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With the NBA season drawing to a close, Jeff Andriesse offers some last-minute waiver wire advice in the final edition of Team Building Exercises.
Feeling frantic yet? There's not much time to turn your season around. A week and a half, to be exact. If you are still alive in a head-to-head league, congrats. Let's figure out a way to win a championship. If you are trying to make a late push in a rotisserie format, that's a tougher proposition. But still, let's give it a shot by attacking the categories you need with pinpoint precision and maximizing games played.
This season I've tried several different formats with this column, from going team by team, to listing the top pickups by games played, to breaking it down by league format. My writing has varied from brilliant, to perfect, to superb, to hyperbolic. In all seriousness, I've made plenty of mistakes. Hopefully they've been offset by some of the right calls I've made and you've gotten something out of this.
In honor of my inability to stick to a set format week to week, I'm taking a different approach with this season finale. I'm just going to throw everything I have at the wall and see what sticks. We'll touch upon the best pickups from several angles, including taking a look at the best NBA games on the slate for fantasy purposes. I'm sure there are some leagues that break up Week 24 and 25, and I'll consider that, but the main thrust here will be to combine the two periods into one for playoff purposes.
It's our last week playing with the chemistry set; let's break it trying to win.
MUST-OWNS: THE FOLLOWING GUYS CAN HELP YOU OUTRIGHT WIN YOUR LEAGUE
Mike Conley (PG/SG, MEM) -Yahoo! ownership: 63 percent
Conley is one of the hotter point guards in the league and simply shouldn't be on waiver wires, but he is. Pick him up immediately as the Grizzlies play a six-game schedule featuring two games vs. Phoenix.
Anthony Randolph (SF/PF, GSW) - Yahoo! ownership: 24 percent
I'm making a run at Randolph in every league I'm still alive in. This freakish specimen can fill up a box score in many ways and his value has never been higher. A must-have if you need blocks and boards, and he'll sprinkle in some steals as well.
Anthony Morrow (PG/SG/SF, GSW) - Yahoo! ownership: 17 percent
Sensing a trend here? The Warriors are going to a youth movement, but mostly because their veterans are all banged up. Morrow is capable of lighting it up from downtown, so he's your guy if three-pointers are your fancy.
Steve Blake (PG, POR) - Yahoo! ownership: 48 percent
With four games this week for the Blazers and six the rest of the way, Blake makes for a great pickup. Over the last three weeks he's had solid-to-terrific games nearly every night out. He has hit at least two threes in 15 of his last 17 games, and he helps in assists.
Louis Williams (PG/SG, PHI) - Yahoo! ownership: 30 percent
With Thaddeus Young (SF/PF, PHI) out for the rest of the regular season, Williams will get plenty of offensive opportunities. The streaky hybrid guard can get hot quick, and if the minutes are there you won't be disappointed.
Ryan Gomes (SF/PF, MIN) - Yahoo! ownership: 64 percent
Gomes cooled off considerably in late March to the point where he is now available in a bulk of leagues. He's hot again, averaging 20.3 points and 5.7 boards in his last three. The Timberwolves play five games the rest of the way, but that shouldn't stop you from plugging Gomes into your lineup when you consider the opponents: LA Clippers, Golden State, Phoenix, Dallas and Sacramento.
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Quality over quantity: Rodney Carney plays just five times the rest of the way, but what a five with matchups vs. the Clippers, Warriors, Suns, Mavs and Kings. Photo Credit: Icon SMI |
Rodney Carney (SG/SF, MIN) - Yahoo! ownership: 6 percent
Carney is on fire lately ever since Randy Foye (PG/SG, MIN) went down with a hip injury that could end his season. Fine with Carney; he's averaging 19.3 in his last three with 10 three-pointers. Minnesota's schedule makes Carney look like a strong deep-league pickup, especially in daily formats.
As Many Sacramento Kings As You Can Get Your Hands On
The Kings have six games remaining, and boast several players capable of putting up beaucoup meaningless stats. The ownership levels for the following suggest some possible late-season gems are there for the taking:
Spencer Hawes (PF/C, SAC) - 68 percent
Francisco Garcia (SG/SF, SAC) - 65 percent
Jason Thompson (SF/PF/C, SAC) - 51 percent
Beno Udrih (PG, SAC) - 44 percent
Andres Nocioni (SF/PF, SAC) - 43 percent
Rashad McCants (SG/SF, SAC) - 24 percent
STRONG POSSIBILITIES: YOU MIGHT AS WELL TAKE A CHANCE
Rodney Stuckey (PG/SG, DET) - Yahoo! ownership: 62 percent
Allen Iverson is shutting it down for the season, so Stuckey has that going for him. He has had a disappointing couple of months, but there are signs of life. Stuckey is the rare point guard capable of helping in rebounds, but we'd love more steals and threes. Warning: just five games for the Pistons in the next week-plus.
Brandon Rush (PG/SG/SF, IND) - Yahoo! ownership: 24 percent
Indiana has just five games remaining so you better be sure about your pickups in weekly leagues. Rush has enjoyed a nice run and there's nothing that suggests he won't continue to do so. But since his back-to-back 29-point efforts last week he has come back to Earth. Can he do enough in five games to make it worth it? It's a borderline call, but we're leaving Rush here because daily-league owners will want him for the Pacers' favorable matchups vs. Toronto and Milwaukee at the very least.
Ronald Murray (SG, ATL) - Yahoo! ownership: 20 percent
Ya gotta love Flip's nine straight games in double figures, but upon closer inspection he isn't doing enough of everything else. His rebounds and assists are sub par, he only occasionally hits more than a three per game and his free throw percentage is decidedly average (74.2 percent). Certainly he’s a must-have in deep leagues if you need points and threes, but he’s not much more than that.
D.J. Augustin (PG, CHA) - Yahoo! ownership: 25 percent
The Hornets play five times the rest of the way, but Augustin has to be on your radar. While his minutes are stuck around 20 per game, he is averaging 14.0 points and 2.2 threes in the last six games. He's an instant offense guy like Murray who you just have to hope stays hot in a small sample size.
Kendrick Perkins (C, BOS) - Yahoo! ownership: 63 percent
Did you see Perkins' seven rejections on Friday night vs. Atlanta? That's the kind of thing that can win you a championship or two. But the Celtics have five games, not six, and that's a considerable factor at this point in the season in weekly formats.
Keyon Dooling (PG/SG, NJN) - Yahoo! ownership: 12 percent
Dooling was inserted into the starting lineup on Wednesday and responded with 23 points playing alongside Devin Harris (PG, NJN) in the backcourt. This looks like a good situation going forward for Dooling, it's just too bad the Nets have only five games.
DESPERATION HEAVES
So most of the above players aren't available, and you need some players. Below are some pickups for the most extreme cases of necessity. Remember, though, this is it for the season. What do you have to lose?
Nenad Krstic (PF/C, OKC) - 16 percent
Marreese Speights (PF/C, PHI) - 8 percent
Hakim Warrick (SF/PF, MEM) - 39 percent
Rasual Butler (SG/SF, NOR) - 43 percent
Eddie House (PG/SG, BOS) - 12 percent
Daequan Cook (PG/SG, MIA) - 12 percent
Sebastian Telfair (PG, MIN) - 9 percent
Shane Battier (SG/SF, HOU) - 50 percent
Matt Bonner (PF/C, SAS) - 35 percent
Joel Przybilla (PF/C, POR) - 38 percent
Thabo Sefolosha (SG/SF, OKC) - 19 percent
GAMES TO WATCH
It's one thing to name players who should be added, but what about the best games on the schedule from a fantasy standpoint? Like Wednesday night's Golden State-Sacramento 143-141 overtime monstrosity. At this time of the year, I call these Garbage Games, meaningless affairs that tickle the fancy of fantasy owners. There are more than a few on the docket in the next week and a half:
4/8 - Minnesota at Golden State; Toronto at Indiana
4/10 - Phoenix at Memphis; Sacramento at LA Clippers
4/13 - Memphis at Phoenix
4/15 - Golden State at Phoenix; Milwaukee at Indiana; Oklahoma City at LA Clippers; Sacramento at Minnesota
WHAT TO KNOW ABOUT THE SCHEDULE
If you only care about Week 24 (Apr. 6-12), here's who has four games: LA Lakers, Memphis, New Orleans, New York, Oklahoma City, Orlando, Philadelphia, Portland, San Antonio Spurs, Sacramento, Toronto. Denver, Milwaukee and Washington have just two each.
For Week 25 (Apr. 13-15), everyone has two except the Lakers and Knicks (one each).
In a combined scoring period (Apr. 6-15), Denver, Washington and Milwaukee have four each, while Memphis, New Orleans, Oklahoma City, Orlando, Philadelphia, Portland, San Antonio, Sacramento and Toronto have six. Everyone else has five.
FINAL THOUGHTS
Thanks to everyone who read and enjoyed the column this year. I'm always looking for feedback, so feel free to send it along so we can improve this next season. And of course I want to know how you end up finishing in your leagues. Feel free to fire off questions to me for the rest of the season, because I know there will be tough choices to make every day. Best of luck.
Jeff Andriesse can't believe the season is almost over. Has his waiver wire advice been helpful? Limit your swear words to five per email and let him know at jeff@rotoexperts.com.
Note: All statistics referenced are through games of Friday, Apr. 3.
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