Week 24 Fantasy Basketball Waiver Wire: Strong Brew

Denver Nuggets small forward Corey Brewer

With the season nearly in the books, fantasy owners have one last shot to make a run at their league championship. Even with just a handful of games left, there are plenty of guys that are suddenly becoming fantasy relevant in the very last days and smart fantasy owners aren’t done playing the waiver wire yet. Let’s take a look at some guys that can give you a very late boost en route to your fantasy finish.

Denver Nuggets small forward Corey Brewer
Denver Nuggets small forward Corey Brewer reacts to a play in the second quarter against the Houston Rockets at the Pepsi Center Isaiah J Downing USA TODAY Sports

Corey Brewer (27%): With Danillo Gallinari out for the season with a torn ACL, Brewer is seeing a nice bump in minutes and shooting opportunities. Over his last two games, he’s averaging 32 MPG, 22.5 PPG, 1.5 SPG, and a couple threes each game. He isn’t a great shooter but with 33 field goal attempts in his last two contests, Brewer should score more than enough points for teams needing a scoring boost.

Wilson Chandler (55%): Although Brewer is getting a few more minutes coming off the bench, Chandler is starting for Gallinari and had a nice line Saturday as he played 30 minutes and put up 21 points, six rebounds, three assists, and a steal. He also scored a hat trick from beyond the arc and could be a solid addition to most rosters in the final games.

Beno Udrih (32%): Udrih has been one of my favorite late-season pickups this year and with Jameer Nelson still sidelined with an ankle injury he continues to get the starts. In five starts, Udrih is averaging 39 MPG, 18.2 PPG, 7.8 APG, 4.1 RPG, 1.8 SPG, and 2.1 3PPG. Look for him to continue to roll as long as Nelson is still hurt.

Jimmy Butler (30%): Marco Belinelli is back but playing poorly and not seeing a lot of court time meaning Butler will continue to start for the Bulls. He has scored double-digits in all but one of his eight starts and is averaging 43 MPG, 14 PPG, 5.5 RPG, 2.9 APG, and 2.1 SPG over that time and can be a nice all-around addition in deeper leagues.

Reggie Evans (35%): I have plugged Evans so much you’d think he was paying me. He’s a one category contributor but he flat out dominates that one category. He put up another 20 rebound game Saturday against the Bobcats (adding 14 points as well), his fifth 20+ rebound performance in a month. Over his last six games, Evans is averaging 10.5 PPG, 18.2 RPG, and shooting 59% from the floor and should be owned in most leagues.

Will Barton (1%): With Wesley Matthews down with a badly sprained ankle, Will Barton figures to be the biggest beneficiary in his absence. Barton played a career high 32 minutes Sunday against the Mavs as he put up 22 points, 13 rebounds, six assists, and three steals. If he can touch that kind of production he can be an absolute steal in the final week and is available in almost every league.

Kawhi Leonard (69%): Leonard has really stepped up his game in the last week and is suddenly a must-own in every league. In his last two games he is averaging 41 MPG, 23.5 PPG, 10 RPG, 5.1 APG, 1.5 SPG, and a couple threes while shooting 57% from the floor. If he’s available in your league you shouldn’t hesitate to pick him up.

Andrei Kirilenko (71%): AK47 is suddenly looking good in the final weeks of the season. In his last four games, Kirilenko is averaging 15.5 PPG, 6.3 RPG, 3.3 APG, 3.3 SPG, and shooting 64% from the floor. If you’re in one of the 30% of leagues where he’s available you should definitely snatch him up for the final games.

author avatar
Igor Derysh
Igor Derysh is Editor-at-Large at XN Sports and has been featured in The Los Angeles Times, Chicago Tribune, Boston Herald, Baltimore Sun, Orlando Sun-Sentinel, and FantasyPros. He has previously covered sports for COED Magazine, Fantasy Alarm, and Manwall.com. !function(d,s,id){var js,fjs=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],p=/^http:/.test(d.location)?'http':'https';if(!d.getElementById(id)){js=d.createElement(s);js.id=id;js.src=p+'://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js';fjs.parentNode.insertBefore(js,fjs);}}(document, 'script', 'twitter-wjs');