Fantasy Basketball Mid-Week Streamers: Week 14

January 25, 2024

Mike Barner looks at some mid-week waiver wire options for fantasy basketball leagues. These players may be free agents to target on waivers in Week 14.

We have a pretty straight-forward schedule for the rest of this week with all but two teams scheduled to play two games each. With so many games on tap, we have some excellent streaming opportunities.

Let’s look at the remaining schedules for each team and discuss some players to consider streaming. For those in daily lineup leagues, streaming players with favorable schedules can be key to having a winning week. However, be sure to be aware of your league rules. If you have games played cap for the week, then streaming too much might not be ideal.

All roster percentages used in this article are from Yahoo.

Weekly Schedule: Thursday to Sunday

Teams that play only game (AVOID): Cleveland

Teams that play two or three games (TARGET): Atlanta, Boston, Brooklyn, Chicago, Denver, Detroit, Golden State, Indiana, LA Lakers, Memphis, Miami, Minnesota, New York, Oklahoma City, Orlando, Philadelphia, Phoenix, Portland, Sacramento, Toronto, Utah, Washington

Teams that play back-to-back (TARGET): Charlotte, Dallas, Houston, LA Clippers, Milwaukee, New Orleans, San Antonio

Shallow League Streaming Options

Alex Caruso, PG/SG (53%)

Caruso is rostered in just over half of leagues, so it’s worth checking to see if he is still available in yours. He is one of the best defensive guards in the NBA and the Bulls have been playing him more lately because of injuries on their roster. Over his last 13 games, Caruso has averaged 10.6 points, 3.8 rebounds, 3.2 assists, 1.5 steals, 1.2 blocks, and 2.2 three-pointers. Zach LaVine (ankle) is still out, so expect Caruso to remain in his expanded role.

Saddiq Bey, SF/PF (47%)

The Hawks are still without De’Andre Hunter (knee), which has opened up added opportunities for Bey. Over the last 17 games without him, Bey has averaged 12.6 points, 6.7 rebounds and 1.8 three-pointers. It helps his cause that the Hawks play at the fifth-fastest pace in the league, so he’s an appealing option with two more games upcoming this week.

Jabari Walker, SF/PF (34%)

Walker was selected in the second round of the 2022 Draft and didn’t play much during his rookie season. He has averaged 21 minutes per game this season, but has seen his role expanded recently. While averaging 27 minutes over his last 14 games, Walker has put up 11.1 points, 8.6 rebounds and 0.8 three-pointers, while shooting 51.5 percent from the field. He has even started each of the last six games. Considering how well he has performed, expect him to stick in the starting five moving forward.

Nick Richards, C (31%)

With Hornets’ head coach Steve Clifford saying that Mark Williams (back) isn’t close to returning, Richards is locked in as the team’s starting center. After missing three games of his own with an ankle injury, Richards returned Wednesday to record 21 points, 10 rebounds, and one block over 27 minutes against the Pistons. He has performed well as a starter, averaging 9.4 points, 8.9 rebounds and 1.4 blocks across 20 games.

Deep Leagues Streaming Options

Aaron Nesmith, SF/PF (31%)

The Pacers are the only team that will play three games over the remainder of the week, providing a significant edge to the players on their roster. Across the last 13 games that he has played since becoming a starter, Nesmith has averaged 11.8 points, 4.1 rebounds, 1.1 steals, and 2.2 three-pointers. The departures of Bruce Brown Jr. and Jordan Nwora means that Nesmith should remain locked into a significant role.

T.J. McConnell, PG (31%)

After initially saying Tyrese Haliburton (hamstring) would be out for at least two weeks, he made his return after missing just five games. The problem is, he lasted only one game before going down again. He has been ruled out for at least two of the final three games for the Pacers this week, and he could be out even longer. While McConnell still hasn’t been getting a ton of playing time, he has averaged 9.5 points, 6.8 assists, and 1.1 steals over the last eight games.

Ayo Dosunmu, SG (14%)

Like Caruso, injuries on the Bulls have also opened up added opportunities for Dosunmu. He is also a very good defender, but don’t sleep on the improvements that he has shown offensively. He has averaged 12.0 points and 1.2 three-pointers over the last 14 games, shooting a robust 39.5 percent from behind the arc during that span. For those in deeper leagues that no longer have Caruso available, Dosunmu is also a viable option.

Andrew Nembhard, PG/SG (11%)

Nembhard has been the one usually getting the starting nod with Haliburton is out. While his overall numbers don’t jump off the page, he has averaged 10.3 points and 5.1 assists over the 12 games that he has started this season. With three more games upcoming, he could provide a significant boost for fantasy managers in search of assists.

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