fantasy and for the team to get back on track in reality.
At 1-4 to start the season, the OKC Thunder are tied with the Rockets for 13th in the Western Conference standings. Five games in is much too early to lose sleep over, and thankfully the Suns afforded the team a reprieve. Still, some additional signs of life would be welcome. A banged-up Russell Westbrook and shaky shooting from the other Oklahoma City players has led to an unfortunate start, but hopefully the victory over Phoenix swings the pendulum.
Steven Adams has been a solid fantasy play, and Russ and Paul George will figure things out. This week, the Fantasy Flash is going to focus on a couple of OKC Thunder fantasy players that could provide some sneaky value in the meantime.
As for noteworthy fantasy opponents, we pick out a player from OKC’s early rematch with the Los Angeles Clippers (Tues. 10/30), a Charlotte Hornet (Thurs. 11/1), and a Washington Wizard (11/3).
Let’s start with the OKC Thunder.
Jerami Grant
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Many OKC Thunder fans were anticipating a breakout season for Jerami Grant. Again, it is much too soon to write off anything from the young season. So far though, Grant has not had much of a fantasy impact. His upside is there, but outside of being a source of blocks, he has not produced.
It looks like Coach Billy Donovan is going to give him a bit of a run in the starting lineup, so he could be a cheap daily fantasy option with upside this week.
Hamidou Diallo
After quickly leapfrogging Raymond Felton in OKC Thunder rotations, Hamidou Diallo has a shot at fantasy relevance. Like Grant, he is more of a cheap daily fantasy option for now, but he has become a player to keep an eye on.
Tobias Harris
Oklahoma City has already fallen to the Clips once this season. A lot of that had to do with SF Tobias Harris. Tobias had one of his better games of the season in the first matchup and may be poised to have another big one as the Clippers leading scorer.
Kemba Walker
I try to not just pick out the opponent’s All-Stars to outline here, but Kemba Walker is too hot to not mention. Through the first two weeks of the season, Kemba is averaging what would be career highs in points, three pointers, and field goal percentage. He has more field goal attempts than any other NBA player thus far, including the second most makes from deep. Now a legitimate three point threat, Walker is a fantasy monster.
| Season | G | GS | MP | FGA | FG% | 3PA | 3P% | 2PA | 2P% | eFG% | FTA | FT% | DRB | TRB | AST | STL | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2011-12 | 66 | 25 | 27.2 | 11.6 | .366 | 3.4 | .305 | 8.2 | .392 | .411 | 3.2 | .789 | 3.1 | 3.5 | 4.4 | 0.9 | 12.1 |
| 2012-13 | 82 | 82 | 34.9 | 15.2 | .423 | 4.0 | .322 | 11.1 | .459 | .466 | 4.5 | .798 | 2.7 | 3.5 | 5.7 | 2.0 | 17.7 |
| 2013-14 | 73 | 73 | 35.8 | 15.7 | .393 | 4.5 | .333 | 11.2 | .417 | .441 | 4.6 | .837 | 3.7 | 4.2 | 6.1 | 1.2 | 17.7 |
| 2014-15 | 62 | 58 | 34.2 | 15.8 | .385 | 4.5 | .304 | 11.3 | .418 | .429 | 4.6 | .827 | 3.0 | 3.5 | 5.1 | 1.4 | 17.3 |
| 2015-16 | 81 | 81 | 35.6 | 16.4 | .427 | 6.0 | .371 | 10.4 | .459 | .495 | 5.4 | .847 | 3.7 | 4.4 | 5.2 | 1.6 | 20.9 |
| 2016-17 | 79 | 79 | 34.7 | 18.3 | .444 | 7.6 | .399 | 10.7 | .476 | .527 | 4.5 | .847 | 3.3 | 3.9 | 5.5 | 1.1 | 23.2 |
| 2017-18 | 80 | 80 | 34.2 | 17.0 | .431 | 7.5 | .384 | 9.5 | .469 | .516 | 5.3 | .864 | 2.7 | 3.1 | 5.6 | 1.1 | 22.1 |
| 2018-19 | 7 | 7 | 33.7 | 23.0 | .466 | 11.3 | .405 | 11.7 | .524 | .565 | 6.7 | .851 | 3.7 | 4.1 | 5.7 | 0.9 | 31.7 |
| Career | 530 | 485 | 33.9 | 15.9 | .416 | 5.5 | .359 | 10.4 | .446 | .478 | 4.7 | .834 | 3.2 | 3.7 | 5.4 | 1.3 | 19.1 |
Provided by Basketball-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 10/29/2018.
Otto Porter Jr.
A bounce-back candidate, Otto Porter Jr. is off to a poor start on the young season. He is typically a fantastic fantasy player due to his across-the-board production, but has been playing fewer minutes and not looking like himself. The buy-low window for trades is open, but count on Porter to bounce back soon.
That is your Fantasy Flash heading into week three of NBA play. Tune in to the games to see who winds up being the fantasy player to own and follow along with us on Twitter @thunderousint