RADIO
The deeper a fantasy basketball 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 fantasy basketball waiver wire pickups for your fantasy basketball teams. These NBA 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.
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Fantasy Basketball Waiver Wire Targets for Week 3
Luke Kennard (SG/SF, LAC) - 11% rostered
Have the Clippers finally found a way to properly use (or, basically, simply use) Luke Kennard? Might be the case judging by Kennard's go-to role as part of the Clips second unit and the absence of Kawhi calling for reinforcements coming off the pine in relief of Paul George. Kennard started the year on a 23 MPG diet but his last two outings have clocked in at 33 minutes each. Don't get overly excited because the usage isn't screaming fireworks (16.9% in the second unit), but Luke has truly been the low-maintenance son every fantasy father dream about if you know what I'm saying.
Kennard has dropped 10+ points in three of his five games, and he still finished with 7 and 6 in the other two. He has yet to finish a game without finding three-point paydirt. (That's reason no. 1 to land Kennard, his tasty three-point scoring prowess). Kennard is also doing it (albeit on a lower volume) on both the boards and the passing cats, with averages of 2.8 RPG and 2.2 APG so far this season and the odd steal here and there. The shooting percentages have fluctuated a bit through the five games, but the diet is truly healthy at 10 FGA per day and overall 44/43/100 shooting splits.
DeAndre Jordan (C, LAL) - 10% rostered
I know the hate might be coming from some of you folks out there reading this, but bear with me for a minute, please. The Lakers have played six games through Saturday. DeAndre Jordan has started all of them, and although the minutes have been far from otherworldly (14 MPG) and the usage rate ground-low (10%) the truth is that you can't get many more centers with Jordan's per-minute production for peanuts.
Jordan is definitely far from his own Lob City version, but he's still doing it and contributing at the things you expect him to: ridiculous shooting percentages (87% from the floor) on low volume, low-upside but steady scoring, and magnificent boards/blocks averages (5.6 RPG, 1.3 BPG). Again, keep in mind we're talking about a 14-minute-a-game player in DAJ, so it's not that he can do much more. He's sitting at an average of 1.13 FP/min on the year and excluding his first two (still learning on the fly) games for the Lakers, he's at an even better, sky-high 1.32 per-minute fantasy production.
George Hill (PG/SG, MIL) - 8% rostered
Not the best of starts for the reigning Champs when it comes to having a healthy bill. Jrue played G1, then missed G2, came back in G3, and has yet to play again. All of those up and downs have opened the door for über-veteran George Hill, who signed with Milwaukee this summer expecting to play that second-point role but has found himself starting four of six games through Saturday. Hill is playing 27 MPG but in reality, his minutes have never stopped growing as the season has progressed, going from 24 to 22, 25, 27, 31, and lastly 32 against the Spurs on Oct. 30.
The problem of being part of Milwaukee's starting five is very easy to grasp: playing next to Khris Middleton and Giannis Antotokounmpo limits all other three starters to share the crumbles left by those two. Thus Hill's low 13.4 USG% in his started games. Even then, though, Hill is a hella good spot-up shooter hitting 51.3% of his 7.2 FGA in the past five games and a virtual-perfect FT shooter too going 7-of-8 this season. Low outcomes, but always there without fail: 3.5 RPG, 3.6 APG, and 1.2 SPG (great) with value also for those in 9-cat leagues as Hill has never turned the ball over more than once in any game this season.
Nassir Little (SF, POR) - 7% rostered
Little is surely a little bit of a flier, but if we're honest for a minute the truth is that he already played 48 games in each of his first two seasons for the Blazers, and he's on his way to repeating in his third year as a pro--only now he's destroying his prior-highs in playing time. Little has gone from averaging 12 and 13 MPG in the two seasons before this one to an impressive 25 MPG five games into the 2022 campaign. He's also started two of those five games (he started just 4 of 96 in his first two seasons), and although there are some growing pains still baked into Little, he's slowly but surely getting there.
Nassir little has manned the starting SF position twice for the Blazers against the Clips and the Griz, but it's not that changing his role/unit has affected his outcomes. Little has dropped 7 points or more every time out, has missed on hitting on a trey just once (1.2 3PM per game), and comes with fantastic rebounding () and shooting-percentage upside. The Blazers are loaded with gunners and reasonably good big men (Nurkic, Lance, CJ, and obviously Dame) so it's not that Little will get tons of touches/opportunities to excel, but when he gets the rock he makes the most out of it. This could turn into a bad play if Portland decides to cut his minute a bunch, but given Little's growth we have to at least give him a chance in deeper formats.
Jeremy Lamb (SG/SF, IND) - 4% rostered
The Pacers don't precisely lack guards--and Caris LeVert just made his debut last Saturday, adding wood to the rotation fire--but Lamb has been battling T.J. McConnell for the largest off-the-pine role among those capable of manning the point/guard slots. McConnell is averaging more minutes (22 MPG) but looking deeper, it's Lamb who is getting the highest usage rate of the two (21.2%) on just a slightly lower playing time (19 MPG). Keep digging into the numbers, though, and things look even better: Malcolm Brogdon's injury has made Indy thrust T.J. into the starting PG position, and that has allowed Lamb to thrive coming off the bench in the past four games with usage rates above 22.7 each time.
Lamb, in the last five games played back to Oct. 23 has been marvelous: 11 or 12 points adorned his lines in all five outings, he's hit 11 treys combined and only once fewer than 2 (he topped at 4 against Miami), he's getting some boards, dimes, and steals, but he definitely finds his mojo in his shooting prowess--all field goals, three-pointers, and free throws. Lamb is keeping up some fantastic 42/48/100 shooting splits with 7+ FGA, 4 3PA, and 1+ FTA. Even with Brogdon back and T.J. McConnell back to the pine, Lamb's role, playing time, and levels of production shouldn't change that much.
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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.
