Fantasy Hoops: November Notes & Trends

The Rockets had the NBA’s best record during the month of November, going 12-1 behind the play of James Harden, who is my early favorite for MVP this season.

Harden was the team’s top scorer in 12 of those 13 contests. He also led the team in assists in all seven games Chris Paul missed, and was the leader in dishes during half the games Paul played. Harden led the league in scoring (34.9 points per game) during the month, and sits second in the assists column with 10.1 per game (Paul had 10.3).

Paul only played six games during the month and while some may worry about the former Clippers point guard cannibalizing Harden’s stats going forward, I wouldn’t buy into that notion. Houston’s high-powered offense can support both stars and that, combined with Harden’s top-level play, makes The Beard fantasy’s No. 1 player going forward.

Here’s more notes and analysis from the month of November:

• Paul George, who led all players in minutes per contest (39.2) during the month, got off to a slow start with the Thunder. However, he has proven he’s still a top-20 option in fantasy despite the abundance of scoring options around him. George averaged 21.0 points, 6.7 rebounds, and 3.6 assists per game during the month while leading the NBA in steals per game with 2.9 per night.
• Many criticized the Pacers for “only” landing Victor Oladipo and Domantas Sabonis when they traded away PG13, but both players look like potential long-term starters. Oladipo has been particularly impressive, as he’s putting up All-Star numbers, fueled by opportunity and efficiency. Giannis Antetokounmpo, LeBron James, Bradley Beal, and Harden are the only players who had at least 18 shot attempts per game in the month and posted a higher field goal percentage than Oladipo.
• If you trade George for Oladipo in fantasy, I’m not sure who’s getting the better end of the deal. If you net Oladipo and Sabonis, who shot 50% from the field on nearly nine attempts per game during the month, you win the trade.
• LBJ had an amazing November for the Cavaliers, shooting 58.1% (best among non-bigs) from the field on a whopping 19.7 attempts per game (fourth-highest among all players). He was second in the NBA in points per game (29.6), fourth in assists (8.5) and was one of just 11 players who averaged at least a steal and block per game (min 10 games played) during the month.
• The Pistons went 9-3 during November and Tobias Harris is a major reason why. The 25-year-old shot an eye-popping 48.6% from behind the arc (an NBA-best among those with at least five attempts per contest), despite making fewer than 35% of his attempts in four of out the last six games. Harris is slightly behind Avery Bradley for the team lead in overall attempts per game (14.3 vs. 14.2) and his role in the offense makes him a locked-in top-60 play going forward.
• Joel Embiid continues to dominate, but one of the flaws in his game this month has been his three-point shot. He made just 26.7% of his 2.5 attempts per game from behind the arc and it’s possible that teams may start to sag further off of him and dare him to shoot from outside as an approach to mitigate the damage he can do. If he doesn’t improve his stroke, the Sixers big man could see a slight decline in his stats and therefore, in his fantasy value. That risk, along with his injury history, may make him a sell-high candidate, especially if you can nab a top-10 player for him.
• Only George has more steals per game than Ben Simmons during the month. Simmons’ defensive prowess and ability to fill up the stat sheet (18.6 points, 9.5 rebounds, and 6.9 assists per game during the month) make him a top-10 play going forward.
• Nikola Mirotic hasn’t played in November (or yet this season) after being on the wrong end of a physical altercation with teammate Bobby Portis. He could be back as soon as Monday, but it’s unclear what his role will be with Portis and Lauri Markkanen soaking up frontcourt minutes. The Bulls may look to give him minutes in order to showcase him for potential trades, similar to what the Suns may be doing with Greg Monroe. If you have a spare bench spot, Mirotic is worth scooping up.

Fantasy questions? Take to the comment section below or tweet me at @CW_Crouse.

Statistics are current through Friday morning. Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.