5 players righting the fantasy ship

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It is easy to pass over players in drafts or on waivers if they've burned you before. Maybe it's irrational or maybe a player is showing legitimate signs of slowing down. If the narrative deems a player no longer worthy, it will make any small sample size gains difficult to trust.

Here are five players off to starts improving upon disappointing campaigns in 2015-16 (ADP values courtesy FantasyPros):

SG/SF Danny Green, San Antonio Spurs

Green had plenty going against him. He's on a team that plays a slow pace and the Spurs rotate their lineups with regularity, making it difficult to trust anyone outside Kawhi Leonard. But it was Green's 2015-16 season that damaged his credibility as a fantasy option.

Green played close to a full season (79 games) and averaged 26 minutes, around his career mark. The problem was, he did very little with his floor time - shooting 37.6 percent from the field and 33 percent from 3-point range, both career lows. While his rebounding was down, it was still better than his career numbers. It looked like the previous season was the real outlier.

Now, it's looking like both might have been. Green will likely not play to the heights of his outstanding 2014-15 season where he averaged 11.7 points and 4.2 rebounds while playing 28.5 minutes. But it's also possible that he's never quite as bad as he was a year ago. Through nine games, Green is shooting 48 percent overall and 46 percent from 3-point range.

He won't be an elite fantasy producer, but he should be owned in most leagues for his 3-point potential and his improved shooting.

PF Julius Randle, Los Angeles Lakers

Randle was barely taken in the top 80 and his preseason rank was even lower on some sites. The Lakers were beholden to the Kobe Bryant retirement tour and no one else benefited last season. Prior to injuries to him and Nick Young, the baby Lakers were putting together a respectable on-court product and providing excellent value in all fantasy formats.

Young's successes are more surprising, but Randle has made serious strides in what is essentially his sophomore season. While his rebounding is slightly down from 10.2 to 8.1, Randle has improved everywhere else. His 53 percent shooting is far superior to his 43 percent rate of a year ago. He's scoring 13.3 points per game compared to 11.3 while playing slightly fewer minutes.

A young player like Randle finding his groove as he goes along makes sense, but there was obvious pause surrounding his fantasy prospects. Other PF-eligible options taken ahead of him include Thaddeus Young, Nerlens Noel, and Ryan Anderson. Randle, when healthy, has outperformed them all.

SF Otto Porter, Washington Wizards

While there was plenty of rumbling that Porter was a breakout candidate, that's hardly a ringing endorsement. He became a mainstay in Washington's starting five in 2015-16, playing 30 minutes per game. While his jump to 34.5 MPG this season can easily explain his scoring and rebounding gains, it doesn't factor in his improved shooting.

Porter is taking more shots in his ever expanding role, but he's also making a far greater percentage of them. His 3-point numbers have stayed the same, both in attempts and in conversion, but his overall FG% is sitting at 51.4. This has resulted in a substantial jump in his efficiency rating from 14.5 to 19.6.

Porter likely never burned owners so much as he never left much of an impression. He's forcing owners to take note, and barring a collapse, he will go much earlier in 2017-18 drafts.

SF/PF Harrison Barnes, Dallas Mavericks

Barnes is not much of a surprise, and all of his improvements can be tied to his expanded role with his new team. Last season with Golden State, Barnes averaged 30.9 minutes per game. As a more central piece in Dallas, Barnes is averaging 37 minutes. But, because he was always, at best, the fourth scoring option with the Warriors, his projected value was a bit of a mystery.

While a certain amount of fantasy improvement was anticipated, it was easy to be skeptical. Barnes is owned in most leagues, with good reason, even though he does little more than score. But Barnes has gone from an afterthought to a legitimate depth option who could be used as a trade chip should another team need extra scoring help.

PG Jrue Holiday, New Orleans Pelicans

Holiday had injury-related red flags swirling around him (like much of his team from Tyreke Evans to Anthony Davis) and then missed the start of the season due to a personal issue. His potential has always tantalized owners, but he's failed to play 70 games even once since joining the Pelicans in 2013-14.

His per 36 numbers are, through five games, the best of his career. Coming off the bench, he's scoring 22.3 points per 36 minutes with a career high 9.1 assists in that time. When he regains the starting PG gig, it's not unreasonable to believe he could flirt with a double-double on a nightly basis. His FG% is also up a tick and he's getting to the line almost four times per game.