Royce O'Neale (SF/PF, UTA): Week 5 Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Add in 14-Team Leagues ROSTERED IN: 22% of leagues ANALYSIS: Somebody explains to me how Royce O'Neale, Utah Jazz starter in all 11 games through Thursday. Yes, I know, Royce is not a world-beater, but again, he's starting games and playing north of 31 MPG, folks! Where can you find such a guy in... Read More

Paul Millsap (PF/C, DEN): Week 5 Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Add in 14-Team Leagues ROSTERED IN: 40% of leagues ANALYSIS: That Paul Millsap is more cooked than not, we all know. With that out of the way, though, Millsap is still a starter for this Nuggets squad, is logging 23.9 MPG this season, using a reasonably healthy 18.3 percent of offensive possessions, and averaging... Read More

Hamidou Diallo (SG/SF, OKC): Week 5 Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Add in 12-Team Leagues ROSTERED IN: 41% of leagues ANALYSIS: While Hamidou Diallo cooled off a bit against the Lakers on Wednesday, the truth is that the Thunder forward has had quite a week going back to Jan. 8th and that game against the Knicks in which Hami logged a season-high 29 minutes... Read More

Shake Milton (PG/SG, PHI): Week 5 Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Add in 12-Team Leagues ROSTERED IN: 33% of leagues ANALYSIS: I can't build a big case for Milton based on his recent play. Milton was one of Philly's COVID-affected players this past week, so he missed every game the team played from Jan. 7th to Thursday's match against Miami, limiting his minutes to... Read More

Fantasy Basketball Deep League Targets: Week 4

The deeper a fantasy league, the harder it is to hit a winner with your last few picks. It is also harder to find decent help from the waiver wire if your late-round picks don't do you justice. If you picked up a few stinkers, don't lose hope just yet. I will try to help... Read More

Fantasy Basketball Category Streamers - Week 4

Here we go again. This past week we have seen four teams with positive or inconclusive COVID-19 tests, leading to quite a few key players quarantine. We even saw the Miami Heat and Boston Celtics game postponed Sunday (even though the Denver Nuggets vs. Philadelphia 76ers game on Saturday should have also been postponed). Streaming... Read More

Fantasy Basketball 9-Cat Waiver Wire Pickups - Week 4

Well, we knew things wouldn't go smoothly all year. COVID-19 has hit the NBA. The Sixers just played a game with seven players. Jayson Tatum is quarantining. Things are a mess. This is going to be an odd year, and this week is when that oddity really starts to hit. What guys should you be... Read More

Robin Lopez (C, WAS) - Week 4 Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Add in 14-Team Leagues ROSTERED IN: 2% of leagues ANALYSIS: On Sunday, it was announced that Washington Wizards center Thomas Bryant would miss the rest of the season with a torn ACL. A difficult season for the Wizards is getting more difficult, as a player who was expected to be part of the... Read More

Rudy Gay (SF/PF, SA) - Week 4 Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Add in 14-Team Leagues ROSTERED IN: 28% of leagues ANALYSIS: Rudy Gay was once a big-time scorer in the league, averaging as many as 20.1 points per game back in 2008 with Memphis, but he has carved out a concrete role over the last four seasons with the Spurs as a high-volume scorer... Read More

Denzel Valentine (SG/SF, CHI) - Week 4 Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Add in 14-Team Leagues ROSTERED IN: 1% of leagues ANALYSIS: At 27, Denzel Valentine easily qualifies for the elder-half of the Chicago Bulls roster, and he has managed to maintain a workable level of playing time (17.5 minutes per game) and, like his other three seasons in Chicago, used that time to produce... Read More

Kelly Olynyk (PF/C, MIA) - Week 4 Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Add in 14-Team Leagues ROSTERED IN: 28% of leagues ANALYSIS: Kelly Olynyk has carved out enough of a role in the Miami Heat frontcourt to be playing a career-high 25.2 minutes per game, and while Maurice Harkless could eat into those minutes upon his return, Olynyk has likely established his presence in the... Read More

Taj Gibson (PF/C, NYK): Week 4 Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Add in 14-Team Leagues ROSTERED IN: 1% of leagues ANALYSIS: The ultimate under-the-radar addition to your squad, folks. The Knicks just announced that they have waived Omari Spellman to make room for newly signed Taj Gibson. Both parties came to an agreement after not reaching one last November, so it looks like two... Read More

Shake Milton (PG/SG, PHI): Week 4 Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Add in All Leagues ROSTERED IN: 31% of leagues ANALYSIS: Somebody please explain to me how in the world such a beast as Shake Milton is just part of a roster in one of every three Yahoo leagues. I don't need to make any deep study here to make you see the upside... Read More

Eric Paschall (SF/PF, GSW): Week 4 Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Add in 14-Team Leagues ROSTERED IN: 9% of leagues ANALYSIS: Eric Paschall had a rather stunning start to his career playing as a rook last season for the Warriors. That contrasted to his start to the 2021 season, as he started the first two games of Golden State at PF, played 21 and... Read More

Robert Williams (C, BOS): Week 4 Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Add in 14-Team Leagues ROSTERED IN: 28% of leagues ANALYSIS: Robert Williams is still a ways away from becoming a Jaylen Brown-caliber player, sure, but as many voices as are calling for Jaylen to get more recognition than he usually gets are also claiming Boston to play Williams for longer stretches of minutes... Read More

Saddiq Bey (SF, DET): Week 4 Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Add in 14-Team Leagues ROSTERED IN: 8% of leagues ANALYSIS: Detroit is the closest to a pure rebuilding franchise we have in the Association these days. The Pistons have plenty of young, unproven players in their squad, and also a bunch of veterans (namely Blake Griffin and Derrick Rose) they'd be better off... Read More

Tyus Jones (PG, MEM): Week 4 Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Add in 14-Team Leagues ROSTERED IN: 21% of leagues ANALYSIS: Sixth-year vet (already!?) Grizzly Tyus Jones has started every game since Ja Morant went down injured at the end of the 2020 calendar year. From that day on, Jones has logged five starts at the point and averaged almost 28.5 MPG of playing... Read More

Justin Holiday (SG/SF, IND): Week 4 Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Add in 14-Team Leagues ROSTERED IN: 20% of leagues ANALYSIS: It looks like fantasy GMs are finally catching up to Justin Holiday's potential in this Indiana Pacers team. Holiday, even playing off the bench for Indy, is logging 29.5 MPG on the season and a pretty heavy 35 MPG in the past week... Read More

Nico Batum (SF/PF, LAC): Week 4 Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Add in All Leagues ROSTERED IN: 42% of leagues ANALYSIS: This is probably the last time I write about Batum as a WW-target over here, basically because he keeps putting up numbers while starting for the Clips and his rostership is growing by the day. But given Batum is still available in almost 60%... Read More

Fantasy Basketball Category Streamers - Week 3

Another week down and we are now starting to see where team rotations are heading while some navigate injuries or COVID-19 complications. Congrats to the managers starting off the season 2-0 and for the others, there is still a lot of season left! Ja Morant (ankle), Spencer Dinwiddie (knee), Karl-Anthony Towns (wrist), Alec Burks (ankle),... Read More

Fantasy Basketball Deeper League Pickups: Week 3

The deeper a fantasy league, the harder it is to hit a winner with your last few picks. It is also harder to find decent help from the waiver wire if your late-round picks don't do you justice. If you picked up a few stinkers, don't lose hope just yet. I will try to help... Read More

Fantasy Basketball 9-Cat Waiver Wire Pickups - Week 3

Happy 2021! It seems strange for it to be a new year and for the NBA to only be entering its third week, but that's how things go in these strange times. This past week's highlights include the Wizards finally winning a game and the Rockets finally getting to see what John Wall could do... Read More

Deni Avdija (SG/SF, WAS) - Week 3 Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Add in 14-team Leagues ROSTERED IN: 25% of leagues ANALYSIS: Deni Avdija was the 9th pick in the 2020 NBA Draft by the Washington Wizards and has been thrown into the fire right away, taking a starting position for the Wizards. While Avdija isn't a freak athletically or has an amazing stroke from... Read More

Raul Neto (PG, WAS) - Week 3 Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Add in 14-Team Leagues ROSTERED IN: 2% of leagues ANALYSIS: The Washington Wizards haven't had the best start to the season, and it has only been six games into the season. With the acquisition of Russell Westbrook this offseason, Wizard fans hoped to have a powerful guard combo of Westbrook and Bradley Beal... Read More

Payton Pritchard (PG, BOS) - Week 3 Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Add in 14-Team Leagues ROSTERED IN: 6% of leagues ANALYSIS: According to Brad Stevens, Kemba Walker won't be back, "anytime soon." For whatever that timetable might look like, that leaves the opportunity available in the immediate future for rookie point guard Payton Pritchard to continue surprising people with his early season play. So... Read More

Mike Muscala (PF/C, OKC) - Week 3 Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Add in 14-Team Leagues ROSTERED IN: 5% of leagues ANALYSIS: Even with big men Al Horford and Darius Bazley occupying the Thunder front court, eighth-year center Mike Muscala is still getting some of the most playing time per night of his career (18.6 minutes per game), and he is contributing in the most... Read More

Jeff Teague (PG/SG, BOS): Week 3 Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Add in 12-Team Leagues ROSTERED IN: 40% of leagues ANALYSIS: Week of two very different halves for Boston's veteran backup point-guard. Teague has played four games in the past seven days, and 19+ minutes in all of them starting the one on Dec. 30th against Memphis. Teague is going to stay a backup,... Read More

Enes Kanter (C, POR): Week 3 Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Add in 12-Team Leagues ROSTERED IN: 36% of leagues ANALYSIS: While recently-acquired Harry Giles can play minutes at the center position off the bench, Enes Kanter is Portland's no. 2 player at the position in the depth chart. It was just yesterday that Kanter played fewer than 18 minutes for the first time... Read More

Maxi Kleber (PF/C, DAL): Week 3 Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Add in 14-Team Leagues ROSTERED IN: 19% of leagues ANALYSIS: First things first: move on from targeting Maxi Kleber if you're not part of a deep fantasy league. Kleber is not starting for the Mavs these days, and that is with Kristaps Porzingis out healing an injury. When KP comes back, Kleber's upside... Read More