Fantasy Basketball is all about outsmarting your opponents, and much of that is done through grabbing the unfound star in free agency. Here’s our best way to do that in Week 8.
Note: All OWN%’s come from ESPN Fantasy Leagues.
Point Guard:
MIN- Mo Williams (20.4%)
Williams is set to return any day now from a back injury, making this a perfect opportunity to buy low on him. As a starter in Ricky Rubio’s absence (ankle), he’s averaged 15.3 points and 9.3 assists per game.
IND- C.J. Watson (3.4%)
If you need cheap assists, you can rely on the former Net… maybe not for dunks, though. He’s averaged 5.3 assists per game in his last 3, to go along with 14.7 points.
Shooting Guard:
NYK- Tim Hardaway Jr. (11.6%)
Ever since Iman Shumpert went down with a shoulder injury, and J.R. Smith began nursing a partially torn plantar fascia, Hardaway Jr. has played like his father, except with some more composure behind the arc, averaging 19.0 (2.3 3PM) points and 4.7 rebounds in that span.
DET- Jodie Meeks (6.5%)
If you’re a fantasy owner with a roster spot open, or just like boom-bust pick-ups, then Meeks is your guy. He recently returned from a back injury and threw himself into a completely new system, where he’s still trying to mold into Stan Van Gundy’s rotation. If you’re lucky, he’ll put up ‘14 Lakers numbers for you, but only time will tell as he hasn’t broken out just yet.
Small Forward:
PHI- Robert Covington (16.1%)
In his last 6 contests, he’s averaged 19.3 (3.3 3PM) points, 6.0 rebounds, and 1.2 steals. I mean, the guy’s birthday was yesterday, at least let his numbers become recognized so his OWN% continues to skyrocket as a present.
MIN- Shabazz Muhammad (7.6%)
I told you to take Muhammad for scoring last week, and here he is on this list again, with his OWN% somehow up only 2.5%. In that duration, he averaged 17.8 points per game.
Power Forward:
CLE- Tristan Thompson (22.0%)
Need boards? Take Tristan Thompson. He used to be an every-other-night type of player, but that may be in the past as now he’s averaged a 12.2-11.4 double double in his last 5 games, with only one of those games featuring sub-10 rebounding numbers.
Center:
BOS- Tyler Zeller (14.2%)
Zeller’s the second recidivist on this list, and he arguably earned that honor more than Shabazz. In his past 3 games, he’s averaged 14.0 points and 6.3 boards a game as he continues to start.
BKN- Mason Plumlee (3.6%)
Brook Lopez shouldn’t be out much longer, but for as long as he is, you’d better have Plums in your lineup. You’ve seen his dominance over his last 3 starts, and that tallied him respectable averages of 12.3 points and 10.3 rebounds.
SA- Tiago Splitter (2.2%)
With Splitter back, that puts an end to the countless fantasy steals that came off his replacements, but is there really anything better than the original? His numbers have been down since returning, and that has impeded his rise on the fantasy leaderboards, but with his minutes augmenting every game, I suggest taking him now and waiting it out because the reward could be staggering.
