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The deeper a fantasy basketball 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 fantasy basketball waiver wire pickups for Week 2 and your fantasy basketball teams. These NBA 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.
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Fantasy Basketball Waiver Wire Targets for Week 2
Jarred Vanderbilt (PF, UTA) - 11% rostered
Vanderbilt has started at both the PF and C position for the Jazz in the three games Utah has played through Sunday. It's funny because he's done a little bit of everything at different points/games but he has still to have an all-across-the-board explosion this year.
JV kicked the year off with back-to-back 12 and 14-rebound outings while dropping below double-digit scoring figures... only to then score 15 pops on Sunday (vs. NO) but fall to just four boards. All things considered, though, Vanderbilt has put up per-game averages of 8+ PPG, 10 RPG, 2 AGP, and 3 SPG.
That's correct: Vanderbilt stole one ball in G1 but he then proceeded to steal four on back-to-back games against Minny (4 dimes + 4 steals) and the Pelicans (4 rebounds + 4 steals + 2 treys + 1 dime + 1 block).
The shooting has been sublime with three games at a 40+ FG% whit two of them at 71+ FG%. The freebies have topped at only three (Sunday) and the field-goal volume is not really incredible (4-5-7) but you know Vanderbilt will hit them all inside while coming with some upside beyond the three-point arc.
Watch out for the fouling, though, because he got eliminated in G1 after just 18 minutes of playing time with 6 PF and he also got called for five fouls in each of the past two games.
Kentavious Caldwell-Pope (SG/SF, DEN) - 9% rostered
One thing you didn't know: KCP has yet to turn 30 years old. One thing you might be more interested in knowing: KCP is one of only three players averaging at least 13 PPG, 4 RPG, and 3 APG in the early season while rostered in fewer than 70% of ESPN leagues... and the only one doing so while on fewer than 40% of all leagues. Sheesh.
Caldwell-Pope joined the Nuggets this offseason via trade and judging by the earliest returns this could turn into a true steal for Denver--and for you too if you can rush to your WW quicker than anyone else to smash that "Add" button.
KCP is the Nuggets' new starting SG and that shouldn't change any time soon with Bones Hyland still a bit green and going through sophomore growing pains. Alas: the 33+ MPG Kentavious has enjoyed through Sunday (three games played) in which he's been good enough to put up that rarely-available-in-90%-leagues 13-4-3-1 line.
Other than in his two-point debut, KCP has dropped buckets in bunches in his other two games: 17 against the Dubs and 21 against OKC on back-to-back nights of action. Don't get that debut for what it was not, though: KCP still had 6 assists against Utah in that surprising G1 loss and contributed all across the board with 4 rebounds, 2 steals, and a block on top of it all.
Lonnie Walker IV (SG/SF, LAL) - 9% rostered
The Lakers are a mess but that's hardly news these days. I mean, it's been like this for two seasons running, so there is nothing surprising in finding the Lake Show not putting on much of one. Lonnie Walker IV got signed for a sizable amount of money and although he is a few levels of talent below his most-famous teammates', the truth is that LW4 has done enough to keep believing in him going forward.
Walker has played 29+ minutes in all three games through Sunday, has started all three of them at the SF position along with Russel Westbrook, LeBron James, and Anthony Davis, and has increased his playing time from 29 to 37 and lastly 33 minutes his last time out against Portland on Sunday night.
Walker had a rough (although complete, all things considered) debut last Tuesday finishing with a 5-3-5-1-1 line shooting a putrid 28.6% from the floor on 7 FGA and hitting one-of-two freebies. Other than that, though, he's been fantastic since. Walker dumped 26 pops on the Clippers (3-3-2 rest of line) and then scored 15 points to go with 4 boards and a 1-1-1 in the other cats against Portland breaking the 53 FG% on 13 field-goal attempts.
Even though he's part of the first unit and plays along with hoggers of the ilk of LBJ, Russ, and AD, Lonnie has commanded usage rates of 28.3% and 20.1% in the last two games. The environment is loaded full of stat-hogging players, yes, but that also means fewer eyes and efforts will be put on Walker so he will have it easier to rack up stats.
Dennis Smith Jr. (PG/SG, CHA) - 3% rostered
It's happening, folks. DSJ has finally found his true call in Charlotte after spending years roaming the nation playing for different teams without much success while doing it. Jokes aside, DSJ has been sublime, for real.
Of course, this is all related to LaMelo Ball not being available for the Hornets as he's still recovering from an injury, but you gotta strike when the iron is hot!
Smith Jr. is coming off a start on Sunday's game against Atlanta and prior to that, he had already appeared off the pine in Charlotte's two other games to kick the year off. DSJ played 21 and 23 minutes but once handed the starting role he was trusted for 34 minutes of playing time, quite a tasty workload.
The guard has scored 10+ points, dished out 4+ dimes, stolen 2+ possessions, and grabbed 2 rebounds in all three of those games while actually averaging a 13-2-4-2-1 per-game line (26 MPG on average, too). Smith has also blocked three total shots and hit 2-2-1 treys in his first two games. Must-add and perhaps the best under-the-radar WW target of the baby season.
Terrence Ross (SG/SF, ORL) - 1% rostered
Three games, three starts, three nights of ass-whooping for the veteran Ross but not the Orlando Magic as a whole--cue the 0-3 record through Sunday. I like what I've seen coming from Disneyworld, but of course, the Magic are going to ultimately keep losing games because they tend to suck more than anything else.
This must be the year Ross gets traded away from Orlando, right? We've been telling this story for five years and we're now in the sixth of doing it. It has to happen at some point, let alone with Ross playing his age-31 campaign in FL.
The only reason Ross made it to this column is the absence of healthy players in the current Magic roster. All of Jalen Suggs, Gary Harris, and Markelle Fultz have either yet to debut or got injured and missed time, opening a wide door for Ross to go through and rack up minutes on the court. Remember: Ross has started 22 of his 283 games while playing a full season in Orlando and just two total in the past four seasons combined (259 games).
Cole Anthony has been fantastic as the makeshift point guard of the Magic but once Jalen Suggs and Gary Harris are back this will get ugly in terms of playing time and rotations. Until then, though, Ross is a very legitimate WW target. The vet has scored at least 11 points in each of his three games played averaging 17+ PPG shooting at a 55.5% clip from the field and scoring 9 3PM total.
The turnovers have been surprisingly low with just one in three outings, and the rebounds have stayed put at 4-4-4 in those three matches. Ross won't give you much more than that, but if you think about it twice his contributions are those often coming from what he truly is: an off-the-pine microwave only now playing a starter role because of the extraordinary circumstances.
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