It’s Thursday. You know what that means.
We are looking ahead to Week 10 and the marquee Christmas Day games.
Weekly, I look at the waiver wire for the players you should target for both short- 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 game schedule for next week.
Check out the latest fantasy basketball expert consensus rankings
Fantasy Basketball Waiver Wire Week 9
Five games:
N/A
Four games:
BOS, BKN, DAL, LAL, MEM, NYK, OKC, ORL, PHI, PHX, SAS, WAS
Three games:
ATL, CHA, CHI, DEN, DET, GSW, HOU, IND, MIA, MIL, MIN, NOP, POR, SAC, TOR, UTA
Two games:
CLE, LAC
Rostered in 50-60% of Leagues
Tim Hardaway Jr. (SG/SF – DAL)
Tim Hardaway Jr. has been sneaky good this year, and his rostership shows it. With Kyrie Irving on the shelf, Hardaway Jr. has stepped up to be a secondary scoring option for the Mavericks. He’s reached the 20-point mark in four of his last six games, and in those four games, he’s made at least three three-pointers in each. He’s streaky but worth riding the wave with for now.
It’s Tari Eason season in Houston, and it’s something that fantasy managers have been holding out hope for since last year. Eason is getting the run he hasn’t gotten earlier this season, as he’s played 28 minutes per game over his last five games, averaging a double-double and 2.8 STOCKs per game. The amount of quality players in Houston still makes me nervous about being all in on him going forward, but the talent has always been there, and it seems like the opportunity is now following suit.
Rostered in 30-49% of Leagues
While watching the Warriors and Celtics game on Tuesday, it was fun to see Jonathan Kuminga directing traffic, telling Klay Thompson to rotate to the top of the key, and calling for a screen from Stephen Curry so that he could get an iso to the hoop for an easy dunk. What a time to be alive. The injury to Brandin Podziemski, along with the suspension of Draymond Green, has opened up more playing time and opportunity for Kuminga, who is still dripping with potential. We’ve finally seen some consistency from him, and Steve Kerr seems to be more open to playing his younger players like Kuminga instead of forcing his veterans in there for the big moments. Let’s ride.
The Dante Exum story is such a great one. It kind of reminds me of Dennis Smith Jr. last year. He’s a player who seemed like he would be out of the league, only to make the most of an opportunity that presented itself to him. He’s been a top-40 player over the last two weeks – No. 107 over the last month – with the injury to Irving opening up playing time. He’s scored in double-digits in all but one game in December, and he’s coming off a 40-minute night on the floor, where he scored 16 points and added two steals.
Rostered in 15-29% of Leagues
Trayce Jackson-Davis (PF – GSW)
Could Trayce Jackson-Davis be what the Warriors hoped James Wiseman would be? That’s probably not fair, but he’s giving them some youth upside that the steady veterans – it’s a theme, folks – aren’t. He’s played 18 and 20 minutes, respectively, over the last two games. In his last game, he recorded his first career double-double with 10 points and 13 boards, as well as three blocks. He’s probably the player I’m targeting most this week, just off of upside alone.
Isaac Okoro has stepped his game up for the shorthanded Cavaliers, who are without Darius Garland and Evan Mobley for the foreseeable future. Okoro – sans his last game – has shown the ability to get baskets, dropping 11 and 18 in two of his last three games. What’s more, the rebounds and assists have been there, as well as the three-point shot, making him a stream-worthy player for fantasy managers.
Rostered in 0-14% of Leagues
We had the fun Bismack Biyombo run when he first joined up with the Grizzlies, but Memphis released Kenneth Lofton Jr. to keep him on the team. With Ja Morant back on the court, we’ll finally start seeing some spacing and control of the offense that we’ve hoped to see. I’m grabbing Biyombo just to see what that looks like and if he can fill the Steven Adams role with there being less pressure to create from Desmond Bane and Jaren Jackson Jr.
There aren’t really any other standouts in this tier, but it’s worth highlighting Toumani Camara and the role he’s playing for Portland. Despite averaging 22 minutes over his last four games, he continues to produce for fantasy managers. Camara’s defense carries his value and will keep him in the league for a long time. When he’s not recording steals (three, two and one over his last three games), he’s shown the ability to score (18 points) at an efficient rate (7-of-10 shooting).
Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Google Podcasts | RadioPublic | Breaker | Castbox | Pocket Casts
Michael Waterloo is a featured writer at FantasyPros. For more from Michael, check out his archive and follow him @MichaelWaterloo.