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Now a couple of 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 Forward For Right Now
Solomon Hill (IND, SF) – 23% Owned
Last week, it was teammate Chris Copeland dominating the waiver-wire adds at the small forward position and that trend will probably continue through this week for the uninformed fantasy manager. However, it is actually Hill’s turn to take the load in Indiana while Copeland shows signs of regression.
Hill busted out with a 28-point performance against Washington this past Saturday. More importantly, the basketball world found out why Hill was chosen in the first round by Indiana last year, adding six boards, three swipes and one dime to his stat line.
This offensive and defensive explosion by Hill makes Head Coach Frank Vogel's job a little tougher as it pertains to figuring out how to split time between the two forwards. If judging by upside, the younger Hill has a clear advantage over 30-year-old Copeland.
Copeland has taken shots at a higher rate thus scoring more points, however, Hill’s .581 true shooting percentage- which takes into account two-point field goals, three-point field goals and free throws- is nearly one hundred points better. Also considering Hill’s commanding lead in WS/48 (Win Shares Per 48 Minutes), a metric that attempts to quantify a player’s value to their team, and he should eventually overtake Copeland in playing time.
Waiver Wire Forward For Deeper Leagues
Patrick Patterson (TOR, PF/C) – 7% Owned
It is pretty clear that Patterson is not going to be any type of fantasy game changer. However, he can add valuable depth to address rebounding and blocking needs in those deeper leagues.
Amir Johnson has been plagued with a left ankle injury and though he has not been completely ruled out, Toronto’s starting power forward will more than likely have his minutes reduced, as there is no need to risk further injury.
Patterson has fit in somewhat nicely in lieu of Johnson, but with the talent that Toronto has in the backcourt, he is not really a scoring option for the Raptors nor his fantasy owners. Considering the productive minutes that the former University of Kentucky standout has put in, it is not out of the question that he could see more playing time than most would have anticipated during the preseason, even when Johnson does return to full strength.
Waiver Waire Forward To Keep An Eye On
Lavoy Allen (IND, PF/C) – 5% Owned
It seems that the Indiana Pacers have been ruling these columns, which should not surprise anyone due to the injuries that have decimated their stars. It has been odd and scary to see an Indiana player go down seemingly on a weekly basis since the beginning of August.
At any rate, Allen makes this list as a result of the aforementioned injuries and because Trevor Crippen initiated a pre-emptive strike by selecting Brandan Wright for Monday's Waiver Wire selections. Keep up the good work, Trevor.
Much like Patterson, Allen is not much of a scoring option, but he does offer invaluable rebounding skills. The 25-year-old big is averaging 3.1 offensive rebounds per game, 5.0 if that number is averaged out over 36 minutes, both of which is tops on the team by far. Any player that can grab that many offensive boards provides high fantasy value to that category as well as field-goal percentage given all those easy put-backs.
Coach Vogel has publicly praised Allen and is playing him more often, but the fourth-year pro will continue play second fiddle to Roy Hibbert. For this reason, it is best to simply keep Allen on the radar instead of making a point to add him. Outside of the deepest formats, it will likely require an injury to one of Indy's other frontcourt players for Allen to have much of an impact on fantasy rosters.
