NBA News NBA News, Match Reports and Updates
By Raphielle Johnson
The 2024-25 NBA season is a little over one month away, making this prime time for fantasy managers to prepare for their drafts. Rotoworld will have articles dropping throughout this time, beginning with fantasy-related thoughts on every team. We’ll start with the Atlantic, which boasts the reigning champions and two other teams with title aspirations. Fantasy-wise, two Atlantic Division stars are worthy of first-round consideration, and a few others are unlikely to get out of the third round in most drafts.
2024-25 NBA Atlantic Division Team Previews
Boston Celtics
2023-24 Record: 64-18
Pace: 97.2 (23rd)
Offensive Rating: 123.2 (1st)
Defensive Rating: 111.6 (3rd)
One Potential Sleeper: Jrue Holiday
While his value to the Celtics never wavered in his first season with the team, Holiday’s fantasy value did take a hit. He finished the regular season ranked outside the top 50 in per-game value for the first time since the 2016-17 campaign, and Holiday had not failed to crack the top 70 since 2012-13. While they do not play the same position, Kristaps Porzingis’ absence following left leg surgery means there will be one less marquee offensive option in the lineup when the season begins. Add in the Celtics’ need to manage Al Horford’s minutes, as he did not play both ends of any back-to-backs last season, and Holiday’s defensive versatility could benefit him offensively. Getting Jrue in the 7th round of drafts may represent excellent fantasy value by the season’s end.
One Potential Bust: Kristaps Porzingis
Low-hanging fruit here, and not for skill reasons. Porzingis admirably played through a serious leg injury during the NBA Finals, and the result was a surgery in late June that’s expected to sideline him for 5-6 months. Add in the ramp-up time and the Celtics’ focus on being healthy for the stretch run, and it isn’t difficult to envision a scenario in which Porzigis doesn’t play half of the team’s regular season games. This should not remove him from your boards altogether, but KP is someone to pass on during the first half of drafts.
Notable Number: +11.6
Boston’s net rating led the NBA last season and…
Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/fantasy-basketball-2024-25-atlantic-130000223.html
Author : NBC Sports
Publish date : 2024-09-16 13:00:00
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