RADIO
The Waiver Wire is filled with lots of deeper cuts this week. Most of these players are owned in less than 20% of Yahoo! Fantasy Basketball leagues but have been producing at a much higher level than their ownership rate. All these guards are lesser known names who have been putting up better numbers than some of the better known players throughout the league. These are the hidden gems found pages within the waiver wire list that can help anyone's team go from worst to first. Let's dig down and talk about some deep waiver wire guards.
Position Eligibility & Ownership Rate Based on Yahoo! Fantasy Basketball Player List
NBA Guards: Week 13 Waiver Wire Pickups & Sleepers
Tyler Johnson (MIA, PG/SG) - 7% Owned
The Heat have a point guard rotation that currently includes Goran Dragic, Beno Udrih, and Tyler Johnson. Over the past week, both Dragic and Udrih are dealing with nagging injuries that have allowed Johnson to play more significant minutes. Over that stretch, Johnson has averaged 13 points, 4.3 rebounds, and 4.3 assists. As long as Dragic and Udrih are hurt, then Johnson is a must add in deeper leagues. Even with both of them playing Johnson has done pretty well as a combo guard coming off the bench, particularly in the small ball lineups the Heat have featured in games that Hassan Whiteside has missed.
Over the last month, he's averaged 9.2 points, 4.5 rebounds, and 2.8 assists. Johnson's consistency has been a welcome surprise to both fantasy owners and the Miami Heat organization. A potential D-league player has played his way into valuable rotation minutes and, even more importantly, possibly being good enough to be rostered on your fantasy team.
Shabazz Muhammad (MIN, SG/SF) - 8% Owned
Shabazz Muhammad is a really young and talented player on the Minnesota Timberwolves. He's one of the 57 guys on the team that fits that particular description so I can see why no one gets too excited about him. But coming out of high school he was one of the most highly touted players in the country and has just seemed like a disappointment at every stop he's been since being recruited. After not playing more than 38 games either of his first two seasons he's already played in 42 this year. His consistency is allowing him to carve out a role as a scorer off the bench for a very deep but inexperienced Timberwolves team, getting plenty of time on the wing behind starter-in-name-only Tayshaun Prince.
Over the last two weeks he's averaging 14 points, 3.5 rebounds, and a three pointer made per game. The questions with Shabazz will be whether or not he can play well enough to get starter's minutes and get a chance to really contribute, and whether he can find ways to contribute a bit more in stats like threes, steals, or blocks. Until then, he is only worth keeping an eye on and potentially rostering in very deep leagues.
Cory Joseph (TOR, PG) - 5% Owned
Cory Joseph is the direct backup to Kyle Lowry and has played really well in the role. The only problem is that Lowry is playing at an All-Star level and there really isn't much left for Joseph to do. Despite that, Joseph is still averaging 9 points and 3 assists per game for the season. He has played well enough to get more time but the team just doesn't need him to because of how well both Lowry and DeMar Derozan are currently playing. Yet, if you're looking for consistency and production then Joseph has done both at a higher rate than any time in his career. The Raptors let Lou Williams walk because they must have felt comfortable with Joseph's ability to fill this role. As the season progresses, their faith in him is being repaid. He's worth carrying in very deep leagues for his low-level consistency and his massive upside in the scenario that Lowry misses any time.
Marco Belinelli (SAC, SG/SF) - 19% Owned
Belinelli offers points, three pointers, and pretty good averages for a high volume shooter. He has hovered at around 11 points all year while playing somewhat inconsistently. For someone as seasoned as him, it seemed impossible that he could get so many more opportunities than he did in San Antonio but do so little with them. But when you go to a franchise like Sacramento it seems that anything is possible. Belinelli is still a great shooter that can get his shot off whenever he needs to. The Kings are a confusing mess but they have at least figured out that their most reliable outside shooter is Belinelli and have started getting him the ball more.
Dion Waiters (OKC, SG/SF) - 12% Owned
Will it possibly go James Harden, Reggie Jackson…then Dion Waiters? No, no it really won't. Waiters just isn't as good as those two and I believe no amount of opportunity will ever prove him to be. That said, both Harden and Jackson have become big time starters in the league after years of being relegated as Oklahoma City's third scorer. Waiters had a few chances to be a top scorer in Cleveland and never showed the ability to do it on a night in and night out basis. Instead, as the established third or fourth scoring option Waiters has been a lot more efficient with the chances he's gotten. His season totals of 10 points, 3 rebounds, and 2 assists should go up the second half of the year as the Thunder buckle down for the playoff seeding chase. Waiters is a player that definitely has more production in him than he has done so far and should be relied upon more moving forward.
