Top Fantasy Basketball Waiver Pickups for the Week of Feb 8th
These are the top 10 waiver wire trends for the week of February 8th. This week includes Norris Cole, Marco Belinelli, Evan Turner, Amare Stoudemire, Tyler Zeller, Wesley Johnson, Bryce Dejean-Jones, Kobe Bryant, Luol Deng, Stanley Johnson. These Waiver Alerts have already gone out to our members over the past past week as soon as we spotted them.
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Cole contributed 23 points (9-15 FG, 3-3 3Pt, 2-2 FT), six assists, three rebounds, and one steal in 38 minutes during the Pelicans' 110-95 loss versus the Grizzlies on Monday.
Cole started once again while Tyreke Evans (knee) sat out yet another game. Cole has scored in double figures during six straight contests, with very serviceable overall numbers during that timespan. As long as Evans remains out, Cole is likely to see heavy minutes, but it's unclear what his role will be once Evans does return.Norris Cole scored two points on 1-of-10 from the field against the Lakers on Thursday, adding two assists, two steals and one turnover in 13 minutes.
He was in foul trouble tonight and coach Alvin Gentry just opted to keep him out. Cole had some major problems with consistency in his Miami days, but he's been fine up until tonight. He's only a low-end guy and should hold some value while Tyreke Evans (knee) is without a timetable.
Norris Cole scored 14 points with four rebounds, nine assists, one steal and two turnovers in 34 minutes against the Spurs on Wednesday.
He continues to surprise with the increased assists, averaging 7.5 per game in his last four. Cole has put up seventh-round value in that span, which is pretty close to his ceiling. That's still enough to give him a long look until we see Tyreke Evans (knee) back on the court.
Own Percentage Change Compared to Last Week: +71.38%
Marco Belinelli had 18 points (7-17 FG, 2-8 3Pt), four rebounds, two assists, and one steal in 38 minutes during the Sacramento Kings ' 128-119 loss to the Celtics on Sunday.
Belinelli continues to earn plenty of minutes as the starter with Ben McLemore sidelined due to a wrist injury. The 6-5 shooting guard is averaging 16.3 points, 2.8 rebounds, 2.3 assists, 1.8 threes, and 1.8 steals in 36 minutes per game over the last four contests, and he remains likely to start again on Monday when the Kings take on the Cavaliers in Cleveland.
Marco Belinelli finished with 18 points (7-14 FG, 3-7 3Pt, 1-2 FT), four rebounds and three steals in 36 minutes during Wednesday's loss to the Bulls.
Despite Ben McLemore being active, Belinelli saw his second consecutive start and responded with his second consecutive 18-point game. Not only did Belinelli start, he played 36 minutes, just one fewer than Demarcus Cousins' team high. In the meantime, McLemore played just 18 minutes off the bench. Still, we've seen these sporadic spikes in usage before so it's hard to consider veteran guard anything other than a viable plug-and-play option at this point.
Marco Belinelli posted 18 points (5-15 FG, 2-9 3Pt, 6-7 FT), six assists, three rebounds, and one steal in 36 minutes during the Sacramento Kings ' 111-104 victory versus the Bucks on Monday.
Belinelli drew the start in place of Ben McLemore, who is dealing with a sprained wrist on his shooting hand. The last time Belinelli saw 30-plus minutes was on Jan. 9 against the Warriors, and he has only had 11 such opportunities to see extended time all season. On nights that Belinelli is set to start, he makes for a decent value play in DFS, but he's not a very reliable option long-term in fantasy unless McLemore's injury proves more serious.
Own Percentage Change Compared to Last Week: +111.24%
The Celtics toughened up their defense and were simply too tough for the Knicks. Jae Crowder and Tyler Zeller each added 16 points, while reserves Evan Turner and Kelly Olynyk were also in double figures as the Celtics were fresher and sharper in dominating the final 15 minutes. ''Eventually we started wearing them down playing great defense, and we got stops and turned them into buckets,'' Turner said.After failing to secure the rebound off a missed Evan Turner free throw, the Cleveland Cavaliers gave the Boston Celtics one more chance to steal a win. Avery Bradley capped the heist.
Evan Turner had 19 points (8-16 FG, 0-1 3Pt, 3-4 FT), 12 rebounds, six assists and a block in 32 minutes on Friday in a win against the Cavaliers.
Turner has been logging a great deal of minutes for the Boston Celtics lately, and deservedly so. The 12 rebounds on Friday were a season-high for Turner and he was also one point shy of matching his best total on the year. Jae Crowder is a little banged up right now, and should he miss an extended amount of time, Turner would become a must-start in nearly every fantasy format. As of now, there is no question that Turner should be on your season-long roster.
Own Percentage Change Compared to Last Week: +29.74%
After matching the worst shooting half of his career in the first 24 minutes against Dallas, Dwyane Wade missed his first shot of the third quarter. When Amare Stoudemire grabbed the rebound and got the ball right back to Wade, the Miami star shot it again. Wade bounced back with 16 of his 18 points in the second half and Chris Bosh led the Heat with 20 in a 93-90 victory against the Mavericks on Wednesday night.This is what the Miami Heat envisioned when they got Amare Stoudemire to agree to a free agent deal last summer. Miami's season was teetering on the brink a week ago, with losses and injuries piling up. Stoudemire posted season-highs of 13 points, 12 rebounds and three steals in Miami's most recent win, a 105-87 romp over Atlanta on Sunday night.
Amare Stoudemire has impressed his teammates and the Miami coaching staff with his recent play, and he'll likely have a spot in the rotation even when Hassan Whiteside (hip) returns to the court.
Goran Dragic and Dwyane Wade have both said that Amare is better at setting screens than Whiteside, and Miami has gone on a four-game winning streak with STAT in the starting lineup in addition to posting an improved defensive rating of 97.6. Amare's averages of 9.3 points and 7.5 rebounds per game as a starter won't really get it done in standard leagues, but if Stoudamire becomes a regular part of the rotation, he could cut into Hassan's playing time.
Own Percentage Change Compared to Last Week: +919.11%
Tyler Zeller set season highs in points (16) and rebounds (10) to help the Boston Celtics to a 97-89 victory against the New York Knicks.Tyler Zeller scored a season-high 17 points vs. Sacramento on Sunday, sinking 6-of-8 FGs and 5-of-5 FTs with seven rebounds, two blocks and one assist.
Zeller did his damage in just 22 minutes and he's demanding a share of frontcourt minutes -- over his past four games he's averaging 13.8 points on 68.6 percent shooting, to go along with 6.5 rebounds, 1.5 assists and 1.3 blocks. He's playing just 20.8 minutes during that span, however, and most owners should leave him on the wire.
Tyler Zeller had 16 points (8-10 FG), four rebounds and an assist in 20 minutes on Friday in a win against the Cavaliers.
Zeller has been getting more run lately and that could continue going forward as Kelly Olynyk gets fewer minutes. This is now three productive outings in a row for Zeller and everything is trending in the right direction for him. It may be a little premature to add him to your season-long roster right now, but keep an eye on him in the next couple of games to get a true indicator of where his role lies with the Boston Celtics . Zeller has a great matchup against Denver in the next game on Sunday, but again, his minutes are not set in stone.
Own Percentage Change Compared to Last Week: +836.94%
Own Percentage Change Compared to Last Week: +86.83%
Dejean-Jones tallied 17 points (6-10 FG, 1-3 3Pt, 4-8 FT), nine rebounds, an assist and two steals over 43 minutes in Thursday's 99-96 loss to the Lakers.
The 23-year-old has been a nice find for the Pelicans in the wake of Eric Gordon's finger injury, and helped keep New Orleans afloat Thursday on a night where multiple starters struggled. Both the minutes and the point total were season highs, while his nine rebounds equaled the amount he'd hauled in against the Nets on Jan. 30. Dejean-Jones appears to be guaranteed an appreciable amount of playing time for the time being with Gordon's continued absence, and has proven to be a nice source of rebounds so far, particularly for a two-guard. He's now averaging 7.4 points and 4.0 rebounds over 21.1 minutes over the eight games he's appeared in, with five of those being starts.Dejean-Jones managed eight points (3-7 FG, 2-5 3Pt), three rebounds, one assist, and one steal in 23 minutes during the Pelicans' 110-97 loss to the Spurs on Wednesday.
Dejean-Jones has earned 30 minutes per contest over the last four games, and he is contributing 9.9 points, 4.6 rebounds, 1.5 steals 1.3 assists, and 0.3 blocks per appearance. The 23-year-old guard seems like a fairly decent bet to be signed for the remainder of the season by a Pelicans team that has once again been ravaged by injuries, but he probably shouldn't be relied on in fantasy unless he maintains this high minute load and improves his per-game production.
Bryce Dejean-Jones posted career-highs 17 points and 43 minutes against the Lakers on Thursday, adding nine rebounds, one assist, two steals and one 3-pointer.
He was a ball of energy out there and played most of his minutes at his natural two-guard spot. Dejean-Jones is almost a lock to get signed for the rest of the year with his NBA body and ability to get to the cup. He's only worth a look in deep leagues, but the undrafted free agent looks like a nice steal for the Pelicans right now.
Own Percentage Change Compared to Last Week: +537.29%
Marvin Williams and Michael Kidd-Gilchrist had 19 points and 12 rebounds apiece, and the Charlotte Hornets sent the Los Angeles Lakers to their franchise record-tying 10th consecutive defeat, 101-82 Sunday night. Kobe Bryant scored 23 points in 23 minutes, but the Lakers matched the 1994 team for the longest skid in the 16-time NBA champion franchise's proud history. Los Angeles dropped to 9-41, guaranteeing three straight non-winning seasons for the first time since 1961.Take-Two Interactive Software Inc has been hit with a copyright infringement lawsuit over its depiction of tattoos belonging to National Basketball Association stars LeBron James and Kobe Bryant in a popular video game.
Kobe Bryant (shoulder) will play against the Pelicans on Thursday.
Bryant is still struggling with with his shoulder injury, but is coming off a season-high of 38 points on Tuesday. While Bryant makes for a solid start on Thursday, his return will cut into the minutes of Lou Williams and D'Angelo Russell.
Own Percentage Change Compared to Last Week: +16.28%
SACRAMENTO, Calif. – It wasn’t the Luol Deng spinal tap from back in 2013, but simple Bulls surgeries tend to be an adventure. Nikola Mirotic was just the latest. The second-year forward was back in the hospital after undergoing an appendectomy, this time having a hematoma removal over the weekend. As far as that projected […]Deng scored 17 points (7-14 FG, 1-2 FT, 2-5 3Pt) to go along with four rebounds, three assists and two steals in 32 minutes Sunday against the Hawks.
The veteran took on a larger offensive role Sunday, as he tied a season-high in field-goal attempts and reached 17 points for just the fourth time. Deng continues to play 30-plus minutes per night for Miami, but his season averages of just 10.2 points and 4.7 rebounds suggest that he is long past his prime as a solid fantasy contributor. Deng could again see a few extra shots if center Hassan Whiteside misses Tuesday's game as expected, but his fantasy value will likely level off once the latter returns.
Luol Deng hit 7-of-13 shots and two 3-pointers for 17 points, eight rebounds, three assists and a steal in Tuesday's loss.
Deng is hot, averaging 16.7 points, 6.3 rebounds, 2.0 assists, 1.3 steals and 2.0 3-pointers over his last three games. If he was dropped in your league, he might be worth a look, although we're guessing the return of Hassan Whiteside (oblique) will hurt Deng's production.
Own Percentage Change Compared to Last Week: +34.28%
Point guard Jackson fights through ailments to make key plays in 105-100 win over Nets, while Stanley Johnson proves his 3-point acumen is not limited to the right corner.Stanley Johnson got off to a rocky start to his NBA career with the Detroit Pistons, but it appears something has clicked in the past few weeks. Stanley Johnson was drafted eighth overall by the Detroit Pistons in the 2015 NBA Draft, a decision that drew mixed reviews. Many fans and observers thought the Pistons […]Detroit Pistons: Stanley Johnson is growing before our eyes - PistonPowered - PistonPowered - Your Go-To Source For Pistons Coverage
The 2016 Rising Stars Challenge rosters were announced and Detroit Pistons’ rookie Stanley Johnson didn’t make the cut. Stanley Johnson has had an up and down rookie season, but overall he’s met expectations. His play of late has been much better, which should excite Pistons’ fans going into the second half of the season. Unfortunately, […]Stanley Johnson left off of Rising Stars Challenge - PistonPowered - PistonPowered - Your Go-To Source For Pistons Coverage
Own Percentage Change Compared to Last Week: +68.48%
These are just some of the trends over the past week. We have plenty more real-time Waiver Trends for you to check out.
