This article is part of our NBA Waiver Wire series.
Looking ahead to Week 22 of the fantasy basketball season, we've officially entered the stretch run. Less than a full calendar month remains, and the playoffs are already underway in many leagues. The time may have passed to make any trades, but fantasy managers know the importance of remaining vigilant on the waiver wire over the final weeks of the regular season.
With a semi-light schedule ahead of us, pickings are fairly slim this week, so managers shouldn't expect to land a major impact player. Instead, the improvements will be made on the margins. For managers in daily lineup leagues, especially, there's plenty of value out there to be had.
Here are a handful of under-rostered players to consider adding this week:
Malik Beasley, Timberwolves (52% rostered)
Beasley will undoubtedly be a popular name this week after he set the Timberwolves' franchise record with 11 made threes against the Thunder on Wednesday. Even before that, he'd been running hot, scoring at least 15 points in five straight games.
He's cooled off a bit over the last two games, but for the month of March he's still posting 17.6 points, 3.1 rebounds, 1.6 assists and 5.3 threes per game. Obviously, that last number is boosted by Wednesday's outburst, but he's drilled at least four three-pointers in six of his last seven games. When the Wolves are fully healthy, Beasley's role is often reduced, but he's been so red-hot of late that he's worth an add if you're in need of
Looking ahead to Week 22 of the fantasy basketball season, we've officially entered the stretch run. Less than a full calendar month remains, and the playoffs are already underway in many leagues. The time may have passed to make any trades, but fantasy managers know the importance of remaining vigilant on the waiver wire over the final weeks of the regular season.
With a semi-light schedule ahead of us, pickings are fairly slim this week, so managers shouldn't expect to land a major impact player. Instead, the improvements will be made on the margins. For managers in daily lineup leagues, especially, there's plenty of value out there to be had.
Here are a handful of under-rostered players to consider adding this week:
Malik Beasley, Timberwolves (52% rostered)
Beasley will undoubtedly be a popular name this week after he set the Timberwolves' franchise record with 11 made threes against the Thunder on Wednesday. Even before that, he'd been running hot, scoring at least 15 points in five straight games.
He's cooled off a bit over the last two games, but for the month of March he's still posting 17.6 points, 3.1 rebounds, 1.6 assists and 5.3 threes per game. Obviously, that last number is boosted by Wednesday's outburst, but he's drilled at least four three-pointers in six of his last seven games. When the Wolves are fully healthy, Beasley's role is often reduced, but he's been so red-hot of late that he's worth an add if you're in need of points and/or threes.
Jose Alvarado (1% rostered) and Devonte' Graham (65% rostered), Pelicans
It's hard to say exactly who will benefit most with CJ McCollum landing in COVID-19 protocols, but Alvarado and Graham are near the top of the list of candidates. Veteran fantasy managers are well aware of the faults in Graham's stat profile, but he started Friday's game against Charlotte and played 34 minutes, finishing with 19 points (4-10 3Pt), seven assists, three steals and four rebounds.
Graham is extremely hit or miss on a nightly basis, but he's proven capable of breaking out for gaudy scoring, three-point and assist totals when the opportunity is there. With Brandon Ingram also sidelined, the Pels will have no choice but to put the ball in Graham's hands.
Alvarado, meanwhile, looms as a target for managers in need of assists and, particularly, steals. The undrafted rookie out of Georgia Tech doesn't have a very high ceiling, but he's a target for managers in deeper leagues.
Marvin Bagley, Pistons (61% rostered)
I will admit that on the latest episode of the RotoWire NBA Podcast, we discussed just how uninspiring a fantasy option Bagley can be. Nonetheless, we have to acknowledge that he's positioned to potentially start all three of Detroit's Week 22 games with Isaiah Stewart sidelined indefinitely.
Bagley didn't exactly erupt in his first start Wednesday against Chicago (10 points, six rebounds in 28 minutes), but managers looking to shore up rebounds and points could do worse than plugging the former No. 2 overall pick in as a streamer. He posted 20 points, 11 boards and two steals in 34 minutes Friday night at Boston.
De'Andre Hunter, Hawks (52% rostered)
On the whole, it's been a fairly disappointing season for Hunter, who missed a stretch of 26 games from mid-November to mid-January, but he's beginning to round into form at the right time. Over his last 10 games, Hunter is up to 14.0 points, 2.5 rebounds, 1.1 assists, 0.8 steals and 1.2 threes. None of that is overly remarkable, but he has at least one steal in six of his last seven games, and he's also been helping fantasy managers at the free throw line (85.0% FT; 4.0 FTA/G since Feb. 15).
Isaiah Hartenstein, Clippers (19% rostered)
Hartenstein is a player I've found myself adding in multiple leagues over the last couple of weeks. For much of the season, he was stuck in a three-way timeshare with Ivica Zubac and Serge Ibaka, but since the Clippers sent Ibaka to Milwaukee at the deadline, Hartenstein has begun to flourish.
Over his last eight games before Friday night's dud against Atlanta (two points, five rebounds, four fouls in 12 minutes), Hartenstein translated 21.8 minutes per contest into well-rounded averages of 10.3 points, 5.4 rebounds, 2.9 assists, 2.0 blocks and 1.1 steals. He's also shooting 70.0 percent from the field during that stretch.
It's worth noting that the Clippers are at a schedule disadvantage with three games in Week 22 and only two games in Week 23. They do play four times in Week 24, however.
Trendon Watford, Trail Blazers (36% rostered)
Since the trade deadline, the Blazers are putting on an absolute clinic when it comes to tanking. The lineups Portland has thrown out over the last few games, in particular, rival anything we've seen from the Thunder, Rockets or even the Sam Hinkie 76ers.
Unfortunately, Portland has been so bad that the tanking hasn't resulted in major fantasy boosts for many young players, but Watford is one of the few exceptions. The undrafted rookie is coming off of a career-best 27 points, to go with six rebounds, three assists and two steals, in Saturday night's win over Washington. Three nights earlier, he set a then-career-high with 22 points in 29 minutes against Utah. He'll likely continue to be hit-or-miss in terms of non-scoring stats, but with Portland entering a four-game week, Watford has some room for error.
Dean Wade, Cavaliers (1% rostered)
No one is claiming that Wade is the most inspiring player to roster, but with Jarrett Allen potentially out for the rest of the regular season, he should be staring down an elevated role for Week 22 and beyond. Wade got the start in Allen's place Tuesday at Indiana – it was actually his 26th start of the season – and posted 10 points, four rebounds, two steals and one assist in 37 minutes.
His subsequent two starts – at Miami on Friday and at Chicago on Saturday – have been pretty uninspiring, but the Cavs are one of 13 teams with four games on the schedule, so he could be of use to managers seeking threes, steals and field goal percentage help.
Immanuel Quickley, Knicks (40% rostered)
As evidenced by his increased roster rate, managers are catching on to Quickley's recent uptick in production. The second-year guard toiled in a reduced role for much of the year, but he's played at least 25 minutes in six of his last seven contests, averaging 16.1 points, 5.7 boards, 3.3 assists and 2.0 threes during that span. Most importantly, Quickley is not killing fantasy managers with his field goal percentage (47.8% FG).
