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This week's Waiver Wire Guards include two guys who everyone knows about already, but should be more universally owned. The other two targets are really deep sleepers who might have big time opportunities over the next couple of weeks to prove they belong on your fantasy team.
Position Eligibility & Ownership Rate Based on Yahoo! Fantasy Basketball Player List
NBA Guards: Week 16 Waiver Wire Pickups & Sleepers
Kentavious Caldwell-Pope (SG, DET) - 69% Owned
Caldwell-Pope is injured right now, but will return at some point after the All-Star break. He is worth stashing until then because he has absolutely been on fire. For awhile I thought the return of Brandon Jennings would hamper Caldwell-Pope's progress but that just isn't the case, as Detroit has been reluctant to play Jennings at the same time as starting PG Reggie Jackson. The Pistons have a scoring problem at times when Reggie Jackson/Andre Drummond aren't dominating the pick and roll game. Stan Van Gundy's solution to Detroit's scoring woes comes in the form of third year guard Caldwell-Pope. His 15 points a game during the season are potentially the basement for him moving forward. Do not be the last one to realize that this guy has emerged this year as a reliable NBA scorer, and don't be the one to drop him because of his current injury situation.
Arron Afflalo (SG/SF, NY) - 58% Owned
This is the last call for everyone to get on the Arron Afflalo bandwagon. He has been a borderline back-up for the All-Star reserves. If there are scout teams for the All-Star game then Afflalo should be on the bench of the scout team. He's been as good as you can be without actually being a star player. Over the last month he's averaging over 15 points a game night in and night out. Afflalo looks healthy and has the greenest of lights playing behind Melo as the second scorer for the Knicks. With Melo's recurring knee problems, Afflalo even has more upside with the chance to start and become the primary scoring wing when Melo sits out. Afflalo's shooting percentage isn't the greatest, but he's producing enough to make up for it.
Patty Mills (PG, SA) - 5% Owned
Tim Duncan has been out for a few weeks now with a knee injury and Manu Ginobili is out for at least a month because of testicular surgery, so there will have to be a few Spurs that step up. The first to consider is Patty Mills. He's gone up to double digit scoring over the last two weeks and has always been a three point specialist. His potential scoring output with his high volume of threes make him an intriguing option, especially in deeper leagues. He won't amaze anyone with his overall output, but with Manu out, Mills will be getting extended opportunities off the bench for the Spurs.
Bryce Dejean-Jones (PG/SG, NO) - 4% Owned
Dejean-Jones is one of those awesome NBA stories that no one ever talks about. A D-league guy that's bounced around now getting his chance at a few 10-day contracts in the league. He's a pure scorer but has good size so he also is a better than average rebounding guard. There is a chance that Dejean-Jones isn't in the league in two weeks but in his 26 minutes a night as starter for the Pelicans the last few weeks he's averaging 8 points and 5 rebounds a game. Right now his production and injuries for the Pelicans will keep him in the league and possibly even make him a viable fantasy option. If starting SG Eric Gordon continues to miss time, maybe people will start talking about Bryce Dejean-Jones.
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