This early in the season, minor injuries are opening up minutes for reserves and many of them are setting a solid examples of why they need to be picked up. Elie Okobo, Josh Okogie, Nemanja Bjelica, Garrett Temple and Noah Vonleh are all younger players trending upwards, while veterans like P.J. Tucker, Danny Green and Nicolas Batum are slowly starting to find a rhythm. The trends and usage will continue to vary as the season progresses, but there is a general feel of which teams are preferring to resort to which players when they need production. We are also starting to see which players are falling into reserve roles, allowing us to account for less minutes and giving us the chance to sweep up the garbage time production.
I did repeat one player from Week 1, but Malik Monk was key to the Hornets win over the Thunder Wednesday and it's important that this uptrend is noted before it really get's going. The Hornets will try to find the hot-hand every night, but last night was a clear confidence booster for Monk and I wouldn't be surprised if he felt like everything was clicking and makes the next step within the month.
As a reminder, for standard (10-12 team) league adds, we use a general rule of thumb of an ownership rate of under 50% on Yahoo. All position eligibility based on Yahoo leagues.
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Standard League Adds for Week 23
Malik Monk SG, – Charlotte Hornets
Ownership: 22%
13.1 PPG / 1.8 REB / .402 FG% / 2.0 APG
Monk was covered as a pickup in Week 1, but seeing how his ownership is still on 22%, only some of you are getting the message. Monk is shining when he gets the minutes although his hot shooting is a big factor in this streak. The Thunder were unable to really stop him once he got going and that is a promising sign moving forward. Miles Bridges offers a different type of production so he should start seeing more minutes eventually, but while Monk is heating up you have to make sure you are rostering the athletic guard strictly for the points and efficiency. He is playing behind Nicolas Batum and Kemba Walker, but Monk is still carving himself out a nice role in the rotation due to his athleticism, speed and ability to hit from deep.
Justin Holiday, SF – Atlanta Hawks
Ownership 38%
11.6 PPG / 3.9 REB / 2.6 AST / .421 FG%
Justin Holiday is also averaging 1.4 steals per game in just under 34 minutes so the upside is there. His biggest drawback is his shooting and his efficiency has gotten incredibly better this season. His numbers are similar to last year excluding a slight hike across the board, but when he has the ball, he is making smart decisions and his shot selection has been one of his biggest areas of improvements. The Bulls are struggling and they need offense wherever they can get it. That means if Jabari Parker and Zach Lavine aren't hitting, Holiday will be waiting on the wing and taking a majority of the shots.
John Henson, C – Milwaukee Bucks
Ownership 8 %
6.0 PPG / 6.9 RPG / .429 FG% / 1.1 BPG
There is the problem that is Brook Lopez being ahead of John Henson on the depth chart, but if Henson can manage to convert his shots, Lopez' role will start to diminish. Lopez is a smart veteran that can play both sides of the ball but his lack of athleticism puts him at a disadvantage when playing quicker big men. Henson is a bit quicker than Lopez and can run with smaller teams, all while taking up plenty of space in the paint. This is a riskier option moving forwards but seeing how the Bucks play extremely fast paces teams this upcoming week, one being the Warriors, both Lopez and Henson have upside whether it be because of the pace or three-point shooting of the opposing team.
More Fantasy Basketball Analysis
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