Fantasy Basketball 2021: Deep NBA Sleepers After Jan. 3
When TJ Warren was declared out following surgery on his left foot, the fantasy basketball discussion shifted toward Aaron Holiday.
However, the other Holiday brother on the Indiana Pacers roster stepped up after the Warren news broke on New Year's Eve from ESPN.com's Adrian Wojnarowski.
Justin Holiday performed better than his sibling against the New York Knicks, and that may be a sign of things to come. If he turns into a solid contributor, Holiday could be considered as a deep waiver-wire pickup.
Charlotte Hornets center Bismack Biyombo was thrust into a larger role when Cody Zeller went down. The decent totals he posted down low could make him a solid backup option as the action across the NBA heats up.
Deep sleepers will carry more importance in Week 3 than the opening two weeks of the season because of the high volume of games for each of the 30 franchises.
Justin Holiday, SG/SF, Indiana
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Despite coming off the bench, Justin Holiday was the much more productive member of his family against New York on Saturday.
The 31-year-old guard totaled 12 points, two assists, a steal and a rebound in 28 minutes. Aaron Holiday failed to score a single point in a starting role.
Justin Holiday chipped in with three double-digit performances in the first six games. If that continues, he could be a needed bench asset for Indiana in tough games against the top Eastern Conference competition.
Indiana faces a fairly easy Week 3 schedule compared to other teams, as it has no back-to-back games and plays twice at home on Wednesday and Saturday.
There are twenty back-to-back situations in the next seven days, so we could see rotation, or disappointing totals caused by lack of rest, out of a bulk of teams.
With Indiana likely playing at full strength against the New Orleans Pelicans and Houston Rockets and catching the Phoenix Suns on the back end of a back-to-back, Holiday could get some decent run and be a solid plug-and-play option.
Bismack Biyombo, C, Charlotte
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Biyombo proved his worth down low in Charlotte's two-game stretch against Memphis and Philadelphia to close Week 2.
The starting center produced his first double-double of the season versus the Grizzlies and then came one point and a rebound away from another one on Saturday.
At the moment, Biyombo is the best big man the Hornets have available to haul in the abundance of rebounds created by missed shots.
The Hornets average 35 three-point attempts per game, but they have only made 12.7 per contest. If they keep missing at a high rate, Biyombo should have plenty of offensive rebound opportunities.
The potential for offensive boards combined with being one of the primary defensive rebounders could make Biyombo a decent backup center addition for the next few weeks.
Follow Joe on Twitter, @JTansey90
Statistics obtained from ESPN.com
