RADIO
Dan Besbris provides his top waiver adds, specifically players who have seen their value increase significantly because of injuries to their teammates.
I'm diving into this article under the premise that you all are already familiar with the concept of the Burger Board. If not, please check out the first few paragraphs in my article from week two, here: Introduction to the Burger Board.
The quick recap version is this: the Burger Board is a list of injury replacement backups that have a shot at posting startable fantasy numbers, independent of schedule. This is not about maximizing volume; this is about maximizing per-game production for multiple games, or even weeks.
You are all sharp cats. That's why you're here. Let's dive into the best names in quick-hitter fashion.
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Three Burger Pickups
The triple-decker injury backups are incredibly rare, as this tier represents players that can reach a 4th-round valuation. The fact that we have two presently is like spotting Bigfoot.
These players are also not likely to be available in many 10-team leagues or deeper formats. At least they shouldn't be! It's always worth checking!
Grayson Allen, G - Charlotte Hornets
Remember when I yelled in everyone's face (or whatever the podcast version of that might be) that folks should never draft an injured player to begin the year (Kon Knueppel)?
Grayson Allen & Naz Reid delivered in Charlotte's win 👏
Allen: 27 PTS, 4 REB, 6 AST, 2 STL, 6 3PM
Reid: 25 PTS, 13 REB, 4 AST, 2 STL, 4 3PM https://t.co/IBOMDS8pP6— NBA (@NBA) November 10, 2026
The beneficiary of Knueppel's injury, and now depressingly predictable aggravation, is still Grayson Allen. Allen hasn't collected his normal allotment of steals, but he recently slid into the starting lineup; his usage rate is just below our target, and a few swipes over the next week should push him into the top-50
Ayo Dosunmu, G - Minnesota Timberwolves
It's quite possible Dosunmu was going to be an every-day startable fantasy player anyway, but the injury to Anthony Edwards catapulted Ayo to an echelon that should probably have its own quad-burger designation.
Dosunmu has been a top-20 fantasy player the past two weeks and is showing no signs of slowing down. I don't think trading makes sense, either, since the return wouldn't be valuable enough. Just ride this out for the next two months.
Two Burger Pickups
A litany of injuries to high-usage players has given us a cool half-dozen players with top-75 potential.
Jalen Smith, C - Chicago Bulls
Nic Claxton is playing, so the Jalen Smith fun-run is likely nearing its end, but the Bulls are bringing Claxton along slowly, so we might be able to squeeze another week or more out of this Jalen Smith citrus fruit. As of this moment, Smith has posted top-55 numbers for three weeks and has been, arguably, even better in the two games since Claxton began his ramp-up.
De'Anthony Melton, G - Golden State Warriors
Steph Curry is out for a month. Initially, they said two weeks, but we all know it's going to be longer. That stinks.
INJURY UPDATE: Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry, who exited last night’s game at Houston with 6:25 remaining in the first quarter due to injury, underwent an MRI last night.
The MRI confirmed that Curry has an oblique abdominal tear. He will be reevaluated in two (2) weeks.
— Golden State Warriors (@warriors) November 12, 2026
The only solace is that De'Anthony Melton is a fantasy gold mine any time he gets 28 minutes per game.
We have two examples from earlier this season of what Melton can do when Curry was out. Those were rest days, but the data holds, and strong production in points, threes, and steals feels highly likely.
Jrue Holiday, G - Portland Trail Blazers
To be fair, Holiday probably belonged on rosters even before Ja Morant went down, but since that time the cagey veteran has put together a top-60 run.
Holiday is hitting almost 3 three-pointers per game on top of solid assists and strong percentages. The Blazers love his defense and leadership, so I don't see any playing time slippage coming until Morant resurfaces, but all reports seem to suggest that is still weeks away.
Alex Caruso, G/F - Oklahoma City Thunder
It's the moment we've been dreaming of since Caruso was traded from the Bulls to the Thunder... Alex started and played almost 30 minutes in his most recent game!
Sound the alarms! Ring the gong!
I don't want to get everyone overly excited. Ajay Mitchell was the latest Thunder to miss a game, though his injury was seemingly minor. This absolutely contributed to the bigger Caruso game.
Yet, the Thunder are losing games. They may need to finally take the bubble wrap off Caruso before the playoffs, and given he can put up 5th-round numbers in just 25-26 minutes per game, I refuse to miss the moment if it sticks.
Anthony Black, G - Orlando Magic
I keep waiting for Black's field goal and free throw percentages to fall off, but it hasn't happened yet. We always knew he was going to collect counting stats like they're going out of style, but doing so efficiently is what has vaulted Black into this upper tier of pickups.
Black's value will taper once Paolo Banchero and Jalen Suggs return, but in the meantime has actually been more of a triple-burger play. I have him one tier lower because I remain skeptical of the inflated shooting numbers.
Daniss Jenkins, G - Detroit Pistons
We should all be very intrigued by Daniss Jenkins moving into the starting lineup. If Detroit likes the fit, there's a chance Jenkins could remain there longer term.
The only key player currently missing for Detroit is center Jalen Duren. The Pistons may opt to shift John Collins to a bench role when Duren gets healthy, leaving Jenkins to continue his assault on the league while still in the starting lineup.
If Jenkins sticks with the starters, we will create a "Graduates" section of these articles, reserved for players who initially make your fantasy team due to injury but roll the rest of the way.
One Burger Pickups
There are a lot of these cool cats. They're just above fringe-level in general, and some are better suited for punt-build head-to-head rosters, but they provide a necessary service nonetheless.
Jaxson Hayes, C - Utah Jazz
Hayes was on my initial Burger Board article linked above, and here he still remains.
Jusuf Nurkic is still a week or more out, and Jaren Jackson Jr. is even farther away than that.
Hayes has shown himself to be a mostly reliable source of rebounds, field goal percentage, and defensive stats, and there is every reason to believe he continues to quietly do just enough in those categories to remain on our replacement board.
Andrew Nembhard, PG - Indiana Pacers
Most fantasy players likely disagree with me that Nembhard is only a byproduct of Tyrese Haliburton being injured, but this is how I feel and I will not apologize for it.
Nembhard has large holes in his 9-category game, and it was only when Hali went down that he was able to do so much in the points and assists categories that it overwhelmed his poor production in rebounds, steals, blocks, and FG%.
Nembhard has much greater appeal in head-to-head punt builds, but for now, he's playable everywhere.
Jonathan Kuminga, F - Minnesota Timberwolves
I am not a big Kuminga fan, but as a fantasy analyst, it's important to note how good he's been with the Wolves, and mostly due to doing the dirty work.
Unfortunately, Kuminga is a hot mess at the foul line, so he has only been playable in punt-free-throw builds, and if you currently roster Kuminga, your best course of action is to try to pull a top-90 player back from the team in your league with Giannis Antetokounmpo.
The good news is that you have time. Kuminga will likely keep these numbers going for the duration of Anthony Edwards's recovery.
Ace Bailey, F - Utah Jazz
Ace Bailey hasn't exactly been a world-beater, but he has absolutely been worth one burger. This should continue for as long as Jaren Jackson Jr. or Lauri Markkanen are hurt.
Ace Bailey 23 PTS (10-15 FG, 3-5 3P), 7 REB, 2 AST vs. Heat
He still has the potential to be a star https://t.co/IuVbDLFrpn
— Role Player Performances (@BenchHighlights) November 11, 2026
On the season, Bailey sits at 13 points, 7 rebounds, 2 assists, and 2.2 combined defensive stats on fairly weak percentages. Exciting? Not really. Useful? Certainly. Play Bailey with exactly the confidence level you need to not check his box score every night and instead just focus on what he does over the span of weeks. It will minimize your stress.
Aday Mara, C - Oklahoma City Thunder
Mara's playing time has been all over the map, but in aggregate the Thunder backup big is doing enough to be rostered in all formats.
Chet Holmgren is out for multiple months, and Mara sits just inside the top-100 since Chet went down. Mara is mostly a shooting and blocks specialist, but with some minor contributions in rebounds and scoring, he might find himself sliding up to the double-burger zone.
Paul Reed, C - Detroit Pistons
Reed is the victim of a Besbris Burger downgrade, as Daniss Jenkins snagged his starting job two games back.
Still, Reed has such a robust 9-category fantasy game that even 22-to-25 bench minutes is still more than enough for Paul to offer up value in the 8th round.
If you want to drop Reed for a hotter Burger Boy, have at it, but I don't believe he is a true cut yet.
John Collins, PF - Detroit Pistons
Collins is arguably the biggest swing name on this list. He is starting as the small-ball Pistons center as of the latest lineup tweak, and that is great for his fantasy game, but he has also been roundly dunked on by Anthony Davis and the Wizards frontcourt in consecutive contests.
To the naked eye, it looks like Collins is not a great option at center while Jalen Duren is out. But the Pistons also clearly feel Paul Reed can't handle full minutes for more than a few games here and there. Hence, the big potential swing in value.
There's a world where Collins rockets up to top-60 level production until Duren's return. In that world, the Pistons are just comfortable getting beat up on the interior, but Collins gets a bunch of bonus rebounds and offensive looks near the rim as the team's center.
There's also a world where Detroit pulls the plug on this experiment, goes back to starting Paul Reed, and Collins ends up as an immediate and boring drop.
I think I'm in favor of speculatively adding Collins while we see how it plays out. If we get the good version, it could be a colossal help.
Save a Weekly Move, Ride a Burger Boy
Streaming is a pain. Instead of volume-streaming your entire bench, use the Burger Board to occupy multiple roster spots with players that you don't need to move every three or four days.
With your remaining roster spots, stream like crazy, but rest assured the Burger Board makes winning at fantasy much, much simpler.
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