NBA Fantasy Basketball Picks Week 15: Playoff Edition

Since most leagues wrapped up their regular seasons last week, if you are still searching for waiver wire pickups you must be a playoff contender.

Congrats for making the elusive cut.

I have a bye week so I’m forced to focus on fantasy baseball this week to keep my mind occupied. While we await opening day, it’s time to take a fresh look at the available NBA free agents to see what ballers can help you push your way to the finals.

My criteria for weekly waiver wire selections are players owned in less than 50 percent of Yahoo! leagues who look interesting for the week ahead, as well as some long-term plays.

PG J.J. Barea (Minnesota Timberwolves)

Is any team’s roster quite so ravaged by injury as Minnesota’s?

The latest in a long line of casualties is PG Luke Ridnour who was holding down the fort for early-season lost hope Ricky Rubio. Ridnour went down last night with a bad sprain that had him hobbling out on crutches. Coach Adelman said today that Ridnour would be out for a while.

Luckily, J.J. Barea seems to be finding his way back to health at just the right time. After dealing with a thigh contusion that had sidelined him for a week, Barea is set to return tomorrow night with the starting job waiting on him.

In his last game before the injury, Barea was on fire with 25 points, 10 rebounds, 14 assists, three steals and two threes. This was a double overtime outing coming off the bench, but it shows what he can accomplish if he has the minutes.

Owned in 17 Percent of Yahoo! Leagues | 1 Percent Change from Last Week 

PG/SG Randy Foye (Los Angeles Clippers)

Ever since Randy Foye took over for Chauncey Billups in early-February, he has been the model of inconsistency.

At the trade deadline, the Clippers brought in Nick Young to take Foye’s starting gig and that seems to have lit a fire underneath him. Over the last week, Foye is averaging 18 points, four threes, two rebounds and three assists per game.

Monday night alone saw him sink eight threes.

If you are starved for points and threes, Foye is well worth the look as Young has been largely a disappointment in LA.

Owned in 25 Percent of Yahoo! Leagues | 10 Percent Change from Last Week 

PF/C J.J. Hickson (Portland Trail Blazers)

Hickson was the hot add Friday night after he erupted for 29 points and 13 rebounds in his 36 minutes starting for LaMarcus Aldridge.

He followed it up with a solid outing Saturday only to fall back to Earth last night.

When Hickson has the minutes to run, he can do great things. His value largely rests on the health of teammates Aldridge and Joel Przybilla. Keep an eye on Hickson going forward.

Owned in 47 Percent of Yahoo! Leagues | 6 Percent Change from Last Week 

SG/SF J.R. Smith (New York Knicks)

The magic of Linsanity finally crumbled to a torn meniscus and a fantasy-season-ending surgery.

While guys like Baron Davis and Mike Bibby are the primary recipients of Lin’s lost minutes, J.R. Smith is also in line for increased court time. In Saturday’s win over the Cavs, Smith posted 20 points, nine rebounds, five steals, two assists and three threes. He’s been posting solid lines for the past couple of weeks.

With greater opportunities, Smith could be ready to make some noise in the fantasy playoffs.

Owned in 28 Percent of Yahoo! Leagues | 3 Percent Change from Last Week 

SG/SF Shannon Brown (Phoenix Suns)

Grant Hill just had knee surgery and looks to be sidelined for the remainder of the fantasy season.

Shannon Brown has stepped up to make Phoenix fans say, "Grant who?"

Brown is averaging 19 points, 2.3 threes, three rebounds and two assists in his time starting for Hill. He’s not as strong an add as Barea or Foye, but it’s hard to not be impressed by his scoring prowess.

Owned in 30 Percent of Yahoo! Leagues | 8 Percent Change from Last Week 

PF/C Kevin Seraphin (Washington Wizards)

I feel for Nene owners mostly because I’m one of them.He’s been nursing one injury after another all season. Just because he recently swapped jerseys has not magically healed his numerous ailments.

Fellow Wizard Trevor Booker is also battling plantar fasciitis so that leaves the big man responsibilities in Washington to Kevin Seraphin. Over the last week, Seraphin is averaging 13 points, five rebounds, 1.5 blocks and two assists.

While the big men are riding the bench, Seraphin will be filling the stat line.

Owned in 14 Percent of Yahoo! Leagues | 4 Percent Change from Last Week 

SG/SF Terrence Williams (Sacramento Kings)

Terrence Williams may be one of the more intriguing names on this list.

Marcus Thornton is dealing with a calf that is ‘on fire’ (his words, not mine) due to a kick from Ridnour on Monday. In Thornton’s absence, Williams drew the start and posted 12 points, 12 rebounds, three assists and two steals.

Williams may prove very valuable if Thornton 's injury sidelines him for any extended period of time.

Owned in 3 Percent of Yahoo! Leagues | 2 Percent Change from Last Week 

SF Danilo Gallinari (Denver Nuggets)

I’m departing from my usual 50 percent limbo stick to take a look at the injured Gallinari.

Much like Luol Deng, Gallinari fractured his thumb a couple weeks back and has found himself dumped on many waivers. Reports have him returning this week, but how quickly he will be reinserted into the line-up and his ability to effectively play through the thumb injury remain looming question marks.

Gallinari is at best a speculative add at this point, but if he hits the court without missing a beat, he won’t be sitting on your wire for long.

Owned in 60 Percent of Yahoo! Leagues | -1 Percent Change from Last Week 

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