Hello again and welcome to a new week and finally a set of decently fresh faces. I know I have been ramming the likes of John Henson and Evan Turner down some throats in the past weeks, so this week I bring a diverse group of players who offer a diverse set of skills. Some are super slept on, some are returning from injury, and some are just hiding in plain sight. Given that there are only three forwards in question, I'm sure process of elimination makes it easy to figure out which is which.
Be sure to check out our other Week 15 Waiver Wire coverage, including our Waiver Wire Guards.
Position Eligibility & Ownership Rate Based on Yahoo! Fantasy Basketball Player List
NBA Forwards: Week 15 Waiver Wire Pickups & Sleepers
Jeff Green (SG/SF, MEM) - 51% Owned
Jeff Green has never wanted for opportunity in the NBA, with career averages of 32.3 minutes per game and a starting percentage of 77% since he came into the league with the Seattle SuperSonics. For most of the season, Green has been business as usual by averaging 11.8 points and 4.5 rebounds per game. However, in the last few weeks, Green has had a bit of an explosion. In the nine games since January 14th Green has averaged 19.3 points, 1.1 steals, and 4.44 rebounds per game.
Green could always hang in terms of rebounds and steals, but the former Hoya can score with the best of them when he is on and feeling it. Guess what? Jeff Green is on and feeling it and out of all forwards in the NBA averaging at least 17 points per game over the last two weeks, Green is owned in by far the fewest leagues. No one else scoring over 17 a game is owned in less than 71%. It's a hot streak and he could go cold any minute, but where else are you going to find scoring potential like this?
Michael Kidd-Gilchrist (SF, CHA) - 41% Owned
Don't blink. If you do and waste even a millisecond, Michael Kidd-Gilchrist might already be snagged in 99% of leagues. He just got back from a shoulder injury and in his first two games back he has started both times and has averaged 31 minutes per game, carrying a massive load right out of the gates due to injuries to fellow wings Nicolas Batum and Jeremy Lamb. In the two games he has averaged 16 points and 9.5 rebounds. He has also attempted one three, and converted. So he is currently shooting 100% beyond the arc, a trend that is sure to continue. All Kidding aside (that pun fell right into my lap), Gilchrist is going to be a double-double machine for the rest of the season and Fantasy Basketball Managers in every league size and format should nab him before it's too late.
Wesley Johnson (SG/SF, LAC) - 5% Owned
At his current rate of play, Wesley Johnson would serve Fantasy Basketball Managers far better if he were still a Laker when he was averaging 29.5 minutes per game in contrast to his 18.6 minutes per game for the Clippers this season. Nonetheless Johnson has been doing the two things that he typically excels at: jacking up threes and getting steals. Johnson is currently averaging 1.3 three pointers per game and a steal per game despite his little playing time.
Unfortunately due to the talent of the Clippers roster, Johnson is unlikely to see anywhere near the playing time he got for last year's terrible Lakers team. However, in the last eight games he's been relied on more and more to shoulder some of the massive amount of playing time and usage opened up by the absence of Blake Griffin. In that span, he has averaged about 23.5 minutes per game and in that time has been converting 2.3 three pointers per game and has been grabbing 1.6 steals. He should continue getting open looks with Chris Paul distributing and J.J. Redick and DeAndre Jordan drawing large amounts of defensive attention. Considering he is available in 95% of leagues, Johnson is a great value pickup if you specifically need help in his two strong categories.
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