10 Fantasy Basketball Waiver Wire Targets for Week 15
We're here once again to look at 10 of the most interesting players to emerge off fantasy basketball waiver wires over the past week.
As always, make sure you're checking out last week's edition (and the week before for good measure). We try not to repeat ourselves, but there are always some high-priority options to be found in previous iterations of this column who should still be on your radar if they're out there.
All rankings come courtesy of Basketball Monster.
Now, let's hit the wire.
Marcus Smart, PG/SG, Boston Celtics
Yahoo Ownership: 40%
We talked about Marcus Smart as a guy who really should be owned in more leagues back in Week 10, but he's still on 60% of the waiver wires on Yahoo, so we almost have no choice but to talk about him again.
Smart has been locked in as a starter for the Boston Celtics since late November, and he's been stuffing the stat sheet ever since. He's now up to being the 90th-ranked player in nine-category leagues on the year, 79th over the last month, 56th over the last two weeks, and 29th over the last seven days. Notice a trend?
Over his last eight games, he's averaged 11.0 points, 2.8 three-pointers, 3.0 rebounds, 3.3 assists, 1.4 steals, 0.4 blocks, and 1.0 turnover in 28.2 minutes per contest, while shooting 50.8% from the field and 85.7% from the free throw line.
He's never going to give you much scoring, but he's a great source of threes, assists, and steals, he rarely turns the ball over, and he's finally found his shot, hitting 41.3% of his attempts from the field on the year, as compared to his career mark of 36.6%.
There's really no reason for him to be unowned in standard leagues. If he's on your wire, he's likely better than whoever is occupying your final roster spot, so make the swap.
Marvin Williams, SF/PF, Charlotte Hornets
Yahoo Ownership: 60%
Marvin Williams is another player that should be universally owned in standard leagues, but is still on a shockingly large percentage of waiver wires.
He's started all 45 games he's played for the Charlotte Hornets this year, and is ranked 94th in nine-category leagues on the season as a whole. He's been particularly hot over his last eight contests, ranking 52nd overall over that span for his averages of 11.3 points, 2.4 triples, 5.8 rebounds, 1.8 assists, 1.2 steals, 1.0 block, and a mere 0.6 turnovers in 29.3 minutes per contest, and shooting split of 40.5% from the field and 75.0% from the charity stripe.
If your team is good enough not to need a consistent starter posting mid-round value on the year and top-50 value over the last few weeks, more power to you. Otherwise, you should be looking to add Williams wherever he's available.
Terrence Ross, SG/SF, Orlando Magic
Yahoo Ownership: 50%
Terrence Ross continues to hang around as a fantasy-relevant wing coming off Orlando's bench, ranking 111th in nine-category leagues on the year, and 43rd over the last couple weeks.
Over that seven-game span, he's averaged 18.3 points, 3.4 threes, 3.0 rebounds, 1.4 assists, 1.1 steals, 0.4 blocks, and 0.9 turnovers in 28.9 minutes per contest, while shooting 46.9% from the field and 80.0% from the line.
He may not be a starter, but he essentially gets a full complement of minutes off the pine anyway. When he's rolling like this, owners in need of a boost in scoring and triples in particular should give him a look.
Mikal Bridges, SG/SF, Phoenix Suns
Yahoo Ownership: 25%
Mikal Bridges has quietly been the second-best rookie in fantasy hoops over the last month, ranking 57th in nine-category leagues over his last 16 contests (trailing only his 16th-ranked Phoenix Suns teammate, Deandre Ayton).
Over his last nine games, Bridges has been particularly great, averaging 6.9 points, 1.2 triples, 2.7 rebounds, 2.0 assists, 1.9 steals, 1.0 block, and 0.7 turnovers in 27.5 minutes per contest, while shooting 48.9% from the field and a perfect 7-for-7 from the charity stripe.
His line doesn't stand out too much, since he doesn't put up big popcorn numbers in points, boards, and dimes, but he's really solid across the board otherwise. There are only three players averaging at least one triple, one steal, and one block per contest this season (Marc Gasol, Robert Covington, and Dewayne Dedmon), and Bridges is showing that he might have the potential to do the same at some point, or at least in week-to-month-long bursts.
Simply put, we're at the point where he should be owned in more than a quarter of Yahoo leagues. If you're relatively set in points, rebounds, and assists, you really should consider adding Bridges to your squad to help fill out the rest.
P.J. Tucker, SF/PF, Houston Rockets
Yahoo Ownership: 45%
P.J. Tucker continues to have a solid fantasy season, piling up minutes for the injury-ravaged Houston Rockets. He's now the 96th-ranked player in nine-category leagues on the year in a healthy 35.4 minutes per contest, and has been trending up even more lately, ranking 31st over his last seven.
Over that span, he's averaged 11.6 points, 2.3 three-pointers, 5.9 rebounds, 2.4 assists, 2.4 steals, 0.7 blocks, and 1.0 turnover in 37.2 minutes per game, while shooting 43.5% from the field and 68.8% from the free throw line.
With the Rockets still down Chris Paul (hamstring) and Clint Capela (thumb), Tucker should continue to carry a fair share of the load for them for the foreseeable future. He's often overlooked in fantasy hoops for his general lack of scoring, but he contributes enough in threes, rebounds, and steals to warrant ownership in standard leagues, particularly when he's rolling like this.
Kenneth Faried, PF/C, Houston Rockets
Yahoo Ownership: 30%
Kenneth Faried has not had a season to write home about as a member of the Brooklyn Nets -- he's the 348th-ranked player on the season in nine-category leagues -- but things get a bit more interesting as he gets ready to join the Houston Rockets and absorb "significant minutes immediately".
Back when Faried was a consistent starter with the Denver Nuggets from 2011 to 2016, he put up between 82nd- and 92nd-ranked value each year. There are plenty of frontcourt minutes to go around in Houston now that Clint Capela is on the shelf for 4-to-6 weeks following thumb surgery, so Faried could have the opportunity to go right back to being a mid-round guy all over again once he officially joins the team.
His poor free throw shooting and complete lack of threes has the tendency to drain his value a little, but owners in need of big man that can provide blocks, boards, and a decent shooting percentage from the field could get some solid returns from grabbing Faried now in anticipation of his new situation.
Marco Belinelli, SG/SF, San Antonio Spurs
Yahoo Ownership: 20%
Marco Belinelli is on fire right now.
Over his last five games, he's been the 43rd-ranked player in nine-category leagues, averaging 18.2 points, 3.4 triples, 2.4 rebounds, 2.0 assists, 0.6 steals, 0.2 blocks, and 1.4 turnovers per contest, while shooting 51.9% from the field and a perfect 18-for-18 from the charity stripe.
The 32-year-old veteran is only the 178th-ranked player in nine-cat leagues on the year, and he gets fairly inconsistent minutes off the San Antonio Spurs' bench, but he's playing too well to overlook on your waiver wire right now. If you're looking for a hot hand and a healthy injection of points and triples, Marco's your guy.
Ante Zizic, C, Cleveland Cavaliers
Yahoo Ownership: 10%
The Cleveland Cavaliers are hemorrhaging big men, as they are currently down Kevin Love (toe), Larry Nance Jr. (knee), Tristan Thompson (foot), and John Henson (wrist). Congratulations, Ante Zizic, you're the last man standing.
Zizic has started two straight games for the Cavaliers, and he's played particularly well over his last five games. Over that span, he's been the 52nd-ranked player in nine-category leagues, averaging 14.4 points, 0.0 threes, 7.2 rebounds, 0.4 assists, 0.6 steals, 0.6 blocks, and 0.0 turnovers in 25.2 minutes per contest, while shooting 65.9% from the field and 85.7% from the charity stripe.
As the Cavs get healthy, Zizic will go back to being irrelevant in fantasy hoops, but for now, he's worth an add to see how long he can keep this up.
Royce O'Neale, SF, Utah Jazz
Yahoo Ownership: 5%
Royce O'Neale is not likely to be a league-winning waiver wire pick-up, but he's been starting for the Utah Jazz for five straight games, and putting up early-round value in the process.
Over that span, he's been the 41st-ranked player in nine-category leagues, averaging 10.2 points, 2.2 threes, 7.6 rebounds, 2.6 assists, 1.2 steals, 0.8 blocks, and 1.2 turnovers in 34.9 minutes per contest, while shooting 48.6% from the field and a perfect 6-for-6 from the free throw line.
The Jazz are particularly banged up right now, so just keep in mind that O'Neale's value might dry up when they get healthy. In the meantime, however, he's worth a flier while he's doing such a great job of picking up the slack.
Bismack Biyombo, PF/C, Charlotte Hornets
Yahoo Ownership: 15%
Bismack Biyombo has started nine consecutive games for the Charlotte Hornets in place of an injured Cody Zeller (hand) with mixed results (he's been the 101st-ranked player in nine-category leagues over that span). He's been strong with two double-doubles over his last two contests, however, and that makes him worth an add for now.
Over that two-game span, he's averaged 10.5 points, 0.0 three-pointers, 12.5 rebounds, 1.5 assists, 0.0 steals, 3.0 blocks, and 1.0 turnover in 25.7 minutes per contest, while shooting 66.7% from the field and 83.3% from the line.
He's already shown that he can't be a reliable standard league fantasy option, even when he's starting games on a consistent basis, but he's still worth a look for rebound- and block-starved owners whenever he's rolling.
