January 9, 2017

Milos Zvekic recommends NBA forwards and centers (PF, C, PF/C) as waiver wire pickups for fantasy basketball in Week 12. These centers and forwards can be fantasy sleepers.

This year, RotoBaller is separating its waiver wire recommendations by position a little differently.  In our three position breakdowns, we'll be separating players into GUARDS, including point guards (PG), shooting guards (SG), and combo guards (PG/SG); WINGS, including small forwards (SF), swing men (SG/SF), and small ball fours (SF/PF); and BIGS, including power forwards (PF), centers (C), and bigs who play both front court spots (PF/C).

Today we are looking into some potential Week 12 waiver wire pickups for power forwards and centers who might fit well with your team and are sitting on the waiver wire in about a half or more of the Yahoo! leagues. So if you're in the market for a big to help your team fill out it's needs, one of the players from this article might just be what you're looking for.

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Standard League Waiver Wire Big Adds

Jusuf Nurkic C, DEN (50% Owned)

My neighbour from Bosnia and Herzegovina! Jusuf Nurkic started the season on a tear. In his first five games he was averaging 15.2 PTS on 52.6 FG% and 61.5 FT%, 10.6 REB, 1.4 AST, 1.0 STL, 1.8 BLK and 1.8 TO in 27 minutes per outing. He double-doubled twice in that period giving his fantasy owners more than they bargained for in the draft. That is an indication of just how talented he is.

But since then he has seen a significant drop off. He was even benched for four games back in December. And that is the sole reason Nurkic is on so many waiver wires. Coach Mike Malone has been very critical of his team's defense and there was talk that Jusuf's poor defense was the reason for him being benched. But since then Malone said that Nurkic has been working hard and that he wants to reward him with playing time. He has done just that.

The Nurk Alert has returned and has looked pretty darn good in 2017. Averages of 12.3 PTS on 58.8% from the field and 64.3% from the line, 7.0 rebounds, 2.0 assists, 1.3 steals and 0.8 swats with 1.5 turnovers in 22 minutes in those four games in the New Year are surely a step in the right directon for Nurkic. Now one might argue that his frontcourt buddies missing time in those four games (Kenneth Faried missed the first three and Nikola Jokic missed the last one) helped Nurkic get more minutes. And that may be true. But Nurkic took advantage of his opportunity and his performances deserve a solid place in Denver's rotation.

The Nuggets' frontcourt is definitely crowded and talented. Ever since the end of last season, when Jokic exploded in his rookie year and Nurkic returned from injury, there has been talk about Denver trading one of their players. It's pretty clear that it won't be Jokic, so that leaves Faried and Nurkic. Both players have great skills and while there is talk that Faried is a better fit next to Jokic, it is important to underline here that Nurkic is only 22 years old and has improved every year since he has been in the NBA.

Either way, Nurkic will probably benefit from a trade weather he is the one who is traded or if it's Faried. So, if you're in need of a big man and don't mind subpar FT% and some turnovers from the center position, Nurkic has surely got the talent to help your team. If the trade that is rumored is to land him in a better spot than he's currently in or if Faried's departure opens up even more minutes for the Nurk, you will be happy he had a rough period which allowed you to pick him up from the wire.

Montrezl Harrell PF, HOU (36% Owned)

Montrezl Harrell started the season off as a backup frontcourt player that just cracked into the rotation in Houston. Boy, has that changed! The biggest reason for that has been the injury to Houston's first string center Clint Capela. Capela has a small fracture in his left fibula which is supposed to keep him out four to six weeks. The last report was on Dec. 20 which said he will be reevaluated in four weeks. No news since then on Capela. Lots of news since then on Harrell.

He has used the increase in playing time to the best with averages of 14.9 PTS on 68.8 FG% and 62.2% from the charity stripe, 4.9 REB, 1.8 AST, 0.3 STL, 1.0 BLK and 1.1 TO in 27 minutes in 11 games since Capela's been out. In his last game on Jan. 8 he torched the Raptors with 28 points on 12 of 13 from the field and four of six from the line, five boards, a swat and one turnover in just 26 minutes of action. Wow!

Now even though there are no news on Capela, we must assume he will return somewhere around his timetable, so he should be back in about two to four weeks. Harrell is a great stream option for as long as Capela is out, but with the way he has been playing it is quite possible that he gets enough minutes to produce for his fantasy owners even when Capela returns so he is a good pickup for any team neglecting FT%. The deeper the league, the better.

Standard League Honorable Mentions: Bismack Biyombo (52% owned), Cody Zeller (44% owned)

Deep League Waiver Wire Big Adds

Mike Muscala PF/C, ATL (7% Owned)

The Atlanta Hawks have traded Jeff Teague this summer and have just completed a trade sending Kyle Korver to Cleveland in exchange for guard/forward Mike Dunleavy, guard Mo Williams, cash considerations and a protected first-round draft pick. So basically, Atlanta is in rebuild mode. Their star player Paul Millsap can opt out of his contract at the end of this season, and he will soon turn 32 so the Hawks are expected to try and trade him before the deadline. And since there are many teams trying to make themselves more capable of contending for the Championship this season, there shouldn't be a shortage of suitors.

If Millsap was to be traded, that would open up a lot of space and minutes in the Atlanta frontcourt. Arguably the primary beneficiary would be Mike Muscala. His averages so far this season are 7.9 PTS with 0.8 3PM on 52.7% from the field and 76.2% from the line, 3.7 boards, 1.5 dimes, 0.6 steals, 0.6 blocks and 1.0 turnovers in 21 minutes per game. If the 25-year-old were to slide into the starting gig and his minutes were to rise to high 20s to low 30s fantasy owners who had the foresight to pick him up before others in their league could be looking at a real nice contribution to their fantasy team from a player picked up from the waiver wire, even in the deepest of leagues.

Deep League Honorable Mentions: Amir Johnson (13% owned), Dwight Powell (14% owned)