RADIO
First of all, Happy New Year to all you fantasy NBA nuts out there! Some extraordinary stuff is happening on our watch (thank you Russell Westbrook, James Harden and many more). What a great time for all the NBA fans. It's the holiday season and nobody could use some holiday cheer more than the Miami Heat fans. Only one win in their last nine games, sitting dead last in the Southeast Division, seven games out of the playoff spot and the primary culprit is the injury bug. As if what happened with Chris Bosh wasn't enough, the injuries kept pilling up. Wayne Ellington, Josh Richardson, Dion Waiters and Justise Winslow have all missed 10 or more games this season, with the latter two still battling to get back to full health. Furthermore, Goran Dragic and Hassan Whiteside are hurt at the moment with Whiteside out on Jan. 4 against Phoenix and Dragic hoping to play against his former team.
The silver lining for all the Heat fans out there could be the output the Miami reserves are producing in fantasy. Guys who were left on most waiver wires to start the season are now lighting it up and are worth pickups in most leagues. Here we go, my Week 11 waiver wire pickups for the wing spots. As Horatio Caine would put it, "It's the Miami way!".
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Standard League Waiver Wire Wing Adds
Josh Richardson, SG/SF, MIA (56% owned)
Richardson was injured to start the season and his first game didn't come until Nov. 4 in which he played just 11 minutes. All that has changed and, with the Heat injury plagued, he is getting a lot of shots and minutes to prove himself worthy of being a starter in a fully healthy Miami. He has been on a tear lately with averages of 18.8 PTS with 2.3 three-pointers on 50.0% from the field and 75.0% from the line, 4.0 boards, 5.3 dimes, 2.0 steals, 0.8 blocks and 1.5 turnovers in 36 minutes a game in the last seven days. That's easily top-50 value.
Now, while it is hard to believe Richardson can keep this up in reduced minutes when Dragic and Waiters return (they are both expected back sometime this week), it's not too difficult to imagine him staying a top-100 player. Even if Miami gets back to full health, he should still be the starter and get minutes at around the high 20s to low 30s. And with the way it has been going for the Heat so far this season it wouldn't be too much of a surprise if the injuries keep coming and if Josh avoids them he could get similar time and space to produce for his fantasy owners as he is getting at the moment. And the simple taught of him keeping this production level further into the season is worth an add from the waiver wire in most leagues.
Dion Waiters, SG/SF, MIA (19% owned)
There is another option on the wing from the Heat and that is James Johnson. We already discussed him last week so I will just mention him here. If you prefer him over Waiters that is fine. Johnson is playing great at the moment and is a worthy pickup for most teams looking for instant help from the wire.
But bear with me here. While we all know Dion Waiters has been called out for his poor shot selection and decision making, we mustn't forget he is a great scorer too. One too many appearances on Shaqtin' a Fool may have clouded the public's vision of Waiters, but they shouldn't cloud yours.
Before his injury in late November, Waiters was the third scorer in Miami behind the team's star players Dragic and Whiteside. Moreover, he had the highest usage percentage on the team with 24.7%. In the 16 games he played this season he averaged 14.2 PTS with 1.3 3PM on 38.4 FG% and 65.2 FT%, 3.4 REB, 3.9 AST, 0.9 STL, 0.6 BLK and 2.2 TO in 32 minutes per game. Although those percentages are bad, he is actually a career 41.0% field goal and 70.4% free throw shooter. Still not great but we should see an improvement there. And the well rounded scoring, rebounding, assists and defensive stats for a wing off the waiver wire is very hard to find.
Dion made it through a full practice on Jan. 2 and is expected to return in the next game or two. If Dion can stay healthy and get around 30 minutes a game the rest of the way, he should have stats similar to those from the start of the season, with maybe a few less shots but higher percentages, and that is deserving of a spot in deeper leagues, and even in some standard leagues depending on your league's settings.
Other options: Jamal Crawford, SG/SF, LAC (44% owned) and Bojan Bogdanovic, SG/SF, BKN (47% owned)
Deep League Waiver Wire Wing Adds
Wayne Ellington, SG/SF, MIA (10% owned)
Now here's a real conundrum. Ellington has only played in 15 games this season for the short-handed Heat and has helped a lot on the offensive end. He is averaging 12.4 points and a team high 2.4 threes, hitting 43.8% of his field goals and 80.0% of his free throws. He doesn't do much else though contributing with 1.9 rebounds, 1.9 assists, 0.7 steals and 0.1 blocks, turning the ball over just 0.3 times a game.
Now it's unknown what Ellington's role will be when Waiters returns. He will probably be coming of the bench for minutes in the low to mid 20s. That means his counting stats might take a slight hit with his points dropping to around 10 and his threes to around 2 per game. But his efficiency shouldn't be harmed. His percentages are pretty good for a waiver wire pickup who shoots from down town and scores a lot and those low turnovers are welcome in all fantasy teams that count them.
If you're in a deep league and efficiency, scoring and three point shooting are high up on your priority list, take a flier on Ellington. He won't hurt you, will help out in his categories and if he doesn't work out for you, I'll be right here again next week to help you search for the right cork to plug the hole in your fantasy roster.
Other options: P.J. Tucker, SG/SF, PHO (10% owned) and Iman Shumpert, SG/SF, CLE (6% owned)
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.
