Welcome to your midweek guidance, All-Star break edition! Most of you find yourselves in the midst of a two-week duel, so you already have five days’ worth of stats determining the direction of your contest. To help get you over the top, I’ve identified some players that excel in common punt strategies.
If you see a player listed across multiple formats below, he’s probably worth a closer look. During week ten, that player was Robert Williams III. In week nine, I covered Jae’Sean Tate and Saddiq Bey as their minutes and value increased. Yes, there have been a couple of landmines, but just remember that these suggestions are primarily for streaming towards the end of close matchups. If there is a player that I believe is a long-term option, I will specify that in the write-up. Otherwise, I only recommend adding these players if you have an obvious drop candidate.
The players listed below have two or more games remaining in the current week and are rostered in 50% or less of Yahoo and/or ESPN leagues.
Strategy 1: Punt Threes, Assists, FT%
– Nerlens Noel (ESPN 38%, Yahoo 63%): I know, I know. I’m insulting the collective intelligence of Razzball readers with this one, but the man is only rostered in 38% of ESPN leagues! He’s a must roster until Mitch Robinson returns, particularly if you’re in the market for rebounds, blocks, and steals with high-efficiency stats (Plays Thurs & Sat).
– Robert Williams III (ESPN 30%, Yahoo 46%): Is it happening? He exceeded the magic number of 20 minutes in three of the past four games. He averaged 12 points, 8.6 rebounds, and 3 blocks in those games on 83% shooting from the field. Pick him up if he’s available until we can determine what Brad Stevens plans to do with the Celtic frontcourt (Plays Thurs & Sun).
– Justin Patton (ESPN 3%, Yahoo 5%): With Demarcus Cousins gone and Christian Wood doubtful for Thursday’s game against the Kings, Patton’s expiration date is likely extended by at least one more matchup. He posted averages of 1.7 threes, 5.7 rebounds, 2.3 steals, and 1.7 blocks in three games that he received more than 25 minutes. It’s not an ideal sample size, but he’s worth a short-term add, especially in deeper leagues (Plays Thurs, Fri, & Sun).
Strategy 2: Punt Rebounds, Steals, Assists
– Derrick Jones Jr. (ESPN 23%, Yahoo 32%): It’s best to approach adding Derrick Jones with managed expectations. His ceiling is extremely low, but he also holds sneaky 1/1/1 upside. The Blazers’ three-game slate makes him worth a look (Plays Thurs, Fri, & Sun).
– Maxi Kleber (ESPN 9%, Yahoo 16%): A few of us drafted Kleber with our final pick, expecting good productivity during the Porzingis recovery. Naturally, he disappointed at the start of the season but is coming around now. He’ll give you threes, rebounds, and blocks while not hurting you in any efficiency categories (Plays Thurs & Sat).
– Justin Patton
– Nerlens Noel
Strategy 3: Punt Rebounds, Blocks, FG%
– Derrick White (ESPN 39%, Yahoo 63%): It’s been a turbulent ride with White so far due to multiple toe injuries and a bout with COVID. He reassumed his starting role on Wednesday against the Mavericks and put up an underwhelming line. Despite that, he deserves a roster spot in all 12 team leagues, as he’ll boost your points, threes, assists, steals, and blocks (Plays Fri & Sun).
– Immanuel Quickley (ESPN 19%, Yahoo 27%): Derrick Rose and Austin Rivers are ruled out for Thursday’s game against the Bucks. Though the Knicks are outperforming expectations this year, this game has blow-out potential, which COULD mean more minutes for Quickley and the corresponding bump in points, threes, and FT%. Good luck predicting Thibodeau’s guard rotations, however. As a result, Quickley is best leveraged as a deep league play (Plays Thurs & Sat).
– De’Anthony Melton (ESPN 17%, Yahoo 24%): From a fantasy perspective, it’s painful to see Melton squeezed out of meaningful minutes in a crowded Grizzlies backcourt. Despite that limitation, he’s the 100th ranked player overall this season in 9-cat, as he doesn’t hurt you in any one category. Keep an eye on the Memphis injury report for Friday to see if there are any guard absences that could open up more minutes for Melton (Plays Fri & Sun).
Strategy 4: Punt Points, Assists, Rebounds
– Danny Green (ESPN 14%, Yahoo 23%): Green is a low upside three and D streamer, but there are two factors that should increase his value through the end of the week. In addition to the Sixers having three games remaining this week, Embiid and Simmons are expected to miss at least one game, so there will be extra shots to go around (Plays Thurs, Fri, & Sun).
– De’Anthony Melton
– Justin Patton
– Nerlens Noel
Strategy 5: Punt Points, Assists, Steals
– Patrick Williams (ESPN 18%, Yahoo 20%): Lauri Markannen and Otto Porter Jr. are both probable for Thurday’s matchup with the Sixers, so Williams’ 16-game streak of 25+ minutes may not be long for this world. He can still provide marginal value in rebounds and blocks with fewer minutes, but there’s an increasing probability that he will be relegated to deeper league status in the coming weeks (Plays Thurs Fri, & Sun).
– Nerlens Noel
– Justin Patton
– Robert Williams
If you’re simply looking to pick up additional games and none of the above players are available or helpful, take a look at players on teams with three remaining games this week: Hawks, Bulls, Rockets, Heat, Wolves, Pelicans (Josh Hart), Thunder, Magic (Michael Carter-Williams), Sixers, Blazers, and Raptors.
There are hundreds of matchup scenarios, so hit me up in the comments section if you want more feedback on your team’s direction for the week. Best of luck!
