RADIO
It's the beginning of the playoffs for some leagues that like to start early, and I happen to be in a very competitive league that is starting playoffs this week! Injuries continue to pile up, and the list of players who are unlikely to return at any point this regular season is growing. If you're still holding out hope for Joel Embiid or LaMelo Ball, you shouldn't. Just free up a spot on your IL for players with short-term injuries.
Even if you're not in the playoffs yet, this week is likely crucial for determining seeding, and the last several spots in your league could be up for grabs. Be proactive and aggressive with your moves, don't wait around until the weekend for it might be too late by then to win your weekly matchup.
Working the wire is an incredibly important skill and being one step ahead of your fellow league managers means always planning and keeping tabs on players who starting to play better or earn more minutes. Every week, I will do my best to help you plan out your week and give you my top recommendations to add from waivers in both standard (10-12 team leagues) and deeper formats (more than 12 teams).
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Week 19 Schedule Breakdown
| TEAM | GAMES | MON | TUES | WED | THURS | FRI | SAT | SUN |
| Atlanta Hawks | 4 | @NY | CLE | @MEM | NO | |||
| Boston Celtics | 3 | @CLE | @DEN | @PHO | ||||
| Brooklyn Nets | 5 | MEM | PHI | @DET | @CHA | @CLE | ||
| Charlotte Hornets | 3 | ORL | @WAS | BKN | ||||
| Chicago Bulls | 4 | @SAC | @UTA | @GS | @LAC | |||
| Cleveland Cavaliers | 4 | BOS | @ATL | MIN | BKN | |||
| Dallas Mavericks | 3 | IND | MIA | @DET | ||||
| Denver Nuggets | 3 | PHO | BOS | UTA | ||||
| Detroit Pistons | 3 | @MIA | BKN | DAL | ||||
| Golden State Warriors | 3 | MIL | CHI | SA | ||||
| Houston Rockets | 4 | SA | LAC | @POR | @SAC | |||
| Indiana Pacers | 3 | @DAL | MIN | @ORL | ||||
| Los Angeles Clippers | 4 | @MIL | @HOU | CHI | MIL | |||
| Los Angeles Lakers | 4 | OKC | SAC | MIL | MIN | |||
| Memphis Grizzlies | 4 | @BKN | @PHI | ATL | @OKC | |||
| Miami Heat | 4 | DET | @DAL | @OKC | WAS | |||
| Milwaukee Bucks | 4 | LAC | @GS | @LAL | @LAC | |||
| Minnesota Timberwolves | 4 | POR | @IND | @CLE | @LAL | |||
| New Orleans Pelicans | 3 | @TOR | @PHI | @ATL | ||||
| New York Knicks | 3 | ATL | ORL | PHI | ||||
| Oklahoma City Thunder | 4 | @LAL | @POR | MIA | MEM | |||
| Orlando Magic | 4 | @CHA | @WAS | @NY | IND | |||
| Philadelphia 76ers | 4 | @BKN | MEM | NO | @NY | |||
| Phoenix Suns | 3 | @DEN | TOR | BOS | ||||
| Portland Trail Blazers | 4 | @MIN | OKC | HOU | TOR | |||
| Sacramento Kings | 4 | CHI | @LAL | SA | HOU | |||
| San Antonio Spurs | 3 | @HOU | @SAC | @GS | ||||
| Toronto Raptors | 3 | NO | @PHO | @POR | ||||
| Utah Jazz | 3 | WAS | CHI | @DEN | ||||
| Washington Wizards | 4 | @UTA | ORL | CHA | @MIA |
Notes:
The Nets have the only five-game week of any team for the rest of the season!
Monday-Tuesday B2B = BKN
Tuesday-Wednesday B2B = ATL, CLE, HOU, ORL, PHI
Wednesday-Thursday B2B = CHI, GSW, SAC
Thursday-Friday B2B = MIA, MIN
Friday-Saturday B2B = CHA, POR
Saturday-Sunday B2B = BKN, LAC
Standard League Adds For Week 19
The percentage of owned numbers in parentheses are from Yahoo!
Royce O'Neale - SG/SF (39%)
Royce has ended up being a crucial deadline addition this season, coming over from Brooklyn and instantly earning a large role for Phoenix. The Suns continue to be banged up with Devin Booker now out after they had been without Bradley Beal on and off all season. Eric Gordon has been in and out of the lineup, too. The point is that whether he's coming off the bench or starting (as he did last night), O'Neale is playing big minutes for Phoenix and has been producing across the board.
He had two 20-point games last week, which is unlikely to continue, but the boards, assists, blocks, steals, and threes are all part of his game. He should not be on any waiver wires, yet here we are with him, still available in 60% of leagues.
Kyle Lowry - PG (28%)
The Sixers are closing in on DEFCON 1 status this season as they continue to deal with injuries to important rotation players. De'Anthony Melton is out indefinitely after only returning for a few games. The lack of bodies has led to Lowry making two straight starts and being relatively productive, averaging 11.5 PTs, five REBs, and 8.5 AST.
His days of being a top fantasy contributor are long over, but if he's going to get 30+ minutes and run the point while Tyrese Maxey shifts over to shooting guard, then he certainly has some value for the stretch run as the Sixers attempt to hold on to a playoff spot over the last month of the season without Joel Embiid.
Grant Williams - PF/C (26%)
The Grant Williams breakout continues in Charlotte. The career backup has even earned a spot in the starting lineup lately and is coming off an 18-PT, 13-REB, 5-AST game against Toronto in which he played 40 minutes!
Grant Williams Stats for nba regular season game vs RAPTORS - 03-03-2024 https://t.co/9dYgWCJ414#GrantWilliams #Grant #Williams #nba #nbastats #nbahighlights #basketball #charlotte #hornets #hornets #charlottehornets #Grantstats #Williamsstats pic.twitter.com/cZuunlwMy2
— NBA Players Highlights (@NBAPlayersHigh) March 4, 2024
Williams's numbers in Charlotte have been impressive, as he's now up to averages of 14.2 PTS, 5.8 REB, 2.2 AST, and 1.8 threes in ten games as a Hornet. He just earned center eligibility on Yahoo, too, so he is even more valuable now if you need some more depth at the position. Charlotte seems to love him, and it looks like he could be a starter for the remainder of the season.
Rui Hachimura - SF (26%)
Rui continues to start for the Lakers and has produced some solid scoring alongside LeBron and AD. The big knock on Rui is always the lack of peripheral stats, but we can't be too greedy when we are picking up the last guy on our bench or streaming players. What Hach will give you is points, boards, and threes on solid percentages. He's shooting the ball at a 51% clip on the season, and the Lakers have a nice four-game schedule this week with no back-to-backs.
Santi Aldama - PF/C (19%)
I think I have recommended just about every other Grizzlies guy left this season other than Aldama recently, so here we go. I am pretty confident that Jaren Jackson Jr. will be shut down at some point soon, and Aldama and guys like GG Jackson II and Lamar Stevens will help to man the forward slots.
But Aldama can play both the PF and C slot with his size and brings his solid skill set to the table, too. He has range from outside, as he displayed over the weekend, draining five treys and posting a 21-8-3 line against Portland. But he can also block shots with his length and is now up to 1.4 blocks/steals per game on the year.
Deep League Adds For Week 19
Jabari Walker - SF/PF (18%)
Walker's last two games should serve as a reminder as to why we have been stashing him for the stretch run. The rookie went 19-10-2 and then 18-12-2 against Memphis on back-to-back nights.
Jabari Walker vs Grizzlies
19 PTS
10 REB
2 AST
2 STL
+14 in 22 minutes#RipCity W pic.twitter.com/WC4FquZnvy— A Walking Highlight (@11AWH) March 2, 2024
Now, I know Memphis is beat up and barely resembles an NBA team, but Walker is a stud and simply needs minutes to produce. I think he's going to have opportunities in the final month to post some solid numbers, whether he's starting or coming off the bench.
Taylor Hendricks - PF (15%)
The buy-low window on Hendricks is going to close quickly. He was only 6% rostered when I recommended him in this piece last week, and his rostership should rise quickly since he's sticking in the lineup and starting to get more comfortable out on the floor. He's coming off a season-high 13 REB against Miami and has played up to 29 minutes in two of his last three games. Utah wants to see what they have with their rookie in the final month, and Walker Kessler doesn't seem like he can stay healthy. Grab Hendricks if you can in any format.
Moses Moody - SG/SF (11%)
The Warriors were rolling right along with five wins coming out of the All-Star break before they were demolished by Boston yesterday. Part of that has to do with a realignment of their lineup, in which they sent Klay Thompson to the bench to play with Chris Paul in the second unit.
Right now Andrew Wiggins is away from the team with a personal issue and Brandin Podziemski missed yesterday's game with an injury. That has led to Moody starting the last four games for the Warriors and some nice production. At some point, he may move back to the bench when everyone is healthy, but it feels like he's earned a large role on this team for the remainder of the season.
Miles McBride - PG (7%)
Jalen Brunson went down in a heap last night in the first minute of the Knicks game against the Cavs. And McBride stepped in and played the remaining 47 minutes, scoring 16 PTs with four treys and five dimes. If Brunson is forced to miss any time we are looking at huge minutes for McBride as the Knicks are already very thin on their bench. If you have an open roster spot, he's a good speculative add until we get an update on Brunson's injury.
Vasilije Micic - PG (5%)
This guy is badly under-rostered! He's moved into the starting lineup for Charlotte for the last two games and has 13 AST as a starter. He's not going to do much other than score 10-12 PTs with a few threes, but the assists are absolutely fantasy gold and nearly impossible to find on the waiver wire. He's added four steals in those two games as a starter, too.
That's it for this week; good luck in your leagues (especially if the playoffs start for you this week), and thanks for reading!
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