Week 24 Schedule: Games Played
5 Games: CLE
4 Games: ATL, BOS, CHI, DAL, DEN, DET, GSW, HOU, IND, LAC, LAL, MIA, MIL, NYK, OKC, ORL, PHI, POR, SAC, SAS, TOR, WAS
3 Games: BKN, CHA, MEM, MIN, NOR, PHX, UTA
Week 24 Back-to-Backs:
Sunday (Mar. 27th)-Monday: BOS, CHA, GSW, NYK
Monday-Tuesday: CHI
Tuesday-Wednesday: DAL, WAS
Wednesday-Thursday: ATL, CLE
Thursday-Friday: DET, LAC, LAL, MIL
Friday-Saturday: N/A
Saturday-Sunday: CLE, GSW, MIA, NYK, PHI
Waiver Wire Pickups:
*To qualify for this list, players have to be available in over 60% of Yahoo Leagues.
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Davion Mitchell (36%)- With De’Aaron Fox on the shelf, Mitchell has thrown his hat into the ring for the silly season hero of the year. He went absolutely bonkers in his last two outings, averaging 26.5 points, 8.0 dimes, 2.0 rebounds, 1.0 steals and 3.0 triples in a whopping 42.0 minutes per game. Mitchell already looks like one of the best perimeter defenders in the NBA as a rookie, so what he’s showing on offense lately should give this fanbase a jolt of excitement again after their puzzling Tyrese Haliburton trade. The Kings are coming off a 2-game week which was obviously a buzzkill, but now they play four times in what is the fantasy finals of a ton of leagues.
Tre Mann (35%)- The Thunder have picked up the speed of their tank and have shut down countless players already, and it’s no secret that Shai Gilgeous-Alexander will continue to be dialed back for the sake of some lottery balls (and no I don’t blame the Thunder for taking advantage of a flawed system that rewards losing). Mann is a huge fan of the silly season apparently, as he recently broke the franchise record for points by a rookie (35) on a night in which he hit seven 3-pointers. The Thunder plays four times in Week 24 and Mann has been an 8th-rounder in 9-cat in his last seven games, making him a no-brainer in all fantasy lineups. I certainly regret not picking him up sooner.
Goga Bitadze (34%)- Isaiah Jackson’s breakout wasn’t written in the stars apparently, as he’s had some of the worst injury luck I’ve seen since Terrence Jones. Goga has filled in admirably though, putting up 5th-round value in 9-cat in his last four games with 17.3 points, 6.0 rebounds, 2.0 dimes, 1.3 steals, 1.0 blocks and 1.0 triples. This is pretty incredible for a guy that had zero favor with the past two coaching staffs in Indiana, but good for him for making a name for himself while the tank rolls on.
Tyus Jones (25%)- Ja Morant (right knee) will be out for at least two weeks, setting up Tyus to be a mid-round value for the remainder of the regular season. Those of you in shallow leagues will also want to make sure De’Anthony Melton isn’t on your waiver wire because I’ve convinced myself he’s the second best player in NBA history behind Jaren Jackson Jr. Jones has fared really well as a fill-in starter this season, averaging 12.1 points, 6.8 dimes, 3.2 rebounds, 1.2 steals and 1.2 triples. If you were riding Cam Payne as your PG2 or PG3 previously, Jones should be able to pick up that slack with Chris Paul back for Phoenix.
Aleksej Pokusevski- If you like rollercoasters, boy do I have a player for you. There are only a handful of players who can match Poku on the fun scale, and the gentle giant has hit some major highs and serious lows along the way. But he’s been a very serviceable fantasy asset since the break if you don’t mind a FG% that rivals Dillon Brooks when he goes rogue. In his last seven games, Poku averaged a solid 12.1 points, 7.9 rebounds, 3.4 dimes, 1.0 steals, 0.7 blocks and 1.0 triples in 28 minutes per game.
Isaiah Hartenstein (14%)- Hartenstein is coming off a 2-game week so he’s widely available and has been trending up in recent games with 20 or more minutes in four straight. In that stretch, Hartenstein was a top-50 player with 10.0 points, 5.5 rebounds, 4.0 dimes, 1.3 steals and 1.8 blocks in 23.0 minutes. What’s not to love?
Jarred Vanderbilt (34%)- If you need boards, steals and a boost to your FG%, you can’t go wrong here. Vando should get 25+ minutes whenever he’s not in foul trouble, and over his last four he pulled down 9.3 rebounds with 1.3 steals on 54% from the field.
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Larry Nance Jr. (23%)- Nance is a decent grab after a surprise return vs. the Bulls on Thursday, scoring nine points on 3-of-6 shooting with four rebounds, one 3-pointer, one block and one turnover in 18 minutes. Nance has a fantasy-friendly game in roto leagues and was a top-100 player (per-game) in 9-cat in his previous five seasons despite averaging minutes in the 20s in four of those. With the lack of depth in New Orleans, there is a path to 25+ minutes. It will be interesting to see if he’s cleared for both games of the upcoming back-to-back.
Pat Connaughton- Death, taxes and Mike Budenholzer resting his studs down the stretch. It happens every single year, and that means we could see some nice lines from Connaughton in the final two weeks. In his last three games since returning from a month-long absence, Pat put up 7th-round value with 15.0 points, 4.3 rebounds, 1.7 dimes, 0.7 steals and 3.7 triples on some red-hot shooting.
Deni Avdija- The second-year forward hasn’t been able to throw the ball in the ocean lately, but his minutes are way up with Kyle Kuzma (right knee tendinitis) missing the past three games and counting. Deni averaged 12.0 points, 5.7 rebounds, 3.3 dimes, 1.0 steals and 1.7 triples in that stretch, and the Wizards play four times in each of the next two weeks.
Isaiah Roby (17%)- As my colleague Steve Alexander would say, “pick a Thunder, any Thunder.” Roby’s minutes have been all over the place lately, but that’s what you get in one of the most blatant tanks I’ve seen. I’m trusting him to get the job done more often than not in a 4-game week.
Trey Lyles (16%)- The Kings are going to be a mess down the stretch without their top two players, but that presents guys like Lyles with a big opportunity. So far he’s making the most of it, posting 6th-round value in his last six games with 12.5 points, 7.0 rebounds, 2.0 dimes, 0.5 steals, 0.5 blocks and 1.5 triples.
Donte DiVincenzo (14%)- Donte has flown under the radar for far too long. The Kings are coming off a 2-game week but this is a great opportunity to scoop him with four games in Week 24. In his past five games, Donte averaged a solid 12.2points, 4.8 assists, 4.0 rebounds, 1.4 steals and 2.4 triples.
Kris Dunn (14%)- Brandon Williams may get more minutes but Dunn’s fantasy game is a lot more appealing to me in category leagues. Over the past six games, Dunn has put up 10th-round value in only 24 minutes per game, averaging 7.3 points, 5.2 dimes, 3.0 rebounds, 2.0 steals and 1.7 turnovers.
Jose Alvarado (12%)- Grand Theft Alvarado has one of the coolest nicknames in the NBA and has become must-watch TV for his sneaky steals on inbounds plays – he hides in the corner after his team scores and creeps up behind the opposing ball-handler. He’s a must-grab if you’re eyeing dimes and steals, as he averaged 5.8 assists and 2.7 steals in his last six games.
Gary Payton (9%)- This one is simple. Payton II has the highest steal rate in the NBA and could potentially see minutes in the 20s for the remainder of the season.
Killian Hayes (9%)- You can’t rely on him to score much or to not tank your FG%, but Hayes has been serviceable in a few categories lately. Over his last two games, Hayes averaged 12.5 points, 6.5 rebounds, 5.5 dimes and 1.0 steals.
*Obi Toppin (7%)- I threw an asterisk on here because this depends on the status of Julius Randle. Toppin has taken advantage of his opportunities in the last two games, averaging 14.0 points, 9.0 rebounds, 4.5 dimes, 1.0 steals and 1.0 triples.
Josh Richardson (6%)- Richardson playing like this is not something I was prepared for. He’s averaging 20.0 points, 1.5 steals and 3.0 triples over his last two games, though I wonder if the Spurs will dial him back in the final two weeks with nothing to play for.
Terry Taylor (4%)- Whenever the Pacers are shorthanded, and that’s likely to be the case for the rest of the season (Malcolm Brogdon’s is the world’s most rested man), Taylor is a quality streaming option for his rebounding and efficient scoring.
Chimezie Metu (3%)- Metu went off for a career-high 22 points with five rebounds, one assist, one steal, one block and three triples on Wednesday, but I’d like to see him put up another big line before taking the plunge. If he feasts vs. the Magic on Saturday, I’ll be ready to add for the 4-game week.
