RADIO
Hopefully everyone had a great week in fantasy hoops. This season has been entertaining with many different story lines, and we're excited for what the rest of the season has to offer. This is a reminder that fantasy basketball is a marathon, not a sprint. In this early part of the season, it's super important to have a roster spot open on your team. The reason being is that you are likely to find hidden gems early part of the first week of the season as opposed to later in the season. For example, Pascal Siakam comes to mind as he was not being drafted in a lot of leagues last season, but he became a top-50 player by season's end.
It's always helpful to see the early rotations of the season, but it's mindful to take all factors into consideration. Players may be off to slow starts, and it may take a week or two to see consistency. Also be mindful players who are off to flaming hot starts may eventually cool off, or eventually fade out. As a reminder for most leagues, it's crucial to plan ahead. Waiver wire adds, scheduling and player injuries are all things to consider. Make an effort to improve your team by maximizing your weekly adds and utilizing streamer spots via the waiver wire. In some cases, preach some patience in the early part of the season if a player isn't busting out of the gates. Be wary of weekly streaming options and stay ahead of your opponents. 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!
In this weekly piece, I'll go over some specialists in the peripheral areas where you can target on the waiver wire. These guys are not be must-own players by all means, but these are "specialists" in which you should target if you want a boost in assisting to win your statistical head-to-head match ups for example. Let's take a look at some of the guys in Week 5 that are likely on your waiver wire.
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Week 5 Standard Leagues - Waiver Wire Specialists
*Securing your categorical needs at this point is important, especially if you're playing in head-to-head leagues*
I write my columns based on H2H 9-category standard size leagues:
Points
Alec Burks, PG/SG - Golden State Warriors
The Golden State are decimated with injuries, and D'Angelo Russell (thumb) is expected to be sidelined for at least two weeks. Burks will be the starter for the foreseeable future and he offers a bit of upside since the Warriors will have trouble scoring the ball on a nightly basis. He's going to be worth owning in the next couple of weeks given that he can fill up the stat sheet with some popcorn stats. Burks has averaged 15 points, 4.2 rebounds, and 2.1 assists over the last ten games. He's also providing a sneaky 89% shooting from the charity stripe on five attempts per game.
Moritz Wagner, PF/C - Washington Wizards
Wagner has been on fire with great per-minute numbers, with averages of 12.8 points, 5.9 boards, 1.1 blocks and 1.1 treys in just 18.5 minutes per game (!). While it's not highly not likely to be sustainable, you have to add him to see where it goes. He's also sharing the floor with Thomas Bryant as well, giving him a steady path to at least 20 minutes on a nightly basis.
Terrence Ross, SG/SF - Orlando Magic
Ross has re-emerged into the picture with decent outings, including a season-high 20 points against the Spurs on Friday. He won't provide much outside of points and 3-pointers, but he can be useful if he's knocking down his shots. The injury to Jonathan Isaac (ankle) might have something to do with it, but he's worth an add if you have some dead weight on your roster.
Coby White, PG/SG - Chicago Bulls
If White is on your waiver wire, it probably means the previous owners was very frustrated with his percentages. White has had the greenest of light in Chicago, hitting just under 34% from the field on 14 shot attempts. However, he's as streaky as they come - having scored 26 and 27 points before Saturday's 7-point dud. He's nowhere near a must-own in standard leagues, but can provide good enough stream value if you can put up with his awful percentages.
Malik Monk, PG/SG - Charlotte Hornets
Monk has had a nice string of games, where the Hornets are using him off the bench to provide an extra boost against opposing benches. The Hornets are a team where they will have to rely on their guard play to provide points on most nights, so if Monk is going to be given minutes like he has been getting for the past couple of games - he could play his way into a top-100 player for the rest of the season. Note that Nic Batum (finger) has returned and that could mean bad news for Monk.
Three-Pointers
Davis Bertans, PF/C - Washington Wizards
Bertans has bee wildly consistent as a sniper off the bench, hitting over 41% of his 3-point attempts. He was also on fire on Sunday, with five more 3-point makes for 15 points. He's not going do much outside of 3-pointers, but he's been so consistent and he's not going hit you in percentages of turnovers. Give him a look if you need a streaming 3-point specialist.
Nickeil Alexander-Walker, PG/SG - New Orleans Pelicans
The Pelicans are hammered with injuries, pushing Alexander-Walker into the rotation. He's a rookie who isn't shy at all about launching from deep, so he can provide some short-term value until the Pelicans gets some of their guys back. NAW busted out for 27 points on six 3-pointers made on Saturday against the Miami Heat.
Langston Galloway, PG/SG - Detroit Pistons
Galloway has been inside the top-100 value in nine-category leagues this season, with averages of 13.3 points, 2.2 rebounds, and 1.8 assists per game. He's connecting on 2.3 3-pointers on the season and that's providing some low-end value to be added in at least 14 + team leagues.
Ben McLemore, SG - Houston Rockets
Danuel House JR. (back) and Eric Gordon (knee) are out for the Rockets and McLemore has played well enough to be considered in standard leagues. Over the last two games, he's played 30+ minutes where he's also hit a total of eight 3-p0inters for a total of 41 points. There's not a lot of upside here, but the Rockets will appreciate any additional offense outside of James Harden.
More Fantasy Basketball Analysis
By popular demand, RotoBaller has aggregated all of our fantasy basketball NBA waiver wire pickups into a running list of NBA waiver options, so bookmark the page and check back often for updates.
