The closer we get to the end of the 2022-2023 fantasy basketball season, the easier it becomes to spot teams that are deactivating players and calling it quits for the season to position themselves better in the lottery. We already know about the Detroit Pistons and San Antonio Spurs, but it’s looking like the Portland Trail Blazers are joining the party as Damian Lillard and Jusuf Nurkic could sit out for the rest of the season. The Indiana Pacers are another team to watch because suddenly, Tyrese Haliburton might not play Monday night. The Pacers sit three and a half games out of the final play-in tournament spot. The next few days will be very telling as to whether they’ll continue fighting. Pay attention to the latest NBA injury news on a daily basis to keep your fantasy basketball lineups up to date. Here are a few more NBA players to add from the fantasy basketball waiver wire this week. 

 

Fantasy Basketball NBA Waiver Wire Pickups

Shaedon Sharpe, SG/SF, Portland Trail Blazers – 50% rostered

Sharpe has been unleashed! He’s sat behind a bunch of other Blazers shooters for most of the season and with Lillard looking like he won’t play for the final two weeks, Sharpe will take more shots. He’s been shooting over 48 percent for the season.  Anfernee Simons being out and Matisse Thybulle and Cam Reddish’s inconsistent shooting give Sharpe a ceiling that exceeds 20 shots per game for the rest of the way. He’s taken no fewer than 13 in 3 straight and hit 9 field goals in all 3. He’s scored 24-plus points in all 3 contests as well and he’s even been banging the boards more too. He’s pulled down four or more rebounds in three straight and will spend time bringing up the ball. Sharpe could be looking at a 26 percent usage rate for the rest of the season. He’ll be a prime offensive weapon. 

Marvin Bagley III, PF/C, Detroit Pistons – 43% rostered

As long as Bojan Bogdanovic remains sidelined, Bagley’s production ceiling is safe despite both James Wiseman and Jalen Duren being healthy and still active in the Pistons rotation. He scored 14 points or more and took 10 or more shots in his last 3 contests. He’s pulled down at least eight boards and blocked shots in two games during that span. After the tough Bucks matchup on Monday, Bagley has three beatable frontcourts on the road and should be productive on the offensive end and on the glass. It’s been encouraging seeing him hit the 30-minute mark recently and the Pistons need his offense. Isaiah Livers playing power forward hasn’t been easy because he doesn’t have the size that Bagley has. Bagley can hit shots from the outside and draw out bigger defenders, but, he’s better off staying in the post. He shoots over 53 percent from the field.

Bones Hyland, G, Los Angeles Clippers – 34% rostered

We don’t know when Paul George will return to action, but it’s looking more like he’ll be sidelined for the rest of the regular season. Hyland can play at both guard spots and he’ll get more shooting guard minutes with Norman Powell still hurt. He’s scored 16 points or more and dropped 7 dimes in both of his last 2 outings. After the Bulls matchup on Monday, Hyland has easier backcourts to deal with as the Clippers travel to Memphis for a couple of games and then to New Orleans. Hyland is looking at a usage percentage close to 29 with both Powell and George out. He’s perfectly capable of bringing up the ball and provides the Clippers with better defense on the perimeter than Russell Westbrook. Hyland has also grabbed at least four boards in three of his last four and stole the ball in two of his last three matchups. 

Drew Eubanks, PF/C, Portland Trail Blazers – 18% rostered

We’ll have to wait and see what the damage is exactly to Trendon Watford’s ankle but if he needs to sit, the Blazers have no choice but to turn back to Eubanks. Watford is clearly the preferred center option, but if Portland is going to hold out Nurkic, they aren’t left with many alternatives. Being that the injury to Watford happened on Sunday night, it would be shocking to see him active on Monday. Eubanks played 33 minutes and grabbed 10 boards and blocked 6 shots against the Thunder last night. The Pelicans are another team who are weak at defending opposing centers. When the Blazers committed to Eubanks earlier this season when Nurkic was hurt, he came through for a few weeks and then started to fade. He blocks 1.2 shots per game and if Watford sits, he’ll be looking at 30-plus minutes consistently. 

 

Coby White, G, Chicago Bulls – 17% rostered

White has been hot shooting from the field scoring in double figures in five straight contests and shooting at least 58 percent from the field in 3 of those games. White has been logging more games in which he’s taken at least 10 shots. He’s been providing consistent offense coming in off the bench and he’s even dropped six or more dimes in three of his last five battles. The Bulls have an advantageous matchup against the Clippers to start the week and between the scoring, steals, and recent rebounding, he deserves a fantasy basketball roster spot with the Bulls having a full slate of games for the week. He’s played 32 minutes or more in 2 of his last 3 matchups. White has shot over 51 percent from the floor and over 48 percent from downtown over his last 5 games. The Bulls also face the Lakers, Hornets and Grizzlies this week and all are favorable matchups for White.

Luke Kennard, SG/SF, Memphis Grizzlies – 18% rostered

Kennard has helped the Grizzlies offense big time over the last few weeks especially while Ja Morant was out. He’s scored no fewer than 10 points in 7 straight matchups. He’s taken at least 10 shots in 3 of his last 5 games and it’s very encouraging seeing him take a good number of shots even with Morant back in the starting lineup. Dillon Brooks is a very streaky shooter and Kennard can still be relied on to hit shots and that could keep his shot-total high. Since arriving in Memphis, he’s shot over 53 percent from downtown and has hit 50 percent of his field goals. He sinks at least two three-pointers per battle and the Clippers are banged up and he plays them twice. He also has matchups against the Magic and Bulls and both teams don’t play good midcourt defense. He should continue playing 23-26 minutes per game and he’ll get a lot of plays called for him with the Grizzlies second unit. 

Deni Avdija, F, Washington Wizards – 41% rostered

Just like last week, one player in this article doesn’t have a full slate of four games and while Bradley Beal and Kyle Kuzma are out, Avdija will see a bump in minutes and time with the ball. Avdija has been drawing starts and he’s scored 15 points or more in each of his last 4 battles. He’s been pulling down a lot of rebounds recently as well grabbing eight-plus in five straight games with three of those contests being double-digit rebounding games. Even when Monte Morris plays, he helps run the offense as well and has dished six assists or more in four of his last five outings. He’s even grabbed swipes in four games during that span. Avdija has been doing a little bit of everything and he can rotate to both forward spots and he should continue playing over 30 minutes as long as Beal and especially Kuzma sits.

 

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