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The waiver wire this week is filled with all of the Zeller family and an old veteran showing he might have one last trick up his sleeve. The fantasy basketball season is slowly winding down so there's a good chance you already have your dream squad set up. If not, there are still a lot of undervalued big men out there to consider picking up that will give you the final extra boost needed to win your league.
Be sure to check out our other Week 16 Waiver Wire Pickups, including our Waiver Wire Forwards and Waiver Wire Guards.
Position Eligibility & Ownership Rate Based on Yahoo! Fantasy Basketball Player List
NBA Centers: Week 16 Waiver Wire Pickups & Sleepers
Cody Zeller (PF/C, CHA) - 17% Owned
Zeller's recent stats do not reflect how much better he's looked as a player recently. After sitting out the last two weeks in January with a shoulder injury, Zeller has been back in the lineup and he's gotten off to a slow start. He's still averaging over 8 rebounds and a 1.5 blocks per game, though. As Zeller gets healthier and settles back into playing center full time, his production should return. Before his injury, Zeller played in 11 games in January, in which he averaged 10.1 points and 7.4 rebounds a game. As a starting center, he looks like he has the activity, skills, and determination to average a double-double, and is worth owning, at least until Al Jefferson returns to full strength.
Tyler Zeller (PF/C, BOS) - 8% Owned
At the beginning of the year it felt as though Zeller was regressing after showing a lot of improvement by the end of the last season. After having several DNP's and logging very few minutes overall, Zeller has been given another opportunity to prove himself in coach Brad Stevens' system. Over Zeller's four games to start February he's averaging 14 points, 6.5 rebounds, and 1.3 blocks. As long as Zeller plays this well, he should continue to get minutes. Don't be surprised if he's not playing at all again in a few weeks, but until he is back on the bench, Zeller is definitely worth considering for his blocks and excellent percentages.
Amar'e Stoudemire (PF/C, MIA) - 7% Owned
Hassan Whiteside missed a recent stretch of games, in which Stoudemire got to see a lot more playing time. During the last two weeks Amar'e is averaging 8.3 points and 7.9 rebounds per game on 51% shooting from the field. Whiteside has returned from injury, but several media reports suggest that Amar'e will continue getting significant playing time because of his strong recent play. Whiteside certainly hasn't helped his cause by throwing an elbow at Spurs center Boban Marjanovic, a penalty which got him ejected from the game and sent home by the Heat, and which may lead to a suspension.
It will be interesting to see how Amar'e is used with Whiteside on the floor, but the real upside would come if the Heat decide Whiteside's behavior is detrimental to the team and ship him off before the trade deadline. Also, on his recent trip back to New York Amar'e revealed he is still taking full body wine baths... so there's that.
