Week 7 of the fantasy basketball season is on deck, and there is no shortage of intrigue around the league from a fantasy perspective. Jalen Williams made his long-awaited return for the Thunder last night, giving OKC—and fantasy managers—a much-needed boost as he steps back into a major usage role. Over in New Orleans, Jose Alvarado is heating up, stringing together energetic, high-impact performances that are finally translating into box-score value. And in Orlando, Anthony Black continues to turn it up despite coming off the bench, showcasing efficiency, defensive upside, and surprising scoring bursts that are becoming impossible for fantasy managers to ignore. We’ll break down what these trends mean for next week and pinpoint the top pickups and streams you’ll want queued up heading into Week 7.
View the best player prop bets for tonight’s slate with our NBA Prop Bet Cheat Sheet
Fantasy Basketball Category League Waiver Wire Pickups
Points
Jaylen Wells (SF – MEM) | 24% Rostered
Last week, I highlighted forward Vince Williams Jr. as a good fantasy pickup, but he’s not the only Memphis Grizzlies player on the radar with Ja Morant out. Jaylen Wells scored 20+ points in back-to-back games this past week and played 28+ minutes in each.
As of today, Morant is slated to remain sidelined next week, so fantasy managers should be able to confidently plug in and play Jaylen Wells into most fantasy lineups for a nice lift in the points and field goal percentage categories.
Assists
Anthony Black (SF – ORL) | 38% Rostered
Anthony Black has caught fire in recent games despite coming off the bench with a healthy Jalen Suggs in the lineup. Black has been particularly consistent in the assists category with at least 3 dimes in each of his last six games.
Anthony Black has also shot efficiently from the field during this stretch and recorded a couple of multi-steal games as well – he’s shown that he can contribute in multiple categories on any given night. Take a shot on Black while he’s still unrostered in most leagues.
Rebounds
Daniel Gafford (C – DAL) | 38% Rostered
Dallas Mavericks starting center Dereck Lively is dealing with a foot injury and needs to be re-evaluated sometime next week for a conclusive timetable for return. In the interim, fantasy managers can look for Daniel Gafford’s minutes to stay in the high-twenties to low-thirties range and add plenty of value in the rebounds and blocks categories.
Due to Dereck Lively’s unfortunate injury history, the star center could miss additional time with the foot issue. Even if Lively returns, Gafford is an excellent “handcuff” stash play who has shown he is always one injury away from becoming fantasy relevant.
Blocks
Robert Williams III (C – POR) | 4% Rostered
For a deep league waiver wire add, check out Robert Williams, who has swatted 3, 4 and 4 shots respectively in his last 3 games played. Health has always been an issue for Williams, but right now, there is no reason not to ride the hot hand of the reliable rim protector in Portland.
Even if Williams only plays every other game – which is the current trend – he’s good enough to roster for a major boost in the blocks category and only needs 15-20 minutes per game to get the job done. Monitor his minutes and make this low-risk, high-reward waiver add if you have room on the roster.
Steals
Cason Wallace (SG – OKC) | 34% Rostered
Despite the return of Thunder star Jalen Williams, Wallace showed that the team will rely on him for production from the starting lineup or off the bench, and can put up solid steals numbers from game to game.
Wallace’s minutes have been up and down so far this season, but there is no question that any time he steps on the floor, he’s a threat for at least two steals a game. Wallace is worth an add, but should have his minutes monitored by fantasy managers in case a better option pops up on the waiver wire.
Three-Pointers Made
Jarace Walker (PF – IND) | 25% Rostered
The Indiana Pacers have been mixing it up with their starting rotation as of late, but Walker seems to be benefiting the most in fantasy from some of the injuries that the Pacers are dealing with. Walker typically performs well as a starter with averages of 11.4 points and 1.7 triples this season.
The injury report is especially important to monitor in this situation, but Walker has been the hot hand as of late and is worth at least a streaming pickup for next week.
Field Goal Percentage
Jose Alvarado (PG – NOP) | 7% Rostered
Jose Alvardo has dramatically turned up his production as of late, playing at least 27 minutes in each of his last two games and attempting at least 15 shots per game during that span. Alvarado has mostly played off the bench for New Orleans this season, but this is a great time for a speculative add of the Pelicans guard with Jordan Poole, Herbert Jones, and Jordan Hawkins all dealing with injuries.
Alvardo has shot efficiently with increased attempts these past two games. It will be interesting to see if he can maintain this level of production over the next week or two as the Pelicans work their way back to a fully healthy roster.
Free-Throw Percentage
Khris Middleton (SG – WAS) | 27% Rostered
The career 88% free throw shooter has seen his minutes push up in recent games, and his stats along with them. Although Middleton hasn’t been able to show consistent fantasy performance this season, his increased usage suggests that he could be a solid free throw percentage streamer heading into next week.
Middleton is starting for the Wizards for the time being, but the team’s poor record suggests that they’ll favor rotation minutes for their young players down the stretch. Fantasy managers should keep in mind that this would be a speculative stream, and it’s not always wise to add veteran players on tanking teams.
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