Fantasy Basketball Players to Watch
The fantasy basketball regular season is almost over, which means managers are still looking for that one final push to get to the playoffs. Here’s a few names for you to keep an eye on.
Jae’Sean Tate, Houston Rockets
Tate has been one of the many Rockets players to gain more minutes, due to the team selling at the trade deadline.
The former Ohio State Buckeye had spent the past few seasons playing overseas, most recently with the Sydney Kings of the NBL. Ever since coming over to play for the Rockets, Tate has received heavy minutes with him playing 30 minutes or more in three of his last five games.
As of recently, Tate has balled out with those minutes scoring double digit points in two of his last three games. This includes 19 points, 7 rebounds and 5 assists in a loss against the Suns.
Tate is only rostered in 35.1% of ESPN leagues and could be a sneaky add come playoff time.
Jalen Brunson, Dallas Mavericks
Brunson has always been a reliable player in Dallas but his recent performances could warrant a pickup in your fantasy league.
In his last six games, Brunson has scored in double-digits in five of those games with two of them being over 20 points. His best performance came against the Boston Celtics where he put up 21 points and five rebounds in a Mavericks win.
The Mavericks have been on a tear recently winning seven of their last ten and Brunson is definitely a big reason why. The two time NCAA champ with Villanova has found his chemistry with Luka Doncic as Dallas looks to rise up in the Western Conference.
Despite filling up the stat sheet, Brunson is available in more leagues than Tate as he is only rostered in 25.5% of ESPN leagues.
Aleksej Pokusevski, Oklahoma City Thunder
Here’s a name you probably haven’t heard of.
The Thunder picked Pokusevski up in the first round of this year’s draft and he’s been going off as of late.
With the Thunder fully embracing the tank, Pokusevski has received heavy minutes in recent games and has played well in those games. In his past five games, Pokusevski has scored in double-digits in four of them with two of those games being for 20 or more points.
His best of the bunch came against the Charlotte Hornets where he put up 25 points and 9 rebounds in a loss. Pokusevski is bound to receive big time minutes for the rest of the season with the Thunder choosing to bench veteran Al Horford for the remainder of the season.
Pokusevski is the most available player of the three as he is only rostered in 17.4% of ESPN leagues.
Logan Bourandas is a sophomore majoring in broadcast journalism. To contact him, email lxb5412@psu.edu.
