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andre snellings
The NBA Cup dominated the NBA scheduling last week, with the league playing a relatively small number of games to support the tournament. That trend started this week, with only five games on the schedule on Monday and eight total through Wednesday, including Tuesday night’s NBA Cup Finals.
For fantasy managers, this will mean another week where every game is a premium because there won’t be as many games in a normal week. It’s always important to work the waiver wire for your team’s benefit, but in weeks like this, intelligent use of the wire can easily make the difference between winning and losing.
That’s what we do here: help you work the waiver wire for your team’s benefit. As always, in this article we look beyond the obvious big-name stars and identify lighter players who deserve more attention and can help your fantasy teams thrive.
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point guard
bub carringtonPG/SG, washington wizards (12.2% of rosters in ESPN leagues): Carrington has started the last three games for the Wizards with multiple teammates injured, and has averaged 17.3 ppg and 7.3 apg. Carrington, in his second season, is still only 20 years old, playing for a rebuilding team, so if he continues to play well he could earn more minutes even when his teammates return.
shooting guard
max christiesg, dallas mavericks (5.8%): Christy is a 3-and-D wing for the Mavericks, averaging 12.0 ppg and 2.5 3ppg on the season. His upside as a role player is limited, but he’s also been very consistent with 16 games with at least three 3-pointers and another four games with at least three steals (steals + blocks).
cam spencersg, memphis grizzlies (15.3%): Spencer is a pure shooter who has consistent green lights in a role off the bench. He has scored in double figures with at least one 3-pointer in nine straight games, averaging 15.8 ppg, 5.1 apg and 3.1 3ppg in 25.1 mpg over that span.
small forward
jordan walshsf, boston celtics (20.4%): Walsh moved into the starting lineup for the Celtics about a month ago, but he really started to make progress on the last day of November. Over his last six games, he has averaged 15.0 ppg, 7.0 rpg, 2.0 apg and 1.7 3ppg in 28.5 mpg.
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Jordan Walsh fights off defender for and-1
Jordan Walsh fights off defender for and-1
power forward
Marvin Bagley IIIPF/C, Washington Wizards (8.8%): Bagley has started the last seven matches he has played in his place Alex SarrWho may remain out for a long time due to stomach injury. Bagley continues to have impressive double-doubles posting a total of 38 points and 27 rebounds in two games.
bobby portispf, milwaukee bucks (43.6%): Portis also retained his sixth man role giannis antetokounmpo Sidelined, but appears to have increased his frequency of participation in big games. Portis is averaging 12.0 ppg on the season, but he has scored at least 18 points in five of the last seven games, ousting Antetokounmpo.
kyle kuzmaPF/SF, Milwaukee Bucks (25.4%): Kuzma has stepped into the starting lineup, replacing Giannis as one of the main scoring threats from the frontcourt. In his last seven games without Antetokounmpo on the court, Kuzma is averaging 16.1 ppg and 5.6 rpg. He has finished in double figures in scoring or rebounds in all seven games.
Center
Jay HuffC, Indiana Pacers (26.6%): Huff has been in this area before, and since moving into the starting lineup for the Pacers he has produced consistently as a shot-blocker and long-range shooter. He has had at least two blocked shots in 12 straight games, is averaging 3.5 bpg in that stretch, and has made at least one 3-pointer in 10 of those 12 games while averaging 2.2 3pg.
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Jay Huff with huge swat on the rim
Jay Huff with huge swat on the rim
Isaiah StewartC/PF, detroit pistons (14.0%): Stewart has played well all season as the sixth man and is a nightly double-double threat with good shot-blocking ability. Over the past week, he has shown with back-to-back games of 19 and 17 points that he can score more when called upon.
