It’s Friday. You know what that means.
We’ll be looking at players who are widely available and rostered in fewer than 60 percent of fantasy leagues on Yahoo. We’ll be focusing on 8-cat leagues because turnovers are a waste of a category, to be honest.
But if you find the turnovers helpful, let me know. I’m happy to include them if enough of you play in 9-cat leagues.
We’ll be looking at players who can help you in each of the eight categories who you can get before your league-mates catch on.
The eight categories we’ll focus on each week are:
- Points
- Rebounds
- Assists
- Steals
- Blocks
- Threes
- Field-goal percentage
- Free-throw percentage
Let’s get to it.
View the best player prop bets for tonight’s slate with our NBA Prop Bet Cheat Sheet
Fantasy Basketball Waiver Wire Pickups
Points
De’Andre Hunter (SF/PF – ATL) 56%
Hunter has missed the last two games for the Hawks due to asthma symptoms. But don’t let that overshadow his prior production. In the two games before missing time, Hunter scored 20 and 25 points, respectively. What’s more, he has failed to hit double-digits in scoring just once since the beginning of December. Some trades are likely to take place in Atlanta, and those could help elevate Hunter’s role in the offense. I like him as a scoring spark plug.
Rebounds
While the scoring hasn’t been there for Sims over the last two games – he’s combined for four points in 61 minutes – the rebounding has been. In a big win over the Celtics, Sims pulled down 14 boards in 36 minutes. He added a blocked shot, too, and helps fill the void left by Mitchell Robinson‘s injury. He’s vastly underrostered given the current state of center in New York.
Assists
Donte DiVincenzo (PG/SG – GSW) 22%
There were sneaky expectations for DiVincenzo entering his first season with Golden State, as he seemed like a perfect fit for the teams on both sides of the court. It’s taken a while, but he’s finding his groove with the Warriors and for fantasy managers alike. He’s just outside the top 100 over the last two weeks, and he’s not only seeing his minutes stabilize in the high 20s, but he’s averaging nearly four assists per game during the last 14 days.
Steals
Kyle Anderson (SF/PF – MIN) 53%
Yeah, I wasn’t expecting Anderson to be the glue that held the Timberwolves together during Karl-Anthony Towns‘ absence, but here we are. Anderson has been vital over the last few weeks for Minnesota, and over the last two weeks, since he’s gotten the big-time run, he’s a top-65 player. He brings sneaky across-the-board production, but his 1.5 steals per game over the last 14 days really stand out to me.
Blocks
Isaiah Jackson (PF/C – IND) 29%
I’m keeping IJax here from last week with the same breakdown: You’ll start to see Jackson’s rostership numbers creep up as we approach the deadline, as Myles Turner rumors are always swirling. After having a small stretch with no blocks, he has two in each of his last two games (20 minutes total). He’s a difference-maker at the rim, being one of the better rim protectors in the league. He can give you some contributions now, but a move could make him an elite shot blocker for fantasy.
Threes
Reggie Bullock (SF/PF – DAL) 5%
We don’t know how long Luke Doncic will be out after injuring his ankle Thursday night, but if he misses an extended period of time, Spencer Dinwiddie is about to go off. But they’ll need more than him, of course, which is why Bullock is a nice speculative add as a potential third scoring option for Dallas. I like Bullock especially for three-point help, as he’s not shy about letting them fly from deep.
Field Goal Percentage
Brandon Clarke (SF/PF – MEM) 49%
Clarke is right at the 60-percent mark in leagues, as he’s going to thrive in the Memphis lineup while Steven Adams is out. The first game without Adams saw Clarke register 32 minutes, and in those minutes, he posted 19 points and eight boards on 8-of-10 shooting. Clarke should continue to see heavy usage and continue his elite-level FG% while Adams is out.
Free-throw percentage
With this category, we typically highlight a player who doesn’t fit in the other areas but can be a sneak deep-league pickup. This week, it’s Curry, and this week, it’s an elite-level free-throw shooter. Curry is shooting 97 percent on the year at the charity stripe, and he had a huge scoring effort Wednesday, going for 32 points for the Nets as a secondary scoring option to Kyrie Irving. He’s been the No. 69 player for fantasy over the last two weeks, which is nice and all, but even when Kevin Durant returns, Curry can maintain his value for fantasy managers as a bench player.
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Michael Waterloo is a featured writer at FantasyPros. For more from Michael, check out his archive and follow him @MichaelWaterloo.