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Priority Pickups: Langston Galloway, Marcus Smart and various Bucks

We're in the middle of a week in which every NBA team plays at least three games, which should make this a relatively low-stress time for fantasy owners. Perhaps you're not desperate for a pickup. Maybe you briefly freaked about Kevin Durant's dinged elbow, but, thankfully, that sounds like a non-issue.

Still, many of you treat your league's free agent pool like an all-you-can-eat buffet, so for you we offer the following options...

Langston Galloway, NYK, PG (9 percent owned)

Honestly, I really have no great sense for where the Galloway story will go, and New York's roster hasn't exactly been a fantasy gold mine. But he's found his way into the starting lineup — no small feat for a 10-day contract guy — and he's coming off a 21-point game against New Orleans and an 11-point, seven-rebound effort against the 76ers. In the D-League, Galloway piled up steals (2.7 per game) and points (16.5), and he'll clearly have an opportunity to do the same for the Knicks. I'm interested enough to have contributed to the adding binge, in a small way.

"He's got a very high ceiling," Derek Fisher has said. We'll see. We've established that Galloway can do stuff like this, which is cool. Let's hope he sticks.

Marcus Smart, Bos, PG (39 percent)

Smart is playing 27-32 minutes per night of late, contributing solidly in steals, threes and assists. Check the per-36 numbers: 11.0 PPG, 5.0 APG, 4.0 RPG, 1.9 SPG, 2.2 3PG. Smart's shooting percentages aren't stellar, but he's coming off his best game of the season (14-7, 4 threes) and his playing time is guaranteed. He also has a string of five games in seven days beginning Thursday, so you can leave him parked in your active lineup for the next week..

Ersan Ilyasova, Mil, SF/PF (44 percent owned)

Oh, hey, look who's back. No one's going to guarantee rest-of-season good health, necessarily, but Ilyasova is worth owning when he's right. He delivered a 14-7 game on Monday, playing just under 23 minutes. It doesn't sound as if Ilyasova will be starved for playing time...

...which puts him back on the fantasy radar as a modest contributor across multiple categories.

And speaking of Bucks...

Khris Middleton, Mil, SF/PF (41 percent owned)

Middleton has been a steady source for points and threes, but he really distinguishes himself as a thief. Check out the January steals surge:

Khris Middleton
Khris Middleton

Anyone with a need for a category specialist should probably act now.

Courtney Lee, Mem, SG/SF (41 percent owned)

If you were worried that the Jeff Green deal would derail Lee ... well, no. Lee has scored double-digits in five straight games, hitting 11 threes during that stretch. He's an excellent percentage shooter (49.0 FG, 85.9 FT), offering low-level scoring, threes and steals. He also has a pair of 4-game weeks ahead. Lee isn't quite a must-own player, but I'd give him can't-hurt status.