We have entered the final stretch of the NBA regular season and while certain teams have the luxury of resting their star players for the playoffs, fantasy managers aren’t afforded the same luxury. As the postseason battles wage on, here is a look at five potential waiver wire pickups that could help your fantasy basketball team this week:
Evan Turner – Boston Celtics
The Boston Celtics are fighting for their playoff lives and one player that they need to lean upon even more is Turner, who has been playing great basketball over the last couple of weeks. Turner doesn’t have elite numbers but the fact that he has been a steady contributor across the board for a team that is still fighting makes him an intriguing pickup.
Turner has averaged just 9.4 points per game on the season but when you consider his averages of 5.2 assists and 5.0 rebounds in just over 27 minutes he can be a valuable addition. And those numbers have all gone up in March. He’s up to 11.7 points, 6.1 assists, 5.1 rebounds and 1.1 steals this month, which is quite reliable. Turner is still available in just over 65% of public leagues and could be worth taking a flyer on.
Chris Kaman – Portland Trail Blazers
Speaking of players that could contribute and help lock down key categories along the way, Kaman’s recent injury troubles combined with his role in Portland have made him available in most leagues across the board. He’s been forgotten after only playing seven games in February. But he’s back and if you need help in the rebounding department, he could be a perfect fit.
Kaman has averaged 9.8 points and 8.0 rebounds per game over the last two weeks with board totals of 13, 11 and 10 in the month of March. There aren’t many free agents available that will consistently fill even one category, so to land Kaman for his rebounds and potential to help with points as well could be key. He’ll probably also help you out with field goal percentage as he’s shooting over 60% this month.
Jameer Nelson – Denver Nuggets
Another player that could really help in a particular department is Nelson, who has averaged 2.8 three-pointers made per game over the past 15 days. The best part about Nelson is that he won’t represent a major drop off in some of the other categories across the board as he has also averaged 17.3 points, 3.3 assists and 2.2 rebounds per game during that span.
It’s important to note that his playing time has shot up in the month of March. He has played just 17.3 minutes per game in February but he’s up to 22 minutes in March, even playing as much as 38 minutes a few times in the middle of the month. Nelson is providing 13.1 points, 3.5 assists, 2.1 rebounds, 1.9 threes and 0.8 steals this month. There aren’t many players left that can offer as much as Nelson brings to the table.
Langston Galloway – New York Knicks
Galloway has been one of the few bright spots for the Knicks this season and after averaging 11.7 points, 3.7 assists and 3.3 rebounds over the last seven days it might be time to pick him up before somebody else does. The Knicks have a bunch of nobodies on their roster and Galloway has proven to be effective, so he’s worth a look.
Since the All-Star break, he’s averaging getting 33.7 minutes of burn while scoring 11.5 points per game with 3.9 rebounds, 3.4 assists, 1.2 steals, 1.2 free throws and 1.2 threes. With injuries piling up lately, they’ve had to rely upon him even more as he’s played 38.9 minutes per game over his last eight contests.
Galloway has been very consistent all year and he is one more free agent that could help pitch in across the board with the potential to deliver some strong performances down the final stretch.
