RADIO
A lot will change after the NBA All-Star break. Young players will get more run, older players will take more rest days and certain players will come out of nowhere to win fantasy basketball championships. If your fantasy team is sitting comfortably near the top, it might be worth using a roster spot on a young talent with potential. If you're battling for a playoff, you might have to work the waiver consistently to slot those guys while they're hot and discard them and find the next one as they begin to simmer.
Looking back at last week's waiver picks, we continue to strike gold on the wire. Josh Jackson averaged 14.3 points, 6.8 rebounds and 2.0 blocks in three games. Jarrett Allen provided third round value in his last three games, averaging 11.3 points, 7.3 rebounds and 1.0 blocks for the Nets. Finally, it was a gamble to go after Andrew Harrison last week. Predicting Tyreke Evens would be traded did not work out, but Harrison did somewhat decent. He averaged one three, 11 points and three assists in 23 minutes of action over the past week.
As a reminder, for standard (10-12 team) league adds, we use a general rule of thumb of an ownership rate of under 50% on Yahoo. All position eligibility based on Yahoo leagues.
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Standard League Adds for Week 18
Allen Crabbe, PG/SG/SF – Brooklyn Nets
Ownership: 48%
12.3 PPG / 4.4 REB / 2.5 3PT / . 438 FG%
Crabbe's first year in Brooklyn has been an up and down one to say the least. After Jeremy Lin and D'Angelo Russell went down early in the season, many expected Crabbe to fill the roll as the main scorer. Instead, it was Spencer Dinwiddie who is one of the front runners for fantasy breakout of the year.
Crabbe is on the upswing once again. In his last five games, he is averaging 18.8 points, 4.6 rebounds and 3.8 threes on 45 percent shooting. That includes 34 points with six threes and 28 points on eight threes in back-to-back games. He is having his best scoring stretch since November, scoring double-digits in eight of his last eleven games. This past week, Crabbe took things to new heights, pulling in close to second round value. The guard/forward is averaging 20.8 points, 4.5 rebounds and 4.5 threes. He is shooting 42 percent from beyond the arc and 47 percent from the floor.
Crabbe seems to have solidified his place in the starting five with Russell coming off the bench. He shoots more than 50 percent of his shots from beyond the arc, so even when Caris Levert returns, Crabbe will be to score in bunches. It's all nice that he qualifies at three different positions, an underrated quality.
Bobby Portis, PF/C – Chicago Bulls
Ownership 47%
12.3 PPG / 6.5 REB / .500 FG% / 1.7 3PT
When Nikola Mirotic was traded to the New Orleans Pelicans, there was uncertainty of who would benefit the most. It turns out, everyone. That includes one-time sparring partner, Portis.
Since Mirotic's departure, Portis is averaging 14.2 points, 8.4 rebounds and 1.4 threes per game. That includes back-to-back double-doubles. Even with the return of Lauri Markkanen, Portis is still averaging 24 minutes a game, converting 50 percent of his attempts and averaging 14.3 points, 5.0 rebounds and 1.7 threes.
He leads the team in rebounds per 36 minutes, trails Zach Lavine in points per 36 minutes and also owns the highest Player Efficiency Rating on the Bulls.
Dwight Powell, PF/C – Dallas Mavericks
Ownership 36%
7.7 PPG / 5.1 REB / .714 FT% / .599 FG&
Consider Powell one of those younger players expected to get more playing time as the season comes to a close. The Mavericks are in no position to compete this season and are positioning themselves well for a nice pick in a loaded 2018 NBA Draft. It's a fantastic recipe for Powell to really shine down the stretch.
To start February, Powell is averaging 16.3 points and 8.3 rebounds while shooting 67 percent from the floor. His advanced statistics are shocking. When compared to Maverick players averaging over 13 minutes per game, he leads the team in true shooting percentage, PER, steal percentage, offensive rebound percentage, win share, offensive win share, win share per 48 minutes, defensive box plus/minus and value over replacement player. That's almost every statistical category. An analytics' white buffalo.
For a Mavericks team that was one of the first to embrace analytics in basketball, and with Dallas playing for draft position, expect Powell to continue to progress as the season continues.
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By popular demand, RotoBaller has aggregated all of our fantasy basketball NBA waiver wire pickups into a running list of NBA waiver options, so bookmark the page and check back often for updates.
