Fantasy Basketball Waiver Wire: Top 5 Backcourt Pickups for Week 3
As we continue to make our way through the first month of the NBA season, fantasy hoops owners are adjusting to changing roles, players stepping up, and others off to a slow start. With plenty of turnover in the early going, almost every owner can benefit from one of our backcourt pickups for Week 3.
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Guards can give you a variety of categories of production, so evaluate your team needs to know if you need to chase a scoring guard or one that will give you assists or just solid across-the-board production. In the summary after each of the following options, you can find the strengths and weaknesses of each selection to make sure you get the right fit for your team.
If you have any fantasy hoops questions, follow us @FansidedFantasy on twitter where we’ll keep you up to date on all the latest injuries, sleepers, and advised pickups. If you are looking for a more in-depth look at the top ten waiver wire pickups, check out our top ten for week 3 from Friday.
Many of our top additions for week 2 are too owned at this point to qualify for our week 3 pickups. Each week, we only list players available in half of ESPN leagues to keep the list realistic. With that in mind, here are the top five backcourt pickups for week 3:
Jeremy Lamb. 1. player. 149. Lamb is a scoring guard who will get plenty of opportunity to step up for the Thunder in the coming games as they continue to try to muddle through without Russell Westbrook and Kevin Durant. It’s clear that the Thunder will look to Lamb as one of their primary scorers, and he’s looked ready to deliver with 17 points in each of his first two games of the season. In those two games, he has totaled 12 rebounds and four assists. He’s worth owning for the next few weeks in almost all formats, and he’ll be able to give you plenty of countable stats although it may cost you a bit in your shooting percentage.. 28.0% Owned. Oklahoma City Thunder
24. With Derrick Rose continuing to struggle to get into the lineup, Brooks has been able to chisel out a solid role for himself coming off of the bench for Chicago. He drastically outplayed Kirk Hinrich on Saturday scoring 26 points including four three-pointers while adding eight assists. If Rose is out any game this week (questionable for Monday), Brooks is a great play as he fills in those minutes. Even if Rose is able to play, Brooks could really add a boost to the Bulls’ second unit and should continue to get playing time if he produces like this. His upside is huge, but there is risk since he tends to be a streaky shooter. If you need straight scoring and three’s, he’s the top pickup.. 19.6% Owned. Chicago Bulls. Aaron Brooks. 2. player
Isaiah Canaan. 3. player. 169. As Rockets starting PG Patrick Beverly continues to battle a hamstring issue, Canaan is getting a chance to play extended minutes for Houston and is contributing at a nice level. He scored a season-high 21 on Saturday while adding an assitss and four rebounds. He has shown he can contribute scoring and assists if he continues to start for the high-powered Houston offense.. 0.4% Owned. Houston Rockets
Evan Fournier. 4. player. 38. Our one retunree from last week, Fournier continues to pour in points at an efficient rate for Orlando as he sees a big chunk of Victor Oladipo’s minutes. Fournier is averaging 16 points a game and has double-digit scoring in every game this season. He doesn’t offer a ton of other stats although his assist numbers have been on the rise lately. If you need a scorer, Fournier is worth a look.. 31.4% Owned. Orlando Magic
1.0% Owned. Minnesota Timberwolves. Zach LaVine. 5. player. 86. With Ricky Rubio sidelined indefinitely, the teenage point guard should get plenty of time in the near future for Minnesota. He only had five points on Saturday in his first start but showed promise with four assists, a steal, and six rebounds. His scoring may be a while in coming, but his peripheral stats will be useful since his minutes should see a big jump in the coming games.