Week 5 Fantasy Basketball Waiver Wire: NBA Guards

November 26, 2014

In his Week 5 NBA Waiver Wire column, Lou Cappetta focuses on a few sleepers at the guard position that could deserve some attention in your Fantasy Basketball league.

Here we are coming up on the second month of the NBA season already, and each week this is the place to check if you are scouring your fantasy basketball waiver wire in search of potential sleepers at either of the guard positions.

Before we check out some guys you should consider adding this week, it is important to address the point-guard situation in Minnesota, (hopefully) once and for all.

A few weeks ago, it was recommended here to add Mo Williams, then the Timberwolves shocked everyone by starting youngster Zach LaVine. Consequently, LaVine was listed here as a guard to keep an eye on last week. Almost immediately, LaVine was benched in favor of Williams, and the latter has not looked back.

In five games as a starter, Williams is averaging 13.2 points and 9.2 assists, and that alone is enough to make him a must-own player. In other words, forget about LaVine and grab Williams if he is still available.

Now, the guards to focus on for this week.

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

Waiver Wire Guard for Right Now

Corey Brewer (MIN, SG/SF) - 32% Owned

The Timberwolves originally started out as a team with a log jam at the guard/wing positions. Now, things have become much thinner with major injuries to Ricky Rubio and now Kevin Martin.

Martin is out indefinitely, and since he has been gone, the big beneficiary has been Brewer. In Martin's absence, Brewer has not played fewer than 30 minutes while starting the last two games and has been a key contributor in points (22) and steals (4).

As long as the minutes keep coming, Brewer should continue offering elite-level defensive stats and a handful of points.

Waiver Wire Guard in Deep Leagues

Ben McLemore (SAC, SG) - 24% owned

I am not a fan of McLemore at all, but it is getting to the point where he needs to be owned in much more than a quarter of all leagues.

McLemore's putrid shooting from his rookie season seems to be a thing of the past, as the Sacramento two guard is currently shooting 45.7 percent from the field and sinking 1.8 threes per game at a 41.4 percent clip. He offers little outside of points and threes, but has still been good enough to hold top-150 value to this point.

Most importantly, McLemore is getting plenty of minutes of late, including a season high 41 this past Saturday against Minnesota. That game, McLemore scored 22 points, drained four three pointers, grabbed 9 rebounds and dished out three assists. It certainly looks as if all he needs is significant playing time in order to produce, but beware, as his shooting percentages are sure to come down a bit.

Waiver Wire Guard To Keep An Eye On

O.J. Mayo (MIL, PG/SG) - 48% Owned

I have no idea why Mayo is owned in so many leagues right now, but if he is currently on waivers in your league, it is time to take notice.

Once again, the playing time shares in Milwaukee has been all over the place and there may be no better example of this than Mayo. On 11/19, Mayo played 39 minutes, scoring 21 points with three triples, seven boards and a steal. The very next game, he went scoreless in nine minutes. One game later, Mayo put up a ho-hum 10 points in 20 minutes.

Following all of that, it was announced that Mayo would enter the starting lineup for Milwaukee's game on 11/25 against Detroit. This makes him a must watch.

If Mayo sticks in the starting lineup, and that is a huge if, he is as close to a must add as it gets. Mayo has the potential to offer elite-level scoring and three-point production as well as some rebounds, assists and steals. Remember, this is a guy just two seasons removed from being a top-50 fantasy asset.