Just 10 teams in action across the NBA as the all-star break draws ever nearer. The New Orleans Pelicans will host the Orlando Magic and while all the talk has been around Anthony Davis, Kenrich Williams has been quietly making a name for himself. He has established himself as the starting power forward and has played at least 30 minutes in seven straight games. He has the ability to put up numbers in multiple categories and is one of the more intriguing stories to come out of the season thus far. I will run down all five games attempting to find value amongst the less talked about role players, including Williams.
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Fantasy Basketball Fringe
Players to add
- Ivan Rabb
- Kenrich Williams
- Players to stream
- Patty Mills
- Marco Belinelli
- Davis Bertans
- Delon Wright
Los Angeles Lakers @ Atlanta Hawks
Lakers
- Reggie Bullock (40%) – Watch: Bullock was a disaster in his Lakers’ debut, scoring just two points in 31 minutes. Despite the poor production, he did manage to see a significant amount of playing time and with Josh Hart out, Bullock should be able to maintain decent minutes moving forward.
- Lance Stephenson (21%) – Drop
- Mike Muscala (16%) – Watch: Muscala played just 13 minutes in his debut for the Lakers, ending with eight points including two triples. He can be safely avoided in all competitive leagues.
Hawks
- Alex Len (44%) – Drop: Len had his best game in almost two weeks Saturday, scoring 16 points in 19 minutes. The starters were all benched here and Len took advantage. As long as Dewayne Dedmon remains on the team, Len will struggle to have any sustained value.
- DeAndre Bembry (32%) – Watch
- Omari Spellman (19%) – Watch
- Jaylen Adams (4%) – Watch: Adams is questionable heading into Tuesday’s game but could be in line for an uptick in playing time. Jeremy Lin was bought out and will sign with the Raptors, affording Adams a potential opportunity to run as the backup point guard.
Boston Celtics @ Philadelphia 76ers
Celtics
Aron Baynes (14%) – Drop
- Daniel Theis (13%) – Drop: Theis has played well over the past week but the production has come on what are likely unsustainable numbers. He has basically hit every shot he has taken over the past four games, including all four of his three-pointers. Aron Baynes will likely remain out until after the all-star break which means Theis will continue to play as the primary backup behind Al Horford.
76ers
- T.J. McConnell (21%) – Watch: McConnell was excellent Saturday, connecting on all six of his shot attempts, ending with 13 points to go with three steals. He had been trending down prior to this one and with Tobias Harris in town, could find it hard to put up these kinds of numbers on a regular basis.
- Jonathon Simmons (20%) – Drop
- Boban Marjanovic (20%) – Drop
- James Ennis (17%) – Drop
- Jonah Bolden (13%) – Watch
San Antonio Spurs @ Memphis Grizzlies
Spurs
- Bryn Forbes (40%) – Drop
- Pau Gasol (38%) – Drop
- Jakob Poeltl (36%) – Drop
- Patty Mills (29%) – Stream: Mills hit two triples on his way to 14 points Saturday, continuing to produce in the absence of Derrick White. Mills has limited upside but can deliver points, threes, and assists making him a worthwhile streamer in competitive leagues.
- Marco Belinelli (27%) – Stream: Belinelli has seen his production dip over the past few games but could still be snatched up if you need perimeter scoring as a one-off situation.
- Davis Bertans (23%) – Stream: Much like Marco Belinelli, Bertans provides threes on a somewhat regular basis. His playing time has increased since moving into the starting lineup and so he should be considered despite the limited ceiling.
Grizzlies
- Ivan Rabb (44%) – Add: Rabb appears to have garnered the trust of the coaching staff and will be starting for the Grizzlies moving forward. In what could be viewed as a curious move, Jonas Valanciunas will come off the bench behind Rabb. This should allow Rabb to have value across a number of formats and he should be picked up in most scenarios.
- Avery Bradley (38%) – Watch: Much like Ivan Rabb, Bradley appears as though he is going to be starting for the Grizzlies. Bradley has not been impactful at all this season and the move is a strange one. Even in 30 minutes per game, Bradley has not been a standard league player this season and there is no reason to think that will change here.
- Delon Wright (29%) – Stream: Wright will come off the bench behind Bradley which certainly limits his fantasy potential. That being said, Wright could still have value in deeper formats and sensible minded people would assume that he will eventually take the starting spot off Bradley.
- Bruno Caboclo (10%) – Watch
- Joakim Noah (11%) – Drop: Noah ended Saturday’s game with 19 points and 14 rebounds. Valanciunas did not play for his new team which meant Noah was called upon to play extra minutes. There is a chance he falls out of the rotation once Valanciunas suits up, leaving him as more of a speculative streaming option in deeper formats.
- Jevon Carter (10%) – Watch
Orlando Magic @ New Orleans Pelicans
Magic
- Jerian Grant (18%) – Drop
- Khem Birch (10%) – Drop
- Wes Iwundu (8%) – Drop
Pelicans
- Kenrich Williams (47%) – Add: Williams continues to impress for the Pelicans, putting up his first double-double Saturday. Williams has been fantastic for the Pelicans over the past two weeks and with his role apparently locked in, he should be picked up in all formats. There could be a few bumps in the road but he can produce across the board and is certainly an intriguing prospect.
- E’Twaun Moore (43%) – Drop
- Stanley Johnson (25%) – Drop
- Darius Miller (18%) – Stream
- Frank Jackson (15%) – Watch
- Cheick Diallo (15%) – Drop
- Tim Frazier (13%) – Watch
Utah Jazz @ Golden State Warriors
Jazz
- Kyle Korver (18%) – Watch
- Royce O’Neale (10%) – Watch: O’Neale has scored at least 10 points in three straight games, playing at least 24 minutes in all three. Prior to this stretch, he had scored a total of 15 points in his previous five games. We would need to see more of this to consider him as a standard league asset, and that seems unlikely at this stage.
Warriors
- Jordan Bell (41%) – Drop
- Kevon Looney (33%) – Drop
- Andre Iguodala (23%) – Drop
Got a question about today’s fantasy basketball fringe report? Hit Adam up on twitter @adamking91 or give a shout out to @Fantrax
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