Fantasy Basketball: Top Waiver-Wire Adds for Monday, March 31st
By Josh Lloyd
Brace Hemmelgarn-USA TODAY Sports
Although the Minnesota Timberwolves are resigned to finishing outside the playoffs yet again, Corey Brewer has turned his season around and now is a legitimate fantasy target.
In today’s edition of “All Wired Up”, I’ll delve into the fantasy strengths of potential waiver wire gold like Brewer and the Golden State Warriors’ Jermaine O’Neal.
» Corey Brewer, SF, Minnesota Timberwolves (23.2 percent owned on ESPN.com)
21 points (9-13 FG, 3-4 FT), 0 three-pointers, 3 rebounds, 2 assists, 4 steals, 0 blocks, 2 turnovers vs Nets.
With fantasy seasons winding down, Corey Brewer’s season is heating up. But he seems to be flying under the radar in a lot of leagues.
Over the last week, Brewer is the 39th ranked player on Basketball Monster.com, averaging 16.3 points, 4.0 rebounds, 2.0 assists and 2.3 steals on 57.8 percent shooting and 85.7 percent from the line. Those are some incredible numbers — numbers that would no doubt help any fantasy team that is currently duking it out in the playoffs.
Brewer has been a fantastic source of steals all season, ranking 14th in the NBA in that statistical category, but it’s been the uptick in his scoring that has really impressed lately.
With a season-long average of only 11.8 points, Brewer has really turned things up a notch of late. In his past five games, Brewer has averaged 15.8 points, registering in double digits in all five contests.
He will continue to be a defensive pest for the duration of the season, and now that there is an offensive portion to his game, you could do far worse than adding Brewer to your fantasy squad for these all-important weeks.
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Kelley L Cox-USA TODAY Sports
» Jermaine O’Neal, C, Golden State Warriors (0.7 percent owned)
8 points (3-7 FG, 2-2 FT), 0 three-pointers, 12 rebounds, 2 assists, 0 steals, 2 blocks vs Knicks.
With Warriors’ starting center Andrew Bogut ruled out for the next 7-10 days with what is being called a pelvic contusion, Jermaine O’Neal takes his place in the starting lineup and provides instant fantasy value.
O’Neal has been super-productive in starts for Bogut earlier this year, having a three-game stretch of double digit rebounds including two double-doubles.
In the past two games, with Bogut either limited or sitting out, O’Neal is averaging 9.0 points, 9.0 rebounds and 1.0 blocks. Those numbers don’t jump off the page at you, but they are definitely solid and I think we can expect production similar to that over the next week and a half.
With the fantasy playoffs in full swing, you should have a handle on exactly what your team needs by now and if you are searching for blocks and boards, O’Neal is definitely someone to take a look at, even in 10 team leagues.
Minutes are of vital importance at this stage, and O’Neal seems locked into 30 minutes a game over the next week. If you grabbed Gorgui Dieng last week (and congratulations if you did), I’d be dropping him for O’Neal as the opportunity has switched between the two and the bigger numbers are going to start coming from big Warrior.
Good luck in your fantasy matchups this week and may the best team win (hopefully it’s yours!)