Fantasy Basketball Waiver Wire Adds and Weekly Planner: Week 22 (3/25-3/31)

Thunder Dan Palyo gets you set for the upcoming week of Fantasy Basketball with a schedule breakdown and his top players to add off the waiver wire for Week 22..

Some leagues have already wrapped up, while some are still in the final week or two of the playoffs. We are going to cover the final three weeks of the season just in case you are playing in any formats that go all the way up to the final NBA regular season game.

My H2H teams have all been eliminated, but I have a Roto team that is still in the top 3 of a very competitive league that doesn't end until April 14th when the season officially ends. This week is tough for streamers with very few teams playing back-to-backs and only about half of the teams in the league having four-game weeks, but at least we don't have any two-game weeks in there to avoid.

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 are 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).

Week 22 Schedule Breakdown

Notes:

Monday-Tuesday B2B = DAL, SAC

Tuesday-Wednesday B2B = GSW, LAL, OKC

Wednesday-Thursday B2B = ATL

Thursday-Friday B2B = NONE

Friday-Saturday B2B = ORL

Saturday-Sunday B2B = NONE

Standard League Adds For Week 22

The percentage of owned numbers in parentheses are from Yahoo!

Payton Pritchard - PG/SG (39%)

Boston plays just three times this week and there are no back-to-backs, so we might not see them rest players as liberally as they have been. However, Pritchard should be rostered in standard leagues down the stretch in case Boston is extra careful with their top-5 players.

"Don't talk trash to Payton Pritchard!!!" 😤

Pritchard vs. Milwaukee: 19 PTS, 6 REB, 3 AST, 💯 HUSTLE pic.twitter.com/NyCOjHu5IM

— Celtics on NBC Sports Boston (@NBCSCeltics) March 21, 2024

As the sixth man for most of the season, he's moved into the starting lineup when needed or played big minutes off the bench in blowouts. He's played 30+ minutes in five straight games and has put up 19 points, nearly 7 assists, and 4 made threes per contest over the last week.

Dalano Banton - PG/SG (37%)

Banton made an appearance in last week's article and had a productive week even with Scoot Henderson back in the lineup. He's still playing minutes in the high 20s or low 30s and getting up a lot of shots. Portland plays MWF this week so you can get three games out of Banton and then dump him for a player or two this weekend, too.

Dillon Brooks - SG/SF (32%)

I've never been a Brooks fan as far as a real-life or fantasy player, but you can't ignore that he's putting up some solid stats for Houston lately. Despite Houston going with Amen Thompson and Cam Whitmore more down the stretch, Brooks is still seeing between 25-30 minutes a night and can be a big help in steals and threes, especially with Houston playing four games this week.

T.J. McConnell - PG (31%)

It's hard to make a case for adding a player who is stuck in a 20-minute per-game role as a backup, but TJ McConnell continues to be incredibly productive on a per-minute basis, scoring in double-digits now in six straight games and averaging nearly five assists per contest.

Vasilije Micic - PG (29%) and Tre Mann - PG/SG (29%)

Both Charlotte guards should be on your radar this week as the Hornets play four games. Mann's return to the lineup has eaten into Micic's overall numbers a bit, but Micic remains a more efficient player if percentages matter to you.

Cole Anthony - PG (26%)

Anthony has been on and off rosters for much of the season as his minutes and production have fluctuated due to other injuries to Magic guards. Right now he's in the middle of a very productive stretch, averaging 15 points, 6 rebounds, and 3 assists on 54% shooting from the field.

Deep League Adds For Week 21

Keon Ellis - SG/SF (19%)

Ellis has entered the starting lineup for Sacto at shooting guard as a defensive specialist, however, he just went for 19 points, 5 boards, and 6 assists with 4 made threes in a win over the Knicks this weekend.

Like the impact of Keon Ellis on both ends of the floor. Defense goes under his screen, right into a pullup. On the other end really nice rotation to the corner on the weakside, even works to get back in on the drive. pic.twitter.com/sWXjT9XkSU

— Steve Jones Jr. (@stevejones20) March 23, 2024

His contributions in steals and blocks are second to none on the wire - he's racked up 16 steals and 9 blocks over his last 7 games!

Sam Hauser - SF/PF (19%)

Hauser has been on a tear of late shooting the basketball. He nailed 10 threes in a game against Wahington last week and has 11 threes over his last two games. He won't do much besides score the ball, but he's easily the best three-point shooter so widely available on waiver wires.

Kris Murray - SF/PF (14%)

Don't look now, but it's been Kris (not Keegan) who has been the most productive Murray brother over the last week. The lesser-known twin has been starting and playing big minutes for Portland. producing some solid results in points, threes, and rebounds.

Richaun Holmes - PF/C (13%)

Marvin Bagley did return for Washington in their last game, but it was Holmes who played 28 minutes in that contest as he turned in 15 points and 14 boards. It's likely that Holmes has at least earned a timeshare with Bagley and I prefer Holmes of the two as he has more upside in blocks than Bagley on a per-minute basis.

Jonathan Isaac - PG (10%)

Isaac is having the most productive season of his career and is only a few weeks from finishing with his most games played since 2018! The Magic have rested him intermittently to keep him healthy and he's had a huge impact when on the floor for this team. He's not likely to score 25 points again at any point, but he can rack up boards, blocks, and steals quite easily and 20 minutes is plenty of floor time for him to have value.

Gradey Dick - SG (10%)

Toronto has shut down just about everyone other than their rookie guard and a bunch of other young players. Dick had a tough adjustment to playing such heavy minutes at first but has scored 21 and 17 points in his last two games while attempting 28 total shots. He's going to be heavily involved for Toronto the rest of the way and should be a solid source of points, threes, and even some assists.

Jabari Walker - SF/PF (10%)

I don't see much reason for Portland to keep playing Deandre Ayton or Jerami Grant in the final few weeks, so I would expect Kris Murray, Jabari Walker, and even Duop Reath to get a lot of minutes and opportunities for fantasy production.

That's it for this week; good luck in your leagues and thanks for reading!

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