RADIO
We are four weeks into the NBA fantasy season and we already have our first crop of names you might not have heard of that will definitely be relevant. Unfortunately, injuries are starting to pile up and rotations that worked early in the year are quickly being scrapped. Teams like the New York Knicks seem to have no direction in what players they want in the rotation, while other teams like the Sacramento Kings are so jam-packed with potential it's hard to predict who will be the top contributors each night.
With that, each team still has their own specific trends and we can confidently base out picks of that, regardless of how funky the team management might be. Another player that I expect to make a significant impact on his team and the rest of the league is backup point guard and mini-Kemba Walker, Devonte' Graham. He has the skill-set, speed and athleticism to score on high-quality defenders, and has the size to fend off bigger guards. He will need to focus on defense to get him in the solidly in the rotation, but his offense is what will keep him there. Keep an eye out.
As a reminder, for standard (10-12 team) league adds, we use a general rule of thumb of an ownership rate of under 50% on Yahoo. All position eligibility based on Yahoo leagues.
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Standard League Adds for Week 4
Bryn Forbes, SG – San Antonio Spurs
Ownership: 13%
12.6 PPG / 2.5 APG / .435 FG% / 1.2 SPG
The Spurs point guard rotation has all but disappeared, but Patty Mills and Bryn Forbes continue, and will continue to hold down the fort for the time being. Patty Mills has all but secured himself the reputation of being one of the better backup point guards in the league, but Forbes is still unproven to most common fans. He has been playing increasingly well the more games he plays and he is starting to produce like a typical Spurs point guard. Not the most eye-popping stats, but he's not hurting you and is even averaging at least one steal per game to add to his production.
Alfonzo McKinnie, PF – Golden State Warriors
Ownership 2%
6.8 PPG / 4.2 REB / .516 FG% / 1.1 3PM
There are few young players that are up and coming as quickly as Alfonzo McKinnie. He is playing for the Warriors which helps his case, but watching him you realize how useful he is going to be for this team. He rebounds well and has the ability to knock down threes at a high-rate, given he gets the minutes. Right now he is only averaging 15 minutes per game, but that will slowly increase as the season continues. The Warriors tend to rest players and have no problem throwing out minutes wherever necessary. McKinnie has pushed his way to the front of the line and he will get rewarded. You could stash him for later, but right now McKinnie is an up and coming star.
Dwight Powell , C – Dallas Mavericks
Ownership 8 %
8.7 PPG / 3.6 RPG / .673 FG% / 1.0 APG
This pick might be a week or two late seeing how Powell is getting fairly consistent minutes, but playing with the second team is hurting him more than it's setting him apart. His role is slightly less productive than what it was last year, but he still has upside because his team lacks proper frontcourt talent. He is scoring the ball and his efficiency has been great, but his minutes aren't where we want them at just yet. He does get a fair share of time running with the starters, but the Mavericks will always favor DeAndre Jordan at the five and Powell has a better chance getting minutes as a defensive-minded four. Nerlens Noel is another quality pickup, but he is only being included because I don't have any images of Bryn Forbes, Alfonzo McKinnie or Dwight Powell to use for my cover.
More Fantasy Basketball Analysis
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.
