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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 the upcoming week 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 5
Isaiah Hartenstein (C, NYK) - 12% rostered
The Knicks are your favorite mediocre team, which probably isn't that bad considering the franchise's recent past during the last decade. Everything is pretty much average, but that doesn't mean we can't still find some gems buried in MSG. For example, the freshest-inked Knick Isaiah Hartenstein.
With Mitchell Robinson out of the rotation nurturing an injury that has left him out since Nov. 4, Hartenstein has taken on a slightly different role of late. Not that he really needed it, and in fact, this might sound counterintuitive but he's been better off the pain and subbing Mitch-Rob than starting.
It's only been two starts for Hartenstein since Robinson went down and he's actually been worst without him around than splitting rotation minutes with him. What I'm saying is that now might be the perfect time to catch fantasy GMs slipping and just losing hope on iHart ahead of Robinson's return and the boost that will bring to Hartenstein's upside.
In the last four games, (no Rob) Hartenstein is averaging 5.5 PPG and 9+ RPG. Before that (Rob playing) the backup was putting up 8-8 nightly lines and also blocking shots like a madman: 1.5+ BPG.
Hartenstein is a good buy-low candidate and a WW target for those in deeper leagues looking for big-man help. He has not really shown any sort of 3-point scoring prowess (a letdown considering his 46.7% donning Clippers' threads) but that should regress at least a bit as he's only shooting a putrid 16.7% from three.
Aleksej Pokusevski (PF, OKC) - 9% rostered
When it comes to lowly-rostered players, Aleksej Pokusevski is one of the most efficient and better performers of the bunch. Just looking at guys rostered in fewer than 10% of all ESPN leagues, Poku is one of only four men with 229+ FP through Saturday while also averaging 23+ FPPG every night he's out there doing it on the floor. Not bad for the Slenderman.
With franchise cornerstone Chet Holmgren rehabbing for the season, Poku has found himself starting six of his 10 games played through Saturday. He's averaging 24 MPG while putting up nightly 9-5-1-1-1 lines (rounding up the 0.8 SPG he's posting). That's definitely not the worst you can do if you're hurting for big boys to aid your lineups.
You won't believe me, but you can go check the stats yourself: Poku's 9-5-1-(1)-1 line is something only nine other players have been able to sustain to date. Yes, Poku is the one having it under the fewest amount of minutes played (239) but even then, Giannis is among those in the group and he's played just 297, so there's that. No need to mention Poku has the lowest rostership with Claxton boasting the second-lowest already at 68%.
Poku has started three games in a row leading up to the Sunday matinee against the Knicks. He got his first double-double a few days ago facing Milwaukee (17-10 with four triples, two dimes, two steals, and two blocks) and he's starting to fix his shot (he's hit 6+ field goals in for of his last six games).
A do-it-all player with limited upside but a solid floor and great per-minute efficiency.
Cameron Payne (PG, PHO) - 8% rostered
The injury suffered by Chris Paul on Nov. 7 definitely has to do with Cameron Payne's appeal and recent surge, but it's not that he wasn't useful before Paul went down in the game against Philly. Paul, mind you, was getting 30+ MPG nightly with Payne logging around 16 MPG, so keep that in mind when assessing what might be coming.
Starter-Payne logged 35 minutes on back-to-back games last Wednesday and Friday. He excelled at handling matters dumping 23 and 22 points (four and five triples made) to go with an average of 4.5 RPG, six APG, and one SPG between those two outings. He put up a perfect 4-for-4 from the charity stripe while hitting eight FG in each game for shooting percentages north of 47% in the two outings.
Reserve-Payne was averaging half the fantasy points on that role but still putting up a superbly efficient 1.08 FP/min before the last two games. What's more, removing his first two games of the season (Oct. 19/21) from his game log, that average sky-rockets to 1.25 FP/min (league average at 0.90). Just for context, that figure is close to those boasted by the likes of Dame, Fox, Dejounte, and Jrue Holiday.
Sadly, counting stats is tied to playing time in most formats so need guys to stay active on the court to yield some value. Payne will see his upside cut in half when Paul returns but he should still be a viable addition in deeper leagues with some 10-2-3 floor and upside for much more in the event Paul goes down again or just gets his minutes reduced/managed with the risk of injury always floating above him.
Jalen McDaniels (PF, CHA) - 8% rostered
The NBA keeps going, the Charlotte Hornets keep playing games, and Jalen McDaniels seems to be going nowhere. The absence of Gordon Hayward might be helping his playing time a bit, yes, but even then, the forward is doing enough to merit some role even when the starter comes back.
McDaniels has started one game of 14 this season, so it's not that he will see an incredible change in role no matter what lies ahead. He's playing a very palatable 28 MPG since the start of November compared to 25 in October (and an even lower 23 MPG in the first five games of the season).
The older of the McDaniels brothers, Jalen has finally found his shooting stroke, hitting at least 42% of his field goals in each of the past five days after missing on it fairly often before that stretch. The freebies are virtually non-existent, though, but JMD is hitting treys with gusto to make up for that: 0.9 3PM per game over the full season and a phenomenal 1.5 in the last five matchups (all played from last Monday on).
McDaniels is a nice rebounding-and-diming player with five RPG and almost 2.5 APG on the season. The steals are good too with a virtual 1:1 steal-to-turnover ratio.
Kenyon Martin Jr. (SF, HOU) - 4% rostered
After getting so close to leaving the Houston Rockets franchise this past summer, Kenyon Martin Jr. and the Rockets decided to keep it going for a while and the truth is that the decision seems to be truly paying off for both parties. The Rockets have (re)found a top-effort player and Martin is doing everything to keep his place in the team and the rotation intact.
Martin's usage and minutes have not varied that much through the first month of play. He's posted MP between 17 and 34 but removing those range-end outliers, he's actually logged something in the 20-to-30 MP clip more often than not, averaging 26 MPG at a low 15.8 USG%.
The great thing about KMJ is that he doesn't predicate his game on scoring, though he's still been good to put up 11+ PPG (13 games played) through Saturday. Martin does a little bit of everything while keeping his scoring to a pure microwave-role type of usage.
He comes off the pine, bangs some 7+ FGA, hit some treys, and goes home happy. That is, of course, on top of adding 5+ RPG, 1+ APG, and 1+ stock per game to those scoring numbers. Martin's shooting might actually decrease a bit as the season grows older considering his 51/34/67 splits on eight FGA and 3.5+ 3PA per game.
Either KMJ is a genius or an outlier: he's one of five players hitting 51%+ of his FGA while attempting 3.5+ 3-point shots per game. The others are Embiid, Beal, Durant, Steph, Fox, and Markkanen. You see the upside, though, so now make sure you roster him before it's too late!
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