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In our weekly look at the waiver wire in fantasy basketball, RotoBaller Brad Leibfried gives us some in-depth NBA analysis about which guards to target off the waiver wire, and which guards to continue scouting. Fantasy owners would do well to check out Brad's Week 12 Forwards & Centers Pickups, as well. RotoBaller covers the best fantasy basketball waiver wire pickups each week, so stay tuned!
Waiver Wire Pickups at the Guard Position
With the season reaching the halfway point, a few players are getting a chance to shine in new roles.
Waiver Wire Guards to Add
Kendall Marshall: Chances are Marshall has already been picked up in your league. The former first-round pick has had a monster week after being promoted to a first-team role in Los Angeles. He played probably the best two games of his career last week, posting a combined 29 points, 32 assists and 12 rebounds against the Jazz and Nuggets. He has cooled off a bit in his last two games, but is still playing an amazing 38 minutes a game despite having just recently joined the team. Eventually Steve Blake and Jordan Farmar will return from injury, but now is the time to ride Marshall and enjoy all of the fantasy power he can provide.
Darren Collison: Collison is another player in Marshall’s shoes, a decent role player who now finds himself running of the most potent offenses in the NBA. Since the injury to Chris Paul, Collison has been putting up great fantasy stats. In his last four games, he's scored 20, 14, 21 and 15 points while dishing out 4, 6, 7 and 6 assists in those games. With basically no one to push him for minutes, he has been earning in excess of 35 minutes a game and has shot a remarkable 62% over the past week. Paul is expected to be out at least another month (if not longer), so if you missed out on Marshall, Collison should not only be as solid of a player, but may also have a longer stint in the lead guard role.
Dion Waiters: A mid-season dust up with Kyrie Irving seemed to put a damper on Waiters's productivity, but with that behind them, he has stepped up to be the sixth man the Cavs were hoping for. In his past eight games, Waiters has scored in double figures seven times, including going over 20 points twice. He has also been a willing passer, and he was able to hand out eight assists on Tuesday against the Sixers. Waiters fits the same mold as a Jamal Crawford in that he may not start, but he still plays over 30 minutes a game off the bench and is counted on to be one of the main scorers on the team. If he is still on your waiver wire, consider him a strong pickup for the remainder of the season.
Waiver Wire Guards to Watch
Toure' Murry: For a player with little to no track record in the NBA, Murry is an intriguing fantasy option. He has not found a solid role in the Knicks rotation as of yet, but Raymond Felton and Beno Udrih are always injury risks, meaning Murry is just a day or two away from being the only viable point guard on the Knicks roster. For now he is not worth a pickup, however if Felton and Udrih both hit the injured reserve, Murry could skyrocket up the fantasy charts.
Randy Foye: Unlike Murry, Foye is a known commodity in the NBA. He's a solid shooter and scoring option that tends to shine in weekly stretches throughout the year. Foye is currently on one of those stretches, as he six straight games scoring in double figures. With Andre Miller likely out of town shortly, Foye could see a permanent bump in minutes the rest of the season.
