Week 12 Fantasy Basketball Waiver Wire: NBA Guards

January 13, 2015

In his Week 12 NBA Waiver Wire column, Lou Cappetta focuses on a few guards that could deserve some attention in your fantasy basketball league.

Well, we have no big trades or roster moves making waves this week, other than the long expected trade of Jeff Green to the Grizzlies. No surprise there, and it really was just another ho-hum week in fantasy basketball as we approach the halfway point of the 2014-15 NBA season.

This is the time of year when making good waiver moves becomes crucial, and could be the difference between winning and losing your league. The following guards, whether of the “sleeper” variety or just cashing in temporarily on an unforeseen opportunity, almost certainly deserve attention across the various formats during Week 12 of the campaign.

Waiver Wire Guard For Right Now

Avery Bradley (BOS, PG/SG) - 56% Owned

For the second year in a row, Bradley has quietly produced solid production. He currently is owned in slightly more than half of all Yahoo leagues, and could be in for a huge spike in usage rate with Green out of the mix.

In three games since Green's trade, Bradley is averaging 20.3 points per game, 2.3 threes, and 1.3 steals per game. He's also gotten up 48 shots over that span, or 16 per game, and that may be the most important stat you need. Boston is going to need to replace the 17.6 points and 14.4 shots per game vacated by the absence of Green, and early signs show that Bradley may be the guy they look to going forward.

If you need a point guard that's going to get you assists, Bradley's 1.4 per game isn't going to help you. He will give you a solid output in points, threes, and steals, despite his numbers being down this year in the latter category.

Bradley should be owned in all leagues with at least 12 teams, and in 10 team leagues if you need scoring. I think there's a solid chance he scores 15-20 points per game going forward.

Waiver Wire Guard For Deep Leagues

Dion Waiters (OKC, SG) - 40% Owned

Waiters appeared here last week as a player to watch, and after only a small sample, I am bumping him up as a player that needs to be picked up deeper leagues.

For the record, I still don't love his game, I do, however, love his situation. After originally believing that Waiters was nothing more than "Reggie Jackson insurance", I'm convinced that the Oklahoma City Thunder actually wanted Waiters. He's jumped right in and is not only getting 20-plus minutes per game, He's taking those minutes from the aforementioned Jackson.

Most importantly, Waiters is playing with something to prove, and is playing defense, as evidenced by his five total steals in his two games with the Thunder. It's all begining to remind me of J.R. Smith's sixth man of the year season that earned him his last big contract, and although Smith can be the butt of plenty of jokes, he can also be a fantasy force when he's focused on the court.

Waiters is still going to have some poor shooting nights, but his knuckleheaded behavior should be able to be kept in check by Scott Brooks, Kevin Durant, and Russell Westbrook. He's worth a speculative gamble in deeper leagues.