Mavs' Mayo heads list of early risers in fantasy hoops

• Shooting guard O.J. Mayo of the Mavericks has posted back-to-back 30-point games
• Cleveland's Dion Waiters is the first player to have seven or more 3-pointers in his first six games
• Trailblazers rookie Damian Lillard has topped 20 points and seven assists in his first three games

Although the 2012-13 NBA season is barely a week old, several players have already seen their stock spike. We all know about Houston Rockets guard James Harden and many other top picks who have played extremely well, but several mid-to-late round selections have greatly exceeded expectations.

Obviously, we don't want to read too much into such a small sample size. Yet, on the other hand, shrewd general managers are should always ready to act (and react) quickly early in the season.

O.J. Mayo, Dallas Mavericks

After spending the last couple of seasons as a backup in Memphis, Mayo signed with the Mavs this summer to become Dallas' starting shooting guard. And after two solid, if unspectacular games, to start the year, O.J. has been a beast in the Mavs' two most recent contests, scoring 30+ points each time out. (Mayo had topped the 30-point plateau just once over his previous three seasons with the Grizzlies.)

O.J. is shooting a remarkable 50.9% from the floor, 66.7% on three-pointers, and 90.9% from the charity stripe. While those percentages will certainly come back down to earth, Mayo is earning the trust of both his teammates and his coach, which bodes well going forward. With the Mavericks' top player, Dirk Nowitzki, sidelined indefinitely, it appears Mayo may emerge as one of the new focal points of the Dallas offense.

Dion Waiters, Cleveland Cavaliers

From a fantasy perspective, Waiters was drafted into an ideal situation. When Cleveland surprisingly selected him with the fourth overall pick back in June, he joined a young Cavs team that was without a true starting-caliber shooting guard and was short on scoring power. When Waiters won the starting two-guard gig in training camp, eyebrows were officially raised, and he started to rise on draft day cheat sheets.

Since the season tipped off, Waiters' stock has only continued to climb. The Syracuse product poured in 17 points in his NBA debut. On Tuesday night in Los Angeles, Waiters exploded for 28 points, including a season-high seven three-pointers. According to the Elias Sports Bureau, Waiters is the first player ever to have seven or more three-pointers in one of his first six games in the NBA. His upside is slightly limited because he likely won't dish out many assists or grab more than a handful of rebounds, but he is a skilled scorer who can shoot from long-range, and that is always a valued commodity in fantasy leagues.

Glen Davis, Arron Afflalo, J.J. Redick, E'Twaun Moore and Nikola Vucevic, Orlando Magic

The Magic roster was completely gutted this offseason. Not only was their franchise centerpiece, Dwight Howard, shipped off to the Los Angeles Lakers, but their other two top scorers (Jason Richardson and Ryan Anderson) were traded away as well. In addition, starting point guard Jameer Nelson has missed the last two games with a strained hamstring and Hedo Turkoglu is sidelined indefinitely due to a broken left hand.

As a result, Orlando has been forced to lean on a new collection of offensive options. Davis is the primary beneficiary, as he has been putting up shots at a record pace. "Big Baby" is averaging an incredible 24.4 field goal attempts per 36 minutes, which leads the league. While currently averaging 22.3 ppg and 9.3 rpg, Davis will be the top gun in Orlando for the foreseeable future. In addition, both Afflalo and Redick are both also averaging over 18 points, and chipping in two three-pointers per contest as well.

The two top sleepers on the squad, who still may be lingering on league waiver wires, are Moore and Vucevic. Moore has taken advantage of the opportunity presented to him once Nelson went down, and has come out of nowhere to put up solid across-the-board numbers (15.0 ppg, 4.3 rpg, and 3.7 apg, while shooting 55.9% from the floor). Last but not least, we have Vucevic, who is attempting to fill the enormous shoes of Dwight Howard. Vucevic has posted back-to-back doubles and has proven he possesses intriguing upside.

Damian Lillard, Portland Trailblazers

Anytime a young point guard is mentioned in the same sentence as Oscar Robertson, one of the most gifted lead guards to ever step on the hardwood, it's a good thing. And, that's precisely what's happened to Lillard this week, as he joined the Big O and Isiah Thomas as the only three players to begin their NBA careers by scoring 20 or more points and dishing out at least 10 assists in their debut. And, Lillard wasn't done there; he topped 20 points and seven assists in each of his first three games. Through four games, he is averaging an impressive 19.2 points and eight assists. This kid is the real deal.

Mo Williams, Utah Jazz

Many fantasy pundits projected solid stats for Williams, as the only true point guard on the Jazz roster, but Mo has gone above and beyond over the first week of the season. He has scored at least 16 points in each of Utah's first four games, and is currently averaging 20.8 points and 6.8 assists. Williams has the talent to continue posting solid numbers, and with limited competition for minutes in Utah, expect him to do just that.

J.R. Smith, New York Knicks

With the high-flying Knicks off to an impressive start, many players on the New York roster are receiving accolades. Surprisingly, one of their most versatile contributors over the first week of the season has been their sixth man, J.R. Smith. We've always known Smith can score, but he's contributing in many ways over the Knicks' first few contests. Consider this: Smith is one of just five NBA players currently averaging at least 16 points, six rebounds and four assists. The other four are Kevin Durant, LeBron James, Marc Gasol, and James Harden. That's impressive company.

Tommy Beer writes forHoopsWorld.com, a USA TODAY Sports Media Group property