RADIO
Hello again -- it's time to find some more "diamonds in the rough" at the forward positions. As the weeks progress and the NBA season trudges on I, along with all of you, am reminded of one painfully clear fact in professional basketball: week by week, the super stars continuously dominate every statistical category. This makes finding gems on the waiver wire increasingly hard throughout the year. The second someone establishes themselves as a reliable asset, they get snagged up. That is why this week I am throwing out three categories of player to add: a super sleeper, a possible new consistency piece among forwards, and a forward that should be added immediately by anyone looking for a forward on the waiver wire. I hope you enjoy this format.
Position Eligibility & Ownership Rate Based on Yahoo! Fantasy Basketball Player List
NBA Forwards: Week 18 Waiver Wire Pickups & Sleepers
SUPER SLEEPER
JaMychal Green (PF, MEM) - 2% Owned
Does the name JaMychal Green not ring any bells? Don't fret if it doesn't. Everything about Green's career has been under the radar. Green played college ball at Alabama, where football reigns supreme, and the basketball team is an afterthought. Since going undrafted, he has played in just 80 NBA games and has averaged only 12.8 minutes, 4.9 points, 3.3 rebounds, 0.4 steals, and 0.3 blocks for the Spurs and the Grizzlies.
Besides the NBA, Green also has some D-league experience, and it is there where we can begin to draw some conclusions regarding Green's potential. In 2012-2013 for the Austin Spurs as a rookie; Green averaged 24.2 minutes, 8.1 rebounds, 0.8 blocks, 0.9 steals, and 12.3 points per game in 40 games played. Most recently in 2014-2015, Green showed serious metal. That season he averaged 31.5 minutes, 23 points, 10.7 rebounds, 1.6 blocks, 1.0 steal, and 2.5 assists per game in 20 games played.
I am fully aware that the D-league is a far cry away from the competition presented to Green by the NBA's Western Conference. However, it is important to note that in the last seven Memphis games, Green's been playing more and better than ever. His playing time has increased to 21 minutes per game and he has averaged 8.3 points, 4.7 rebounds, and an impressive 1.4 steals. Green is certainly a super sleeper at power forward. However, given the skill set he demonstrated in Austin, the vast statistical improvement he has shown in his playing time expansion for the Grizz, and the opportunity he's been handed with injuries to Marc Gasol and Brandan Wright, Green is the kind of sleeper worth taking a chance on.
EMERGING ASSET
Bobby Portis (PF/C, CHI) - 26% Owned
As a Kentucky basketball fan, Bobby Portis was a constant thorn in the side of the Wildcats. While he was dominant with the Arkansas Razorbacks, I originally didn't believe that Portis's skill set and body type would transition well to the pro game. I will now quietly mutter that I was wrong and move on endorsing him like I never doubted him.
Portis has shown that he can produce at a consistent level in the NBA, but if you look deeper you'll be even more impressed. For the season Portis has averaged 17.6 minutes, 7.6 points, and 5.3 rebounds per game in 40 games for Chicago this season. Pretty solid for a rookie right? Well those averages don't come close to telling the full story of what Portis has demonstrated.
Portis has had 21 games this season in which he played between 20-29 minutes. In those games where Portis has been given ample playing time to find a rhythm, he has really shined, averaging 10.9 points, 7.7 rebounds, and has surprisingly sank 10 of 24 three pointers for a fantastic 41.7% percentage. That's fantastic, especially for a 6-11 PF/C combo who makes his living as a double-double threat.
In the two months in which Portis averaged his highest minutes per game totals (December, 17.7; February, 23.7) Portis has had rock solid consistency with his double-double threat skill set by averaging 10.0 points and 5.6 rebounds in December, and 9.8 points and 7.3 rebounds in February. In those months, he also had 3PT percentages that compare favorably to this season's best three point percentages from guys not named Stephen Curry, J.J. Redick, or Kawhi Leonard -- shooting at 42.9% in December and 41.7% in February.
In a crowded Bulls frontcourt, playing time hasn't been the easiest thing to come by for an unproven and comparatively skinny rookie out of the third most prestigious basketball program in the SEC. However, now that Portis has proven his worth and potential in the splits in which he has been allowed fair opportunity, Fantasy Basketball Managers can expect his production to keep going up in the coming months. With Joakim Noah out for the season, Nikola Mirotic out indefinitely, and Taj Gibson banged up, Portis is now a vital cog in the Bulls front court rotation. He should be considered a lock for nightly double-double potential as well as an excellent 3PT%.
ADD FIRST, THEN READ
Mirza Teletovic (SF/PF, PHO) - 53% Owned
Mirza Teletovic has hit a tremendous stride of late, to say the least. In the last two weeks he has averaged 27 minutes, 19.5 points, 6.2 rebounds, and a wonderfully impressive 3.7 3PTFG per game. His 19.5 points per game in the last two weeks ranks him 18th among all NBA forwards for that time span, when no other player in that top 18 is owned in less than 81% of leagues.
His 3.7 three pointers per game? That ranks Teletovic at numero uno, that is, number one among NBA forwards for the two week span. This places him above such "familiar" forward-qualifiers as James Harden, Paul George, Klay Thompson, and Kevin Durant. Even if you throw him in with guards who we can prove to be actual humans, he ranks second among all mortal NBA players* who've played at least 4 games in the last two weeks, behind only Damian Lillard (3.8). [*Note: possible non-human Steph Curry has averaged nearly as many made threes as Teletovic and Lillard COMBINED in that span, at 7.2. Ridiculous.]
Since the start of the year, Teletovic's playing time has only increased, and so has his overall production. The difference has been drastic. In October he averaged just 8.0 minutes and 1.7 points per game, in November he upped to 17.2 minutes and 8.2 points, in December it was 18.9 minutes and 10.6 points, 20.2 minutes and 12.0 points for January, and finally culminating in an average of 24.6 minutes and 16.7 points for February. He's been playing a huge role since the All-Star Break and trade deadline, when the Suns traded away starting PF Markieff Morris. With Morris gone, Teletovic has been averaging 19.5 points in 27.3 minutes a game.
Hailing from Bosnia, Mirza is a stereotypical European big man, as it doesn't look like he has much to offer in terms of defense. His rebounding is okay, but nowhere near elite for a 6-9 forward. However, even his unremarkable rebounding totals have shifted from mediocre to respectable: he's been averaging 6.2 per game since Morris was traded away.
Teletovic will always sell Fantasy Basketball Managers on his scoring ability and ability to fill it up from long distance, two statistical categories where he is currently topping some the best players in the world. Yet he remains owned in just 53% of leagues, most likely due to his slow start and low name recognition. Now that his playing time has increased, his scoring numbers are causing eyes to pop out of skulls, and with his increased rebounding totals, Mirza Teletovic is one product that should start flying off of the shelves. Make the move while he's still freely available.
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