RADIO
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 you pick up a winner.
Here are my deeper league waiver wire pickups for your fantasy basketball teams. These players should be available in most leagues and they might just help you out, whether it's a few weeks rental or a long term fix to a problem your team is having.
If a guy on your team is frustrating you with his weak performances, give some of them a go. They might just be worth it.
Robert Williams (C, BOS)
13% rostered
As many of his teammates, Robert Williams was forced out of Boston's games due to health and safety protocols for a stretch in the middle of January. He missed every game after Jan. 6 up to his comeback on Jan. 22. And his return, while not yielding mindblowing results, has been great on a per-minute and steady basis.
Williams has played five games since returning, is averaging 14+ minutes per game, and although that cuts his upside a lot the truth is that he can't be doing more in those runs. Williams is putting up a more than good 1.25 FP/min, and he's played way above-average in three of his five matches: he scored 1.71, 1.52, and 1.63 FP/min on those games, numbers at the reach of only the top-10 players of the league on a daily basis.
While it's hard to see a change in Williams' role going forward barring any sort of injury to Tristan Thompson/Daniel Theis, he's proving his abilities night in and night out off the pine. He's a rebounding machine (20.6 REB%), scores 5-to-10 points per game, and as he works entirely in the pain his shooting averages are always sky-high. Williams has blocked a shot in all games he's played except in one and averages 1.5 BPG even playing just 15 MPG.
Khem Birch (PF/C, ORL)
9% rostered
Another second-unit big man, Khem Birch is actually way more used by Orlando than Robert Williams (read above) is by Boston. Birch is logging 25+ MPG in the past two weeks (9 games played), topping at 32 back on Jan. 15 precisely against Boston. Khem Birch has shown his upside here and there, putting up two double-doubles already this season and falling short of doing so two more times in which he missed by two boards (12-8) and two points (8-14).
Birch is not going to stretch the court one bit, and that's precisely why he's shooting a high 52.7% from the floor on 5.2 FGA. His freebies are dropping at reasonably good rates with the biggie visiting the line an average of 2.3 times per night.
In four games played in the past seven days, Birch has played to exactly 1.0 FP/min, which is to say above average league-wide. On the season, Birch's 0.9 FP/min mark is exactly average. Khem Birch is one of the most valuable players among sixth-men this season (15+ G, no starts) thanks to his 7-6-1 average line to go with 1.4 stocks per game, something only four other players are doing this season (JaMychal Green, LaMelo, Boucher, and Harrell).
Anfernee Simons (PG/SG, POR)
9% rostered
Nobody was giving a damn about Simons until 1) Portland lost CJ McCollum to injury a few days ago, 2) Simons started racking up minutes like a mad man, and 3) the sophomore seemed to change his mentality, taking on a heavier role and ruthless approach to the game that has been praised by relatives and coaches alike. All of that has put Simons in the leading position of a Blazers' second unit in which he's finishing 22.6 percent of possessions since Jan. 24's game against New York.
In the last four games, Simons has played at least 23 minutes and averaged a higher 27 MPG. In those round of the clock, Anfernee is don't it all on a scoring and rebounding basis, dropping 16 PPG, hitting 16 total triples for an average of 4 3PG, and pulling down 4.3 RPG topping at 8 a few days ago against Houston.
Looking at numbers from Jan. 24 (included) on, Simons is one of only 8 players scoring 4+ 3PG while having at least three games played in that span. His 16-4-1 line seems low, but remember he's coming off the bench, and also take into consideration that only 8 players have put up such numbers in that span while playing fewer than 30 MPG (Westbrook, Clarkson, Malik Beasley, Wiggins, and the very own Simmons being the only non-bigs in the list).
Theo Maledon (PG, OKC)
5% rostered
Rookie point-guard and Frenchman Theo Maledon had to ride the pine for the first 15 games of his early career days, but he's started three in a row at the point for the Thunder, all in the past week going back to Jan. 25. Sure, it all came down to George Hill's injuring his thumb, but those starts still count and Maledon couldn't have done better in those matches.
The truth is, Maledon was a little bit lost in his first start. He played 21 minutes but could only finish with a low 6-4-4 line against Portland that day. No problem for the rook, though, who stepped up and leveled up his game the next two times out with 29- and 33-minute performances to the tune of an average 17-4-2-1 stuffed line. Not happy enough with that, Maledon dropped 3 and 6 treys in those two games, and his shooting percentages went from 28.6 to 57.1 to finally 88.9 in his three starts while shooting 7+ FGA in each of those games.
Maledon will get back to the bench on George Hill is back, as it's been the case all season long. Even then, Maledon has proved how good he can be if handed the reins and playing next to Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. The Thunder still don't know if they want to fully tank, or fully "contend", but they're giving it all every day. The latter scenario might hurt Maledon's chances at getting playing time, but it's probable that OKC ends losing more than winning and ultimately moves on from vets like George in favor of youngins like Maledon.
James Johnson (PF/C, DAL)
4% rostered
It's hard to find many vets around the league with such a clear role as that of James Johnson in Dallas. The Mavs have been a little bit upsetting of late, and the return of Kristaps Porzingis hasn't helped the team that much. No matter the squad outlook, Johnson has stayed in a similar role all year long, mostly from Jan. 9 on. Since then, JJ is averaging 24+ MPG and he's finished with 10+ points scored on half of the 12 games he's placed going back to that date.
Johnson is pretty much a spot-up shooter with upside on the boards. It's been three in a row without hitting a three, sure, but that has meant working inside and boosting his shooting percentages thanks to a lower stretch-rate. In his five games, Johnson is scoring 66.1 percent of the shots he's taken from the floor (6.2 FGA).
The minutes are always going to limit Johnson's total numbers, but his rebounding and blocking rates are currently at the reach of just five other sixth-men around the league (min. 15 GP, no starts), those including Chris Boucher, Derrick Favors, Nerlens Noel, Isaiah Stewart, and Aleksej Pokusevski. Johnson is averaging the most APG, second-most PPG, and is tied for the most SPG too.
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