Week 4 Fantasy Basketball Waiver Wire: NBA Forwards

Now a few weeks into the 2014-15 NBA season, the waiver wire has taken its typical place in the weekly/daily routine of fantasy basketball managers. The following forwards, whether of the “sleeper” variety or just cashing in temporarily on an unforeseen opportunity, almost certainly deserve attention across the various formats.

Position Eligibility & Ownership Rate Based on Yahoo! Fantasy Basketball Player List

Waiver Wire Forwards for Right Now

Shawne Williams (MIA, SF/PF) – 29% Owned

Talk about taking advantage of a situation. Williams has been shooting has been lights out, as he has gone 27-of-53 behind the three-point arc, helping his true shooting percentage rise to an incredible 68.7 percent on the season.

Williams is not quite as solid defensively as Josh McRoberts, the injured starter he has been stepping in for, but his incredible hot streak on the offensive end has more than made up for any defensive deficiencies.

With a Win Shares (WS- an estimate of the number of wins contributed to the player) number at 1.3, Williams has mathematically, and arguably, been the Heat’s most important player thus far.

Honorable Mention

Miles Plumlee (PHO, PF/C) makes honorable mention on the list, as the Suns have a rather favorable schedule the rest of the week. Plumlee is owned in 40 percent of all leagues and is starting to consistently receive 30 minutes or more per game. For more lines on Plumlee, have a look at Brad Baird’s piece on four-game sleepers from this past Sunday.

Waiver Wire Forward for Deeper Leagues

Marreese Speights (GSW, PF/C) – 5%

Warriors coach Steve Kerr said the magic words to any fantasy owner’s ears: “[insert player here] is going to play a lot.”  It just so happens that Speights is the player to insert there.

"Big Mo" has solidified his role as the backup center to Andrew Bogut in Golden State. Speights is starting to see major increases in his minutes, points, rebounds and field-goal percentage. That is good and all, but it really only tells half the story.

Speights’ true value lies in the number of quality minutes he has put in, and it appears Kerr has taken note of the advanced statistics lines. The per-36 minutes numbers puts him first in points, first in offensive boards and second in total rebounds respectively for the Warriors. Those statistics are the best indicators of placing value on big men.  Look for Speights to be a valuable, and hot, commodity sooner rather than later.

Honorable Mention

Owned in only 4 percent of all leagues, Hollis Thompson (PHI, SF/PF) makes honorable mention as a deeper league add, even with the murmurs of “tanking” under the collective breath of everyone watching the game. With games against Boston, Phoenix and New York, this may be the Sixers most favorable sequence of matchups for weeks to come.

Waiver Wire Forward to Keep an Eye on

Khris Middleton (MIL, SF/PF) – 5%

Not only should fantasy owners keep an eye on Middleton, but they might as well keep a second eye on his knee to make sure it does not land the third-year pro on the injured list again.

Middleton’s averages are seemingly deflated due to his injury, as he has missed three full games and played just 12 minutes in another this season. However, he is still drawing a per-game line of 9.7 points, 3.3 rebounds and 1.1 steals.

Middleton will definitely have to improve on his 48.9 true shooting percentage if he is going to put in solid playing time at the swing position, especially under Head Coach Jason Kidd. Considering Kidd’s propensity to alter lineups, it is best to watch Middleton's minutes and try to gauge the Bucks' rotations on a game-to-game basis.