Jose Alvarado (PG, NOP) - Fantasy Basketball Waiver Wire Pickups for Week 9

BALLER MOVE: Add in 14+ Team Leagues

ROSTERED IN: 7% of leagues

ANALYSIS: Is this Josanity? What do we call it? Whatever name we choose, what is clear is that Jose Alvarado is more than a flash in the pan and a clear staple for the no. 1 seed in the Western Conference, your New Orleans Pelicans.

Alvarado might have entered the Association as a lottery, first-round, or even second-round draftee. He might not have come with the gaudiest of track records. He might not have figured in most people's lists of up-and-coming talents. But oh boy has he reached those heights already.

Alvarado has started six games through the season to date but that's not really what we care about when it comes to Jose. Alvarado, starting games or playing off the pine (which I'm sure he actually likes more), is a walking menace. He's stolen more rocks than you can even count (32 through Saturday) and has the 17th-most steals to date even though he's only playing 21 MPG.

The shooting is kind of crazy because sometimes Jose hoists four shots, and in others, he goes for 10 or more. When he shoots them, he hits them, though. Alvarado had a ridiculous 38-point explosion on Dec. 4 that included eight (!) treys to go with a 3-2-1 rest-of-line.

In the past four games (all in December), Alvarado has scored 75 total points and put up an average 17-1.5-2.5-2 per-game line. That includes a stinker (that can be considered a fluky outlier at this point) against Detroit last Wednesday of just 8.5 FP, so you see how impressive the rest of his play has been and how you can bet on him before it's too late.

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