Sorare NBA Market Update (12/1-12/7)
A quarter of the way through the NBA season, there have been some things that aren't surprising in the slightest. The Thunder are great, the Wizards are terrible, and this Nikola Jokic guy seems to be pretty good at this whole basketball thing.
As we start December, though, what about the players who have eschewed expectations to some degree? There's a lot of season left, so it makes sense to really be thinking about your Sorare NBA lineup. Here is an upgrade, a hold, and a downgrade for Sorare purposes.
All Sorare NBA values as of December 1 at 2 p.m. ET.
Upgrade
Tyrese Maxey, PHI ($28.12): There are different levels of upgrades because there are different levels of improvement. Two years ago, Maxey took a leap, but it seems like he's taken another this season. It's not just that he's clearly the best player on the 76ers. It's not just that Maxey is clearly going to be an All-Star. He's gunning for an All-NBA team this year. Maxey has averaged 32.3 points per game, thanks in part to making 3.7 threes per contest. Just as important to his ability to continue to put up 50.0 Sorare points, Maxey has averaged 8.1 free-throw attempts a night.
Hold
Donovan Clingan, POR ($20.59): With a larger role as a starting center, I definitely believe in Clingan's 10.0 rebounds and 1.5 blocks per game. I have some questions about his scoring, though. His free-throw percentage has leaped from 59.6 to 81.1. Granted, he doesn't take a ton of free throws, but I don't believe in that.
Part of the reason for my skepticism is that Clingan has taken four times as many threes this season, but his three-point percentage has fallen to 25.5. He's a hulking center who doesn't seem like a natural shooter. When Clingan gets to double-digit points, he often ends up over 40.0 Sorare points, but he has plenty of games with under 30.0, or even 20.0, Sorare points. Uniformly, those games see him in the single digits as a scorer.
Downgrade
Zach LaVine, SAC ($17.53): It's been a disastrous season for the Kings, the kind that leads to teams being blown up if possible. One might imagine a guy like LaVine might thrive in that scenario, putting up empty-calorie numbers and thus Sorare points. Think of all the times he averaged 25ish points per game on unremarkable Bulls teams. That hasn't been the case, though. LaVine has fallen to 20.7 points per contest, and his rebounds and assists are also down. That is remarkable, given that he's averaged 4.1 boards and 3.8 dimes per game in his career. Instead of thriving on a mediocre roster, LaVine has faltered.
