RADIO
As the holiday season approaches quicker than a Shai Gilgeous-Alexander crossover, the NBA season presses on as we now enter Week 9 of the season. 'Twas the week before Christmas and it's time to see which players should be on your radar this week and for the rest of the season.
I think it's become conventional wisdom to some extent, but I will restate this anyway. The key to winning fantasy basketball leagues is NOT about how you draft, but what you do afterward with waiver additions and trades. And while you might make a handful of trades during a season, you're most certainly going to make dozens of waiver adds and drops as you try to cope with injuries to players or just try to maximize your games played each week in H2H formats.
Working the wire is an incredibly important skill and being one step ahead of your fellow league managers means always planning and keeping tabs on players who starting to play better or earn more minutes. Every week I will do my best to help you plan out your week and give you my top recommendations to add off waivers in both standard (10-12 team leagues) and deeper formats (more than 12 teams).
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Week 9 Schedule Breakdown
| TEAM | GAMES | MON | TUES | WED | THURS | FRI | SAT | SUN |
| # Games Played | 11 | 4 | 10 | 8 | 6 | 13 | 0 | |
| Atlanta Hawks | 4 | DET | @HOU | @MIA | MEM | |||
| Boston Celtics | 3 | @GS | @SAC | @LAC | ||||
| Brooklyn Nets | 4 | @UTA | NY | DEN | DET | |||
| Charlotte Hornets | 3 | @TOR | @IND | DEN | ||||
| Chicago Bulls | 4 | @PHI | LAL | SA | CLE | |||
| Cleveland Cavaliers | 4 | HOU | UTA | NO | @CHI | |||
| Dallas Mavericks | 4 | @DEN | LAC | @HOU | SA | |||
| Denver Nuggets | 4 | DAL | @TOR | @BKN | @CHA | |||
| Detroit Pistons | 3 | @ATL | UTA | @BKN | ||||
| Golden State Warriors | 3 | BOS | WAS | POR | ||||
| Houston Rockets | 4 | @CLE | ATL | DAL | @NO | |||
| Indiana Pacers | 4 | LAC | CHA | @MEM | ORL | |||
| Los Angeles Clippers | 4 | @IND | @DAL | @OKC | BOS | |||
| Los Angeles Lakers | 4 | NY | @CHI | @MIN | @OKC | |||
| Memphis Grizzlies | 4 | @OKC | @NO | IND | @ATL | |||
| Miami Heat | 3 | MIN | @ORL | ATL | ||||
| Milwaukee Bucks | 3 | SA | ORL | @NY | ||||
| Minnesota Timberwolves | 4 | @MIA | @PHI | LAL | @SAC | |||
| New Orleans Pelicans | 3 | MEM | @CLE | HOU | ||||
| New York Knicks | 3 | @LAL | @BKN | MIL | ||||
| Oklahoma City Thunder | 3 | MEM | LAC | LAL | ||||
| Orlando Magic | 3 | MIA | @MIL | @IND | ||||
| Philadelphia 76ers | 3 | CHI | MIN | TOR | ||||
| Phoenix Suns | 2 | @POR | @SAC | |||||
| Portland Trail Blazers | 3 | PHO | WAS | @GS | ||||
| Sacramento Kings | 4 | WAS | BOS | PHO | MIN | |||
| San Antonio Spurs | 3 | @MIL | @CHI | @DAL | ||||
| Toronto Raptors | 4 | CHA | DEN | @PHI | UTA | |||
| Utah Jazz | 4 | BKN | @CLE | @DET | @TOR | |||
| Washington Wizards | 3 | @SAC | @POR | @GS |
Notes:
No games on Christmas Eve (Sunday)
Phoenix is the only team that plays just two games.
Tuesday is the lightest day of the week in terms of overall games played (only four).
Standard League Adds For Week 9
Percentage owned numbers in parentheses are from Yahoo!
This is the UNDER 50% rostered somehow but MUST ADD if they are still on your wire list...
Isaiah Hartenstein - C (45%)
Jericho Sims has been starting, but I-Hart is finishing games, playing 30 and 31 minutes in his last two games and racking up three blocks in each of them.
Dante Exum - PG (44%)
Four games on the schedule for Dallas this week and Kyrie Irving continues to be out of the lineup. He's putting up solid stats across the board and shooting it incredibly well from beyond the arc.
Patrick Williams - PF (44%)
Just when you thought he was cooling off, P-Will dropped 25-7-4 with four threes against Miami on Saturday. Just pick him up and HOLD as there are going to be more good games than bad games coming up this season once the Bulls make some moves.
Brandin Podziemski - SG (40%)
Podziemski was just 3% rostered a week ago, but now the world is starting to see what the young swingman can do. He's helping out across the board, including five assists in each of his last two games and nine steals over his last five.
And now for the 25%-39% rostered band, aka guys who are more likely available in standard leagues and are still in line to make an impact this week.
Goga Bitadze - C (39%)
I have resisted the temptation to cut Goga in all the leagues where I have him rostered. When Wendell Carter Jr. finally returns, it will be a sad day as we will have to part ways with him. But he's been better than I think anyone (maybe even Orlando) expected as that starting center for the last month. His production and minutes have only gone UP over the last week and he now has 11 blocks over his last four games. You simply can't find a better boards/blocks guy on the wire.
Bilal Coulibaly - SF (29%)
The rookie finally put up a stinker last night in Phoenix but had scored in double-figures in six straight before that. He's part of the larger picture for Washington, so his minutes should only increase as the season goes along. The Wizards have a few favorable matchups this week as they face the Kings, Blazers, and Warriors on a road trip out west.
Kelly Olynyk - PF/C (25%)
The Jazz have been one of the hardest teams to figure out this season as they have played a ton of guys already and can't seem to settle on a rotation -- partially due to injuries and also because they can't seem to decide who they want to feature and develop in what is already a lost season in terms of being a playoff contender.
Kelly O has seen a HUGE increase in assists lately, dropping 8, 7, and 13 dimes in his last three games. You won't get a ton of scoring from the big man, but he will provide boards, assists, and an occasional three-pointer or block.
Deep League Adds For Week 9
Derrick Jones Jr. - SF (13%)
DJJ got hurt last week and had to leave the game against Memphis early. He missed a game as a result and then came back rusty against Minnesota. But then he found his form again with 18 points, four assists, two steals, and two threes against Portland.
It's not going to be pretty every night, but the minutes are there for DJJ and he's making the most of them more often than not. Four games this week and I think he's definitely worth a shot if you need another warm body.
Isaiah Jackson - C (9%)
Don't look now, but the big man is finally getting minutes in the rotation for the Pacers and when that happens, he usually puts up some impressive rebounding stats and defensive numbers. He's an efficient scorer around the hoop and an excellent shot blocker, averaging 1.5 blocks per game in only 14 minutes. If he can keep up a 15-20 minute role as the backup center behind Myles Turner, then he's good enough on a per-minute basis to be rosterable in 12-team formats.
Craig Porter Jr. - PG (6%)
I added CPJ everywhere when it was announced that Darius Garland was out for a few weeks and I am not reading into his first game back in the rotation too much (just 6 points, 2 boards, and 3 assists in 15 minutes). We saw Porter Jr. play incredibly well earlier in the year and the Cavs are going to need him to give them some solid minutes as their third guard behind Donovan Mitchell and Caris LeVert. I think he will have some better performances this week and I would add him in 12 and 14-team formats.
Jose Alvarado - PG (5%)
Alvarado is finally healthy and has played well enough to eat into Dyson Daniels and Jordan Hawkins's minutes as the top reserve guard. His offensive game isn't much to write home about, but his defensive prowess is impressive as he averages 1.2 steals and 0.4 blocks in just 17 minutes per game.
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