It’s the final week or two of your fantasy basketball season and, if you’ve gotten this far, you’re obviously good enough to bang with the big boys in your league. At this point, your roster is basically set for the rest of the way, save for injuries. Now, however, is the time to fill any potential weaknesses you may have.
Are you short on guard stats like assists, threes, and steals? There’s a guy for that. Are you lacking in big man stats like rebounds and blocks? There’s a guy for that. Do you need to improve your shooting percentages? There’s a guy for that too.
Let’s take a look at some of the top fantasy basketball waiver wire targets for this week and what categories they can give you a boost in.
Ramon Sessions (Owned in 39 percent of Yahoo leagues): Sessions has now started four straight games and has played over 41 minutes in each of them. Over that stretch, he’s averaging 21.3 points, 6.5 assists, 3.5 rebounds, and 1.3 three-pointers while shooting 50 percent from the court. This guy is still available in more than 60 percent of leagues? Ridiculous.
Darren Collison (34 percent): Collison has now played 41+ minutes in back-to-back games and has started 13 straight. He’s also posted double-digit points in 15 straight. Over his last five, he’s averaging 15.2 points, 5.4 assists, 1.0 steal, and 2.0 threes while shooting a terrific 50 percent from downtown. He’s a consistent contributor and can help in assists, steals, and threes while contributing solid points. Especially if he keeps playing close to 40 minutes per game.
Matt Barnes (39 percent): Over his last four games, Barnes is averaging 15 points, 6.0 rebounds, 2.8 threes, 2.3 assists, and 1.8 steals per game while playing 35 minutes. There are few guys that contribute across the board like this (he is also averaging almost one block per game) and can definitely help fill up the stat sheet in the final stretch.
Shaun Livingston (25 percent): Points really aren’t that important. Most fantasy-ownable players will produce enough points to keep you competitive without forcing you to grab scorers off the waiver wire. Other categories are the real trick and Livingston can help in almost every category. Over his last three games, he’s averaging just 9.3 points but is putting up 5.7 assists, 3.7 rebounds, 1.7 steals, and nearly a block per game. Oh, and he’s also shooting a ridiculous 69 percent from the floor. If you need some cheap assists and steals, you don’t have to look far.
Samuel Dalembert (53 percent): Dalembert has absolutely come alive of late. In his last four games, he’s averaging 10.8 points, 9.8 rebounds, 3.0 blocks, and nearly one steal per game while shooting a crazy 79 percent from the floor. If you’re in need of some big-man stats, Dalembert can certainly provide.
Timofey Mozgov (11 percent): Over his last four games, Mozgov is averaging 14 points, 9.5 rebounds, 1.3 blocks, and shooting 57.5 percent from the floor. It’s hard to tell how reliable that production is but he can certainly give your team a boost if you’re lacking in rebounds and blocks.
