It’s Thursday. You know what that means.
It’s time for another look at the waiver wire to find players that you can add for short-term and long-term success.
We’ll look at players that you should consider picking up who are rostered in four different rostership tiers:
- 50-60%
- 30-49%
- 15-29%
- 0-14%
What’s more, we’ll give you a breakdown of how many games each team has for the upcoming week so that you can maximize the minutes of your streamers.
Without further delay, let’s get to it, starting with the schedule of games being played for next week.
Check out the latest fantasy basketball expert consensus rankings 
Five games:
N/A
Four games:
BOS, CLE, DAL, GSW, IND, LAC, MIA, MIN, OKC, POR, WAS
Three games:
ATL, BKN, CHA, CHI, DEN, DET, HOU, LAL, MEM, MIL, NOP, NYK, ORL, PHX, SAC, SAS, TOR, UTA
Two games:
PHI
Rostered in 50-60% of leagues:
Nembhard, the rookie from Gonzaga, turned heads on Dec. 5 when he not only played 41 minutes but also dropped 31 points while yelling Tyrese Haliburton WHO?!?!? on every single drive. OK, the latter didn’t happen, but the former did, as Nembhard was on quite a three-game stretch. The thing is, before the Haliburton injury — and after — he continues to play at least 30 minutes a night. His rostership has shot up from 7% to 53% in the last week to give you an idea of how excited people are.
The inconsistencies are going to be there for Bones, as we’ve seen over the last few games. He’s played 22 minutes, five minutes and 30 minutes in three straight games, but the good nights are really, really good and the reason he needs to be rostered. Defensive liability? Sure. Poor shooting? Yup. But we even need to love and embrace the liabilities. Just ask Lorde.
Rostered in 30-49% of leagues:
Kessler has been quite productive of late for the Jazz, especially over the last three games. The minutes are fluctuating some, but he’s been a per-minute beast down low for the Jazz. In fact, over the last three games, Kessler has ranked as the No. 36 player in fantasy with a line of 12.7 points, 10.3 boards, 94.1 FG%, 3.3 blocks and 0.7 assists per game.
Nowell is continuing to make the most of his opportunity with the Timberwolves. He was a deeper sleeper entering the season, but on a roster that is loaded with a who’s-who of talent, it’s easy to see why he was overlooked. But overlooked no more, as he’s consistently playing 23-plus minutes and is in the midst of a five-game double-digit scoring streak — including three games with 21 or more points.
Rostered in 15-29% of leagues:
Not that you’ve noticed, because things in Memphis just keep rolling along, but the Grizzlies did get some bad news Wednesday night as it was announced that Desmond Bane would be out for 3-4 more weeks. That doesn’t only make the Christmas Day game a little more depressing, but it also means that Konchar will continue to get major run with the Grizzlies. He’s been passable in fantasy, posting 11-round value in nine-cat leagues over the last two weeks.
With Wendell Carter Jr. out, we expected Mo Bamba to be the biggest beneficiary for the Magic. It’s another Mo instead, as Wagner has taken over for Bamba in the starting lineup. And the returns have been, surprisingly, impressive. Wagner has two straight double-doubles for the Magic, averaging 19.5 points and 12.5 rebounds over his last two games. Ride the wave for as long as WCJ is out, and hold him to see how the minutes are distributed once he’s back.
Rostered in 0-14% of leagues:
Yes, we’ve been here before. I know. The biggest reason for the Warriors’ struggles this year has been the second unit. With that, is Kuminga. But when he has performances like he did Wednesday — sans Stephen Curry and Draymond Green — it’s hard not to dream of the potential. Kuminga dropped 24 points on 10-of-13 shooting from the floor in 30 minutes. I still see a bigger role coming for him this year.
Well, that was fun. After actually seeing the court this year, Reddish has been removed from the rotation in New York. It’s frustrating, as there were actually some flashes from him this season. I see absolutely no way that he isn’t dealt this year and into a situation where he will actually play, so I’m looking to grab and stash if I have the room.
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Michael Waterloo is a featured writer at FantasyPros. For more from Michael, check out his archive and follow him @MichaelWaterloo.
