Waiver Wire Tips

• For more from Jeff Andriesse, go to RotoExperts.com

They call the busiest shopping day of the year Black Friday, but Thanksgiving turned into Black Thursday for Lou Williams owners. Coming off a phenomenal stretch of games in which he was filling up the box score like few guards in the league, Williams will now miss eight weeks following surgery to repair a broken jaw.

Man, writing these waiver-wire pieces sure can bring down the mood in the room.

As you know by now, injuries are a part of life in fantasy basketball. That doesn’t make it any easier when a young player figuring it all out has his season derailed. As an NBA fan, it’s no fun. As a fantasy owner of that player, I’m even more depressed that I’m losing a point guard who was shooting 50 percent from the field and 83 percent from the line while staring to stroke threes, pile up steals and contribute in points and assists. Not easy to replace

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The NBA fantasy season is always a war of attrition, and Williams owners just have to hang on somehow until he comes back. His backup, Jrue Holiday(notes), is worth a flier, and it is fitting that on Black Friday, fantasy hoops owners are probably rushing to grab him like a bunch of Wal-mart shoppers stampeding at 5 a.m.

Holiday will be serviceable, but there are a few other players to look at. Let’s try not to run over any elderly greeters in a rush to pick them up.

As we’ll do every week, we break down potential pickups into different formats. Ownership percentages are based on Yahoo!’s fantasy game.

UNIVERSAL PICKUPS

Nate Robinson(notes) (PG/SG, NYK) – 52% – With his ownership level at a new low, Robinson just might be out there for the taking. He can do a pretty decent Lou Williams imitation once in a while, and the streaky guard is heating up. After shooting on the wrong basket last Saturday against the Nets, Robinson was rightly benched, ridiculed and probably dropped in a lot of fantasy leagues. To his credit, he has responded with three excellent games, averaging 19.7 points on 57.9 percent shooting. Get him while you can and ride the hot hand.

Stephen Curry(notes) (PG/SG, GSW) – 69% – Curry is another player who can provide some help for those who lost Williams. He should be owned anyway and might still be available in shallow leagues. With Stephen Jackson(notes) out of Golden State, the rotation is now down to only six or seven players per night. Curry is playing a ton and has six straight double-figure scoring games to his credit. Last five games: 13.6 points, 4.4 rebounds, 6.6 assists, 1.8 steals, 1.6 threes.

Corey Brewer(notes) (SG/SF, MIN) – 29% – Brewer’s ownership percentage has been trending downward lately, so it’s time to recommend him again even though he’s appeared in this space before. A 22-point, 13-rebound game will get people talking about him again, and really, he hasn’t played that poorly. His percentages are pretty poor, but the minutes are there and he contributes over two steals a game.

Samuel Dalembert(notes) (C, PHI) – 39% – Dalembert has been … how do I put this nicely? … disgusting is the word. But with Elton Brand(notes) nursing a hamstring injury and Marreese Speights(notes) on the shelf for a while, someone has to play up front for Philly. Dalembert can rebound and block shots, but he’s infuriating to count on. I see him improving, though, and his 9.0 rebounds and 2.5 blocks in the last two games are evidence of that possibility.

Drew Gooden(notes) (PF/C, DAL) – 36% – Gooden is another player who will put you in the loony bin if you have to count on him for long stretches. He may have found a nice little niche in Dallas, however. Helped by Erick Dampier’s(notes) absence, Gooden has averaged 13.8 points, 11.5 rebounds and 2.0 blocks as a starter in the last six games. That’s hard to ignore, as much as you or I want to.

STOPGAPS (Short-term value)

Darren Collison(notes) (PG, NOH) – 18% – We plugged Collison last week in the Stopgap section, and he has rewarded our faith with three strong games, including a wonderful line on Wednesday vs. Milwaukee (18 pts, 7 reb, 8 ast, 2 stl). So we’re throwing him back in here. Collison still only has a few weeks of relevance until Chris Paul(notes) comes back, so enjoy it while it lasts. He can give you two strong weeks out of the next eight to at least put off the doldrums that Williams owners are trapped in.

Jrue Holiday (PG/SG, PHI) – 7% – I sense that Andre Iguodala(notes) is the real beneficiary of the injury to Williams. The ball will be in his hands much more and he can run the offense himself. Holiday started on Wednesday at Boston and put up the modest line of 10 points, three rebounds and six assists. He took 13 shots but hit just four, and there will be a steep learning curve for the youngster. They will hide him as much as possible by giving Iguodala free reign to run things, so Holiday’s stats will be kept in check. I’m a little worried about his efficiency, but I like his ability to grab steals and the overall boost he is sure to get out of necessity.

Nick Young(notes) (SG/SF, WAS) – 5% – Young has only 32 points this season, but 20 of them came Tuesday night against Philadelphia. Now in the starting lineup at shooting guard for the Wizards, Young hit eight of 16 shots, including two threes, and had four rebounds and two assists. We saw this last year – when Young gets the minutes, he scores and doesn’t do much else. But with Mike Miller(notes) out for a month or so, Young could turn this one nice game into a decent little streak.

DEEP CUTS (Pickups for larger leagues)

Donte Greene(notes) (SF, SAC) – 4% – The head-turning game of this young season now belongs to Greene, who went off on Wednesday night vs. the Knicks to the tune of 24 points, four boards, five assists, six blocks and six three-pointers. It was the Knicks. And Beno Udrih(notes) missed the game due to illness. But Greene turned heads with this performance. He could earn a lot of playing time in the future.

James Harden(notes) (PG/SG, OKC) – 37% – Harden is playing his best ball of the season, and the heady rookie will keep getting better. I’m not sure there are enough shots to go around in Oklahoma City for Harden to be counted on in shallow leagues, but he appears to have gotten over the hump and is ready to be a solid 30-minute-per-night contributor.

Steve Blake(notes) (PG/SG, POR) – 19% – Somehow, Blake is still starting for Portland, so as long as he is ahead of Andre Miller(notes) on the depth chart, he’s worth adding in deep leagues. Threes, so-so assists and not much else.

Amir Johnson(notes) (PF, TOR) – 2% – Johnson’s starting to contribute off the bench, and the pogo stick is averaging 10.5 points and 6.0 rebounds in his last four games. He can also block shots at a high rate, so even though his minutes will be inconsistent, he can help you.

Ryan Hollins(notes) (PF/C, MIN) – 1% – Hollins is an active big who has been quietly starting at center for Minnesota for the last few weeks. Very quietly, until he had 19 points in 22 minutes vs. Denver on Wednesday night. Worth keeping an eye on.

Have questions about who to add, drop or trade for? Drop Jeff an email at jeff@rotoexperts.com and follow him on Twitter to talk some hoops.