Ivica Zubac (C, LAC): Week 20 Waiver Wire Pickups

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ANALYSIS: There is no way to make a case for Zubac being--or even eventually becoming--a go-to guy for the Clippers. Los Angeles has Paul George, Kawhi Leonard, Marcus Morris, etc. and that is just the start. This team is so stacked that it is even hard for the likes of Lou Williams and Montrezl Harrell to rack up numbers. But Zubac has something that most of those don't have: a nightly spot in the starting lineup. I know, that doesn't mean much when the offensive usage rate sits at around 16% most games, but at least it's a start (no pun intended).

Even being part of the starting five isn't giving Zubac heavy minutes of playing time, with him logging 18 mpg on the season. The good news for him is that those minutes almost always see him share the floor with at least one of Paul George or Kawhi Leonard, and if not with them then with Patrick Beverley or Landry Shamet. All of those are starters and heavy-role players among Clippers' guys, which is always going to boost Zubac's possibilities to overperform and get better stats.

Among players with between 10 and 18 mpg, Zubac ranks sixth in points (8), eighth in field goal percentage (59.2%), first in rebounds (7.2), and 10th in blocks (0.9) per game, and he's played in each and every one of the Clippers 59 games this season starting all but two (both back in November, though). Zubac's ceiling is probably around the 15-15, although that is far from a nightly reality. He's more of the 7-7 variety rather than the double-double one, and it'd take stars aligning for him to pull off the double-digit feat. Even with that, he's doing more than almost every other under-18-minute player in the league and his starting role benefits him as he's always surrounded by quality teammates.