You should have a pretty good idea of what your team is and/or is not at this point. Use that to guide your waiver wire pickups. Also, some impatient owners may drop players that probably shouldn’t be dropped, so check the transactions every day to see if any goodies appear. Finally, some teams have commenced the “Not Trying for Zion” campaign, so some players have and will start getting significant minutes. Be vigilant. As always, I’m using the Yahoo database and highlighting the players that are less than 50% owned.
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Shelvin Mack (PG – MEM) – 22% owned
The return of the Mack? Looks like it, as he’s played 24, 28, 33, and 30 minutes the past four games. During that span, Mack is averaging 17.3 points, 4.5 assists, 1.5 steals, and 2.5 three-pointers. Now, he’s obviously not going to continue shooting 61% from the field and 62% from downtown, as his career marks are 43% and 33% respectively, but he’s getting the minutes and is a source of cheap assists and steals with some three-pointers mixed in.
Al-Farouq Aminu (SF/PF – POR) – 37% owned
Death, taxes, and Aminu being owned under 50%. Will he ever win a week for you? Probably not, but he plays 29 minutes a game and is averaging 8.0 points, 8.7 rebounds, 1.0 three-pointer, and 0.9 steals per game. The field goal percentage isn’t pretty at 39%, but he’s only averaging 6.9 shots per game, so the impact isn’t significant. The free throw shooting is an excellent 86%, but like with the field goals, the volume isn’t great at 2.1 per game.
D.J. Augustin (PG – ORL) – 33% owned
I want to puke now, but minutes and cheap assists are minutes and cheap assists. The usage rate is only 15.7, but he’s averaging a tick over 28 minutes over the past four games. There will be games when the D. J. hoists up over 10 shots and scores close to 20 points, but there will also be games when he shoots only twice. You’re not here for that, though. You’re here for the assists, which should be around five per game. With all that said, D. J.’s most valuable quality has nothing to do with him. It’s that Jerian Grant is behind him on the depth chart.
Boban Marjanovic (C – LAC) – 35% owned
With Marcin Gortat finally getting benched due to being terrible, Boban has started the past two games and is averaging 20 minutes per game. That doesn’t sound significant, but we are talking about Boban here, the per-36 monster: 25.2 points, 16.3 rebounds, and 2.8 blocks with 65% field goal percentage and 71% from the free throw line. He’s going to struggle against teams that play fast or have a center that can stretch the floor, so don’t go on tilt if he doesn’t receive minutes in certain games. Just find comfort in knowing that he’s going to feast when he does play in good matchups because nobody messes with the Boban.
Allonzo Trier (SG – NY) – 9% owned
Received the start the other night and scored 21 points in 42 minutes. He did start because Tim Hardaway Jr. was out due to injury, but Trier had been getting around 24 minutes per game regardless. The rookie out of Arizona is athletic and hustles, so the defensive stats could be there, and he’s also an efficient shooter from both the field and downtown in the early going. The Knicks have started the “Not Trying for Zion” campaign, so Trier should continue to get minutes with upside for more.
Mitchell Robinson (C – NY) – 31% owned
Robinson is the starting center for the “Not Trying for Zion” Knicks. At 7′ 1″ and 240 pounds, Robinson is an athletic marvel who moves so well for a man of his size. The blocks and boards should be plentiful. The only bugaboo so far is the penchant for fouling (13 in three games), which limited him to only 11 minutes the last game. Scoop now and reap the rewards later.
Mikal Bridges (SF – PHO) – 3% owned
The 10th overall pick in the 2018 NBA Draft has played 28 and 26 minutes the past two games. Is it happening? Possibly. Bridges is able to play both shooting guard and small forward, so that gives him more paths to playing time. It seems that he has jumped ahead of Josh Jackson and there’s a possibility that both Trevor Ariza and T. J. Warren are moved at some point. Bridges is another athletic specimen that could be a useful 3 & D player.
Evan Turner (SG/SF – POR) – 16% owned
Turner won’t provide three-pointers or blocks, and the free throw percentage is poor, but he’s averaging 10.4 points, 5.4 rebounds, 4.1 assists, and 0.9 steals. The usage rate is 18.9, which is a huge bump up from the 15.5 rate last year. Coach Stotts has played Damian Lillard and C.J. McCollum more together this season, which has given the reigns of the second unit to Turner.
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