RADIO
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 8
Killian Hayes (PG, DET) - 18% rostered
Shouts out to the haters! Killian Hayes might not be Kylian Mbappe but one thing is real and it is that the breakout is finally happening for the French youngster. That has been aided by the absence of Cade Cunningham, but the good news is that the second-year guard of the Pistons is either 1) going to miss (much) more time while recovering from injury or 2) entirely forfeit the remainder of the season undergoing surgery.
Hayes has started all last 11 games played by Detroit dating all the way back to Nov. 12. He also logged 34 minutes in the match before that as Cade went down back then on Nov. 11 against the Knicks.
In his 11 games as a starter, Hayes is playing 30 MPG and getting better by the day. He's gone from scoring 9+ PPG in the first seven to 16+ in his last four alone (he's scored at least 11 points in each of those). Hayes has scored at least one three-point shot in four consecutive games and a total of 13 triples in his last eight games as a starter.
Not only has Hayes finally found his shooting stroke (44% from the field as a starter) but he's also improving his efficiency on a per-game basis, having shot above 38% in all last four games and an even better 45%+ in his past three while hoisting no fewer than 11 shots in each of those matchups.
Since he became a starter, Hayes is also rebounding nicely for a point guard (3+ RPG) and dishing out dimes in bunches (6+ APG) while not really turning the ball over that much (1.7 TOPG). The steals are ridiculously tasty at 1.3+ SPG but we'll see how sustainable that is over the next few days and weeks.
Malik Monk (SG, SAC) - 13% rostered
Kevin Huerter is stealing most headlines but Malik Monk has kept working on his game, producing results, and giving the Kings all they asked for when they signed Monk this summer before trading for the Red Velvet. In fact, the main difference between the two has come down to the games they have started (20 to none for Huerter) as the averages are actually in favor of Monk.
MM is putting up a 14-2-4 per-game line in 22 MPG. KH is at 16-3-3-1 in 32 MPG. In other words, Monk has been the better player per 36 minutes and it's not even close: 23+ P36, 3.5 R36, and 7 A36 (!) are adorning Monk's fictitious per-36 line, no least.
Monk's shooting 49% from the field and 36% from beyond the arc. You might think that latter mark is "bad" but considering he's attempting 5+ 3PA per game and combined with his 49% from the floor, Monk is one of only 45 players reaching those percentages on that volume of shots per game.
The heat has gone up and up of late with Monk scoring at least 14 points in four of his last five games and averaging 20 PPG in that five-game span covering the last week of play. The shooting has gone bonkers with Monk hitting 38, 66, 70, and 66 percent of his shots in those four games.
Not a lot of rebounds in his nightly outcomes but tons of dimes considering he's out there mainly to shoot and hit buckets. The steals have come out of the blue but are a nice addition to his overall line with Monk committing at least one theft in six consecutive games and averaging an actual 1.5 SPG in that span.
Jalen McDaniels (PF, CHA) - 5% rostered
It's been four starts in a row for Jalen McDaniels through Saturday's second leg of Charlotte's back-to-back against Washington and Milwaukee. The young forward and Kelly Oubre have been used as a downsized solution to make up for the absence of oft-injured Gordon Hayward and the returns have been good--at least on an individual basis.
McDaniels had started a game back at the start of November against Memphis but he only played 22 minutes and finished with a 4-1-2-1 line shooting 1-of-5 from the floor and connecting two freebies while turning the ball over twice. The plus/minus was atrocious, though, and marked a season-low at minus-33. Ugh.
After a 10-game rehab sting playing off the pine, JMD made it back to the starting lineup on Nov. 25 and has not left it since. He's averaging 30 MPG and he's been producing fantastic stat lines nightly: 15-4-2 is the average line and he's had two days of 21+ points scored while reaching eight and nine pops in the other two.
McDaniels struggles a bit with fouling, which can lead to a limit on his playing time, and he's turning the ball over more than once per game. That said, the Hornets aren't going anywhere other than Wembley Station, so it makes sense for them to run with the young guns to see what they have.
JMD is one of 41 players (min. 600 MP) averaging a 10-4-2 line on a per-game basis while also scoring 1+ 3PM per game. He's the only one doing it in fewer than 28.5 MPG over the full season, as he's just playing 26.1 MPG through Saturday night games.
Kenyon Martin Jr. (SF, HOU) - 7% rostered
While not quite there, Kenyon Martin Jr. can't be closer to his pops' career averages with the numbers he's putting up this season. KJ Martin is averaging an 11-5-1 line to his pops' 12-7-2. Again, still not there but slowly but surely approaching it.
It's going to take a lot for the son to do even half of what his father did in the Association (All-Rookie team member, one-time All-Star) but Houston gave the kid another chance after a disappointing couple of years in the organization and he's paid the Rockets back for good.
KJ is having his best season (22 games played), nearly beating all of his prior career-high marks on all fronts whether that's points per game, rebounds, dimes, and field-goal percentage. He's putting up an 11-5-1 line and contributing 0.9 stocks a pop this season.
The minutes have gone down a bit of late but they are still into the 15+ more nights than not (Martin logged 14 minutes on Nov. 26 but that's the only time he's fallen so far down the playing order). In the past two weeks (six games), KJ has averaged 23 MPG while still hitting his season-long 11-5-1 line.
Martin Jr. is not shooting a lot (7.5+ FGA per game) but he hits them well enough and comes with 3-point shooting prowess (nearly 1.0 3PM per game). The rebounds are great and the block might come back a bit after they were there in the early stages of the season.
Joe Harris (SG, BKN) - 2% rostered
It was all good vibes in the Nets' Friday game against the Raptors with Brooklyn getting to a ridiculously large lead at some point... but most of all because of the return to the basketball court of long-time absentee T.J. Warren (out since late Dec. 2020).
Another man who returned this season is Joe Harris, who has started the last two games for the Nets through Friday. Harris had done so 11 consecutive times before this season, from the last day of October to Nov. 20, playing an average of 29 MPG in all of his 13 starts this season.
Harris is what he is and there is nothing new to discuss about his profile. He will give you buckets, triples, and some rebounding. Harris has scored 10+ points in nine of his total 22 games played this season. He's hit at least one 3-point shot in all but one game (when he only played 12 minutes and attempted three total shots from the field against the Pacers on Nov. 25).
The rebounds have been there at a nice 3+ RPG pace to go with 1.5+ APG. Of course, with all of the other guards playing in Brooklyn and the abundance of superstars, the dimes fall (because the other guys hit shots with gusto) but not at huge volume (because there are many more capable players out there dishing out gems).
Harris is one of just three players putting up a season-wide 8-3-2 line while still available in 90% or more of all ESPN leagues and he's doing it in just 25 MPG of play.
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