Fantasy Basketball Mid-Week Streamers: Week 2

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 2.

The first full week of NBA games is well underway and injuries have already taken their toll on fantasy managers. Some of the big names who have already missed multiple games this season include Devin Booker, Bradley Beal, Anfernee Simons, and Darius Garland. James Harden also hasn’t played in a game yet, although he will likely make his return soon after being traded to the Clippers.

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 a 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 one or no games (AVOID): Atlanta, Boston, Houston, LA Lakers, Miami, Milwaukee, Minnesota, New York, Oklahoma City, Philadelphia, Sacramento, Washington, LA Clippers

Teams that play two or more games (TARGET): Brooklyn, Cleveland, Dallas, Detroit, Golden State, Memphis, New Orleans, Orlando, Portland, San Antonio, Toronto, Utah, Phoenix

Teams that play back-to-back (TARGET): Charlotte, Chicago, Denver, Indiana

Shallow League Streaming Options

Collin Sexton, PG/SG (50%)

Sexton had his best game of the season Wednesday, producing 23 points, three rebounds, six assists, and four three-pointers against the Grizzlies. He only logged 22 minutes, though, and has come off the bench in all five games this season. On the bright side, he’s still averaging 14.1 points and 1.2 three-pointers, while shooting 49.0 percent from the field. With the Jazz set to play two games, he can score enough to be worth adding.

Cole Anthony, PG (39%)

Anthony has been coming off the bench firing for the Magic. Despite being limited to an average of 23 minutes, he has provided 15.0 points and 1.3 three-pointers per game. The Magic have been healthy, too, so it’s not as if this is a role that he can’t stay in moving forward. His efficiency has also been encouraging. After shooting a career-high 45.4 percent from the field last season, he has shot 46.7 percent through four games this season.

Jalen Suggs PG/SG (39%)

Unlike Anthony, Suggs has not been efficient. He is only shooting 41.0 percent from the field and shot below 42.0 percent in both of his first two seasons in the league. Still, he has averaged 11.3 points, 5.8 rebounds, 1.5 steals and 1.5 three-pointers. That makes him at least worth considering with a favorable schedule upcoming.

Alex Caruso, PG/SG (26%)

Caruso doesn’t usually provide much scoring. He has scored more than eight points in just one of his five games. That’s not likely to change anytime soon, given all of the scoring options that the Bulls have around him. However, fantasy managers who are in need of defensive stats should still consider adding him for the Bulls’ final two games of the week. He is averaging 1.8 steals and 0.8 blocks, which comes after he averaged 1.5 steals and 0.7 blocks last season. The Bulls have also been turning to him more in crunch time, which has come at the expense of the struggling Patrick Williams.

Deep Leagues Streaming Options

Grayson Allen, SG/SF (24%)

The injuries to Booker and Beal have opened up minutes and shot attempts for Allen. Over the last three games without them, he has averaged 14.0 points, 5.7 rebounds, 3.3 assists, and 3.3 three-pointers per game. Given that the Suns will be playing three games in four nights, it’s doubtful that Booker and Beal will both appear in each game. Beal has already been ruled out for Thursday’s matchup. That should leave Allen with enough opportunities to be productive, especially for fantasy managers who need three-pointers.

Dorian Finney-Smith, SF/PF (22%)

The Nets entered the season with a lot of wing depth, but that has evaporated quickly. Cameron Johnson (calf) has yet to appear in a game and will likely be out for at least another week. In addition to his injury, Nic Claxton (ankle) and Spencer Dinwiddie (ankle) have also missed games. That has resulted in Finney-Smith starting in each of the last three games, which he parlayed into averages of 15.3 points, 5.7 rebounds, 2.0 assists, and 3.7 three-pointers. With Johnson out for the Nets’ final two games this week, Finney-Smith is a great target.

Ziaire Williams, SF (14%)

The Grizzlies are 0-5 and in big trouble. Ja Morant is still serving his suspension and their frontcourt has been hammered by injuries. Their lack of depth has contributed to Williams averaging 29 minutes per game, which is nearly double what he averaged last season. His numbers still don’t jump off the page, but with him averaging 10.4 points, 6.8 rebounds and 1.8 three-pointers, he’s a deep league option with two games remaining for the week.

Drew Eubanks, C (11%)

Even with injuries to two of their starters, the Suns don’t ask Eubanks to score much. However, he has been productive in a couple of key areas that could help in deeper leagues. He has averaged 6.3 rebounds and 1.8 blocks over just 18 minutes per game. Jusuf Nurkic has had a history of injuries, so the Suns might try to play it safe and at least limit his minutes with three games in four nights. It wouldn’t be a surprise to see Eubanks average 20 minutes during this three-game stretch.

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