Fantasy Basketball: Week 16 Waiver Wire Targets
It’s hard to pick up championship winning talent on the waivers in fantasy basketball leagues. With the star power in the NBA right now, the players taken early in the draft usually have very strong impacts on the outcomes of leagues.
But a player picked up on the waivers can give a potential playoff team a boost in the fantasy playoffs.
These waiver wire pickups are trending up and might be able to give fantasy teams a boost in the postseason.
Bennedict Mathurin, SF/SG, Indiana Pacers
Coming out of Arizona, Mathurin had a lot of praise going into the NBA Draft. He has had a great start to his career and has proven that he should be a great player in the league.
But in the past two weeks he has been playing at another level. He has hit the 20 points per game threshold over the past 15 days and has 5.1 rebounds per game to go with it.
Somehow, Mathurin is rostered in only 57.9% of leagues. He often comes off the bench, but he has been producing in his role and might enter the starting lineup soon.
Norman Powell, SG/SF, Los Angeles Clippers
Powell has been one of the most underrated players in the NBA in recent years. He played a pivotal role in the Toronto Raptors championship run and has been a big part of the Clipper offense in recent years.
Over the last 15 games, Powell is scoring 19.5 points per game. But the crafty scorer is still only rostered in 28.9% of leagues. He won’t contribute too much outside of the points category, but his scoring alone should allot him a spot on a fantasy roster.
In the same time span, his field goal percentage is 54.3% and his free throw percentage is 91.4%. This can be very helpful in category scoring leagues.
Seth Curry, SG/PG, Brooklyn Nets
Kyrie Irving recently requested a trade from the Brooklyn Nets and this may leave a hole at the point guard position for the team.
Ben Simmons is a candidate to take over that point guard role but has been playing as a big recently for the Nets.
So if they don’t require a point guard in return for Irving, the Nets may put Curry in the starting roster.
Curry is a 3-point specialist and an increase in minutes can improve his production.
He is rostered in only 18.9% of leagues right now and should be picked up before Irving is traded.
Jeremy Sochan, PF, San Antonio Spurs
Sochan wasn’t the most recognized name going into the 2022 NBA Draft and still isn’t as he is owned in 7.1% of leagues.
But the forward out of Baylor is averaging 13.0 points per game and 5.5 rebounds per game in the past month. On the season he’s only averaging 9.9 points per game so this boost in offensive production warrants him a roster spot.
He especially deserves to be on rosters in dynasty leagues as he is only 19-years-old.
Jayson O’Connell is a fourth-year majoring in broadcast journalism. To contact him, email jbo5216@psu.edu.
