RADIO
Hello and welcome to another week of perpetual requirement as a Fantasy Basketball Manager. If you have questions this week regarding the forward position and who could possibly fill it, hopefully I'm about to present you with three rock-solid answers for the coming weeks.
Position Eligibility & Ownership Rate Based on Yahoo! Fantasy Basketball Player List
NBA Forwards: Week 20 Waiver Wire Pickups & Sleepers
Justise Winslow(SF/PF, MIA) - 19% Owned
Not everything has gone great for Justise Winslow in his rookie season. In 28.6 minutes per game he has mustered just 6.4 points, 5.2 rebounds, 1.5 assists, and 0.9 steals per game while shooting 25.7% from beyond the arc. However, things have started to look up as of late. In his first 15 games after All-Star weekend, Winslow averaged 31.4 minutes, 8.6 points, 5.8 rebounds, and 1.4 steals per game. That is up from 27.8 minutes, 5.7 points, 5.1 rebounds, and 0.74 steals per game. For the increased time that he sees the floor, his consistently solid rebounding totals, and his far above average ability to grab steals, Justise Winslow is a solid under the radar pick for the remainder of the season.
Kosta Koufos (PF/C, SAC) - 24% Owned
Kosta Koufos has to work hard for the small amounts of love he receives. I guess that is a downside of playing behind DeMarcus Cousins for the worst run organization in all of sports. Koufos's numbers hardly jump off the page with averages of 18.1 minutes, 6.1 points, 5.1 rebounds, 0.5 steals, and 0.8 blocks per game. Koufos does, however, prove that he is efficient with his time on the floor; as he averages 12.1 points, 10.1 rebounds, 1.0 steal, and 1.7 blocks per 36 minutes. Although he doesn't qualify for the rankings due to limited time on the court, his block percentage of 3.8% would rank Koufos in the top 20 in the NBA tied with Tim Duncan, Dwight Howard, and Al Horford.
This season Koufos has had just three games in which he has played between 30-39 minutes for the youthful Sacramento front court. However, in those games he has averaged 32 minutes, 10.7 points, 10.7 rebounds, 1.3 steals, and 1.7 blocks per game. In his nine games in the Kings' starting lineup, Koufos has averaged 27.1 minutes, 10.7 points, 8.6 rebounds, 1.0 steal, and 1.0 block per game. If an opportunity arises as a catalyst for more playing time for Koufos, excpect his efficiency and stellar career block percentage to pave the way for Fantasy Basketball Managers who caught on to Kosta early.
Lance Stephenson (SG/SF, MEM) - 54% Owned
It seems like a change in scenery was just what Lance Stephenson needed to return back to his peak "blowing in LeBron's ear" form of a few years ago. Starting the season for the loaded Clippers back court, Stephenson was averaging just 15.8 minutes, 4.7 points, 2.5 rebounds, and 1.4 assists per game. In the 14 games since he was sent to the Grizz, Stephenson has stepped up in a big way by averaging 26.7 minutes, 15.2 points, 5.4 rebounds, and 3.3 assists per game. In Stephenson's four games this season with between 30-39 minutes played, he has averaged 35.5 minutes, 21.8 points, 7.5 rebounds, 4.8 assists, and 1.3 steals per game. By the way, out of those four games, three have come in the 15 games since his move to Memphis; the other was a game for the Clippers in November. Take advantage of Stephenson's breath of fresh Memphis air while he is still owned in just half of Fantasy Basketball Leagues.
