Week 5 Fantasy Basketball Waiver Wire Pickups: Cam Thomas, Josh Richardson, Mason Plumlee, and More!
Now more than 10 games into the 2022-23 NBA regular season, some role-players are emerging as potentially great free-agents to scoop from waivers. The San Antonio Spurs are the only team scheduled to play five games in Week 5. As a result, SG Josh Richardson has an inflated free-agent fantasy value heading into Monday as he could produce above-average fantasy numbers through five games played beginning Monday.
Other free agents to consider are Nets’ guard Cam Thomas, who’s scored at least 17 points in each of Brooklyn’s last three games. Though the Nets are only playing three games in Week 5, Thomas is certainly one of the hottest free agent guards to target this week. I urge fantasy owners to recall how well he played filling in for James Harden’s injury and Kyrie Irving’s anti-vax antics last season as what we are seeing from the young scorer over the last few games is nothing new. Elsewhere, forwards Norman Powell of the Clippers and Jalen McDaniels of the Hornets are also seeing big minutes and producing solid figures for their respective teams. At the moment, they are available as free agents in approximately 50% of fantasy basketball leagues. Centers Mason Plumlee and Kevon Looney are picking up right where they left off in 2021. Once more, they are averaging near double-doubles to kick off the season.
Let’s take a look at some prime fantasy basketball free-agent targets to target from the waiver-wire this week.
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Fantasy Basketball Week 5 (Nov. 14 - Nov. 20) Advanced Team Schedule
Teams Playing 5 Games In Week 5: San Antonio Spurs.
Teams Playing 4 Games In Week 5: Charlotte Hornets, Dallas Mavericks, Detroit Pistons, Golden State Warriors, Houston Rockets, Los Angeles Clippers, Miami Heat, New York Knicks, Orlando Magic, Phoenix Suns.
Teams Playing 3 Games In Week 5: Atlanta Hawks, Boston Celtics, Brooklyn Nets, Cleveland Cavaliers, Denver Nuggets, Indiana Pacers, Memphis Grizzlies, Milwaukee Bucks, New Orleans Pelicans, Oklahoma City Thunder, Portland Trail Blazers, Sacramento Kings, Toronto Raptors, Utah Jazz, Washington Wizards.
Teams Playing 2 Games In Week 5: Chicago Bulls, Los Angeles Lakers, Minnesota Timberwolves, Philadelphia 76ers.
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Guards
SG Cam Thomas, Brooklyn Nets (43.92% Owned)
While Kyrie Irving’s antics continue in 2022, this time touching on antisemitic values, the Nets corps of guards is depleted. In come Cam Thomas, who has picked up right where he left off when he filled in for Kyrie’s absences and James Harden’s injury last season. Over the last three games, Thomas has played approximately 30 minutes in each contest. He’s scored at least 17 points in each of the last three contests. He’s also recorded a handful of rebounds, assists, and steals in the mix. At the moment, Thomas’ season averages are weighed down by two games in which he only played one minute. His performance over the last three games for the Nets makes him a very valuable guard to claim from waivers. He’s available in more than 55% of fantasy basketball leagues at the moment.
SG Alex Caruso, Chicago Bulls (50.33% Owned)
The Chicago Bulls are once again dealing with trouble at guard this season. Lonzo Ball is still months away from a return. This has left Ayo Dostunu with big minutes since the season began. Alex Caruso is averaging 25.8 minutes per game this season. While he is only averaging 5.1 points per contest, he is also producing 3.6 rebounds, 4.2 assists, 1.5 steals and 1.1 blocks per contest. What Caruso isn’t able to accomplish on offense he makes up for on defense. For example, Caruso only scored four points (1-11 FG) against the Raptors on November 6. However, he also had 11 rebounds, 11 assists, two steals and two blocks in the contest. These are the kind of performances which make Caruso a valuable fantasy basketball guard despite his low scoring figures. He is available as a free agent in just about half of fantasy basketball leagues at the moment. In fantasy basketball it's important to think about players who make the most of every minute they have each game. Caruso is one of those guys and for that reason, should have fantasy value throughout the season.
SG Josh Richardson, San Antonio Spurs (20.21% Owned)
Veteran shooting guard Josh Richardson is off to a solid start in his first full season with San Antonio Spurs. In 10 games played for the Spurs, Richardson is averaging 11.5 PPG (46.9 FG%), 2,2 rebounds, and 3.4 assists per game. For a guy who’s only seen 23.5 minutes per game coming off of the bench this season, he’s playing well. Since the Spurs are playing five games next week, Richardson, who is available as a free agent in approximately 80% of fantasy basketball leagues at the moment, is a great waiver-wire pickup whose value is particularly inflated in week-long fantasy leagues heading into Monday Nov. 14.
SG Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Denver Nuggets (61.43% Owned)
This offseason, the Nuggets traded SG/SF Will Barton and PG Monte Morris to Washington in exchange for PG Raul Neto and SG Kentavious Caldwell-Pope. While I believe the Wizards easily won this trade, Caldwell-Pope has been off to a solid start for the Nuggets in 2022. He’s played nine games for Denver averaging 31.4 minutes per contest to produce 11.3 PPG (50 FG% & 52.4 3PT%), 3.6 rebounds, 3.0 assists, and 1.6 steals per game. He’s scored in double-figures in six of his first nine games for Denver. He is an excellent perimeter scorer who is shooting much more efficiently to kick off the 2022 season than his final season averages in 2021. Last season, Caldwell-Pope played in 77 games for Washington to finish with a 43.5 FG% and a 39.0 3pt% in 2021. In comparison, he’s shooting terrifically through the first few games of the 2022 season on his new team.
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Forwards
PF Jalen McDaniels, Charlotte Hornets (50.68% Owned)
This season, Jalen McDaniels has played in all 11 games for the Hornets to average a career-high 26.1 minutes per contest. He’s producing 9.6 PPG on 41.1% shooting from the field, 5.5 rebounds, 2.3 assists, and 1.4 steals per game. Coming off of the bench for Charlotte this season, McDaniels is emerging as somewhat of a sixth-man for his team this season.
SF Norman Powell, Los Angeles Clippers (41.18% Owned)
Norman Powell left the Blazers to join the Clippers midway through last season. In his first full season with Los Angeles, Powell has been off to a respectable start. He is averaging 11 points per game on 42.9% shooting from the field, 2.9 rebounds, and 1.2 assists per game. In three of his last seven games, Powell has scored at least 17 points. Especially while Kawhi remains sidelined or limited this regular season, expect Powell’s numbers to continue and even progress. He could be shooting a lot better and likely will start to do so as the season keeps rolling and he gets looser.
Centers
C Mason Plumlee, Charlotte Hornets (51.35% Owned)
Last season, veteran center Mason Plumlee averaged 24.6 minutes per contest in 73 games played for the Hornets. He produced 6.5 PPG (64.1 FG%), 7.7 rebounds, and 3.1 steals per game. Through the first 11 games of the 2022 season, Plumlee has played the same amount of minutes but is averaging 8.1 PPG, 8.3 REBs, and 4.1 ASTs. Plumlee is picking up right where he left off and even producing a little bit more than he did at least through the first few weeks of the regular season.
C Kevon Looney, Golden State Warriors (26.39% Owned)
Kevon Looney is averaging 23.5 minutes per game this season for 6.4 PPG, 6.6 REBs, and 3.3 ASTs. Last season, Looney’s durability was on full display as he played in all 82 games for the Warriors in 2021-22. In 21.1 minutes per contest last season, Looney averaged 6.0 PPG, 7.3 REBs, and 2.0 ASTs per game. He’s picking up right where he left off this season. For a guy who doesn’t seem to be very injury prone, he is a big man with a lot of fantasy value who is available in more than 70% of fantasy basketball leagues right now.
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