Jalen Brunson (PG/SG, DAL): Week 4 Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Add in All Leagues

ROSTERED IN: 57% of leagues

ANALYSIS: First of all, forgive me for going this much over the 50-percent rostership self-imposed threshold. If you go to your WW and don't find Jalen Brunson sitting right there, I'm sorry, honestly. But Brunson's rostership has gone from 32% on Nov. 3 to a ridiculous 57% in just a matter of days--hours, if you push it. And there is no reason for it not to have happened, folks.

The Mavs saw Kristaps Porzingis fall down injured on Oct. 26 and he has yet to make his comeback (expect for Saturday's night game against Boston). They approached such inconvenience (if you still think KP is good at all) by downsizing all across the lineup, and that ended with Jalen Brunson starting at one of the two guard slots next to Luka Doncic. And oh, boy, has he seized the opportunity. Brunson was fantastic off the pine, so I was not complaining about his role or his upside a week ago, penning weekly WW posts about him (same as last season, I'm not new to the Brunson Train). But now, it is just impossible not to roster, start, and enjoy this man and fantasy play.

Brunson's first six games of the season (second-unit):  26 MPG with an average 10-4-4 line shooting 39% on 10+ FGA and an average 20% usage rate. Brunson's last two games of the season (starter; through Friday night): 34 MPG with an average 28-8-3-1 line shooting 65% on 15 FGA and a 27% usage rate. To call Starting Brunson an unstoppable force would be falling short of his exploits. Brunson won't stay on that 25+ PPG, 7+ RPG, 3 APG line forever, obviously, but that's Brunson in a nutshel. The only thing keeping off a starting gig in all fantasy leagues is his role as a backup. If Tim Hardaway Jr. shows weak levels of play, though, don't rule out the Brunson-Luka pairing starting with Hardaway the one hitting the pine. Brunson is surely a must-roster-and-start player in every fantasy league out there right now.

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