Basketball Pickups: Dyson Daniels playing well since return
We’re halfway through the second to last week of the NBA season, so things are starting to get weird. Boston is the only team that has been resting players because they are locked into a good spot, as they officially clinched the best record in the league on Wednesday. They didn’t rest anyone against the Thunder, but they have been cycling guys in and out, and we should see more of that as the season comes to a close. Other teams, like Detroit and Memphis, have had a lot of players missing from their lineup. Sometimes, those players are ruled out after the games are scheduled to start, like we saw with Cade Cunningham and Santi Aldama on Wednesday.
Things will only get weirder as the season gets closer to an end. After nine games on Wednesday night, there will only be five games on Thursday, with the Hawks being the only team playing the second night of a back-to-back.
These guys may not help you on Thursday, but they should be solid options for the rest of the week.
Tristan Vukcevic- 3% rostered in Yahoo leagues
The rookie got his first career start on Wednesday with Marvin Bagley and Richaun Holmes sidelined. He dealt with foul trouble, but he still scored 15 points and had three triples in 21 minutes. Bagley is considered “week-to-week”, so he could be done for the year. Vukcevic should play a large role for the rest of the season, and he should continue to start as long as Holmes is out.
Dyson Daniels- 3%
After being out for nearly two months, Daniels has played well over their last three games. He is averaging 9.0 points, 4.0 rebounds, 3.3 assists, 2.0 steals and 1.7 triples while shooting 57.9% from the field. The steals will be the most reliable stat, but he has been solid across the board despite playing a limited role off the bench.
Malachi Flynn- 1%
Why wouldn’t you pick up a guy that just dropped 50? His two games before his explosion against the Hawks didn’t go well, but he had a few solid performances before that. This isn’t going to be the start of an insane Linsanity run, but he’s worth taking a chance on.
Jabari Walker- 12%
Walker exploded for 22 rebounds against the Hornets on Wednesday to help end Portland’s losing streak. He has started their last three games and should continue to start for the rest of the season. He hasn’t been quite this dominant on the glass, but he has been solid.
Grant Williams- 32%
Williams started again with Nick Richards sidelined, and with Vasilije Micic also out, Williams took over playmaking duties. He wasn’t able to keep up his scoring rate, but he set a new career-high with 11 assists. As long as Richards is sidelined, Williams should start and be worth streaming.
Aaron Wiggins- 2%
Wiggins got another start on Wednesday with Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Jalen Williams still sidelined. He is averaging 13.3 points, 3.0 rebounds, 2.7 assists, 1.7 steals and 1.3 triples across his three recent starts. If SGA or JDub remains sidelined moving forward, Wiggins should be worth streaming, assuming he remains in the starting unit.
Jalen Smith- 10%
With Myles Turner sidelined, Smith moved into the starting center spot against the Nets. It wasn’t a fantastic night, but he had eight points, nine rebounds, two assists, one steal and two blocks in 22 minutes. If Turner remains out against the Thunder on Friday, Smith should be a solid streaming option.
Noah Clowney- less than 1%
The rookie has started to see consistent minutes for the Nets, and things finally clicked for him against Indiana. He set new career-highs with 22 points, 10 rebounds and three triples in this game. With Brooklyn officially eliminated from postseason contention, they may look to give Clowney more minutes to see what they have out of the 21st pick from last year’s draft.
Jordan Nwora- 4%
Nwora didn’t move into the starting unit with Bruce Brown, RJ Barrett and Gary Trent Jr. all out, but he was still able to provide excellent value off the bench with 14 points, 13 rebounds and five assists. Toronto players are starting to fall under the same category that Memphis players do. Stream them at your own risk. Outside of a few guys, things change too much from game to game to truly predict who will be the best option each night. However, Nwora does seem like a fairly reliable option.
