Fantasy Basketball Streamers: Top Wednesday Pickups for Wizards, Jazz, and Lakers
Streaming players from three NBA teams with good matchups on Wednesday.
No long preamble for you today; we've got plenty of games on the schedule after a short day on Tuesday and another one coming Thursday, so it's a good day for fantasy owners to get full lineups in the final push of the season.
Let's look at streaming players from three NBA teams with good matchups on Wednesday. We'll focus on the guys who get on the court and are widely available in fantasy leagues. Most stats are from NBA.com.
Use FantasySP's defensive rankings to find the teams and players with the best matchups every day!
Los Angeles Lakers @ Indiana Pacers
Indiana plays at a top-10 pace and has a bottom-five defensive rating by the season-long numbers, making them an attractive target every day. Their pace is just outside the top 10 since the All-Star break, but the Pacers' defense has been the worst in the league in the second half, more than making up for the slight slowdown. There's not a much better target right now.
The Lakers are nearly guaranteed to finish above the play-in, though they're not completely out of that range yet. More likely, they need to worry about falling from third to as low as sixth, a group of teams that is within 2.5 games of each other. Keeping homecourt advantage in the first round should be their main goal over the next several weeks (along with being healthy).
Guard
Kennard produces some shooting and scoring, but he doesn't add much else, and he is in a reserve role that limits his minutes and numbers most days, leaving him as nothing more than a low-level fantasy guy.
Smart has had a few good scoring games but generally tops out around a 10-point-per-game average in any month without adding a lot of numbers elsewhere. Smart missed Monday's game and is questionable here, adding uncertainty.
Forward
LaRavia had a run of better games when there were injuries in front of him, but he has been relegated to a deeper reserve role with more guys healthy; LaRavia hasn't scored more than eight points in any March game.
Hachimura is another player who missed Monday's game and is questionable for this one. He had a few good games early in March, but over the past 10-plus days, he hasn't done much scoring or anything else. That inconsistency makes him a risky option, particularly with the injury worry.
Center
Hayes plays a reserve role behind Deandre Ayton, generally limiting him to less than 20 minutes per game. That limits his chances to put up stats, leaving him short of a fantasy level most days.
Washington Wizards @ Utah Jazz
We'll finish with a game in which we can go after both teams, as Washington and Utah have been our two favorite targets all season. Both teams are second worst in their respective conference, though the Wizards are 4.5 games worse overall. They will each finish within the bottom six of the entire league unless something crazy happens in the 10-ish remaining contests.
The Wizards are in the top six in pace and bottom two in defensive rating both over the full season and since the All-Star break, making them probably our best target right now. The Jazz are in the top five in pace and the bottom seven in defensive rating in both segments of the season, including the second-fastest pace and second-worst defense over the full season. This set of teams couldn't offer much more intrigue for our streamers.
Washington Wizards
There are a lot of guys questionable and/or out for the Wizards, making it tough to know who to trust in fantasy, as minutes can be inconsistent in those situations. I'll give you some of the most likely streamers to get on the court with the caveat that these might not be the top options come game time; it's important to check actives/inactives.
Guard
Both Trae Young and Tre Johnson are expected to be out for this game, leaving the reserve guards a much better chance than usual. A lottery pick in 2024, Carrington has the most upside, but he hasn't quite put it all together for big stat lines (he's only 20, so there's time). He has been decent in March, averaging 11.8 points, 4.3 assists, and 1.8 3-pointers per game, each number right at or better than his season mark.
Hardy is a little better scorer and shooter (around 12.5 points and 2.5 3-pointers since joining Washington at the trade deadline), though he doesn't add much else, capping his ceiling. Either Carrington or Hardy is an OK pickup if you need guard help.
Forward
The uncertainty stretches to forward, where Coulibaly is questionable. He is the best option from this group if healthy, averaging 15.7 points, 4.6 rebounds, 2.1 3-pointers, and around one block and one steal per game in March. Riley is at 14.2 points and 1.8 3-pointers this month, but he doesn't add much else, giving Coulibaly an advantage.
Watkins is a lesser statistical player, adding some rebounding but not scoring or shooting as well as the other two. He's probably a player to skip despite getting on the court for at least 26 minutes in each of the past three games.
Center
Alex Sarr is out, leaving plenty of center minutes for the reserves. Vukcevic is questionable here after leaving Sunday's game with back pain. He has been effective the past two months, averaging around 12 points, 4.4 rebounds, and 2 3-pointers in each, and getting starter minutes would make him an intriguing pickup.
Gill is a lesser statistical player, but he did combine for 31 points and 10 rebounds in the past two games while playing 26 minutes in each. If Vukcevic is also out, Gill could be a sneaky-good option today.
Utah Jazz
Guard
With Isaiah Collier out, there has been more time for backup guards, specifically benefiting Chandler and Mbeng. Chandler spent more time in the G League and has played just two games with the big team, but he has been involved, combining for 66 minutes, 32 points, 13 assists, 10 rebounds, and four steals in those two games. Mbeng has played six games, but his numbers haven't been as good as Chandler's. He has been on the court plenty (111 minutes over the past three games).
Williams missed Monday's game and is questionable here. He has been productive this month, averaging 14.1 points, 4.4 rebounds, and 4 assists in March. Harkless has shown some scoring chops, reaching double figures in five of his past eight games, but he doesn't do a lot else, leaving his floor lower than you'd like.
From this group, Williams is the best bet if he plays, and Chandler might be the second-most intriguing as long as Collier remains out.
Forward
Bailey and Sensabaugh have been hot in March, each averaging over 21 points per game this month. Sensabaugh has also hit 2.9 3-pointers per game, while Bailey has added 4.2 3-pointers, 4.2 rebounds, 1.1 blocks, and 1.1 steals in that time frame. Either guy is a worthy pickup, though Bailey is owned in over 40% of leagues and Sensabaugh over 30% of leagues, so it's not guaranteed that either will be free.
Konchar is a deeper reserve player who doesn't put up the number to be on our radar. Target one of the other two.
Center
Filipowski is owned in close to half of leagues, another guy worth looking at who might not be available. His March numbers have been his best, with 13.2 points, 8.8 rebounds, 4.2 assists, and 1.2 steals per game. That's decent all-around work if you need help at center.
Tshiebwe has finally gotten some consistent backup minutes, but he hasn't put up enough stats to really be a fantasy asset. If he ever got a starting role, he might have a little intrigue.
