A Short Sunday Fantasy Basketball Slate? These Waiver Wire Gems Are Poised for Massive Games
Streaming players from two NBA teams with good matchups on Sunday.
It's a bit of a short schedule on the NBA calendar today, with just one-third of the league in action. That leaves us short on quality streaming options as well, so instead of the usual three teams, I only have two franchises with high-quality matchups today.
Let's look at streaming players from those two NBA teams with good matchups on Sunday. We will focus on the guys who get on the court and are widely available in fantasy leagues. Most stats are from NBA.com.
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Brooklyn Nets @ Sacramento Kings
Sacramento plays at the sixth-fastest pace and has the fifth-worst defensive rating. They are closer to the middle in pace of play over the full season, but the Kings are also even worse on defense over that expanded time. They're a high-level fantasy target.
On top of having a bottom-five defense of their own, the Nets have the worst offensive rating in basketball. It was expected to be a down year for Brooklyn; they got rid of veterans and added five rookies in the first round! They will probably be adding a high pick in this year's draft, but the Nets are likely to have a few more seasons of struggle coming before finding any real success.
Guard
Brooklyn is spreading their minutes around, a luxury for a coach of a losing team but also something that takes away from the fantasy value of everyone involved. These three are all first-round rookies and guys who are getting some run late in the season, one positive that comes out of playing on a bad team.
Traore played his best in February, averaging 12.2 points, 5.6 assists, and 1.3 steals. Each of those numbers are down in March, as are Traore's minutes, leaving him mostly off the fantasy radar. Both Powell and Saraf are lesser statistical guys right now, though Saraf did reach double-digit points in four straight games before scoring just five points on Friday.
Forward
Back in January and now so far in March, Williams averaged around 12 points, 1.5 steals, and 1.8 3-pointers per game. He was a little down in February, when he also dealt with injury, but he's the best bet out of this group for a good fantasy performance, coming off 17 points in 25 minutes on Friday.
Wolf is another of those first-round picks (the fifth one is Egor Demin, who is injured), a big man who it was thought could be a stretch 4/5, but his shooting touch hasn't been there this year. He is averaging 10.4 points, 6.4 rebounds, and 1.3 3-pointers in March and was close to the same last month, OK marks for the 21-year-old.
Johnson spent more time in the G League, making his debut with the big team on March 9. He had a few decent games last week, combining for 29 points and 16 rebounds on Monday and Wednesday, but it's tough to expect any consistency.
Center
Center Nicolas Claxton is the only Net who is widely owned in fantasy leagues, leaving us looking more for backups at the position. Minott is more of a forward but can slot in at center in many leagues, so he fits here. He hasn't put up much for numbers on the season, but Minott has averaged 17.3 points over the past four games, so maybe there's something here.
New York Knicks vs. Washington Wizards
Washington plays at the sixth-fastest pace and has the worst defense in the league, just a hair worse than Utah. Since the All-Star break, the Wizards have played the third fastest while holding the third-worst defensive rating, making them vulnerable no matter what season segment you focus on. After yesterday's loss to the Thunder, Washington has now lost 15 games in a row, doing a great job of making sure they hang onto their top-eight-protected first-round pick.
The Knicks are essentially guaranteed homecourt advantage in the first round of the playoffs, but they could finish second, third, or fourth. Climbing to second (from their current third seed) would obviously be preferable, as it would guarantee them home court in two rounds, and with Cade Cunningham out indefinitely for the Pistons, the team that finishes second could very well host the Conference Championship round as well.
Guard
Landry Shamet is out for this game, and Josh Hart is questionable, so there might be more minutes for these guys. Alvarado is more of a role player and defensive force than a statistical guy, something that often leaves him off the fantasy radar.
Alvarado did have 16 points and 10 assists on Tuesday against the Pacers in a game that Jalen Brunson missed, but that was his first game all season with 10 assists and only his third game with New York in which he reached double-digit points. Kolek also played 21 minutes in that game, but he doesn't put up numbers even when he gets on the court.
Forward
Clarkson will likely benefit most from the absence of Shamet and possibly Hart. He can slot in at both guard and forward on the wing, having much more size than Alvarado and Kolek. Clarkson has played at least 19 minutes in each of the past five games and averaged 13.6 points, decent work, though he doesn't add much else.
Diawara only plays reserve minutes and doesn't do enough to be on our radar.
Center
Robinson has had a few big games when he has gotten more minutes, but Karl-Anthony Towns usually dominates the center minutes, limiting Robinson's statistical impact. He has been cleaning up the boards recently, averaging 12.6 rebounds over his last five games, including 22 last Friday when Towns was out.
