Let's Get Monte Morris Ownership Levels Rightfully Above 50%

December 24, 2018

Week 10 fantasy basketball waiver wire adds for standard leagues. Take a look at three NBA players who are owned in less than 50% of fantasy basketball leagues and should be picked up.

If only we had a cover picture of Monte Morris...Anyway, I'll be sure to spread the knowledge around to the rest of the league as well, but there have only been 20-odd players that have been more valuable than Monte Morris over the past two weeks. With all the injuries and the talent the Nuggets have, no matter where he falls in the rotation, whether it be for his defense, passing, or speed, Morris is guaranteed minutes and will be used as a secure, secondary ball-handler. The stats back up the hype, and I'll dive deeper later in the article. At this moment, you should be looking at players like Reggie Bullock, Tyler Johnson, and Thaddeus Young for immediate production. All three are trending upwards, but Young has the most interesting position. Because he plays behind talented rebounders, his role is based on each matchup and his ability to over-power opponents. Right now, he is a sell-high, with both Johnson and Bullock being ideal buy-lows candidates. Johnson is benefitting from an injury and his usage will drop closer to February and March, but Bullock is definitely on an uptrend. He started off slow and wasn't able to contribute, but his impact is multiplied when he hits shots. He can offer defensive stats and threes, putting him on the list next to Robert Covington and Josh Richardson as versatile fantasy assets.

Dario Saric started off his Timberwolves career slowly, but Timberwolves head coach Tom Thibadeau finally understood the value of player development. He just needed to give Saric some serious minutes on the court for him to finally mesh and produce as he did in Philadelphia. Normally, I'd say his upside is capped by his coach, but at this point, Thibadeau knows he needs to play Saric.

Make sure to stay updated on injuries and return times, but as far as I'm concerned, these next three players will see the biggest benefit. As a reminder, for standard (10-12 team) league adds, we use a general rule of thumb of an ownership rate of under 50% on Yahoo. All position eligibility based on Yahoo leagues.

Standard League Adds for Week 10

Monte Morris, G  – Denver Nuggets

Ownership: 33%

10.1 PPG / 4.1 APG / .484 FG% / 1.1 3PM

Monte Morris also offers value in steals, giving him all-around upside. Like stated earlier, his minutes aren't really in jeopardy after proving his worth time and time again on the court. There really isn't anything he can't do well; he just doesn't have explosive performances. He has big-play ability but with the team surrounding him, it rarely comes down to Morris being the one forced to do everything. We'd prefer this out of him now that everyone reading this needing a point guard will pick him up, but it's still ambitious thinking. He will be a consistent point guard option for the rest of the season, even in a backup role when it gets to that point. He won't get priority over Jamal Murray, Gary Harris, or Will Barton, but along with Nikola Jokic, he is one of the best playmakers on this team. Look for that to carry him into at least 25 minutes a night for the rest of the season.

Jeff Green, F – Washington Wizards

Ownership 30%

10.9 PPG / 4.8 RPG / 1.3 3PM / .504 FG%

Of course, this isn't one of those emergency picks, but it's pretty evident that Jeff Green is still seeing minutes despite the Trevor Ariza trade. This is not a rest of the season add, but more for the next week if you need someone to stream. The teams he plays in the coming two weeks seriously struggle to guard wings, and it's unlikely that Ariza takes all of Green's minutes. His usage has gone down which indicates that Green is closer to being on his way out of fantasy relevance than in, but that doesn't mean he won't have a big game to help you win this week. If you had a player get hurt recently, like Chris Paul, Allen Crabbe, or Zach LaVine, Green can be the perfect filler for the time being. If he wasn't offering across the board contributions, I'd pass over him, but I'm hoping and assuming Green is going to close out the calendar year strong and carry it into mid-January.

Richaun Holmes, C – Phoenix Suns

Ownership 20%

7.3 PPG / 4.5 RPG / .657 FG% / 1.2 BPG

The blocks are an added bonus, but to be fair, there are usually never many bigs left on the wire that are guaranteed to produce this deep into the season. Holmes has been all over the place production-wise, but he is still doing the most with his minutes. His most recent game was not promising, but this is to be expected from a center in his role. The Suns tend to run smaller, leaving Holmes with minimal upside unless he is able to get to the rim and help rebound. Usually, that's the case, but it's ridiculous to think that Holmes will simply dominate competition purely based on athleticism. The most promising aspect about picking up Holmes is his upside. He has seen some of his higher minute totals in recent games and that should continue since the Suns are still in rebuild mode. Holmes isn't necessarily a direct part of that rebuild, but he is the best big Phoenix has and will get more minutes moving forward because they will need someone to attack all the coming missed shots.

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