March 14 Fantasy Basketball Takeaways: Top Rookies and Waiver Wire Options | Al Horford, Tim Hardaway Jr., Bones Hyland, Isaiah Hartenstein, Scoot Henderson and More

Taking a look at some of the top performances from waiver wire options across NBA games played March 14.

Six NBA games on Thursday, March 14 provided plenty of fantasy basketball talking points. Let’s take a look at some of the night’s best outings from waiver wire players and rookies.

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Waiver Wire Options

Let’s open today’s conversation by discussing Boston Celtics’ Al Horford. He’s owned in 57% of leagues and finished with 24 points, three rebounds, assists and steals and one block across 33 minutes in the team’s win over the Phoenix Suns.

Horford was 8-of-14 from the floor and 6-of-10 from deep. It was just the second time he’s topped 20 points in a game this season, and set a new season high. Boston played without Kristaps Porzingis, which opened a few extra scoring chances for Horford.

Horford isn’t one to score a ton of points most nights, but usually fills out the stat sheet pretty well. Until Porzingis is back, Horford could be a streaming option in standard leagues, but otherwise, Horford should probably just be utilized in deeper leagues.

Dallas Mavericks’ Tim Hardaway Jr., rostered in 53% of leagues, recorded 23 points, nine rebounds, three assists and one steal across 31 minutes off the bench in the team’s loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder. Hardaway was 8-of-13 from the floor and 5-of-9 from 3-point land.

Hardaway was a really solid fantasy asset earlier in the season, but had dipped to 20 minutes or fewer in seven straight games coming into Thursday’s game. Luka Doncic was inactive, so that explains the extra minutes Hardaway got.

Even at 20 minutes or fewer, Hardaway is a good deep league option. He showed Thursday that he’s a decent streaming option in standard leagues when Doncic or Kyrie Irving were ever out a game.

Phoenix’s Grayson Allen, owned in 82% of leagues, recorded 20 points, three rebounds and one steal across 36 minutes in the team’s losing effort. Allen was 8-of-9 overall and 4-of-5 from deep.

After struggling to score for a bit, Allen has scored in double figures in four of the past five games, with three of those games over 20 points. He doesn't provide a bunch of other stats in most games, but he’s still a decent streaming option in standard leagues on his scoring alone.

Los Angeles Clippers’ Norman Powell, rostered in 60% of leagues, finished with 18 points, two rebounds and assists and one steal across 28 minutes off the bench in the team’s win over the Chicago Bulls. He made six of his 10 shots and half of his six 3-pointers.

Powell has been in a good scoring groove of late, scoring in double figures in five straight games. Even though he isn’t doing much else aside from scoring, Powell is still a pretty solid streaming option in standard leagues.

Clippers’ Bones Hyland, owned in 17% of leagues, started and played 32 minutes, tallying 17 points, 11 assists, five rebounds and four steals on Thursday. He was 6-of-9 from the field and added four 3-pointers.

Hyland started with James Harden inactive and delivered his best outing since returning from a 11-game absence. He’s scored in double figures in three of the past four contests, and has added enough other numbers to try streaming him in deeper leagues for the time being. He definitely needs to be played if Harden is inactive for a future game.

Chicago’s Alex Caruso makes this article again this week after tallying 17 points, six assists and three rebounds and steals across 36 minutes. He’s owned in 75% of leagues. All five of his field goals were 3-pointers.

Caruso scored 23 points in the team’s previous game, making five triples in that game too. Until he cools off offensively, Caruso is a streaming option in standard leagues - he should already be owned in all deep leagues.

New York Knicks’ Isaiah Hartenstein, rostered 74% of leagues, totaled nine points and rebounds and two assists across 24 minutes in the team’s win over the Portland Trail Blazers.

Hartenstein is a good source of rebounds most nights, but lacks in the scoring department. I’m surprised to see his own percentage so high yet. I’d think there are better options out there in standard leagues, and maybe even deeper leagues.

Top Rookies

A handful of rookies put together solid outings on Thursday.

Houston Rockets’ Amen Thompson made nine of his 12 shots to score 20 points in the team’s win over the Washington Wizards. He also had 11 rebounds, four assists and three steals across 28 minutes played.

Thompson fills the stat sheet up most nights, and has scored in double figures in three of the past four contests. He’s owned in 60% of leagues right now, and could see that increase a bit if his scoring keeps up. For now, there’s probably better options out there in standard leagues.

Portland’s Scoot Henderson, owned in 71% of leagues, tallied 12 points, seven rebounds, six assists and one steal across 26 minutes in the team’s loss.

Since missing eight straight games, Henderson has scored in double figures in three of his first four games back, with a decent amount of rebounds and assists most nights too. He’s going to have some inconsistency in his outings, but he’s a pretty solid all-around fantasy asset in all formats.

Washington’s Bilal Coulibaly, rostered in 38% of leagues, went for 10 points, four assists, three rebounds and two steals across 34 minutes in the team’s loss. 

Coulibaly continues to start and play over 30 minutes for Washington, which is plenty of time to be a decent fantasy asset at least. He’s scored in double figures in four straight, with a decent amount of rebounds, assists and steals all those nights too. He’s a streaming option in deeper leagues and dynasties until he starts to cool off a bit.

Portland’s Kris Murray, owned in 10% of leagues, accumulated 10 points, four rebounds and one assist across 31 minutes on Thursday.

Murray scored in double figures for the first time in the past five games, which explains his own percentage a bit. He’s played an inconsistent amount of minutes over that span, which also plays a role in his own percentage. I’d keep a close eye on him in deeper leagues and dynasties, as he’s played in 30+ minutes the past two games.

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