RADIO
Hopefully everyone had a great week in fantasy hoops. This season has been entertaining with many different story lines, and we're excited for what the rest of the season has to offer. This is a reminder that fantasy basketball is a marathon, not a sprint. In this early part of the season, it's super important to have a roster spot open on your team. The reason being is that you are likely to find hidden gems early part of the first week of the season as opposed to later in the season. For example, Pascal Siakam comes to mind as he was not being drafted in a lot of leagues last season, but he became a top-50 player by season's end.
It's always helpful to see the early rotations of the season, but it's mindful to take all factors into consideration. Players may be off to slow starts, and it may take a week or two to see consistency. Also be mindful players who are off to flaming hot starts may eventually cool off, or eventually fade out. As a reminder for most leagues, it's 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. In some cases, preach some patience in the early part of the season if a player isn't busting out of the gates. 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!
In this weekly piece, I'll go over some specialists in the peripheral areas where you can target on the waiver wire. These guys are not be must-own players by all means, but these are "specialists" in which you should target if you want a boost in assisting to win your statistical head-to-head match ups for example. Let's take a look at some of the guys in Week 4 that are likely on your waiver wire.
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Week 4 Standard Leagues - Waiver Wire Specialists
*Securing your categorical needs at this point is important, especially if you're playing in head-to-head leagues*
I write my columns based on H2H 9-category standard size leagues:
STEALS
Garrett Temple, SG/SF - Brooklyn Nets
Temple has seen an increase in minutes (24.2 minutes in November), and he's quietly providing deep-league value with 9.3 points, 2.3 3-pointers, and 1.5 steals per game on 48 percent shooting. These numbers are not exciting by all means, but good enough to be added in deeper settings. The Nets also play on Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday - where streaming him is definitely an option if you want to maximize the games played this week.
Hamidou Diallo, SG/SF - Oklahoma City Thuner
Diallo has been a nice surprise this season, outplaying backup Terrance Ferguson. He's earned a solid role off the bench and a trade to either Danilo Gallinari or Chris Paul might make him a must-own player. For now, he's still a competitive 12-team league add where he's contributing 1.8 steals per game over the last five games. He's also been chipping in 9.3 points per game, so he's also been a decent add if you took a flier on him. Keep an eye on him as his role might grow during the second-half of the season.
Troy Brown J.R, SG/SF - Washington Wizards
Brown has been promoted to the starting lineup on Friday night, but had a fairly quiet outing with 1-for-8 shooting in just 19 minutes. He's struggling with his shot right now, and perhaps his confidence. Simply said, he's still averaging 2.0 steals over the last four games and owners should have a bit more patience with him as the Wizards do view him as an important asset moving forward.
BLOCKS
Daniel Theis, PF/C - Boston Celtics
Theis is averaging 2.3 blocks this season in just 22 minutes of action, but the party could end because Enes Kanter (knee) is close to returning to the lineup. Still, Theis will be a big part of the rotation so he could still flirt with 2.0 blocks per game. The injury to Gordon Hayward (hand) could also open up some more minutes in the rotation. The Celtics will play four time this week.
Moritz Wagner, PF/C - Washington Wizards
Wagner has been flirting with top-125 numbers all season due to strong efficiency and solid numbers. He's quietly averaging 10.3 points, 6.0 rebounds, with 1.5 blocks and one steal per game. He's got an impressive fantasy friendly game and he's doing it in just 19 minutes per game. If the Wizards ever start to play him next to Thomas Bryant in the foreseeable future, he would be a very popular add.
Frank Ntilikina, PG - New York Knicks
It's definitely not a good idea to trust David Fizdale and the Knick's rotations. However, it seems like Ntilikina is playing some of the best basketball in his career. The French point guard is an extremely tall point guard with long arms, so his ability to rack up steals and blocks is an extremely valuable asset. After Sunday's action, he's now played over 38 (!) minutes in three of the past four contests now, all while averaging 2.3 steals and 1.8 blocks in that span. Needless to say, he should be added in most leagues to see what he can do, despite the Knicks wacky rotations.
Nerlens Noel, PF/C - Oklahoma City Thunder
Steven Adams (knee) hasn't looked right and missed Sunday's game due to a knee contusion, and Noel is looking at a massive opportunity to produce with the starting lineup where he's a must-own player if he continues to get 20+ minutes per game. He's one of the best back up big men when it comes to fantasy and he can easily produce top-50 numbers if he's getting 25 minutes. He's a great handcuff until we hear more of Steven Adams.
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.
