Get to the Points: Don't sleep on these potential fantasy basketball league winners!
Yahoo Fantasy basketball analyst Dan Titus and contributor Justin Henry identify widely available players fantasy managers should target for the rest of the season.
Video Transcript
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DAN TITUS: I want to know which potential league winners do you think are still sitting on waivers right now? And we could break this down by players that are 50% rostered, 25%, and then under 10% rostered. So what you got for your first one?
JUSTIN HENRY: I think this one's a no-brainer. And he should not be rostered at under 50% of the leagues. And that's Jonathan Kuminga. This is a young, talented player who was taken with a top 10 pick two years ago. And now, we're starting to see him come into his own.
He's asked for more minutes. He's asked for a bigger role. And with this Warriors team kind of trending in the wrong direction, there's also the opportunity for him to gain a larger role in this offense.
There's also the rumors that he could be shipped out. And if he goes to a team, especially a team that's not contending and really focus on developing Kuminga, this is a player that could see 20-point nights, could see some defensive stocks. You know we're not getting a whole lot of 3's out of Kuminga. But I do like-- especially in points league, because I think this is a guy I'd be looking to target in trade talks.
DAN TITUS: And the player that I'm looking forward to that's under 50% rostered for the rest of the season, Brandon Miller. I think that the Charlotte Hornets are going to be in that spot where they're clearly going to be in tank mode. They finally got LaMelo Ball back. But with all those veterans, aging veterans on that team, I don't see them getting minutes down the stretch when it doesn't really matter.
They got to see what they have in this young buck, the rookie, earlier this year. And you know, I feel like at this point, if you're looking at the fantasy schedules from week 19 to 23, the Charlotte Hornets are one of three teams that play 14 games. So I think that this is going to be a guy that you're going to be wanting to target as the season progresses. Who do you have that's under 25% rostered that you think will be valuable come playoffs?
JUSTIN HENRY: I think come playoff time, you know, especially-- this is for my category leagues, right? My category league special right here-- Larry Nance, a player who we've seen be a top 50 player at times.
And it's not like this guy is a 25-point scorer, he's averaging 20 boards a game. This is a player who averages quietly, like, 8 points, eight boards. He'll get you two assists. He'll get you a steal. He'll get you a block.
But this is a nice player to have as a volume player, or as somebody in your rotation, right? Great percentages, great efficiency, will get you good rebounds. I like Larry Nance.
And this is a player who you may have forgotten about because he was injured for a good part of-- the early part of the season. But now that this team is starting to get healthy, he's getting healthy, he's become a regular rotation player for this Pelicans team.
DAN TITUS: I'm going to go with Luke Kennard of the Memphis Grizzlies. With all the injuries piling up in Memphis, I feel like Luke Kennard is actually going to establish himself as a guy that can give you at least 13 points, five rebounds, and five assists.
He's going to give you the 3's. That's always expected. But I think he's going to do a little bit more. I think we'll see him lock in defensively, get you some sneaky steals. So I think that he can actually get into that top 80 range the rest of the season if he continues to get the minutes that I think he's going to get going forward.
Now, let's talk about under 10%, man. I know you really like a guy out of Houston. Who-- who you thinking about?
JUSTIN HENRY: You know, when I think of, like, deep flyers, almost like penny stocks, you want to think of guys who have really big upside. And I gave you guys the cap league special earlier. This is going to be the points league guy.
Cam Whitmore is a player that as this Rockets team-- you know, depending on their place, obviously, they're going to be in the number one pick conversation. Well, I don't know if it'll be that low.
But as this team continues to lose games, they want to see what they have out of their young talent. And Cam Whitmore is a guy who's been averaging double digits here over the last 14-- 14 days, and really putting up some good efficiency-- excuse me, good volume, I'll say. Like, we want to see that kind of scoring output on a nightly basis, where he's had double-digit performances.
DAN TITUS: I'm also going to go with a rookie, Jordan Hawkins of the New Orleans Pelicans. And I feel like this is the rookie that really needs to get more opportunity to shine. And I don't know how that's going to come, whether it's going to be CJ McCollum getting hurt, or maybe there's going to be some mixup with Herb Jones in the backcourt with Trey Murphy.
But they got to get more minutes for Jordan Hawkins. And I think as the season wears down, and the Pelicans start to do their rest management, load management, we're going to see more out of this rookie, man.
He's had a couple of 30-point games. And as you said, when you're going for these league winners, you're going for the upside.
JUSTIN HENRY: Real hoopers love him, too. Like, his game is nice. So even in fantasy, I know that's one thing. But his teammates love him. He's a dawg.
DAN TITUS: All right, that'll do it for "Get To The Points." Thanks for tuning in. And if you haven't already, man, join a fantasy basketball team.
You can download the Yahoo Fantasy App or go to yahoofantasy.com and get entered to win a $100 e-gift card to spend at nba.com. Why not? It's free, and you get to play some fantasy hoops, so do that. We'll see you next week on "Get To The Points." Peace.
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