The fantasy basketball season is underway in the NBA and the time is now to plan ahead and look at the way certain fantasy players are doing in order to set up your roster for a run at the playoffs.
The NBA is much different than the NFL in that hot streaks are key and also that there are so many potential players on the waiver wire that you can pickup and help your team in one of the many categories that play big roles in fantasy basketball.
Early in the season, many top fantasy players slip through the cracks and fall to the waiver wire, getting lost in the shuffle.
Here are the top NBA waiver wire pickups so far early in the season:
Jason Thompson and Spencer Hawes- These two Sacramento Kings big men were available at the start of the year. Hawes has most likely been snapped up off the waiver wire in most fantasy basketball leagues by now but Thompson, the rookie out of Rider, might still be available.
Thompson might not get the same playing time that Hawes will down the stretch but he has shown to be the real deal as a good athlete with great size who can play PF or center for your fantasy team.
Brad Miller is coming back from a suspension for the Kings, but as they continue to lose, these two young players will most likely get more playing time and fantasy points for one of the NBA's worst teams. Stash them now and they may help you down the line.
Mario Chalmers- The rookie pick from Kansas has been money for the Miami Heat recently. People were surprised to see him slide in the 2008 NBA Draft's second round but he has looked like a veteran player for the Heat thus far.
While he's only had a couple big game statistically so far, some of his peripheral stats such as a 9-steal game earlier and a 17 point game against the Knicks suggest he will be a fantasy star at PG down the line especially in the steals department.
Roger Mason Jr.- The Spurs are now without both Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili for a long time. The roster suddenly appears woefully short of depth. Mason Jr. is the kind of guy who can score a lot of points with a lot of opportunities and he will get them with open shots provided by Tim Duncan.
Mason Jr. is worth a shot because the Spurs have to score point somehow and he might be their number two or three option as crazy as it sounds with Parker and Ginobili out, making him an ideal fantasy basketball waiver wire pickup.
Marquis Daniels- This Indiana Pacer will benefit from the absence of Mike Dunleavy, who was one of the top players on the Pacers last year if not the top player from a fantasy basketball perspective.
Daniels showed plenty of flashes of his talent and potential with the Dallas Mavericks in his stint there both in the regular season and the playoffs but he had never gotten much of a chance to prove he could put up big stats (fantasy points) until now. Daniels is a good waiver wire pickup because he can get your fantasy team a steal or a block or two on most nights even if he's not scoring due to his athleticism.
Fantasy Waiver Pickup Final Thoughts
Keep an eye on players who put up big numbers on single nights and always click on the “game log” section of your league's waiver section.
Whenever a player has a couple of huge games in a row, look at it as a trend and take a flier on them because talent trumps all eventually in the NBA and players who put up big stats will eventually make the lineup. Many guys never get the right chances to play but are capable of putting up big fantasy numbers.
Consistency is the key when looking at stats over a small sample of course so you can pick them up before anyone else does.
Anyone in the NBA can bust loose for a good game every now and then but consistency is the key in fantasy basketball.
