It’s Thursday. You know what that means.
Well, this week, it means that we are doing the waiver wire column a week early due to the holiday.
It’s time for another look at the waiver wire to find players that you can add for short-term and long-term success.
We’ll look at players that you should consider picking up who are rostered in four different rostership tiers:
- 50-60%
- 30-49%
- 15-29%
- 0-14%
What’s more, we’ll give you a breakdown of how many games each team has for the upcoming week so that you can maximize the minutes of your streamers.
Let’s get to it without further delay, starting with the schedule of games being played for next week.
View the best player prop bets for tonight’s slate with our NBA Prop Bet Cheat Sheet 
Five games:
N/A
Four games:
ATL, CHA, DAL, DET, IND, LAC, LAL, MIA, MIL, ORL, PHX, TOR
Three games:
BOS, BKN, CHI, CLE, DEN, GSW, HOU, MEM, MIN, NOP, NYK, OKC, PHI, SAC, UTA, WAS
Two games:
POR, SAS
Rostered in 50-60% of leagues:
While yes, I would look to trade any Clippers players since they are so deep and it’s hard to count on them on a game-by-game basis, it doesn’t mean that I won’t use them in the right spot for a stretch. Norman Powell is on a burner, scoring in double-figures in seven straight games, including games with 26, 30 and 32 points, respectively. Will it continue? Not at this level, but I’m going for the ride while he’s hot.
Killian Hayes just keeps chugging along as a streamer option with Cade Cunningham out for a long stretch – likely the season. Over his last three games, Hayes is averaging 14.6 points, 7.6 assists and three STOCKs per game while playing 30 minutes per night. He should be rostered in more than 60 percent of leagues.
Rostered in 30-49% of leagues:
Markelle Fultz made his season debut Wednesday, and in a surprising twist, he was in the starting lineup. On its own, it’s not surprising, but since he’s limited to “15 minutes” (he played 16:46 in his debut), it was interesting to have him out with the starters. He was fine – eight points, four assists, three STOCKs, and one turnover – but don’t forget about the major leap he took before his injury in 2021. I’m adding him but not using him yet.
That Karl-Anthony Towns injury looked really bad. Luckily, it doesn’t seem like the outcome is as bad as it looked, but he will miss some time. It looks like Anderson is going to be the benefactor for fantasy managers. “SloMo” played 39 minutes against Memphis and scored 10 points with six rebounds, five assists, and two STOCKs. He’s more of a floor player than ceiling, but we’ve seen in the past the value he has in nine-cat 12-team leagues when he was with Memphis.
Rostered in 15-29% of leagues:
Among rookies, Tari Eason ranks third behind Jaden Ivey and Bennedict Mathurin for fantasy. The LSU product has been scratching for minutes of late but has registered at least one steal in five straight games and has been big on the glass for fantasy managers. His PER 48 has him with 13.7 boards and 3.8 steals per game with a 27.7 efficiency rating. He won’t hit those numbers, of course, but it shows you what he’s capable of if he gets the time. It’s coming soon, folks.
Zach Collins is a short-term add, but an add nonetheless. With Jakob Poeltl and Jeremy Sochan both injured, Collins is the biggest fantasy benefactor. Against OKC, Collins played a season-high 27 minutes with nine points, six rebounds, three assists, three turnovers and one steal. He did have five fouls, which limited his contributions slightly. He’s worth adding and starting in deeper leagues as long as the Spurs are thin up front.
Rostered in 0-14% of leagues:
He’s dealing with a hamstring injury now, but we still need to include Yuta Watanabe here just because he’s a great story. He played some last year with Memphis, but no one thought he’d play regular minutes with Brooklyn. He hasn’t only done that, but he’s been lights-out behind the three-point line. He leads all players in 3P% and pretty comfortably at that. Watanabe is shooting 57.1 percent from behind the arc, with the closet player – Josh Green – coming in at 50 percent. He’s still a deeper-league option, but he can definitely help you.
I’ve actually been pretty happy with what we’ve seen so far from Thomas Bryant, as the Lakers have needed an offensive-minded center all season. In his last game against Portland, Bryant played 19 minutes and dropped 14 points, chipping in with six boards. What’s more, it’s looking like he’s making it a point to space out the floor for the Lakers, as he attempted three three-pointers – the most he’s attempted in a game since Feb. 25 when he was in Washington.
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Michael Waterloo is a featured writer at FantasyPros. For more from Michael, check out his archive and follow him @MichaelWaterloo.
