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Welcome back to RotoBaller's weekly fantasy basketball waiver wire column and schedule breakdown. The All-Star break is behind us and the fantasy basketball regular season is winding down.
If you still need to bolster your roster or turn around a downward slide, then let's find you some help before it's too late.
These recommendations are mainly for 9-cat leagues, but if you play in another format, there's a good chance that the information here can still help you. We'll be looking at centers, forwards, and guards whose low rostership and upside make them ideal players to get onto your fantasy team. Our staff at RotoBaller has great insight and daily columns on how to improve your squad and tips to make your team successful, so be sure to check them out! Now, let's get prepared for Week 19.
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NBA Week 19 Schedule Guide
Let's take a look at some notable things on the schedule this week.
Teams with four games: Boston, Brooklyn, Charlotte, Chicago, Golden State, Houston, Los Angeles Clippers, Los Angeles Lakers, Memphis, Miami, Milwaukee, New York, Oklahoma City, Orlando, Philadelphia, Portland, San Antonio, Washington
Teams with three games: Atlanta, Dallas, Detroit, Indiana, Minnesota, New Orleans, Phoenix, Sacramento, Toronto, Utah
Teams with two games: Cleveland, Denver
Number of teams playing each day:
Monday: 8
Tuesday: 20
Wednesday: 18
Thursday: 8
Friday: 20
Saturday: 12
Sunday: 20
Back-to-Backs:
Monday/Tuesday: 0
Tuesday/Wednesday: Brooklyn, Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles Lakers, Memphis, Milwaukee, Oklahoma City, Portland
Wednesday/Thursday: Philadelphia
Thursday/Friday: Golden State, Los Angeles Clippers
Friday/Saturday: Atlanta, Miami, Minnesota, Sacramento
Saturday/Sunday: Houston, Milwaukee, San Antonio, Washington
9-Category Leagues - Waiver Wire Adds
This column is written based on H2H 9-category 12-team leagues. All players in this article are rostered at around 50 percent or less.
Marvin Bagley III, F/C - Detroit Pistons - 40% rostered
He's back! After fracturing two fingers, Bagley missed 20 games, but he didn't look like he missed any time at all in Saturday's loss to the Raptors. Bagley played 28 minutes, scoring 21 points on 9-for-19 shooting while also grabbing 18 rebounds.
Bagley being given such a large role immediately was in part because of injuries to other Pistons bigs, with Jalen Duren missing the game and Isaiah Stewart exiting early. Depending on how those injuries shake out, Bagley could continue to play a key role, soaking up rebounds for Detroit.
Josh Richardson, G/F - New Orleans Pelicans - 40% rostered
The Pelicans have moved Richardson into the starting unit and he's responded with consecutive games with double-digit points. Against Toronto, Richardson had 11 points, three rebounds, three assists and three steals, and then against the Knicks, he had 16 points, two boards, four assists and four steals. He's now had multiple steals in four consecutive games and has made five threes over the last two games. Fantasy managers who need steals and threes should give Richardson a look.
Kevin Love, F/C - Miami Heat - 44% rostered
Love was quiet in his Heat debut, failing to score any points. But in his second game in Miami, he showed that he still has gas in the tank, scoring 13 points and pulling down 13 rebounds. He's starting at power forward for the Heat and should continue to post strong numbers.
My only concern is that Love's up there in age, so Miami will probably lean toward resting him sometimes. He's probable for Monday's game with a left knee hyperextension, and he might show up on the injury report a good bit. But when he's on the floor, he should be a productive source of rebounds, and since he has center eligibility, his three-point shooting becomes more important.
Malik Monk, G - Sacramento Kings - 46% rostered
On Friday, Malik Monk went off, scoring 45 points as the Kings took down the Clippers. He wasn't able to follow that up with quite as good of a performance on Sunday, as he scored 12 points in that one, but that Clippers game really showed what Monk can do when he's on the floor for extended minutes.
Of course, a lack of consistency is why Monk is below the three players above in this week's waiver wire rankings. Some nights, he'll score 20-plus points. Others, he'll give you 12 points and just a handful of stats in other categories. But if you need a boom-or-bust play at this point because you're just trying to throw a late-season Hail Mary, then Monk might be your guy.
Isaiah Joe, G - Oklahoma City Thunder - 13% rostered
Joe has scored 20-plus points in back-to-back games. Against the Suns, he had 28 points and seven rebounds on 64.7% shooting while draining six threes, and then against the Kings, he had 24 points and three assists while shooting 54.5% and making four threes. Available in over 80% of leagues, Joe's a cheap source of points and threes right now.
Dennis Smith Jr., G - Charlotte Hornets - 18% rostered
DSJ has scored in double figures in four of the past five games, and he's also swiped away multiple steals in three consecutive contests. He won't always give you the assists and threes you might want from a player with only guard eligibility, but the steals help make up for that. If you can afford to have a point guard who usually only gets you three assists per game, then the rest of Smith's numbers make him worth a roster spot.
Kris Dunn, G - Utah Jazz - 5% rostered
The Jazz signed Kris Dunn, and he's immediately making an impact. After scoring 11 points in 17 minutes in his Jazz debut, he came out and posted a really strong line on Saturday against the Spurs, playing 23 minutes and finishing with 15 points, seven rebounds, eight assists, one steal and one block. The Jazz need all the guard depth they can get right now, so expect Dunn to play 20-25 minutes per game going forward.
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