Bueckers, Loyd heading in different directions

Change is the 1 happening you tin ever number on, some successful sports and successful life. While consistency is what phantasy managers strive for, the world is that subordinate show tin plaything wildly implicit a agelong season.

Trying to support up with each the highs and lows crossed 44 games and 4 months tin consciousness overwhelming. That's wherefore breaking things down week by week makes it easier to enactment grounded and focused connected what matters close now.

That's the extremity of my Risers and Fallers column. It helps you way momentum shifts arsenic they happen, utilizing insights pulled straight from ESPN's phantasy metrics.

Risers

Paige Bueckers, G, Dallas Wings (99.3% rostered, 0.1)

After missing the past 4 games owed to concussion protocol and different owed to illness, Bueckers made a beardown instrumentality connected Wednesday nighttime against the Phoenix Mercury, scoring a season-high 54 phantasy points. She besides became conscionable the 3rd rookie successful Dallas Wings past to station a 35-point game, joining Arike Ogunbowale (2019) and Odyssey Sims (2014).

This show was particularly encouraging for phantasy managers, galore of whom drafted Bueckers arsenic aboriginal arsenic the 3rd round.

Meanwhile, Ogunbowale's struggles person continued. She's averaging a career-low 15.7 points per game, shooting conscionable 34% from the tract and 30% from three-point scope for the 1-10 Wings. She appears uncomfortable successful caller caput manager Chris Koclanes' system, and her on-court pairing with Bueckers hasn't clicked.

The Wings beforehand tribunal is depleted close present with Teaira McCowan and Luisa Geiselsoder acceptable to play successful Eurobasket for the adjacent fewer weeks truthful expect Bueckers to proceed to grip the scoring load successful Dallas close now.

Lexi Held, G, Phoenix Mercury (21.8% rostered, 16.4%)

The Mercury person been shorthanded successful their backcourt with Kahleah Copper inactive recovering from near genu surgery. While Sami Whitcomb has helped capable the void -- with 17.0 phantasy points per crippled successful 26.5 minutes per crippled -- it's been Held who has offered much phantasy accumulation disconnected the bench. She has played 27 oregon much minutes and scored 26 oregon much phantasy points successful 3 of her past 4 games. Held has yet to commencement a crippled this season, but she's making capable of an interaction to warrant a bigger relation successful the rotation.

Kennedy Burke, F, New York Liberty (16.4% rostered, +5.1)

Burke is simply a morganatic campaigner for Sixth Player of the Year. She has scored 23 oregon much phantasy points successful 3 of her past 5 games, and the enactment she enactment successful during the offseason is intelligibly paying off. Burke has besides been remarkably efficient, shooting an awesome 57.7% from the tract -- a important betterment from her 40.9% people successful 2024. She is simply a beardown pickup astatine the F/C presumption and idiosyncratic to ticker retired for arsenic a imaginable streamer.

Fallers

Jewell Loyd, G, Las Vegas Aces (99.7% rostered, -0.1%)

One of the astir hyped moves of the 2025 offseason is rapidly turning into a phantasy letdown.

Loyd was expected to capable Kelsey Plum's relation connected the Aces coming into the play but has struggled to find her bushed successful a caller system. Through the archetypal agelong of games, she has averaged lone 9.1 PPG -- a monolithic driblet from the 24.7 PPG and 19.7 PPG she averaged implicit past 2 seasons with the Seattle Storm.

Loyd has played constricted fourth-quarter minutes recently, and caput manager Becky Hammon admitted the thought of bringing her disconnected the seat has been discussed astatine Loyd's ain suggestion. The Aces are disconnected to an uncharacteristically rocky start, and with the discourtesy retired of sync, Loyd's chemistry and phantasy accumulation conscionable aren't clicking fixed wherever she was being drafted.

At 31 years aged and successful a declaration year, the stakes are precocious for Loyd. She's not a driblet candidate, but it mightiness beryllium clip to reset expectations -- astatine slightest for now.

Jessica Shepard, F, Minnesota Lynx (23.5% rostered, -15)

Shepard has stepped distant from the Lynx to correspond Slovenia successful EuroBasket and volition miss the adjacent fewer weeks of action. She has averaged 21.2 minutes per crippled arsenic a reserve for a 9-1 Lynx squad presently ranked astatine the apical of ESPN's powerfulness rankings. While Bridget Carleton should proceed to play dense minutes, Shepard's lack could unfastened the doorway for Alissa Pili to spot a larger relation successful the rotation.

Tiffany Hayes, G, Golden State Valkyries (43.3%, -5.4%)

While injuries person constricted Hayes to lone 3 games truthful far, the Valkyries person emerged arsenic 1 of the hottest teams successful the league -- acknowledgment successful portion to rookie Janelle Salaun, who has averaged 22.3 phantasy points per game.

But Salaun, on with Julie Vanloo and Cecilia Zandalasini, volition miss the adjacent fewer weeks portion competing successful EuroBasket. With those absences and Hayes inactive sidelined, Kate Martin remains an fantabulous phantasy adhd if you're looking to summation vulnerability to the surging Valkyries.