RADIO
The deeper a fantasy league, the harder it is to hit a winner with your last few picks. It is also harder to find decent help from the waiver wire if your late-round picks don't do you justice. If you picked up a few stinkers, don't lose hope just yet. I will try to help you pick up a winner.
Here are my deeper league waiver wire pickups for your fantasy basketball teams. These players should be available in most leagues and they might just help you out, whether it's a few weeks rental or a long term fix to a problem your team is having.
If a guy on your team is frustrating you with his weak performances, give some of them a go. They might just be worth it.
Deep League Waiver Wire Targets
Isaac Okoro - SF, Cavaliers
9% rostered
While Okoro has clearly underperformed on a per-minute basis, there is an obvious reason for that: as a rookie, he's started all 8 games he's played and is averaging 36+ MPG of playing time. Not even the best of NBA players are getting used that much, and as a freshman, it is not that Okoro is in a position to rack up numbers. Even then, Okoro has looked rather promising, and although he would improve his shooting (40.6% from the floor) as he gets more accustomed to the pro-game he's scoring 8.6 PPG on just 8 FGA per game.
Okoro is playing the second-most minutes among players aged 20 or below, only behind RJ Barrett. His role in Cleveland can't be clearer as the no. 1 SF of the team, and although he's going through some growing pains he's still delivering some goods. In that same group of 42 players, Okoro is one of just four averaging a baseline of 8-2-2 with 1+ steals per game; the other three: teammate Darius Garland, Tyrese Haliburton, and LaMelo Ball. No need to mention all of those players are point guards while Okoro mans the wing/forward position.
Derrick Jones Jr. - SG/SF, Trail Blazers
7% rostered
DJJ might not be a world-beater by himself, but he's not a bad player, and most importantly he plays for the Portland Trailblazers. It is not that Portland magically boosts the abilities of the guys who happen to play there, but rather that the Blazers will be missing Jusuf Nurkic for at least eight weeks and CJ McCollum got injured last Saturday, potentially missing time too. Derrick will benefit from both absences, and that will only add to his current upside as a starter for these Blazers.
Jones started the season averaging 30+ MPG in his first seven games, but after that run, his minutes have gone all the way down to 22+ in the last six matches only topping that mark once. Encouragingly enough, though, that happened last Saturday (34 minutes of play) in a game in which Nurkic was off for the first time, and in which CJ could only play 18 minutes before leaving injured. DJJ is only scoring 7 PPG but he's contributing 4.2 RPG and stealing 1.2 rocks per game. He's also shooting 62.8% (!) in his last six games, which bodes well for him going forward as he'll get many more looks on offense raising his FGA numbers.
Grayson Allen - SG/SF, Grizzlies
2% rostered
Ja Morant finally came back from his injury last Saturday. There were multiple potential scenarios in play, but the one that actually developed didn't affect Allen's game that much. Tyus Jones went from no. 1 guard to third-fiddle while Allen kept up his 26 minutes of playing time, something that has happened in his last two games (he logged a good 18 and 23 minutes in his prior two matches).
Allen, now part of Memphis' second unit after starting four games to kick the season off, is using around 18% of offensive possessions these days (going back to Jan. 7th). In the last four games, all played in the past 10 days, Allen is scoring 12.3 PPG, has hit 2+ treys in three of those four matches, and is adding 3+ RPG, almost 2 APG, and 1.5 SPG to his nightly game logs. Not the worst off-the-pine asset to roster in deep leagues.
Pat Connaughton - SF/PF, Bucks
1% rostered
Patty is the über low-maintenance guy so far this season. See, Connaughton plays the forward positions mostly, and that means he's got an uphill battle to fight every night with the likes of Middleton, Giannis, and more reasonably second-unit players such as Torrey Craig, Bryn Forbes, and Bobby Portis. That's why Connaughton is playing just 17 MPG on the season. What he's doing in those minutes, though, is just incredibly efficient.
Pat has been way above average on a per-minute basis in fantasy leagues. Other than in his first three games of the year, he's scored at least 0.90 FP per minute on the court in all games (7) since Dec. 29th, and he's scored 1.15+ in six of those. Simply put, and for context, Connaughton's 1.18 FP/min in that span is the same currently averaged by the likes of Tobias Harris, Mike Conley, Jerami Grant, Rudy Gobert, or Donovan Mitchell, to name a few. Don't expect mind-blowing totals, but if you need to squeeze as many fantasy points as possible from a bench guy, there aren't many better plays than Patty.
Xavier Tillman - PF, Grizzlies
1% rostered
Jaren Jackson Jr., Memphis' no. 1 PF, is close to returning after missing every game since last August due to a torn meniscus. That is expected to happen through the next week of games if all goes according to plan, but he might still stay out or remain limited in playing time. In any case, and for the price of our man Xavier Tillman, you surely can add the rookie to your team if only for a week, and reap a bunch of rewards.
Tillman has played all his 7 games this season coming off the bench. He's averaging 19+ MPG on the year, though last Saturday--with Ja Morant back--his run went all the way up to 28 minutes of playing time, of course, a season-high mark. Tillman deserved it, truth be told. He's averaging 8.1 PPG and has scored 12+ in his last two games. He's shooting 61.6 percent from the floor going back to Jan. 8th, has committed 2 (!) total turnovers in all of his games combined (137 minutes played), and the best part of his game are his all-across-the-board contribs: 3.6 RPG, 1.7 APG, 1.3 SPG, and 0.6 BPG. That, again, from a 19-minute player who is putting up 1.23 FP per minute on the court. Can't get much more efficient, folks.
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