NBA Stock Watch: Another Injury for Porzingis

Despite a couple of days of uncertainty, the NBA playoffs resumed over the weekend with some exciting games.

As some teams look to continue their quest towards a championship, we have already seen others sent packing from the bubble. Let's discuss a few players who have seen their stock rise or fall during their time in Orlando.

↑ STOCK UP

Ja Morant, Memphis Grizzlies: The Grizzlies did not have a pleasant stay in Orlando. They entered in the driver's seat for the eighth seed in the Western Conference but lost six of eight games to force a play-in matchup against the Blazers. Memphis went on to lose that game, as well, marking a disappointing end to the season.

If there was a plus side to the bubble for the young Grizzlies, it's that they were able to gain some valuable experience. First, they were able to experience a fight for the playoffs. And second, the play-in game gave them a brief taste of postseason basketball. Morant was excellent in that matchup with the Blazers, scoring 35 points to go along with four rebounds, eight assists and three three-pointers. He averaged 1.3 three-pointers in the bubble, which was a slight improvement over his season average of 0.9 triples per contest. As he gets ready to enter his second season in the league, Morant could take his fantasy value to the next level if he can improve in that category.

Goran Dragic, Miami Heat: After being a starter for most of his tenure with the Heat, Dragic was moved to the bench this season. He started only three of the 59 games that he played, but his playing time remained the same compared to last season. His production even slightly increased with averages of 16.2 points, 3.2 rebounds, 5.1 assists and 2.1 three-pointers per contest.

The Heat moved Dragic back into the starting five his last two games before the playoffs, a role which he held onto for the entirety of their four-game sweep of the Pacers. He averaged 34 minutes in the series, which was an increase of six minutes a night compared to his season average. The result was him torching the Pacers for averages of 22.8 points, four rebounds, five assists, 1.3 steals and three three-pointers. While facing the Bucks in the second round won't be an easy task, Dragic's new role should continue to be a boost for his fantasy value.

Jeff Green, Houston Rockets: With the Rockets deploying so many small lineups, Green became a crucial member of their second unit after being acquired from the Jazz. Although he only averaged 23 minutes across 18 games, he still averaged 12.2 points, 2.9 rebounds and 1.6 three-pointers with the Rockets. He even shot a sparkling 56.4 percent from the field, which was a vast improvement over his career 44.2 percent field goal percentage.

The Rockets have leaned on Green to play even more against the Thunder, leaving him to average 34 minutes across the first five games of the series. He's made the most of his added playing time, averaging 15.6 points, seven rebounds, 2.2 assists and 3.2 three-pointers. He's also attempted at least 10 shots in all five games after averaging 8.3 shot attempts a night after being acquired from the Jazz. There's no reason to believe that he'll see a decline in minutes anytime soon, so he could continue to be a surprise source of production for however long the Rockets remain alive.

↓ STOCK DOWN

Al Horford, Philadelphia 76ers: The transition from the Celtics to the Sixers did not go well for Horford this season. He never seemed to mesh playing power forward alongside Joel Embiid, although his overall counting stats didn't take a major hit. Where he did see a precipitous decline was in his percentages, shooting 76.3 percent from the charity stripe and a career-low 45 percent from the field. He eventually lost his starting job and floundered even more so in the first round, averaging seven points, 7.3 rebounds and 2.3 assists while being swept by his former squad.

Horford's future with the Sixers is up in the air after the team fired coach Brett Brown and will reportedly make changes to their front office. They would love to trade him, but that will be difficult with him under contract for at least $26.5 million in each of the next three seasons. That means we could be looking at another underwhelming fantasy campaign from him next season.

Kristaps Porzingis, Dallas Mavericks: There is no question that Porzingis has a special skill set. The talented big man proved to be the key running mate that the Mavericks needed to pair with Luka Doncic to get them into the playoffs, averaging 20.4 points, 9.5 rebounds, two blocks and 2.5 three-pointers during the regular season. If there is a downside, from a fantasy perspective, it's that Porzingis doesn't rack up many assists and he shot just 42.7 percent from the field. It was the third time in four seasons that he's shot under 44 percent. Porzingis does launch a ton of threes, but that's a low bar to clear for a player of his size.

The problem with Porzingis has been injuries. He was limited to 48 games in the 2017-18 season, didn't play at all least season while recovering from a torn ACL, and now he's been sidelined with a torn meniscus. It's unclear yet if he will need surgery, but if he does, the recovery timetable could span much of the season. 

This will be a situation to closely monitor over the next few months. Even if Porzingis is fully healthy by the start of next season, his growing injury history must be heavily factored into his fantasy profile.