Happy Thanksgiving to all. The NBA is taking the day off from having games, but we aren’t taking the day off from dishing out some of your favorite fantasy advice.
Welcome to the “Fantasy Basketball Waiver Wire” column, as we analyze players you should be rostering for the short and long term, looking ahead to Week 6.
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 you can maximize your streamers’ minutes.
Let’s get to it without further delay, starting with the game schedule for next week.
Check out the latest fantasy basketball expert consensus rankings 
Fantasy Basketball Waiver Wire Week 5
Five games:
N/A
Four games:
DEN, DET, LAC, LAL, NOP, UTA
Three games:
ATL, BKN, CHA, CHI, CLE, DAL, GSW, HOU, IND, MEM, MIA, MIL, MIN, NYK, OKC, ORL, PHI, PHX, POR, SAC, TOR, WAS
Two games:
BOS, SAS
Rostered in 50-60% of Leagues
It’s been ugly so far for Scoot Henderson – especially as a player deemed pro-ready and the likely No. 1 pick in any other draft without Victor Wembanyama in it. But between the lack of a shot, the turnovers and the injury, his rostership has dipped big time. That’s a mistake, as we’ll see him back in short order for the Blazers and be a focal point of the offense sans Anfernee Simons. The downs will be there, but the extremely fantasy-friendly game and the highs that accompany it far outweigh the negatives.
Jalen Suggs is raising his stock in his third year and has been running the show for the Magic of late without Markelle Fultz. Suggs has had back-to-back 18-point, three-rebound games, and he’s doing just enough in the assists and turnovers category to warrant a 70% rostership rate. Over the last two weeks, he’s posting top-62 numbers, and he looks to be one of the bigger fantasy surprises thus far this season.
Rostered in 30-49% of Leagues
I don’t really have much to add about Keyonte George that I haven’t said over the last three weeks. I said last week he should be rostered in 45% of leagues, and he’s at 46% now. Way to go. He just turned 20, and the Jazz are clearly turning the offense over to him with his extended role with the first team. I’d like to see him at about 55% rostered.
The Jaden McDaniels injury is brutal for Minnesota, as he has been playing lights-out basketball this year. However, the injury does allow Kyle Anderson to be a short-term streamer. The ceiling is limited with him, but he can provide you with points, assists and some STOCKs – if you can put up with the lack of threes.
Rostered in 15-29% of Leagues
Are you in need of scoring and alright with punting defensive stats? Look no further than Malik Beasley, who has a total of six STOCKs (no blocks) since Nov. 1. Still, he’s been doing a solid job on the offensive side of the ball, scoring 16, seven, 20 and 30 points in his last four games. He’s played 30-plus minutes in each of those games, too, so the opportunity should be there for him.
As long as the Cavaliers continue to deal with injuries in the backcourt, Craig Porter Jr. will have value. Considering his play over the last three games, he’s also making a case for an extended look. Porter Jr. has played 25-plus minutes over his previous two games, and he’s scored 45 points in his last three contests with nine assists in Cleveland’s overtime win versus Philadelphia Tuesday night.
Rostered in 0-14% of Leagues
Kelly Oubre looks like he’ll thankfully be back in action within the next two weeks, so this is a short-term move only for the veteran. Nicolas Batum played 25.5 minutes over the last two games for the 76ers, but the stats have been pretty empty. I still like him as a plug-and-play option in deeper leagues until Oubre is back.
Jose Alvarado made his season debut this week, playing just 15 minutes, which isn’t surprising. We know what we are getting from him – low scoring, fine assist numbers and good steals. CJ McCollum seems to be working his way back soon, too, as well as Trey Murphy. Things are about to get jumbled up in New Orleans, but I’m fine using Alvarado as a steals specialist where needed.
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Michael Waterloo is a featured writer at FantasyPros. For more from Michael, check out his archive and follow him @MichaelWaterloo.
