Fantasy Basketball: Top Waiver-Wire Adds for Friday, March 28th
By Josh Lloyd
Anthony Gruppuso-USA TODAY Sports
We can all see that the Philadelphia 76ers are a train wreck. But from the carnage, James Anderson is emerging as a player who can help lead your team to playoff glory.
In today’s edition of “All Wired Up”, I’ll delve into the fantasy strengths of potential waiver wire gold like Anderson and the Milwaukee Bucks’ Khris Middleton.
» James Anderson, SG/SF, Philadelphia 76ers (2.4 percent owned on ESPN.com)
30 points (11-18 FG, 2-2 FT), 6 three-pointers, 3 rebounds, 2 assists, 0 steals, 0 blocks, 2 turnovers vs Rockets.
As the Sixers tied the NBA record for most consecutive losses with 26 in the game against Houston, James Anderson showed the fantasy world exactly what he can do.
I’ve been on the Anderson bandwagon for a while and while his recent quad injury curtailed his momentum somewhat, he looks like he’s getting it going again now.
In his last four games since coming back from the injury, Anderson is averaging 13.8 points, 2.3 three-pointers, 4.8 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 1.0 steals, which ranks him 96th on Basketball Monster.com.
In the fantasy playoffs, we have to start looking to go with the hot hand and making tough decisions and is you have someone on your squad like Eric Gordon, who is currently injured, I think you have to bite the bullet and drop him. A perfect guy as a replacement, would be Anderson.
And this game against Houston is not the first time he’s hit six triples in a game. It’s actually the third time he’s managed to hit a half a dozen three-pointers in a game this season and if he manages to go off again, it could be the difference between a fantasy win or loss.
The Sixers are struggling to put together a legitimate NBA team at the moment and they are very limited in what they can do offensively. Thaddeus Young is their best player, but aside from him, there’s not a lot for coach Brett Brown to turn to.
Michael Carter-Williams has a very rudimentary offensive game and Henry Sims is hardly a guy that you will go to over and over in the post. That makes Anderson either the second or third option on this team.
If a player is getting over 30 minutes a game and is the second offensive weapon on a team, he should be owned in fantasy league, particularly if you are looking for three-pointers, points and steals.
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Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports
» Khris Middleton, SF, Milwaukee Bucks (27.5 percent owned)
14 points (6-9 FG, 0-0 FT), 2 three-pointers, 3 rebounds, 1 assist, 2 steals, 0 blocks, 3 turnovers vs Lakers.
The news that Ersan Ilyasova has been ruled out for the remainder of the season is not great for Ilyasova’s owners, but it is fantastic for owners of a couple of Bucks – Khris Middleton and Jeff Adrien.
Even though Middleton has been starting since January 27th, his value and playing time have been variable as coach Larry Drew tried to fit in minutes for both Adrien and Ilyasova as well. With Ilyasova now out of the picture, I can see no reason why Drew won’t be playing Middleton over 30 minutes a night, except for the fact that he is Larry Drew.
Middleton has been quite the surprise this season after arriving in Milwaukee as part of the Brandon Jennings/Brandon Knight deal. In his second season, Middleton has blown all expectations out of the water, averaging 11.8 points, 1.4 three-pointers, 3.8 rebounds, 2.1 assists and 1.1 steals in 29.3 minutes a game. He is the 102nd ranked player on Basketball Monster.com over the course of the entire season and I could easily see him exceeding that value in the final weeks of the season.
Middleton’s strength comes from three-pointers, so if you are in a 12 team or deeper league, I’d be looking very closely at making room on my roster for him. Just be sure to thank me, Larry Drew and Ersan Ilyasova later.