We kicked off the fantasy basketball season with a great showing in the Waiver Wire Wishlist. If you were one who targeted small forward eligible players from our list a week ago, you had yourself a good week. Our big men suggestions also put up some great numbers for us. It’s rough that Alec Burks didn’t see the court due to injury but his play in the season’s opening week was promising. Let’s move onto our Week 3 suggestions.
Each week, Nate with We Know Fantasy will present his must target waiver waiver suggestions. There will be at least five players listed each week with an attempt to cover all eligible positions. The rule of thumb is for players suggested to be owned in less than 40-percent of Yahoo and/or ESPN leagues - give or take. One player will also be owned in less than 10-percent of Yahoo and/or ESPN leagues to cater to all types of leagues. Additionally, Nate will reference both points and category strengths of all suggestions.
The likes of Kyle Anderson and Josh Jackson put in a week for us. Both averaged 18.3 points-per-game across the last seven days. Anderson keeps taking advantage of the absence of Jaren Jackson Jr. (knee) and Justise Winslow (hip.) With the way he’s playing, he warrants playing time even when both are healthy. Ivica Zubac let us down in the rebounding category but the 1.5 blocks-per-game is a nice touch. Bismack Biyombo was also a great suggestion last week, averaging just shy of 12 points-per-game while grabbing 8.3 boards and nearly one block. Let’s see what Week 3 has in store for us.
Week 2 Results
Alec Burks, SG, New York Knicks - Injured, missed the last three games
Kyle Anderson, SF, Memphis Grizzlies - 18.3 PPG, 7.3 RPG & 5.7 APG
Ivica Zubac, C, Los Angeles Clippers - 10.3 PPG, 2.5 RPG & 1.5 BPG
Josh Jackson, SF, Detroit Lions - 18.3 PPG, 4 RPG, 2.3 APG, 1 SPG & 1 BPG
Bismack Biyombo, C, Charlotte Hornets - 11.5 PPG, 8.3 RPG, 3 APG & 0.8 BPG
George Hill, PG/SG, Oklahoma City Thunder - 13.3 PPG, 4.3 APG & 1.3 SPG
Week 3 Suggestions
Luguentz Dort, SG/SF, Oklahoma City Thunder - Owned in 45% of Yahoo and 24.1% of ESPN leagues
Next Week’s Matchups: @MIA, @NO, @NY & @BKN
I may be a week late on Dort and for that, I apologize. Dort is currently shooting 44-percent from three two-weeks deep of the season. Since last season, he’s developed a complete game, with the ability to attack the room and find space at the elbow. He was once a one trick-pony, really only there to shoot the deep ball. If Dort is still available in your leagues he is a must add.
Naz Reid, C, Minnesota Timberwolves - Owned in 25% of Yahoo and 8.3% of ESPN leagues
Next Week’s Matchups: @DEN, @POR, vs. SA & vs. SA
If you are to tune into this series weekly, you’ll routinely find me mentioning the importance of big men in fantasy basketball, and the importance of finding them on the waiver wire. After KAT dislocated his wrist Reid has been playing starter minutes. As a starter for the Timberwolves, he’s averaged 13 points, 4.7 rebounds and 0.7 blocks-per-game. KAT will continue to be evaluated weekly for the wrist injury. While he’s out, expect the undrafted LSU product to put up quality fantasy numbers.
Bobby Portis, PF/C, Milwaukee Bucks - Owned in 25% of Yahoo and 18.2% of ESPN leagues
Next Week’s Matchups: vs. DET, vs. DET, vs. UTA & vs. CLE
Portis has topped 25 minutes-per-game in four of his last five outings. He’s averaging 10.8 points-per-game to go along with 7.7 rebounds and 0.8 blocks. Again, frontcourt is crucial in fantasy basketball. This is another quality option who is producing at this early stage of the season for you to target.
Cameron Johnson, SF, Phoenix Suns - Owned in 34% of Yahoo and 16.3% of ESPN leagues
Next Week’s Matchups: vs. TOR, @DET & @IND
I wish Cameron Johnson was seeing more of the floor. The North Carolina product is filling up the stat sheet while logging just about 22 minutes-per-game. He’s currently posting 13.5 points, 2.7 rebounds, 1.2 assists, 0.7 steals, 0.5 blocks and 2.5 triples per game. He’s doing this while shooting 51-percent from the field as well. It can’t be too long before the Suns give this guy some more minutes and when they do, watch out, you’ll have a fantasy stud on your hands.
Deni Avdija, SF, Washington Wizards - Owned in 29% of Yahoo and 21.7% of ESPN leagues
Next Week’s Projects: @PHI, @BOS & vs. MIA
The Washington Wizards are a bad basketball team. They’ve started the season 1-5, so they’ll be focusing on player development sooner rather than later. It’s hard to track rookies’ value sometimes because they can be so up-and-down. But as I just mentioned, the Wizards will be focusing more on getting their youth minutes than winning games as the season goes on. Let’s not forget to mention that he’s jumped into the 9-category top 100 as he goes everything on the court.
Payton Prichard, PG, Boston Celtics - Owned in 5% of Yahoo and 2.5% of ESPN leagues
Next Week’s Matchups: @TOR, @MIA, vs. WAS & vs. MIA
Talking about coming out of left field, here comes a player no one would have expected. Kemba Walker will not be back “anytime soon” according to Brad Stevens. This gives Prichard more of an opportunity to shine. Prichard is playing over 20-minutes-per-game due to his stellar defense and deep-ball shooting ability. With these skills and the absence of Kemba, look for Prichard to get more-and-more minutes as the rookie continues to develop.
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