A busy Saturday in the NBA with eight games on the slate, led off by the Denver Nuggets edging past a dogged Charlotte Hornets team. Cody Zeller is slated to miss at least a month of action with a broken hand and today it was Bismack Biyombo’s turn to step up. He finished with his first double-double of the season and if this move sticks, he could be a nice pickup in standard leagues. I will look at all eight games, covering Biyombo and those other borderline players navigating their way through the fantasy landscape.
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Fantasy Basketball Fringe
Players to add
- Reggie Bullock
- Bryn Forbes
- Moe Harkless
- Austin Rivers
Players to stream
- Devonte Graham
- Bismack Biyombo
- Kyle Korver
- T.J. McConnell
- Alec Burks
- Patty Mills
- JaMychal Green
Denver Nuggets def. Charlotte Hornets 123-110
Nuggets
- Mason Plumlee (46%) – Drop: Plumlee played just 19 minutes Saturday and it appears as though his time as a standard league asset is coming to an end. Paul Millsap continues to come off the bench but played 27 minutes in this one and will likely soon move back into the starting lineup.
- Malik Beasley (41%) – Drop: Beasley’s playing time had been trending down over the past three games and with Will Barton nearing his return, Beasley can be shuffled back onto the waivers.
- Trey Lyles (31%) – Drop
- Torrey Craig (9%) – Drop
Hornets
- Miles Bridges (35%) – Drop
- Michael Kidd-Gilchrist (23%) – Drop
- Frank Kaminsky (17%) – Drop
- Tony Parker (16%) – Drop
- Devonte Graham (13%) – Stream: Graham continues to see time in the starting unit with Jeremy Lamb on the sidelines. He has scored in double figures in four straight games and could be streamed in if you need assists and steals, but typically shoots on low efficiency.
- Bismack Biyombo (9%) – Stream: Biyombo moved into the starting lineup Saturday and came away with 16 points, 12 rebounds, two steals, and two blocks. He will certainly not always be this productive but if he is going to remain as the starter he is worth a look if you need boards and blocks.
Utah Jazz def. Detroit Pistons 110-105
Jazz
- Dante Exum (25%) – Drop: Exum suffered a sprained ankle Saturday and is too tough to stash in competitive formats.
- Kyle Korver (16%) – Stream
- Royce O’Neale (8%) – Drop
Pistons
- Reggie Bullock (39%) – Add: Bullock started Saturday’s game on fire, ending with 19 points including five triples. He continues to bring the offense with regularity and is a player to throw on the end of your bench if you need points and threes.
- Stanley Johnson (25%) – Drop
- Luke Kennard (25%) – Watch: Kennard had been playing reasonably well prior to Saturday and is still worth keeping an eye on moving forward.
- Langston Galloway (12%) – Drop
- Bruce Brown (10%) – Drop: Brown had a career-high 12 points and seven assists Saturday but typically produces very little despite decent playing time.
Philadelphia 76ers def. Dallas Mavericks 106-100
76ers
- T.J. McConnell (21%) – Stream: McConnell was quiet on the offensive end Saturday but still managed four assists and three steals. The playing time is there for McConnell and if points are not an issue, he should provide assists and steals with some regularity.
- Mike Muscala (17%) – Drop
- Landry Shamet (16%) – Drop
- Jonah Bolden (9%) – Watch: Bolden picked his second start of the season, recording career-high totals in both scoring and assists while matching his career mark with nine rebounds. He is going to find it tough to have any ongoing value given the talent on the floor around him. However, if he can work his way into regular playing time, he could be a streaming option in some formats.
Mavericks
- Dwight Powell (21%) – Drop: Powell scored 13 points to go with a full line in Saturday’s loss to Philadelphia. As long as the Mavericks are healthy, Powell is more of a deep league asset only.
- Dorian Finney-Smith (18%) – Drop
- Jalen Brunson (12%) – Drop: Brunson exploded Saturday, coming within two assists of his first career triple-double. Both J.J. Barea and Devin Harris were out for this game and Brunson took full advantage. He would require persistent injuries to those around him to have any permanent value.
- Ryan Broekhoff (3%) – Drop: Broekhoff managed a career-high 15 points Saturday but given he had scored a total of 17 points in his previous nine games, this can be viewed as an outlier.
New Orleans Pelicans def. Cleveland Cavaliers 133-98
Pelicans
- Tim Frazier (14%) – Drop
- Darius Miller (11%) – Stream: Miller had four triples Saturday but has been hot and cold lately, making him a risky player to stream in.
- Jahlil Okafor (10%) – Drop
- Cheick Diallo (9%) – Drop
Cavaliers
- Alec Burks (29%) – Stream: Burks had an off-night from the field Saturday but still played 36 minutes in the loss. You could do worse if you need a cheap source of points so feel free to give him a look.
- Patrick McCaw (9%) – Drop
- Jalen Jones (2%) – Drop
Toronto Raptors def. Milwaukee Bucks 123-116
Raptors
- OG Anunoby (32%) – Drop
- Delon Wright (17%) – Drop
- Greg Monroe 15%) – Drop
- Norman Powell (10%) – Drop
Bucks
- George Hill (33%) – Drop: Hill has scored at least 11 points in two straight games while also notching up three steals. This is about as good as it gets for the veteran and he can be left alone in standard formats.
- Ersan Ilyasova (22%) – Drop
- Thon Maker (14%) – Drop
- Sterling Brown (9%) – Drop
San Antonio Spurs def. Memphis Grizzlies 108-88
Spurs
- Bryn Forbes (48%) – Add: Forbes struggled to get anything going on the offensive end Saturday but still played 30 minutes in the victory. This game aside, he has been putting up some solid numbers in the scoring column while chipping in with some rebounds, assists, and steals.
- Jakob Poeltl (37%) – Drop: Poeltl finished with 11 points and six rebounds Saturday but had failed to score in double-digits in any of his previous six games.
- Patty Mills (25%) – Stream: Mills is hot right now, dropping at least 11 points in three straight games including a total of seven triples. He offers very little outside of scoring and threes and the Spurs have a number of bench players who could get hot at any time.
- Marco Belinelli (21%) – Drop
- Davis Bertans (17%) – Watch: Bertans has put together a couple of bad shooting games but much like Patty Mills or Marco Belinelli, could get things going again at some stage.
Grizzlies
- JaMychal Green (41%) – Stream: Green provides very little other than scoring and rebounding and his production is typically reliant on Jaren Jackson’s form. If you need some cheap boards, Green could be worth a look given his playing time fluctuates between 20 and 30 minutes.
- Garrett Temple (35%) – Drop
- Dillon Brooks (27%) – Drop: Brooks scored 15 points Saturday but did have to leave the game early due to a leg injury. With Justin Holiday in town, Brooks is likely going to struggle to have any real value moving forward.
- Shelvin Mack (16%) – Drop
Portland Trail Blazers def. Houston Rockets 110-101
Trail Blazers
- Evan Turner (30%) – Drop: Turner moved into the starting lineup, replacing Moe Harkless who was being rested for the second game of a back-to-back. Turner has the ability to contribute but his role precludes him from having any real standard league value.
- Zach Collins (30%) – Drop
- Moe Harkless (30%) – Add: Harkless was rested for the second game of the Trail Blazers back-to-back set which was a blow for his owners. Despite this, he is still worth a look given his ability to contribute on both ends of the floor.
- Seth Curry (14%) – Drop
- Meyers Leonard (9%) – Drop
- Jake Layman (5%) – Drop
Rockets
- Austin Rivers (25%) – Add: Rivers scored 21 points Saturday, a new high for him in a Rockets uniform. He provided just one rebound and one assist during his 42 minutes on the floor and so should only be added if you need points and threes.
- Danuel House (17%) – Watch: House had his worst game in almost two weeks but still played 26 minutes as the starting small forward. James Ennis continues to work his way back from injury and could eventually move back into the starting lineup which would certainly hurt House’s value.
- James Ennis (16%) – Drop
- Brandon Knight (15%) – Drop
- Gerald Green (14%) – Stream
Golden State Warriors def. Sacramento Kings 127-123
Warriors
- Jordan Bell (40%) – Drop
- Kevon Looney (30%) – Drop
- Andre Iguodala (19%) – Drop
- Jonas Jerebko (17%) – Drop
- Quinn Cook (13%) – Drop
Kings
- Harry Giles (29%) – Drop
- Justin Jackson (16%) – Drop: Jackson exploded for a career-high 28 points Saturday, capitalizing on the extra playing time in place of the injured Iman Shumpert. Jackson had the hot hand late and was left on the floor with the starters. He shot 10-of-14 from the field, however, prior to this, he had hit over 50 percent of his shots in just one of his past eight games.
- Yogi Ferrell (11%) – Drop
- Kosta Koufos (8%) – 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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