Fantasy Basketball Waiver Wire Week 13
Success in fantasy basketball leagues is often dictated by finding useful players on the waiver wire. With many of the most popular free agent choices already owned, owners sometimes have to look to other players who can provide some sort of fantasy production.
In Week 12, lesser-owned players like PG Darren Collison, SG Bradley Beal, PF/C Elton Brand and PG Jose Calderon and all had great weeks for their respective NBA teams as well as for fantasy owners playing these players. Chances are these players are already owned in most leagues, thus owners have to look at other players on the waiver wire in Week 13.
Whether these players have recently obtained a starting role, either short-term or long-term, or have become the likely beneficiary from a teammate’s injury, valuable waiver wire pickups can sometimes be the difference between winning and losing on a weekly basis. Here’s a look at five players, one eligible at each position, who are owned in less than 50% of Yahoo! Sports fantasy basketball leagues who are worth adding for Week 13 and for future weeks.
* The following players are all owned in under 50% of Yahoo! fantasy basketball leagues. The players’ percentage owned numbers for Yahoo! Sports Fantasy Basketball leagues and player statistics are accurate as of Friday, January 18, 2013. MPG: Minutes Per Game, FG%: Field Goal Percentage, FT%: Free Throw Percentage, 3PTM: 3-Pointers Made, PTS: Points, REB: Rebounds, AST: Assists, ST: Steals, BLK: Blocks, TO: Turnovers.
Austin Chang is a featured columnist and fantasy sports expert at Rant Sports and you can follow him on Twitter @_austinchang.
SF Al-Farouq Aminu, New Orleans Hornets
SF Al-Farouq Aminu (24% owned)
Statistics (per game averages): 26:23 MPG, .463 FG%, .762 FT%, 0.1 3PTM, 7.6 PTS, 7.1 REB, 1.5 AST, 1.3 ST, 0.5 BLK, 1.8 TO
Great performance from Week 12: January 16 – 27 minutes, 18 points (12-13 free throws), nine rebounds, one assist, two steals, two turnovers
Aminu has put up monster rebounding numbers as of late, for he had a streak earlier in the month of five consecutive games with double-digit rebounding. After struggling through December, he looks like a renewed player in January as both a rebounder and in the defensive categories.
PF/C Amir Johnson, Toronto Raptors
PF/C Amir Johnson (45% owned)
Statistics (per game averages): 25:11 MPG, .547 FG%, .700 FT%, 0.1 3PTM, 9.0 PTS, 6.3 REB, 1.5 AST, 1.1 ST, 1.0 BLK, 1.2 TO
Great performance from Week 12: January 15 – 26 minutes, 15 points (3-6 free throws), six rebounds, one assist, one steal, one block, two turnovers
Johnson has started to play really well as of late and has always been a great contributor in all categories. Given Aaron Gray’s recent injury, he has seen some time as a starter and should continue making waves in the fantasy world as a solid scorer, very good rebounder and balanced defender.
PG/SG Devin Harris, Atlanta Hawks
PG/SG Devin Harris (21% owned)
Statistics (per game averages): 23:36 MPG, .448 FG%, .660 FT%, 1.2 3PTM, 8.5 PTS, 1.9 REB, 2.6 AST, 1.1 ST, 0.2 BLK, 1.4 TO
Great performance from Week 12: January 16 – 35 minutes, 18 points (4-5 free throws, two made 3-pointers), four rebounds, five assists, four steals, three turnovers
A recent starter, Harris showed glimpses of greatness in back-to-back games against the Brooklyn Nets. Averaging 17.5 points and four assists in each game, he fantasy stock is quickly rising with Lou Williams injuring his knee and being declared out for the rest of the season.
PG Mario Chalmers, Miami Heat
PG Mario Chalmers (43% owned)
Statistics (per game averages): 25:53 MPG, .414 FG%, .706 FT%, 1.4 3PTM, 7.8 PTS, 2.3 REB, 3.4 AST, 1.6 ST, 0.2 BLK, 1.6 TO
Great performance from Week 12: January 16 – 27 minutes, 15 points (1-2 free throws, four made 3-pointers), one rebound, one assist, three steals, one turnover
Given his recent 10 3-pointer game against the Sacramento Kings, Chalmers can certainly have great shooting days in bunches. While he is not a consistent scorer or passer as a point guard, he provides value in various categories in every game, especially with his high number of steals.
PF/C Tyler Zeller, Cleveland Cavaliers
PF/C Tyler Zeller (13% owned)
Statistics (per game averages): 27:06 MPG, .416 FG%, .747 FT%, 0.0 3PTM, 8.2 PTS, 5.8 REB, 1.1 AST, 0.6 ST, 0.9 BLK, 1.4 TO
Great performance from Week 12: January 14 – 34 minutes, 13 points (7-8 free throws), six rebounds, one steal, four blocks
Zeller has seen plenty of minutes at center with Anderson Varejao out. While he hasn’t played the best with this opportunity, he has slowly improved his numbers and could be a nice back-end addition if he can provide more reliable production.
