Week 16 Waiver Wire Whip-up

Two, but no five!

Week 16 is a rollercoaster for games played, as we go 4, 10, 7, 8, 6, 10, 4.

We have one team stuck with the cursed two-game week (Cleveland Cavaliers), while 9 teams (BOS, HOU, IND, LAC, MEM, MIN, NYK, PHI, WAS) have a solid advantage on all other teams with their four game weeks as opposed to everyone else's threes.

Who makes the best of the advantage?

Back to back to start the week: Just your boys from IND and PHI

Mid-week back to backs: Wed/Thurs back-to-back for HOU, SAS and TOR and Thurs/Fri back-to-back for DET only.

End the week: Stock up with WAS fellas, who alone have the weekend back-to-back.

Best looking schedule: LAC and MIN. They play four games (max). They are spread through the week, every second day with no back-to-backs, and they play on all FOUR lowest volume days.

Who are we grabbing this week?

Bilal Coulibaly - Can he hit shots? - no. Can he get steals and blocks? - yes sir! Washington end the week as the only team with the back-to-back, meaning that if your win or loss is going to come down to the steals or blocks categories your going to need a man such as Bilal, who, after his injury, was dropped everywhere but may still remain on the wire for for streaming pleasure. The minutes are strong enough and the role is secure.

Sam Hauser - After a season of floundering around at the PF position, Joe has settled on starter's minutes being allocated on a nightly basis to Hauser. He's a 'what it says on the tin' type guy, where you're signing yourself up for help in the threes and if you can get an assist or a steal then you're winning at life. It is hard to tell how long this will last, but if you can get the four games this week out of Hauser then you can retire him back to the wire. BOS are sitting guys, so that helps Hauser a little, too.

Jordan Miller - Once Jones Jr went down we started to see some good basketball from Miller. He has filled in for Kawhi serviceably when needed in the starting unit, but with 25 minutes off the bench he is scoring in double figures and getting you some counters to boot. It can be difficult to stream in guys who aren't going to brutalise on of your percentage categories, but as a .500/.800 shooter you know that even on quiet nights he isn't going to be a drag. The Clippers have the best look at things this week, a great time to get on the Miller bandwagon.

Who are we giving their forever home?

Moussa Diabate - Unfortunately he's three game week keep him a bit muted this round, but I think that Moussa is worth picking up as a longer-term investment. It is undeniable that Kalkbrenner is the future of this organisation at the five, but it appears that Moussa is the now. Double-doubles, blocks, excellent field goal percentage - just big guy things. But with Charlotte so hot, Diabate is definitely getting his piece of the pie. He's doing more that a chunk of centres rostered on more roster than he is so nab him where you find him.

Keldon Johnson - Though he is still limited after his injury, Devin is back and Keldon isn't handing back the minutes. He gives SAS so bulk which they desperately need when coming up against big forwards. Keldon is 16/4.5/3 over the last week and has looked confident and impactful. Even if things end up in a minutes split between Johnson, Vassell, Barnes and Champagnie, this is still a better situation than Keldon has faced for most of the season. You can always drop him later, but may not have the option to bring him back.

Bub Carrington - It is always going to loom over you that Trae could come back at some point and tear apart the little next Bub has built for himself in WAS, but until that time I think we need to have Bub on out rosters. if nothing more than the five assists he gets you on a wire where that statistic is in fairly limited supply. I like Bub as an NBA future star and as a current fantasy contributor. Tre Johnson is out at present, too, which means that even if you want no further commitment than a week out of Bub than you can have it.

Rex Hunt kiss n' release

Jonas Valanciunas - We've been a bit jipped with Jonas, thinking that we'd burn a waiver pick-up on him when Jokic went down and then Jonas followed suit, meaning that we ended up only getting a handful of inflated performances out of him before Joker returned today and immediately started to have a negative effect on Val. We have enough of a data point to know that, even without Gordon for months, that Jonas' value just isn't worth the hold while he's coming off the bench behind their MVP.

Collin Sexton - Now that CHA are the best team in the league, the second unit just aren't seeing as much run. Blessed (finally) with good health for their starting unit means that Sexton just isn't getting enough court time to be meaningful. This, coupled with the fact that CHA are losing out this round with a three-day week means that all the stars have aligned for managers to let go of Sexton.

Aaron Wiggins - Jalen and Ajay remain out, but with iHart back things are starting to take shape once more in Oklahoma. I have to admit, Aaron has gone from being a scorer and reasonable defender to a guy who can put up a fantasy line that offers more to managers than just points. However, OKC have a three day week. I might hold him for the Tues/Wed back-to-back before turfing him, but I will be turfing him...

Happy fantasies - If you're reading this you have just received 100 Fantasy Basketball Karma Points. Please use them during the fantasy finals to push you through to a win!

Malley (@malley_balllogic on Insta)