This article is part of our NBA Waiver Wire series.
No one scores on every shot they take. Not every arrow hits the bullseye. You don't need a touchdown on every play. Insert additional overused-yet-accurate sports analogies here.
Some weeks, Pascal Siakam is available on waivers. But most of the time, you're lucky if you can find an E'Twaun Moore. Some weeks, the waiver wire is full of likely or potential home runs.
This week, however, most managers are probably going to have to settle for singles and doubles. There are a few players rostered between 50 and 67 percent of leagues that look like long-term plug-and-play contributors – which, in the realm of waiver wire prospects, is the equivalent of a home run – but those guys are not going to be available for most players. Outside of that small handful of prospects, managers will need to settle for guys who can provide a couple weeks of "good enough" until someone better comes along.
Waiver wire activity is still critical, even when there is a lack of premium additions. And there are several players who can help your rosters, even if that help is only marginal or short-term. Just because there aren't any studs available, that's no excuse to skip out on a player who can help.
In terms of the schedule, the NBA is back to normal after a few weird weeks. Only three teams have two-game weeks, and everyone else plays three or four games. No single day is exceptionally busy. Thursday is a little quieter than
No one scores on every shot they take. Not every arrow hits the bullseye. You don't need a touchdown on every play. Insert additional overused-yet-accurate sports analogies here.
Some weeks, Pascal Siakam is available on waivers. But most of the time, you're lucky if you can find an E'Twaun Moore. Some weeks, the waiver wire is full of likely or potential home runs.
This week, however, most managers are probably going to have to settle for singles and doubles. There are a few players rostered between 50 and 67 percent of leagues that look like long-term plug-and-play contributors – which, in the realm of waiver wire prospects, is the equivalent of a home run – but those guys are not going to be available for most players. Outside of that small handful of prospects, managers will need to settle for guys who can provide a couple weeks of "good enough" until someone better comes along.
Waiver wire activity is still critical, even when there is a lack of premium additions. And there are several players who can help your rosters, even if that help is only marginal or short-term. Just because there aren't any studs available, that's no excuse to skip out on a player who can help.
In terms of the schedule, the NBA is back to normal after a few weird weeks. Only three teams have two-game weeks, and everyone else plays three or four games. No single day is exceptionally busy. Thursday is a little quieter than normal, but Thursday is usually the day with the fewest games, so the difference is minuscule. The three teams that play only two games are the Nuggets, Thunder, and Kings.
As always, the players in this article must be rostered in less than two-thirds of CBS leagues. Players are listed in the order in which I recommend adding them, assuming they are equally good fits for your team.
Adds for All Leagues
Bogdan Bogdanovic, Kings (60 percent rostered)Bogdanovic is currently on fewer rosters than his long-lost brother*, Pacers wing Bojan Bogdanovic (70 percent rostered). That should flip. The pair offers similar skill sets, and they are primarily attractive for their scoring and threes. So far this season, the Kings' Bogdan is averaging 13.9 points and 2.1 threes per game, compared to the Pacers' Bojan's 15.6 points and 2.2 threes. While that may look like a slight advantage in favor of Bojan, he's averaged 30.8 minutes, compared to Bogdan's 24.9.
Bogdan is working his way back from a preseason injury and is expected to take on the full starters' workload now that he is fully healthy – in his last three games, he's averaging 30.7 minutes. As his minutes climb, his scoring and threes should follow. He also provides some help in rebounds, assists, and free throw percentage. I'm not suggesting you drop Bojan; both players should be rostered in almost all leagues. The point here is that the Fantasy community has already declared that a player with similar to-date production should be rostered, and Bogdan has the added appeal of a much higher ceiling.
*Note: They are not actually brothers
Trey Burke, Knicks (61 percent rostered) and Jordan Clarkson, Cavaliers (53 percent rostered)
Combining these two point guards for two reasons. First, their roster rates are fairly high, and a lot of managers won't have them as an option. Second, both look like great short-term adds, but both could plummet off the Fantasy radar at any minute.
Burke has looked great in big minutes helming the Knicks second unit. Depending on your Fantasy needs, Clarkson might be a better fit for a roster than his teammate Collin Sexton. But the Knicks keep tinkering with their rotation, and Clarkson could lose some minutes when George Hill (shoulder) eventually comes back. Both players are worth adding, and look like they have medium-term value, but it would not be surprising if one or both were back on waivers sometime around the All-Star break.
Cedi Osman, Cavaliers (63 percent rostered)
Osman has disappointed so far this season, but I still believe he's one of the best players on this Cavaliers squad, and most of the time even a bad team will feature several Fantasy impact players. He's returned from a two-game injury absence and returned to his massive workload, including seeing 42 minutes in consecutive games bookending Thanksgiving. He's not quite the must-add I thought he was last week, but he still looks like a useful well-rounded producer who will see a ton of minutes.
Kyle Anderson, Grizzlies (40 percent rostered)
If you missed the boat on Noah Vonleh (72 percent rostered), then Anderson is a reasonable consolation prize. He's barely scoring, but he's seeing a giant workload and providing a ton of supplemental stats. Over his past nine games, he's averaging 7.6 rebounds, 3.8 assists, 1.2 blocks and 1.1 steals in 35.1 minutes. The Grizzlies went 6-3 during that stretch, despite a tough schedule, which should help Anderson maintain his workload.
Other recommendations:J.J. Barea, Mavericks (27 percent rostered); JaMychal Green, Grizzlies (34 percent rostered); Cody Zeller, Hornets (31 percent rostered)
Streaky Shooters of the Week
Seemingly every week, this column ends up highlighting a player whose primary contributions are in points and threes, and whose Fantasy stock is elevated due to a current hot streak.Allen Crabbe, Nets (27 percent rostered)
Crabbe has some cheerleaders in the Fantasy analyst community, but I am not one of them. His zero points, zero threes performance on Sunday is always a possibility, and the Nets have a deep enough roster that they don't need to rely on him. That said, he finished as a top-100 player in 2017-18, so even I have to acknowledge his Fantasy potential. Before Sunday, he was averaging 15.3 points and 3.8 threes in 29.8 minutes over a four-game stretch. If he can keep up a that workload, he'll be a high-end three-point specialist.
Bryn Forbes, Spurs (24 percent rostered)
Forbes' streak of eight straight games with multiple made three-pointers ended the day before Thanksgiving. The day after, he started a new streak. He's now made multiple triples in 10 of his past 11, shooting an absurd 50.9 percent from behind the arc during that span. While making 2.6 threes per game, he's actually shooting better from three-point range than from the field overall. Forbes is starting in large part because of his ability to stretch the floor, and while it would be ludicrous to assume he keeps up this torrid pace, he could remain a rosterable three-point specialist for the rest of the season.
Deep League Special
Tomas Satoransky, Wizards (4 percent rostered) and Thomas Bryant, Wizards (1 percent rostered)The Wizards are in a state of flux. Despite a roster that boasts multiple All-Stars – including arguably the second-best shooting guard in the NBA – they have been woefully disappointing. They are almost as close to last place (3.5 games above the Hawks) as they are to the playoffs (2.0 games behind the Hornets). There are outward signs of a poor locker room culture, and the team has publicly acknowledged a willingness to trade literally anyone on the roster. That is a perfect recipe for a trade that turns a bench player into a season-defining waiver-wire pickup. Satoransky and Bryant are two of the Wizards in the best position to benefit from such a potential trade, and both a coming off of a few good games.
Satoransky is the Wizards' point guard depth – they don't have anyone useful after him and John Wall. Satoransky has played at least 19 minutes four times this season, and three of those came within the last week. Bryant is a little further down on the team's big man depth chart, but he's started the past three games with Dwight Howard (glute) out. In those three games, the Wizards went 2-1 against three likely playoff teams, and difference in the team's Net Rating was plus-5.7 with Bryant on the court vs. off.
Both players are mediocre-at-best short-term additions, but they are intriguing for their potential in the event of a trade. And while neither Satoransky nor Bryant are great Fantasy producers, there may not be better options available. If that's true in your league, the small drop in short-term production may be worth the lottery-ticket upside – at least until a more desirable waiver pickup emerges.
Other recommendations:Mikal Bridges, Suns (26 percent rostered); Cory Joseph, Pacers (11 percent rostered); Aaron Holiday, Pacers (9 percent rostered)
