Fantasy Basketball Waiver Wire: Jake LaRavia and Toronto's Rising Stars
We break down three waiver wire gems who are trending up and ready to make an impact in fantasy basketball lineups.
We have already gone over fantasy basketball waiver wire/streaming options in the daily and weekly projection stories, and now are going to pick three more options off the FantasySP waiver wire list to discuss.
We will talk about a guard and forward from the Raptors, plus another forward from the Lakers. Let's dive in!
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Collin Murray-Boyles: Turning Opportunity Into Production
Murray-Boyles is rostered in 42.74% of fantasy basketball leagues after a 9.87% increase already today.
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The rookie has appeared in 33 games overall for Toronto. He's started nine times, including the past five.
Murray-Boyles has logged 21 or more minutes in eight straight contests. In that stretch, the rookie is averaging nine points, 9.4 rebounds, 2.5 assists, 1.9 steals and 1.4 blocks over 28.5 minutes a night. He's shooting 49.2% overall in those games, but is just 16.7% from 3-point land.
He has scored 17 points in two of those eight contests, but been in double figures just one other time. Murray-Boyles has added fantasy value by posting 12 or more rebounds in four of those contests, and he's been over seven boards in all but two of those contests.
With a handful of assists, steals and blocks thrown in, Murray-Boyles is a pretty solid fantasy asset. That's why he's on the rise today.
As long as he's starting and playing a healthy amount of minutes, he has the chance to be a legit fantasy asset. I'm not ready to put all my eggs in his basket, but he has good deep-league value to take advantage of right now.
He'll need to deliver big for another week in order to sneak into standard leagues, but he's worth tracking at the very least.
Jake LaRavia: Capitalizing on Expanded Role
LaRavia is up 7.17%, bringing his overall mark to 58.27%.
LaRavia is taking advantage of injuries to several teammates. The most notable injury of the bunch is Austin Reaves.
LaRavia has started six straight games for LA, playing at least 34 minutes each time. He is averaging 15 points, 5.3 rebounds, 2 steals, 1.7 assists and 0.3 blocks over 36.3 minutes a night, while shooting 53.2% overall and 40.5% from deep.
He is averaging 9.8 points, 4.3 rebounds, 1.9 assists, 1.4 steals and 0.4 blocks over 26.9 minutes a night this season, for comparison. LaRavia is shooting 47.1% overall and he's 34.1% from deep, so the extra minutes haven't led to worse efficiency.
He's capable of going for 20+ points a night, but a better nightly projection is something in the teens. With a handful of other stats thrown in, LaRavia is a pretty solid fantasy asset.
Being on the Lakers, I'm actually a bit surprised that he isn't rostered in more leagues. He's trending up, and will have a couple more weeks (at least) without Reaves around.
Take advantage of things while you can with LaRavia and add/utilize him.
Jamal Shead: Underrated Guard Trending Up?
Shead has been added in 5.06% of leagues and now sits at 18.49% overall.
He has started just twice over his 40 appearances this season. One of those starts was in his last game, when he logged 37 minutes. Shead had 22 points, six assists and a rebound, so he's capable of big fantasy nights with big minutes.
Shead is averaging 21 minutes a night on the season, so at that mark, his fantasy outlook is capped a bit. He's averaging 7.1 points, 5.4 assists, 1.8 rebounds, 1 steal and 0.2 blocks, while shooting 37.4% overall and 33.1% from deep.
Toronto is dealing with a few injuries right now, which affords Shead more playing time. In Sunday's game, the Raptors were without RJ Barrett, Brandon Ingram and Jakob Poeltl. Ja'Kobe Walter left the game with an injury, helping Shead log a season-high in minutes.
If those players are out for an upcoming game, there's a chance Shead shines again. So he's not a must-add player today, but he's an option in deeper leagues at least.
He has played at least 24 minutes in three straight games, so maybe he is going to stick at a bigger role for a bit. Keep an eye on his minutes and usage, as even 24 minutes a night gives him a better outlook than what he's averaged for the season.
But again, we are just talking about a deep-league waiver wire add for now. He'd need a couple more big games in a row before we could utilize him in standard leagues.
