Have you ever looked at who’s available on the waiver wire and seen a guy who’s excellent in exactly one category – like so excellent that it makes you go “Hmm… if only they could somehow get consistent playing time, this random guy that no one’s ever heard of might actually be useful…”? Well that’s what Jay Huff has been to me all season long. Whenever I would look at a Pacers box score this season, I would glance at Huff’s numbers and become intrigued at how many shots he was blocking, and then shrug and go “Oh well.” But now that intrigue is becoming validated because Huff has been inserted into the Pacers starting five due to his strong play of late, and as such is someone people genuinely need to be paying attention to.
If you’ve never even heard of Jay Huff until recently, you’re forgiven. He’s a 27-year-old journeyman who’s already on his fifth different team in his fifth NBA season; coming into this year, he had scored 20 points in a game exactly once in his career. But here’s the thing: Jay Huff, out of nowhere, has been the best shot-blocker in the NBA with Victor Wembanyama out. Crazy, right? Despite mostly coming off the bench, Huff is averaging 2.3 blocks per game and has 20 swats in his last six games – which is remarkable not only because he was never close to this type of shot-blocker until this season, but because he hasn’t even played 30 minutes in a game this year. What’s neat too is that he’s also a three-point-shooting center and has made 14 three-balls during that six-game span, so it’s not even like he’s been a negative in other categories.
The trade-off is that Huff isn’t great in any category except for blocks though. During his strong six-game stretch, Huff is averaging 12 points, 5.5 rebounds and 1.8 assists per game; even when you factor in his long-range shooting, these are numbers you could easily find on the wire elsewhere. The other wrinkle too is that because Isiah Jackson (who people had ironically pegged as the Pacer who was going to be the shot-blocking extraordinaire this year) is still around and still in a timeshare with Huff, Huff’s minutes aren’t likely to rise more than they already have – meaning there’s virtually no upside to Huff as anything other than a sudden shot-blocking maestro.
But that’s the thing: so long as he is a shot-blocking maestro, and so long as Huff is literally the best shot-blocker in the league right now, you should strongly consider adding him if you’re languishing in the blocks category. His other production might be so-so, but it’s also been more than enough to justify rostering him so long as he keeps getting three or four blocks almost every time out. You don’t need to commit to Huff, but he’s single-handedly capable of winning you an entire fantasy category so long as he’s in the Pacers’ starting lineup, and so long as that’s still the case, it’s not a bad idea at all to at least look into streaming him.
Other notes:
Reed Sheppard put up 9-6-4-4-2 on Sunday a game after scoring a career high 31 points. As great as the Rockets are, they don’t have a ton of depth and that means Sheppard should get about 30 minutes a night for them the rest of the way. He’s still available in 56% of Yahoo leagues and you should add him if you can.
In only 19 minutes, Jusuf Nurkic collected 14 points, 9 assists, 6 rebounds and a block versus Houston. He only received 19 minutes because Utah got annihilated, and it’s because of logistical issues like this (I worry how much run he’s going to get with Utah at the end of the year too) that I don’t think it’s a bad idea to try to sell high on him if you can. That said, he should be owned in 12-team leagues so long as he’s in Utah’s starting five.
Zach Edey had 32 points, 17 rebounds and 5 blocks on Sunday. It’s rather ridiculous that he’s available in 52% of Yahoo leagues because he looks primed for a massive leap. Grab him if you can, you fools.
Speaking of players who you need to run-not-walk to add if they’re still just sitting there on your waiver wire: Keegan Murray. He’s averaging 18-7-2-2-1 this year, but the most salivating factor with him is that if the Kings actually go on the fire sale that they’re rumored to be considering, Murray could easily finish out the season as the top dog in Sacramento. When you consider his ability to contribute in defensive categories too, he’s simply a phenomenal fantasy prospect to invest in right now.
Derik Queen had 15-7-3 on Sunday. His numbers have been weak over his previous four games, but on a 3-18 Pelicans team that’s incapable of staying healthy, he should still get a ton of opportunities to produce.
Peyton Watson had 11-5-3 against the Suns. There’s not a lot of long-term upside with him, given that he’ll be banished to the bench as soon as Christian Braun and Aaron Gordon come back, but Watson’s getting 34 minutes just about every night and has been solid. By no means do you need to roster him, but he’s a decent streamer until Denver’s other bodies return.
Grayson Allen played his first game in a couple weeks and scored 10. I know it’s weird to say this about Grayson Allen, but he’s quietly been extremely good this season and should be added without hesitation if you still need points, threes or steals. Don’t forget that he had a 10-threes performance only a few games earlier.
Jonathan Kuminga also made his return on Sunday, totaling 10 points in 19 minutes off the bench. He’ll probably return to the starting lineup soon but his production is poised to remain inconsistent so long as he’s in Golden State.
Kevin Porter Jr. also made his return and had 13-6-4-1-1 against the Nets. It’s an annoying development for Ryan Rollins owners, as Rollins had been sensational in Porter’s absence, but Rollins should still get a ton of minutes from here on out.
Kon Knueppel had 20-6-4-2 in 37 minutes against Toronto, proving that he can still stuff the stat sheet even when the rest of the Hornets are all healthy for once.
Jaden Ivey had only 9 points over the weekend. He’s a good player but the combination of him returning from a serious injury and the Pistons absolutely rolling in his absence means you don’t need to roster him at all.
Danny Wolf had by far the best game of his young career on Saturday, picking up 22 points, 4 rebounds, 4 assists and 5 threes in 30 minutes against the Bucks. Wolf, who Brooklyn took with the 27th pick in the draft a few months ago, had actually only played 21 total minutes prior to this game. This makes him worthy of being in your watch list, if nothing else.
When you suggest adding players (or consider) are you thinking in terms of 12 or 10 team leagues? Some of the Yahoo ownership percentages seem crazy low compared to my leagues (none are Yahoo admittedly). It just helps my thinking to know what type benchmarks are being used.
Also, Bilal has been a train wreck for me. No question, just a cautionary tale of youth.