Week 8 – the injury bug is on a rampage this season, leaving many fantasy owners with empty hands and thinning patience. You never know when the injury bug will pop and lay its teeth into your best laid fantasy plans, which is why its always a good idea to be active on the wire. Here are three remedies for week 8.
This year, we're tossing out our old convention of separating waiver wire posts into positions, and instead, we're separating them into of league -- standard, shallow, deep, etc. The NBA is trending to positionless basketball, so we at RotoBaller should too.
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 8
Alec Burks, PG/SG – Utah Jazz
Ownership: 48%
9.8 PPG / 3.0 REB / 1.1 AST / . 433FG%
Alec Burks is one of the hottest players in the West right now, and with the Jazz banged up, he seems like a solid pickup and good bet to keep it up in the near future. He is coming off what is coming off of a week where he scored 24 is three straight games, and given that he has gone on hot streaks like this in the past, we know he is capable of keeping it going.
He scores and grabs boards, but recently he has also been dishing dimes, nailing treys, and ripping steals, with 2.3, 1.9, and 1.6 respectively, per game over the past two games. He is contributing all over the floor, and he doesn't miss many free throws, sitting at .904 % on the season. His ownership rates are skyrocketing right now, so grab him while you can.
E'Twaun Moore, PG/SG/SF – New Orleans Pelicans
Ownership 26%
12.5 PPG / 2.5 REB / 2.0 AST / .525 FG%
Coming off a career-high 27 point game, in which he hit five three-pointers and grabbed six boards, Moore is a prime waiver wire target this week, with Anthony Davis (thigh) on the sidelines. Moore has been further integrated into the offense this year, as the Pelicans have opted to surround their version of the Twin Towers with shooters, and Moore has taken advantage of his opportunity, posting a career year so far.
Moore has averaged 31 MPG this season, but since Davis went down, he hasn't played less than 35, while scoring over 18 in each contest. He is a lethal three-point shooter, who is also killing it from the field right now. Over the past two weeks, Moore is shooting .559% from the floor, with 2.6 3PM and 14.0 PPG. The issue with Moore, however, is his free throw shooting. It is a bit strange for a three point shooter to struggle from the line, so be sure to take that into consideration before blindly adding him. Still, with an increasing role in the Pelicans offense, a point guard who is knowing for dishing the rock, and a lethal three-point shot, Moore is worthy of an add.
Josh Richardson, PG/SG/SF – Miami Heat
Ownership 39%
9.7 PPG / 2.9 REB / 1.2 STL / .400 FG%
Those season-long numbers are pretty scary, so it might seem weird that I am recommending Richardson in Standard leagues, but over the past week, he has been putting up good enough numbers, which seem to suggest he is turning back into the player you drafted him to be. There is a good chance his fantasy owner cut bait already, leaving you in a good position to pick him up as he returns to form and works to build on his solid sophomore season from a year ago.
Richardson is a defense-first type of player, but as he picks his game up, his offense is coming along as well. He put up a career-high 27 points last Friday against the Hornets, and over his last four games he is scoring 16.8 PPG on .563% shooting from the field, and even 2.5 3PM. He is also chipping in across the floor again, adding a bit to each stat category as he is finally playing for Erik Spoelstra with confidence. Now is the time to buy low.
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