Fantasy Basketball Waiver Wire Pickups: Week 19
Coby White has been putting up big numbers lately and could be a matchup-changing fantasy pick this week.
It’s time to get ready for another week of fantasy hoops. We are already heading into Week 19.
Most leagues combine the period before the All-Star break and after into one scoring session, so we’ll be operating under that assumption here.
Each and every week, we’ll look at players that you should consider picking up who are rostered in four different rostership tiers:
50-60%
30-49%
15-29%
0-14%
What’s more, we’ll give you a breakdown of how many games each team has for the upcoming week so that you can maximize the minutes of your streamers.
Without further delay, let’s get to it, starting with the schedule and offensive pace ratings, thanks to our friends at Razzball.
Since the All-Star break falls in the middle of the next two weeks, we’ll use a combined number of games since most leagues combine the two scoring periods into one.
Five games:
BKN, BOS, DEN, DET, HOU, LAC, NOR, PHX, WAS
Four games:
ATL, CHA, CHI, DAL, GSW, IND, MEM, MIA, MIL, MIN, NYK, OKC, PHI, POR, SAC, SAS, TOR, UTA
Three games:
DAL, LAL, ORL
Rostered in 50-60% of leagues
Devin Vassell (SG/SF – SAS): 52%
I wanted to switch this up, but I decided to put Vassell here for the second straight week.
The Spurs are embracing their youth. Throughout the season, we’ve seen the upside that Vassell has a scorer, and he’s going to be one of the main options for the Spurs’ offense moving forward.
Jason Richardson isn’t going to cut into his production, and over the last week, Vassell has a nice ranking of 69 overall in fantasy, with 14.4 points per game.
I can see a top 50 stretch to finish the season for the second-year wing.
Coby White (PG/SG – CHI): 58%
This is a Coby White fan account, and it will continue to be going forward. While the Bulls are closer to getting healthy, which can cause some concerns for White’s fantasy relevance, I’m OK picking him up and streaming him until Alex Caruso returns.
White has been on fire lately, scoring 56 points over his last two games.
What’s more, he’s been absolutely stroking it from behind the line, hitting 21 treys over his last four games.
The competition for playing time will be a challenge, but each and every stat matters – so I’m rolling White out and taking all that he gives me while he’s seeing major minutes.
Rostered in 30-49% of leagues
Jaden McDaniels (SF/PF – MIN): 40%
If you’ve read this column, you know I’m a big Jarred Vanderbilt fan.
Huge fan.
But we may be seeing a change in Minnesota as McDaniels has been outplaying him – both in production and in minutes.
McDaniels has played 32.3 minutes per game over his last three games with 15.7 points, 4.7 boards, and 3.3 STOCKs per game.
Vanderbilt, meanwhile, has averaged 26.3 minutes, six points, eight boards, and 1 STOCK per game.
We could be seeing a changing of the guard in Minnesota.
Maxi Kleber (PF/C – DAL): 34%
Dorian Finney-Smith seemed to be the main benefactor of Kristaps Porzingis moving to Washington, but don’t overlook Kleber.
Over the last month, Kleber is the 41st-ranked fantasy player, and he’s coming off of back-to-back games where he’s scored 19 and 20 points, respectively. In his 19-point performance, Kleber also recorded five blocks and three 3-pointers.
Kleber doesn’t have the highest ceiling, but playing with Luka Doncic automatically raises his already high floor up to making him a useful starter in 12-team leagues for those in need of frontcourt help.
Rostered in 15-29% of leagues
Jaxson Hayes (PF/C – NOP): 28%
Hayes has been the biggest tease of late, as he’s been playing a game of “will he or won’t he” with fantasy managers.
Lately, it’s looking like he will, as he’s put up three straight productive games for managers, averaging 15 points, 4.7 boards, and 1.4 STOCKs over the last week.
What’s more, the Pelicans have seemed willing to go with a two-big starting lineup, which is exactly what Hayes and his fantasy managers need going forward for him to maintain production.
Deni Avdija (SG/SF/PF – WAS): 19%
Avdija fell off the radar but is fully back on, posting top 61 numbers in fantasy over the last two weeks.
He’s scored in double-digits in his last five games, and he’s seen 30-plus minutes in four of those contests.
What’s more, Avdija is helping out consistently in rebounds, triples, and STOCKs, too, making him a low-end player in 12-team standard leagues and more valuable in deeper leagues.
Rostered in 0-14% of leagues
Ziaire Williams (SF – MEM): 2%
Until Dillon Brooks returns, Williams is showing that he’s a worthy streamer in deeper leagues and a fringe 12-team option.
The Grizzlies are deep and are maddening with their split usage, but Williams has been a solid contributor for those managers who need some scoring and three-pointers.
Isaiah Hartenstein (PF/C – LAC): 6%
Hartenstein has disappointed me. He was one of my biggest winners after the deadline with the Clippers shipping Serge Ibaka out of town, but he just hasn’t become the fantasy mainstay I expected him to become.
But in his last game before the break, Hartenstein posted a 13-point, eight-board, two assists, and eight-STOCK game, which is just fantastic to see.
The hope is that Hartenstein can build off of that performance to have a solid second-half run and become the consistent fantasy option that fantasy managers have been hoping for.
Michael Waterloo is a featured writer at FantasyPros. For more from Michael, check out his archive and follow him @MichaelWaterloo.
