March 18 Fantasy Basketball Takeaways: Top Rookies and Waiver Wire Options | Miles McBride, Caris LeVert, Payton Pritchard, Trayce Jackson-Davis, Scoot Henderson and More

Taking a look at some of the top performances from waiver wire options across NBA games played March 18.

There were eight NBA games played on Monday, March 18. Let’s take a look at some of the best individual performances from waiver wire options.

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Waiver Wire Options

Let’s open the conversation by talking about Miles McBride of the New York Knicks.

McBride, who is rostered in just 4% of leagues, recorded 29 points, two assists and one rebounds and steal across 47 minutes in the team’s win over the Golden State Warriors.

New York was missing several players, and only played nine players across the entire game. McBride took advantage of the playing time, making 9-of-13 shots overall and 6-of-9 from deep.

McBride’s playing time has been all over the place of late, going anywhere from 10 minutes to 47 since the end of February. He’s mostly played between 10-20 minutes, which doesn’t leave much room for him to be a fantasy asset. When the team is without several regulars, McBride is likely going to get a ton of playing time, which makes him a streaming option in all league formats. Keep a close eye on the team’s injury updates and react accordingly with McBride.

Cleveland Cavaliers’ Caris LeVert started and played 38 minutes in the team’s win over the Indiana Pacers. LeVert, who is owned in 80% of leagues, recorded 23 points, 11 assists, eight rebounds and one steal and block.

LeVert plays enough each night, even if it’s off the bench, to be a solid fantasy asset. He’s scored 20 or more points in two straight games and has scored in double figures in six of the past eight games. He’s usually a good source of assists each night, and then will sprinkle in some rebounds and steals here and there.

I’m honestly surprised that LeVert isn’t owned in more leagues. He’s consistently part of this article and outperforms a lot of the players with a higher own percentage fairly often. At least stream him until he cools off a bit offensively.

Chicago Bulls’ Ayo Dosunmu, owned in 79% of leagues, recorded 23 points, 10 assists and one rebound and steal across 39 minutes played in the team’s win over the Portland Trail Blazers.

Dosunmu continues to log a ton of minutes, and it’s resulted in some big fantasy showings. He’s scored over 20 points in three of the past four games now. Even if he isn’t scoring a ton, he’s usually filling the stat sheet well in other areas.

Like LeVert, I’m surprised that Dosunmu seems to be stuck near the 80% own mark. He outperforms a lot of other fantasy players with a much higher own percentage. I’d try to find a way to add him to my roster for the remainder of the season.

Boston Celtics’ Payton Pritchard, rostered in 23% of leagues, went for 23 points, seven assists and two rebounds in the team’s win over the Detroit Pistons. He was 8-of-14 from the floor and 5-of-9 from deep.

Pritchard got some extra run with Jrue Holiday, Al Horford, Jayson Tatum and Sam Hauser inactive. Pritchard capitalized with his fifth game in double figures in the past six contests. 

Pritchard will remain a streaming option for whenever the team has a couple regular rotation players out. When the team is at full strength, he doesn’t play or produce consistently enough to play in most leagues.

Detroit’s Jaden Ivey, rostered in 79% of leagues, finished the night with 21 points, five assists and rebounds and one block across 29 minutes.

Ivey is another player that appears stuck at that 80% own mark. He’s scored in double figures in 12 straight games, also averaging 4.1 assists, 2.8 rebounds, 0.9 steals and 0.7 blocks over that span. 

It’s not a ton of production outside the scoring, but he’s also a better fantasy option most nights then a lot of the players that fantasy owners are trotting out there. Really dig into the numbers, especially lately, between Ivey and some of your fantasy players - I bet Ivey could help your team out a bit more than you think.

Top Rookies

Several rookies put together strong showings on Monday, led by Golden State’s Trayce Jackson-Davis.

Jackson-Davis, owned in 41% of leagues, made all nine of his shots on his way to a 19-point showing in the team’s loss to the Knicks. TJD also had nine rebounds, three blocks and two assists across 26 minutes off the bench.

With Jackson-Davis coming off the bench, his fantasy ceiling is capped, but he’s also very efficient from the floor, so he’s able to post well-rounded efforts even while playing only half of the game. I like TJD in deeper leagues and dynasties, at least until his production dips.

Memphis Grizzlies’ GG Jackson II, rostered in 48% of leagues, finished with 22 points, seven rebounds and three steals across 44 minutes in the team’s overtime loss to the Sacramento Kings.

Jackson has now scored in double figures in five straight games, with over 20 points in three of those games. He’s not only scoring at a good clip, but is filling up the stat sheet pretty well most nights too.

He should be owned in all deep leagues and dynasties at this point, and I see him as a solid streaming option in standard leagues for the time being.

Portland’s Duop Reath, owned in 11% of leagues, tallied 14 points and a rebound across 17 minutes off the bench in the team’s loss.

Reath has seen his playing time dip of late, which has really hurt his fantasy value. He played well on Monday, but I’d try to look elsewhere for help in deeper leagues/dynasties for the time being.

Utah Jazz’s Keyonte George, rostered in 77% of leagues, finished with 15 points, eight assists, three rebounds and one steal across 30 minutes in the team’s loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves.

George continues to be a good fantasy asset in all formats. Monday was one of his lower scoring games in a few weeks, but he filled the stat sheet up well otherwise to still produce a good outing. I’m a fan of adding him in all formats.

Detroit’s Tosan Evbuomwan, who is barely owned in any leagues, recorded 11 points, two rebounds and one steal across 18 minutes off the bench.

Evbuomwan has only played in eight games this season, but because of where Detroit is at as a team, he’s a guy to monitor in case he gets some extended minutes down the stretch.

Utah’s Taylor Hendricks finished with eight points, six boards and one assist, steal and block across 28 minutes. He’s owned in 28% of leagues.

Hendricks continues to be a nice source of points and rebounds. If you are looking for some help in deeper leagues and dynasties, Hendricks is a solid option.

Portland’s Kris Murray, rostered in 7% of leagues, totaled 10 points, two steals and one rebound, assist and block across 27 minutes on Monday.

Murray is starting now for Portland, but has been inconsistent with his outings - he didn’t score in the team’s previous game. Until he’s more consistent, there’s better fantasy options out there to utilize.

Portland’s Scoot Henderson, owned in 64% of leagues, had 14 points, five rebounds and assists and one steal across 30 minutes.

Henderson has scored in double figures in five of the past six games, but hasn’t topped 15 points in a game. He fills the stat sheet pretty well, but until his points go up a bit, his own percentage should stick where it is.

Miami Heat’s Jaime Jaquez Jr., rostered in 51% of leagues, tallied nine points and rebounds, four assists and one steal across 35 minutes in the team’s loss to the Philadelphia 76ers. He was just 3-of-13 from the floor.

Jaquez has started and played nearly 35 minutes in back-to-back games now with a few teammates out. Until those teammates return, Jaquez is a streaming option in all formats because of the high minute mark. Otherwise, he’s a solid option in deeper leagues and dynasties.

#waiver-wire