March 14, 2017

Trevor Crippen recommends Week 21 fantasy basketball waiver wire pickups for NBA guards (PG, SG, PG/SG). Add these potential waiver sleepers to your lineups.

In this post, we are looking into some potential Week 21 waiver wire pickups for guards.  It's the playoffs in many leagues.  That means it's time to stop messing around and take whatever value you can get in the short term, so I'll be focused on guards with good matchups and games on off-days where you're more likely to use them.

We'll provide options for guards, eligible at PG, SG, or PG/SG who may be available in both standard leagues (less than 50% owned) and deeper leagues (less than 25% owned), and will typically provide a boost in points, assists, threes, and steals.  All position eligibility and ownership rates based on Yahoo! fantasy leagues.

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).

Standard League Waiver Wire Guard Adds

Jameer Nelson, PG, DEN (18% owned)

Nuggets veteran point guard Jameer Nelson has been starting due to the ineffectiveness of Emmanuel Mudiay, who has spent most of the season holding the Nuggets back as arguably the worst starter in the NBA. It's no coincidence that the Nuggets have surged as they've given less time to Mudiay and more to Nelson. That doesn't mean that Nelson is an elite fantasy option. While he's cracked the top 100 over the last month or so, that's been due to hot shooting (over 50% of his FGs) that you can't count on him keeping up.  He's got plenty of flaws -- lack of scoring and low defensive stats, in particular. But he's got a nice baseline of production, especially in assists.

The reason to target him over a number of other guards in your playoff matchup is that he plays on Thursday's six game slate, when you're most likely to have empty lineup spots to fill. If you're looking for more upside in scoring and threes with fewer assists and less reliable playing time, Nelson's teammate rookie Jamal Murray has been red hot of late, and is worth adding for the same Thursday matchup.

Cory Joseph, PG, TOR (31% owned)

While we're on the subject of Thursday's games, how would you like to spend just one of your limited weekly adds for a guy who's not only starting on Thursday, but also playing a back-to-back on Saturday and Sunday? Joseph has been pretty boring on a per game basis, and I don't have much to add about his workmanlike stat lines. Flashy per game numbers don't matter when you're getting this slew of games, though -- this is just one add for something like 36 points, 10 rebounds, 14 assists, and 3 steals over the course of four days. Not bad.

Standard League Honorable Mentions: Jamal Murray, PG/SG, DEN (31% owned); Malcolm Brogdon, PG/SG, MIL (38% owned); Sean Kilpatrick, PG/SG, BKN (38% owned)

Deep League Waiver Wire Guard Adds

Pat McCaw, SG, GSW (2% owned)

Pat McCaw had one of the most disastrous fantasy stat lines of the season on Saturday against the Spurs, so of course I'm going to say why not add him to your fantasy team in a super deep league? Let's get that clunker out of the way, though -- in nearly 42 minutes on the court, McCaw managed only 2 points, 2 rebounds, 1 assists, and 1 steal, while missing all 12 of his field goal attempts.  At least he hit both of his free throws, right?  That was a truly ugly game, though, with all of his good teammates sitting. He's still likely to get plenty of playing time with Durant out, and playing alongside the Golden State stars in a much more favorable home matchup on Thursday against the Orlando Magic is just the opportunity he needs to rebound. In the type of deep league where you're looking at the true dregs and want someone to fill a lineup spot on Thursday, taking a chance that a guy like McCaw will rebound after a truly execrable game is a chance worth taking.

Deep League Honorable Mentions: Garrett Temple, PG/SG, SAC (4% owned); E'Twaun Moore, PG/SG, NOP (5% owned)