Fantasy Basketball Pickups: It's time to Mann up
Week 14 of the fantasy basketball season is upon us, and, like every Monday, I'll break down several players who are less than 50% rostered in Yahoo fantasy basketball leagues and should be considered in lineups. But before we get to this week's waiver pickups, here are the games played by each team in Week 14.
Five games: One team (Raptors)
Four games: 13 teams (Cavaliers, Clippers, Grizzlies, Hawks, Heat, Knicks, Lakers, Nets, Pacers, Pelicans, Suns, Timberwolves and Warriors)
Three games: 12 teams (76ers, Bucks, Celtics, Hornets, Jazz, Kings, Thunder, Knicks, Mavericks, Nuggets, Thunder and Trail Blazers)
Two games: Two teams (Magic, Spurs)
One game: Two teams (Bulls, Pistons)
In short, feel free to cut bait with any fringe players on the Bulls or Pistons this week. And even the Magic, since they don't play until Thursday anyway.
Okay, now that you know which teams to target for streaming, let's get to the pickups.
Priority Add in Shallow leagues (10 teams or less)
TJ McConnell - PG/SG, Indiana Pacers (47% rostered)
McConnell is likely not available in 12+ team leagues but if he's still available on waivers in shallow leagues, pick him up immediately. Tyrese Haliburton (elbow, knee) will be sidelined for at least two weeks, and McConnell's been beyond serviceable despite still coming off the bench for the Pacers.
In his last two matchups without Haliburton, he is averaging 13.0 points, 7.5 rebounds, 9.0 assists and 2.0 steals while shooting 60 percent from the field. He rarely has a game where he doesn't have at least a 2:1 assist-to-turnover ratio, so I wouldn't panic about the five turnovers he committed on Saturday against the Grizzlies. Still, McConnell finished Week 13 22nd in per-game value.
Andrew Nembhard (32% rostered) also stands to benefit from Halliburton's absence, but I'd be more interested in McConnell if he's on the waiver wire.
Advice: Add in all points and H2H leagues.
Priority Adds in Deep Leagues (12+)
Gabe Vincent - PG/SG, Miami Heat (33% rostered)
The Heat continue to be marred by injuries this season, and Gabe Vincent is the next man up with Kyle Lowry (knee) and Tyler Herro (Achilles) out of the lineup. He went off against the Bucks in his last two outings, going for at least 27 points with five triples in those contests. He played 40 minutes in each game with an average of 3.5 steals.
He's riding a heater, so I'll be rushing to pick him up ahead of Monday's contest versus the Hawks. The other three games may be a bit more challenging against the Pelicans (2x) and the Mavs, but with this volume of minutes, Vincent is a must-add.
Advice: Stream in all leagues until Kyle Lowry returns.
Terance Mann - SG/SF - Los Angeles Clippers (20% rostered)
Anytime the Clippers have back-to-back sets, I'm picking up Terance Mann. Kawhi Leonard has sat in the second game in B2Bs three times this season, and that's more playing time for a combo forward.
But on top of Leonard's load management, Paul George continues to miss time with a hamstring injury. So as long as George is out, Mann holds value. He's even logged some minutes at point guard recently, and with four games on tap for Week 14 (with a B2B set included), Mann is a guy who should be rostered this week.
He's fresh off dropping a career-high 31 points last night and played at least 40 minutes in two of his previous three contests, and finished Week 13 within the top 70 in per-game value.
Get him while you still can.
Advice: Add in all leagues until Paul George returns to the lineup. He's still worth streaming anytime the Clippers have a B2B set, though.
Mid-tier Adds
Kenyon Martin Jr. - SF/PF, Houston Rockets (12% rostered)
Kevin Porter Jr. is dealing with a foot contusion, and as long as he's out, KJ Martin stands to benefit. He's logged at least 32 minutes in his last two contests and will be a good source of points, boards and steals while KPJ continues to be day-to-day with an injured foot. Martin Jr. doesn't commit many turnovers, and he's been efficient from the field this year, shooting 55 percent.
He has scored over 20 points with six rebounds in two of his last three games, including Sunday's performance against the Clippers, where he scored 22 points with nine rebounds.
KJ Martin is different! He DIFFERENT!! Omg! 😩 pic.twitter.com/cg8prwADPD
— V̷a̷t̷o̷r̷ (@Vator_H_Town) January 15, 2023
Jalen Green and Jae'Sean Tate should return from their suspensions on Monday, but the same can't be said for KPJ. Therefore, Martin is worth streaming until we know KPJ is back in the lineup.
Advice: Stream until Kevin Porter Jr. returns to the lineup in 12 team points and H2H leagues.
Quentin Grimes - SG/SF, New York Knicks (36% rostered)
Hey there. Me again trying to convince you that Grimes should be rostered in more than 50% of fantasy leagues.
Week 13 wasn't his best showing from the field, as he shot an uncharacteristic 33%. However, he shot 90% from the line and averaged nearly two threes with over five rebounds, a steal and 10 points per game.
He's starting, playing over 35 minutes per night and the Knicks have four games this week, so there's little downside in picking him up when he can contribute across several categories.
Advice: Add in 12+ team points and H2H leagues. Stream in shallow leagues in Week 14.
Duane Washington Jr. - PG/SG, Phoenix Suns (10% rostered)
Week 14 is the perfect time to pick up Duane Washington Jr. of the Phoenix Suns. Chris Paul's hip injury has kept him out, and Cam Payne hasn't been cleared yet, so Washington Jr. continues filling the void at point guard. Sure, he's struggled with his field goal percentage (he's shooting 33% from the field in his last five games), but he's still their best option to lead the offense and has shown a good scoring profile.
The Suns' are playing four games in Week 14, and two of them are against the Memphis Grizzlies — a team that he had success against earlier this season. Washington Jr.'s averaging 20.0 points, 3.5 rebounds, 2.0 assists with 3.5 threes in only 21 minutes per game against the Grizz this season.
One included a season-high 26 points with eight assists and five rebounds:
Duane Washington Jr. scored 19 of his career-high 26 points last night across a combined 5:15 of the closing stretches in the second and third quarters.
Had two good drives to see the ball go down. One quick transition 3 after that confirmed it was his night and then he was off. pic.twitter.com/YtRry2XyY4— Kellan Olson (@KellanOlson) December 28, 2022
If you can stomach the high turnover rate and poor shooting, it'll be hard to argue picking up a player who will command a consistent 25-ish minutes per game with the Suns so short-handed in the backcourt. There's no timetable for Paul or Payne's return and with three favorable matchups this week, give Washington a look if you need points, assists and threes.
Advice: He's a better option for points leagues but still worthy of streaming in 12+ H2H leagues, while Chris Paul and Cam Payne remain out of the lineup.
Short-term but worth a look
Chris Boucher - PF/C, Toronto Raptors (22% rostered)
Boucher is a pure volume play as he's the only viable option on the Raptors that is likely available to stream with a five-game schedule in Week 14. He's often in Nick Nurse's doghouse, but he's shown signs of life recently, scoring at least 12 points with five rebounds in two of his last three games.
He's worth a speculative add with the Raptors having a B2B set to start and close out the week.
Advice: Stream in Week 14 only.
