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I love watching the Utah Jazz. There are so many young, exciting players, like Alec Burks, who are great to watch, but also great to own in fantasy basketball.
In today’s edition of “All Wired Up”, I’ll delve into the fantasy strengths of potential waiver wire gold like Burks and the Atlanta Hawks’ Mike Scott for deep league consideration.
» Alec Burks, PG/SG, Utah Jazz (30.0 percent owned on ESPN.com)
26 points (9-14 FG, 7-8 FT), 1 three-pointer, 5 rebounds, 3 assists, 0 steals, 0 blocks, 2 turnovers vs. Kings
Alec Burks has oscillated between the starting lineup and the sixth man role all season. At first, he filled in at point guard for the injured Trey Burke, then played the shooting guard slot when Gordon Hayward missed time with a hip strain.
But no matter where he lines up, Burks has been able to contribute to fantasy teams and also has helped the Jazz go 12-12 over the past 24 games, a massive improvement from their early season form.
Since returning to the bench, Burks has scored in double digits all four games, averaging 17.3 points, 4.0 rebounds and 2.8 assists while also shooting 48.9 percent from the field and 80 percent from the charity stripe.
Although the Jazz are exciting and young, one thing they are not is deep. This only means good things for Burks, in that his minutes are going to be around 30 all season. For fantasy purposes, you can’t ask for more for a sixth man. With the way Burks has been putting up numbers, he deserves ownership in all fantasy leagues.
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» Mike Scott, PF, Atlanta Hawks (0.2 percent owned):
18 points (8-14 FG, 2-2 FT), 0 three-pointers, 9 rebounds, 4 assists, 0 steals, 0 blocks, 1 turnover vs. 76ers
With injuries firstly to Al Horford, then his replacement, Pero Antic, the Hawks have been struggling for big man depth. Paul Millsap, in his first season in Atlanta, has turned in an All-Star season, but it’s the other front court spot that is up for debate.
Enter Mike Scott. The second year forward is turning it on since being given the opportunity to show his wares with more court time. He’s scored in double digits in the past 10 games and is actually Basketball Monster.com’s 85th ranked player over the past month. In those games, Scott is averaging 21.5 minutes per game and is using that time to provide 13.4 points, 1.0 three-pointer and 4.2 rebounds per game along with 52.8 percent shooting from the field and a stellar 86.1 percent from the line.
In his past three games, he’s turned things up a notch, averaging 16.0 points with 6.3 boards and hasn’t missed a free throw in that time span. Scott is absolutely must own in any league of 14 teams or deeper and is probably a must own in leagues as shallow as 10 teams given his form and opportunity moving forward.
I’ve already added Scott in a couple of leagues and you should definitely follow suit and add him to your squad.