Fantasy Basketball 2019: NBA Pickups to Watch After Jan. 30
NBA teams and viewers don't wait long before deeming a disappointing prospect a bust. In the moment, everyone hastily believes it's now or never for a young player to prosper.
Fantasy basketball managers are especially prone to impatience. Why waste a roster spot on a raw talent when no-name gems exist on the waiver wire? That's a fair mindset as long as you don't dismiss those discarded players forever.
There's no better source of value in fantasy sports than a post-hype prospect. Just because the breakout doesn't occur immediately doesn't mean it never will. Just look at two college superstars, highlighted below, who have capitalized on enhanced playing time recently.
The following players, all available on more than half of ESPN.com leagues as of Wednesday night, have made the most of vast minutes and usage upticks. If this blend of opportunity and performance persists, they will quickly become accounted for in every competitive league.
Shabazz Napier, PG, Brooklyn Nets (6.3 Percent Owned)
Already without Caris LeVert, the Brooklyn Nets lost Sixth Man of the Year candidate Spencer Dinwiddie to a right thumb injury. The two fallen guards have combined for 30.2 percent of Brooklyn's field-goal attempts.
Even with D'Angelo Russell now headlining the offense, Shabazz Napier has assumed a meaty role. Over the past three games without Dinwiddie, the 27-year-old has averaged 20.7 points on 15.3 shot attempts and a 31.0 usage percentage, per NBA.com.
As of Wednesday, only four teams have attempted more three-pointers per game than the Nets. Inserted into Kenny Atkinson's up-tempo offense, Napier promptly drained 10 of 24 shots from downtown in those three games.
The two-time NCAA champion logged 25 minutes off the bench in each bout. In nine games when meeting that mark, he has registered 17.6 points and 4.1 assists per contest.
He has never mustered double-digit points or more than 2.5 dimes in an NBA season, but the former UConn standout has demonstrated another improvement to trust in a high-volume assignment. Napier will at least offer a short-term scoring jolt while LeVert and Dinwiddie recover.
Other guards to add: Tomas Satoransky, WAS; Patrick Beverley, LAC; Avery Bradley, LAC; Allonzo Trier, NYK.
Cedi Osman, SF, Cleveland Cavaliers (20.8 Percent Owned)
Someone has to occasionally score for the Cleveland Cavaliers. That someone is often Cedi Osman.
An inefficient scorer for most of the season, the 23-year-old has suddenly posted 14.9 points per game on a 48.2 field-goal percentage in January. He has deposited 97 points on a whopping 64 field-goal attempts (31 from three-point range) over the past four games while pickpocketing two steals in each of the past three bouts.
All of these long-distance opportunities seem misguided for Osman, a career 33.7-percent shooter from beyond the arc. Yet despite trying more of them, his three-point conversion rate has skyrocketed from 26.4 percent in December to 38.2 in 2019's opening month.
Perhaps this is merely an unsustainable hot streak from 2015's No. 31 pick. Yet unless they are worried about him getting too good and damaging their odds of winning another lottery, the 11-41 Cavaliers have every incentive to ride the hot hand.
Osman is going to keep getting ample opportunities to succeed, so grab him in case even a semblance of this recent surge sticks.
Other forwards to add: Kenneth Faried, HOU; Jonathan Isaac, ORL; Josh Jackson, PHO; Noah Vonleh, NYK.
Jahlil Okafor, C, New Orleans Pelicans (36.7 Percent Owned)
A 23-year-old once drafted No. 3 overall is shocking the NBA by playing well.
The Philadelphia 76ers didn't want Jahlil Okafor, who quickly fizzled out in Brooklyn. Left to rot on another bench, he scored six points in November.
Then Anthony Davis injured his finger.
In six games since losing their superstar, the New Orleans Pelicans have allotted Okafor 32.5 minutes per game—he averaged 10.0 minutes in December. He has responded by producing 20.0 points, 10.5 rebounds and 2.3 blocks per game.
While post-up players have fallen out of favor, it's foolish to ignore someone who has made 54 of his past 78 field goals. Per the New York Post's Kyle Schnitzer, Pelicans coach Alvin Gentry praised the big man for "doing a good job within the confines" of their offense.
"Well, he just played—he's been really good in what we're trying to do," Gentry said. "It's not like we're just taking the ball and every time throwing it to him in the post. He's been stepping out on the floor, screening. He's done a great job of rolling in the pocket and catching the basketball."
Had he arrived a decade ago, Okafor would have posted double-doubles from the start. Yet to many teams, a defensive liability with no perimeter shot is about as useful as a cassette tape in 2019.
Fantasy managers, on the other hand, only share those concerns when it affects playing time. Since Davis has requested a trade while on the shelf, the Pelicans should see whether Okafor garners a place in a future without the Unibrow.
If he keeps playing, the Duke alumnus should remain a double-double machine.
Other centers to add: Ivica Zubac, LAC; Dewayne Dedmon, ATL; Ante Zizic, CLE.
