Fantasy Basketball Waiver Wire Pickups, Week 4: Cam Thomas among priority adds

Fantasy analyst

Mon, Nov 7, 2022, 12:23 PM·6 min read

Week 3 of the fantasy season is in the books, and hopefully, you were able to scoop up Isaiah Hartenstein, who was 48% rostered this time last week. He's 66th in per-game value and will have a big week ahead of him with Mitchell Robinson out for at least a week with a knee injury.

But this is a new week, and I'll break down five players rostered in less than 50% of Yahoo fantasy basketball leagues.

I'll also include some category specialists for consideration.

Before we get to the waiver targets, here are the games played by each team in Week 4.

Four games: Cavaliers, Celtics, Grizzlies, Hawks, Hornets, Jazz, Kings, Knicks, Lakers, Mavericks, Nets, Nuggets, Pelicans, Pistons, Raptors, Sixers, Thunder, Timberwolves, Trail Blazers and Wizards

Three games: Bucks, Bulls, Clippers, Heat, Magic, Pacers, Rockets, Spurs, Suns and Warriors

Schedule things to know:

Fantasy managers will have challenging start/sit decisions to begin the week, starting with Monday's loaded 15-game slate plus 13 games on Wednesday. And there are no games on Tuesday because of Election Day. If you want to front-load your streams, the Hawks, Hornets, Mavericks, Pelicans and Trail Blazers play three games in the first four nights of Week 4, including back-to-back sets on Wednesday/Thursday.

If you elect to backload your streams, the Celtics, Pistons and Raptors play a Friday/Saturday back-to-back, while the Nets, Sixers, Jazz and Wizards play Saturday/Sunday back-to-backs.

Given the number of games Monday and Wednesday, I'd start looking to stream players ahead of Thursday to prepare for the weekend and close out strong.

Okay, now that you know when teams play and when it might be best to utilize them, let's get to the pickups.

Larry Nance Jr. - SF/PF, New Orleans Pelicans (37% rostered)

The Pelicans were down Brandon Ingram, Herb Jones and Zion Williamson for most of Week 3, leaving Larry Nance Jr. to soak up a ton of minutes. He stepped up in a big way, finishing the week 24th in per-game value while posting 13.0 points, 6.7 rebounds, 2.7 assists, 2.3 steals and 0.7 with 0.3 turnovers over his last three games. Nance played 27 minutes in Saturday's loss to the Hawks despite all three players returning to the lineup. Don't count on him for threes, but his defense keeps him in the Pelicans' rotation and props up his fantasy value. He's inside the top 90 in per-game value, and with the Pelicans playing four games this week, he'll be helpful for fantasy managers.

Advice: Add in 12 team H2H leagues

New Orleans Pelicans forward Larry Nance Jr. can help fantasy managers in their Week 4 matchups. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)

Cam Thomas - SG/SF, Brooklyn Nets (36% rostered)

With Nets G Kyrie Irving missing the next three games (and possibly more), Cam Thomas is the player you'll want to roster in Week 4. He's stuffed the stat sheet over the past two games, netting 19.0 points with 4.0 rebounds, 5.0 assists, 1.5 3PM and 1.5 stocks in 30.3 minutes per contest. He's doing all of this work off the bench, too. His play helped the Nets earn two victories in a row, so it wouldn't be surprising to see him get the opportunity to start as soon as Monday. For what it's worth, he averaged 21.0 points, 5.0 rebounds and 2.1 assists in two career starts. Perhaps Steve Nash really was holding this kid back.

Advice: Add in 10-12 team points and H2H leagues for this week

Bruce Brown - SF/PF, Denver Nuggets (35% rostered)

The Nuggets play four games, and Bruce Brown has become the do-it-all guy for the Nuggets. Jamal Murray and Bones Hyland were both out on Thursday, and Brown finished with 15 points, five rebounds and nine assists with a steal and a block in 32 minutes. Michael Malone has made no secret of his love for the versatile forward, which means he'll continue to be a fixture of the Nuggets' rotation. And I might have to talk to my guys here at Yahoo because Brown needs guard eligibility asap. He's playing 68% of his minutes at SG, so that will only add to his fantasy appeal in the future. Brown's numbers don't jump off the page, but he finished 49th in per-game value in Week 3 and is worth a closer look.

Advice: Add in 12+ H2H leagues

Jalen McDaniels - SF/PF, Charlotte Hornets (44% rostered)

I'm going back to the well despite Jalen McDaniels only putting up six points with six rebounds, three assists and a steal in 28 minutes on Saturday night. Gordon Hayward and LaMelo Ball have been ruled out for Monday's game, clearing the path for McDaniels to see almost 30 minutes again. He's a player you'll want to stream for steals and threes, primarily with the Hornets playing four games again in Week 4.

Advice: Stream in 12 team H2H leagues

Kyle Anderson - SF/PF, Minnesota Timberwolves (9% rostered)

Slo-Mo is fantasy relevant again at the expense of Rudy Gobert (health and safety protocols). Kyle Anderson joined the Timberwolves' starting lineup on Saturday and played very well, totaling 16 points, three rebounds and six assists with two triples and three steals in 31 minutes. There's been no timetable for Gobert's return, so it's safe to assume that Anderson will remain in the starting lineup in the near term. For his career, Anderson's averaged 11.3 points, 6.5 rebounds and 3.9 assists with 55/35/70 shooting splits as a starter when playing 30+ minutes. Those numbers make him a viable streamer in Week 4.

Advice: Stream in 10+ points and H2H leagues

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10-team streamers in Week 4 (percent rostered):

Isaiah Hartenstein (62%): 49th in per-game value. Mitchell Robinson is out for Week 4 so he'll get a bulk of the minutes at center.

Marcus Morris Sr (58%): 52nd in per-game value. In his last five games, he's playing an average of 34.4 minutes and putting up 14.6 points, 6.4 rebounds, 3.2 assists, 2.2 3PM and 1.0 steal per contest.

Kevin Love (60%): I know he's old, but he's producing just under top-100 value. Good source of points, threes and rebounds.

Lonnie Walker IV (59%): 87th in per-game value. The Lakers play four games, and he'll help fantasy managers in points, threes and steals.

Chris Boucher (65%): 59th in per-game value, and Pascal Siakam will miss a few weeks with a groin injury.