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Fantasy Basketball Waiver Wire Pickups: Tanking Trail Blazers ready to lift you to a title

Dan Titus
·Fantasy analyst
·7-min read

The time is finally here — the fantasy basketball championship (for most) is about to begin! If you've managed to make it this far, congratulations; now comes the hard part — actually winning it all!

Like every Monday, I'll break down several players who are less than 50% of Yahoo fantasy basketball leagues. For additional tips on navigating Week 23, check out this playoff cheat sheet and schedule analysis and my Week 23 teams to avoid and exploit.

Here are the games played by each team in Week 23.

Fantasy Schedule:

Four games: 76ers, Bucks, Bulls, Clippers, Grizzlies, Jazz, Kings, Knicks, Mavericks, Nuggets, Pacers, Pelicans, Pistons, Rockets, Suns, Thunder, Timberwolves and Trail Blazers

Three games: Cavaliers, Celtics, Hawks, Heat, Hornets, Lakers, Magic, Nets, Raptors, Spurs, Warriors and Wizards

Okay, now that you know which teams to target for streaming, let's get to the pickups.

Priority Adds:

Shaedon Sharpe, SG/SF/PF, Portland Trail Blazers (55% rostered)

We're making an exception to the 50% threshold with Sharpe. The Blazers shut down most of their stars, leaving a huge void for the high-flying rookie to become a league winner. He's dropped at least 24 points in three consecutive games, including a career-high 29-point outing on Sunday night.

He's averaging 38 minutes in his last three starts and has been filling up the stat sheet beyond scoring, pulling down 6 rebounds with almost 3 assists, 4 triples, a steal while shooting 52% from the field over that span. With a four-game schedule on deck and next to no competition for minutes, the 19-year-old will be the alpha for a short-handed Blazers team at the most critical point of the season for fantasy managers. If he's on waivers, run, don't walk to add him for Week 23.

Marvin Bagley III, PF/C, Detroit Pistons (45% rostered)

The Pistons have one of the most fantasy-friendly matchups this week, facing the Rockets, Thunder and Magic after Monday's contest versus the Bucks. Bagley battled injuries throughout the season, but he's been worth rostering over his past three games, averaging close to 20 points, 7 rebounds, 2 assists and 2 stocks in 34 minutes per contest. The big man also has impressive 58/44/90 shooting splits over that time. He's started the previous five games and has the edge on promising rookie Jalen Duren. As mentioned, he could struggle against the Bucks' dominant frontcourt but should be able to feast with double-double potential the rest of the week.

Deni Avdija, SF/PF, Washington Wizards (41% rostered)

The Wizards are dealing with a slew of injuries to starters; Kyle Kuzma (ankle), Bradley Beal (knee) and Monte Morris (groin), all missing time recently, have gifted Avdija with a heavy workload. Points can be had on waivers, but I've been more impressed by his ability to distribute the rock and rack up boards.

He's dished out 6 or more assists in four of his last five games and grabbed 8 or more rebounds (10+ three times) in five straight. He's shooting over 55% from the field while hitting almost 2 threes per contest over that stretch, too. The only knock on Deni is his high turnover rate, but he's providing fantasy managers with a ton of counting stats. The Wizards' schedule isn't the best — he's an easy start on Tuesday, but then it'll get tricky with the remaining games on Wednesday and Sunday's big slates. Still, if Kuzma, Beal and Morris continue to sit, Avdija will be a massive asset for championship week.

Mid-Tier Adds:

Drew Eubanks, PF/C, Portland Trail Blazers (22% rostered)

Eubanks will have a ton of value in Week 23 because he's arguably the best shot blocker available on waivers. He swatted six shots along with 10 rebounds, 4 assists and a steal against the Thunder on Sunday night. The Blazers are mailing it in, and with Jusuf Nurkic missing the last two games, Eubanks should continue to start. In 22 starts this year, he's amassed 43 stocks (30 blocks, 13 steals). He finished 76th in per-game value last week, and while he's a double-double threat, much of his upside lies in his ability to tally stocks.

Delon Wright, PG/SG, Washington Wizards (23% rostered)

Wright is a must-add if Morris continues to miss time with his groin injury, and fantasy managers can expect a healthy dose of efficiency mixed in with assists and steals.

He's been nearly a top 60 player per game in 9-cat leagues for the season, and in 10 starts, he's averaged 8 points, 5 rebounds, 6 assists, 1 three and 2.5 steals per game. At a minimum, roster him through Tuesday and wait and see after that.

Coby White, PG/SG, Chicago Bulls (19% rostered)

He won't be for everyone, but if your roster isn't sweating field-goal percentage, White is a player I'd look to add. He finished Week 22 81st in per-game value, and the Bulls play four games this week, beginning on Monday. The downside is that their next three games are on big slates (W/F/Su), but still, White's been playing great recently.

He's been a strong source of points, threes and assists, averaging 16.0 points, 3.6 rebounds, 5.2 assists, 3.0 threes and 1.0 steals over his last five contests. Outside of Sunday's 5-for-17 performance from the field, he's been over 50% in three of his previous five games. Give him a look if you're looking for a guard who can contribute across categories. It'll also help his streaming appeal with Alex Caruso (foot) popping up on the injury report ahead of Monday's game.

Short-term streamers:

Isaiah Jackson, PF/C, Indiana Pacers (23% rostered)

Jackson is my first contingency stream because his fantasy relevancy is tied to the status of Myles Turner. Turner missed the Pacers game on Saturday with a back issue, and if that injury keeps him out on Monday (or longer), Jackson is for sure worth an add.

He's played well in his past two games, seeing over 20 minutes of action, averaging 13 points with 5.5 rebounds and 2 stocks. He got in foul trouble in one of those games, but he could be a nice boost for defensive stats if he can see 30 minutes of playing time.

He's only played 30 minutes on three occasions in his first two seasons in the league, but he tallied 10 stocks (6 steals, 4 blocks) across those games. The Pacers are four games back in the loss column for the Play-In Tournament, so there's no incentive to play a veteran like Turner any longer, but make sure he's out before adding Jackson.

Dennis Smith Jr., PG, Charlotte Hornets (31% rostered)

Rostering DSJ is contingent on the status of Terry Rozier, who's missed the past two contests with a foot injury. In his last two starts without Rozier in the lineup, Smith Jr. has averaged 13.5 points, 5.0 rebounds, 7.5 assists and 1.0 steals in 29 minutes. The Hornets don't have a great schedule this week, but the Thunder are a juicy matchup for him on Tuesday if he can earn another start.

Others to consider by categories: