RADIO
The waiver wire is where leagues are won and lost. The draft is long past and now your rosters feel completely different if you are even moderately active. Players come and go due to poor performances and/or injury all the time. Staying on top of your needs is essential to winning matchups and grinding your way to a championship.
Be mindful of some of the players on your roster as they may be off to slow starts, and it could take another week or two to see the return you expected when drafting them. Typically, you should be looking to drop those on the end of your bench who, even if productive, do not provide a real long-term outlook. Stay the course with the talent you drafted.
As a reminder for most leagues, it is crucial to plan ahead. Waiver wire adds, scheduling and player injuries are all things to consider. Make an effort to improve your team by maximizing your weekly adds and utilizing streamer spots via the waiver wire. Be wary of weekly streaming options and stay ahead of your opponents. Our staff at RotoBaller has great insight and daily columns on how to improve your squad and tips to make your team successful, so be sure to check them out! Now, let's get prepared for Week 8.
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Week 8 Schedule
4 Games - Kings, Warriors, Pacers, Bucks, Grizzlies, Bulls, Hornets, Clippers, Rockets, Cavaliers, Hawks, Magic, 76ers, Pelicans, Knicks, Nuggets
3 Games - Lakers, Pistons, Nets, Suns, Raptors, Heat, Thunder, Celtics, Timberwolves, Jazz
2 Games - Mavericks, Spurs, Wizards, Trail Blazers
Week 8 Standard Leagues - Waiver Wire Pickups
*Securing your categorical needs at this point is important, especially if you're playing in head-to-head leagues*
Columns are written based on H2H 9-category standard size leagues:
Mikal Bridges - SF - Phoenix Suns (42% owned)
Mikal Bridges has struggled this season for fantasy purposes. He is still a solid defender and role player in Phoenix but has not been as productive as he was down the stretch last season. The addition of Cameron Johnson on the win has muddied some of his minutes but so has his usage in general. Bridges is not taking many shots and that hurts a ton. He is still excellent for threes and does not hurt your percentages or turnovers. Over the past five games, he has at least 11 points in each outing along with a made three. The upside is not high without an injury elsewhere on the wing but Bridges could be building himself back to form. He is a worthy flier candidate for the next week, or until he bottoms out again.
Kent Bazemore - SG - Portland Trail Blazers (30% owned)
Unfortunately, Rodney Hood tore his achilles Friday night. The Trail Blazers are going to ask Kent Bazemore to step into an expanded role throughout the rest of the season (unless they trade for a wing). Bazemore is not the most talented player in the world, but what is he going to do? Baze-less? No, that is not what Bazemore does. He could be a solid double-digit scorer who provides threes, rebounds and, stocks while maintaining a solid turnover margin and only really hurting your FG. Although the Blazers only play twice this coming week, Bazemore is worth adding now. He could be great down the stretch if Portland shuts things down and looks towards next season, allowing role players like Bazemore into expanded roles.
Garrett Temple - SG - Brooklyn Nets (20% owned)
Garrett Temple is basically Will Barton-ing. He will score in the low double-digits, provide threes, rebounds, assists, and steals with a bad FG and solid FT. He's a worthy waiver fill-in for anyone who needs a well-rounded player. Assists and threes are his most useful categories though and can help owners in need. He is not a must-add, just more of a fine add for the short-term with Kyrie Irving still out due to a shoulder injury.
De'Anthony Melton - PG - Memphis Grizzlies (11% owned)
With JA Morant sidelined "week-to-week" with back spasms, Melton has stepped into the backup PG role while Tyus Jones starts. Melton's an interesting character as he is extremely fantasy productive when he does play, however, finding that play-time is difficult. He's been awesome for assists, steals, and rebounds over the past four games and looks to maintain his production over the next week or so. Melton is a great back-end player to boost those three specific categories while only really hurting your turnovers and field goal percentage slightly.
Jalen Brunson - PG - Dallas Mavericks (11% owned)
Delon Wright is set to undergo an MRI after hurting himself on Saturday. A Wright absence would open up playing time for Brunson who thrives when given the chance. Brunson is a victim of circumstance on a team with good guard depth and an all-world player starting at PG. He is capable of putting up good, efficient scoring numbers when the Mavericks find it opportune to utilize him. He's also solid for assists and threes, making him a deep league must-have if Wright is out for an extended period of time.
Donte Divincenzo - SG - Milwaukee Bucks (8% owned)
DiVincenzo is balling at the moment. He has transformed into one of the better defenders in the NBA and has fantasy value while doing it. He has points, threes, rebounds and steals to provide owners in need. There is not much upside without an injury to one of the more major non-bigs in Milwaukee but the floor provided is enough justification to take DiVincenzo for a spin. The steals are the biggest reason as to why he should be added given that he is at nearly two per game while not killing you elsewhere (a la Kris Dunn).
More Fantasy Basketball Analysis
By popular demand, RotoBaller has aggregated all of our fantasy basketball NBA waiver wire pickups into a running list of NBA waiver options, so bookmark the page and check back often for updates.
