March 21, 2017

Milos Zvekic recommends NBA forwards and centers (PF, C, PF/C) as waiver wire pickups for fantasy basketball in Week 22. These centers and forwards can be fantasy sleepers.

With fantasy playoffs underway, in addition to what a player is capable of on court, we will be taking into account their schedule for this week. So, all three of our Bigs for today have a favorable schedule in this upcoming week, and will have an extra opportunity to prove valuable to the owners brave enough to put their trust in these youngsters.

Welcome to RotoBaller's Week 22 waiver wire pickups for power forwards and centers.

Standard League Waiver Wire Big Adds

Frank Kaminsky, PF/C, CHA (43% Owned)

Frank Kaminsky has been on a great little run in the month of February and the beginning of March. His great performances helped the Hornets overcome the injury of Cody Zeller, who missed double-digit games in roughly that same period. Kaminsky was on fire from Feb. 1 until March 3 with averages of 17.9 PTS with 2.4 3PM on 43.7 FG% and 78.8 FT%, 6.6 REB, 2.6 AST, 1.2 STL, 0.7 BLK and 1.1 TO in 33 minutes per outing.

Unfortunately, he got injured himself and sat out of Charlotte's five games. But he's back now. It took him one game to warm up, but now he's got it again with 17.0 points and 1.5 threes on 37.9% from the field and 60.0% from the charity stripe, 4.0 boards, 1.5 dimes, 0.5 steals, 0.5 blocks and 1.5 turnovers in 30 minutes per contest in his last two. The shooting efficiency could use some improving, but Frank is the Hornets' leading scorer in those two games.

Frank already showed us what he's capable of, and he will probably be getting the minutes at around the 30, which is enough to produce those stats that would make him fantasy eligible. Furthermore, Charlotte are in for a four game week which is especially attractive for owners in the midst of their fantasy playoffs.

Willy Hernangomez, C, NY (39% Owned)

Willy Hernangomez has been pretty good lately, despite some ups and downs and fluctuating playing time. In his last six he posted averages of 10.7 PTS on 52.5 FG% and an abysmal 28.6 FT%, 10.2 REB, 2.0 AST, 1.2 STL, 0.5 BLK and 2.8 TO in 23 minutes per game. Now, while he is averaging a double-double, and the FG% and defensive stats do come in handy, and are sure to help most fantasy teams, owners in Roto leagues would have a thing or two to say about him going 2-of-7 from the line and losing the ball that much.

One might argue that Kristaps Porzingis having injury problems helped Willy out, but it was actually in the game without the Zinger that Hernangomez contributed the least. So news that Porzingis is probable to return on Monday March 20, might not be as bad for him as you would initially think.

Hernangomez is probably going to get minutes in the low 20s, but that could be enough for him to flirt with a double-double and get a few other stats for his owners, too. And this ice-cold streak from the line should come to an end sooner rather than later, since Willy is a 70.2% shooter in that department in his rookie season. And the icing on the cake is that the Knicks have four games this week, two of which are played on five-game nights, and none on Friday and Sunday, with 10 games scheduled on both those days.

Standard League Honorable Mentions: Willie Cauley-Stein (55% Owned), Ivica Zubac (35% Owned)

Deep League Waiver Wire Big Add

Noah Vonleh, PF, POR (2% Owned)

Now this one might seem a bit far-fetched, but stay with me here.

First of all, Vonleh is still just 21 years-old, but he is already in his third year in the NBA and he even gathered some playoff experience. Six games is not a lot, but it's a nice start from the youngster.

Second, Noah is starting to get some more trust from his coach and he is using the increased time he is being given. In his last five, he is averaging 8.6 PTS on 60.0 FG% and 65.0 FT%, 8.0 REB, 1.0 AST, 0.6 STL, no blocks and 1.4 TO in 25 minutes a night and even managed to double-double in one of those games. The field goals and rebounds come very handy, while the low free throw percentage and a bit higher turnover rate in that period don't hurt too much. The lack of blocks is a bit surprising, with him blocking a shot every third game in less than 15 minutes a game during his career so far, so that's one of the aspects of his game that might improve going forward too.

And thirdly, Portland's got a great schedule in this upcoming week, despite playing just three times with two of those games coming on five-game nights. So if need a streamer for your deep league team and you're in the market for a power forward who can reel in some board, score a bit and with an efficient shooting from the field, along with a few defensive stats, Vonleh should be on your radar.

Deep League Honorable Mentions: JaMychal Green (24% owned), Skal Labissiere (25% owned)