A schedule of just five games welcomed us for a Saturday night across the NBA with the vastly undermanned Pelicans pushing the Spurs all the way on the back of another impressive performance by Jahlil Okafor. He put up season-high numbers in both scoring and rebounding and needs to be rostered while the Pelicans have so many bodies missing. I will crunch the numbers from all five games, pulling out those fringe players that stepped up for their respective teams.
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Fantasy Basketball Fringe
Players to add
- Jahlil Okafor
- T.J. McConnell
- DeAndre Bembry
Players to stream
- Bryn Forbes
- Marco Belinelli
- Landry Shamet
- Alex Len
- Jeremy Lin
San Antonio Spurs def. New Orleans Pelicans 126-114
Spurs
- Bryn Forbes (42%) – Stream: Forbes has seen his production dip slightly over the past few games but the playing time is still there making him a solid three-point streamer in 12-team leagues.
- Pau Gasol (37%) – Drop
- Jakob Poeltl (35%) – Drop
- Marco Belinelli (31%) – Stream: Belinelli was a little quiet Saturday but is still a viable option if you need perimeter scoring.
- Patty Mills (26%) – Watch: Mills has seen his production bounce around over the past week making him a hard player to trust when other, more consistent options are likely available.
Pelicans
- E’Twaun Moore (46%) – Drop
- Jahlil Okafor (44%) – Add: Okafor recorded season-high numbers in both scoring and rebounding in Saturday’s loss, ending with 24 and 15. Anthony Davis and Nikola Mirotic are likely out for at least a few more games which mean Okafor should be added in all formats in the short-term.
- Darius Miller (13%) – Watch: Miller could not repeat his 21-point performance from the previous game but was still serviceable with 11 points in 26 minutes. E’Twaun Moore was back in the starting lineup but played just 19 minutes and is clearly far from being at full health.
- Frank Jackson (11%) – Watch: Jackson led the Pelicans bench in scoring, dropping 15 points on 6-of-14 shooting. E’Twaun Moore is playing at less than 100 percent and Jackson is certainly someone the Pelicans want to develop. He is a player to watch moving forward, especially if the Pelicans continue to lose games.
- Cheick Diallo (9%) – Drop
Memphis Grizzlies def. Indiana Pacers 106-103
Grizzlies
- Garrett Temple (26%) – Drop
- Shelvin Mack (18%) – Drop
- Jevon Carter (9%) – Drop
- Joakim Noah (5%) – Drop: Noah was impactful Saturday but typically doesn’t see enough playing time to have any real value.
- Bruno Caboclo (4%) – Drop: The Grizzlies were very thin on the wings which allowed Caboclo to basically set career-high numbers in every category. At this stage, he can be left on the waivers unless the Grizzlies decide to eventually head down the tanking route.
Pacers
- Cory Joseph (29%) – Watch: Based on this performance, it appears as though Joseph and Tyreke Evans are going to split their playing time in lieu of the injury to Victor Oladipo. An interesting sidenote is that Joseph was on the floor to close the game, clearly the preferred option over Evans. Keep in mind this is just one game and the situation is one to monitor moving forward on the off-chance Joseph can establish himself as a standard league player.
- Aaron Holiday (18%) – Drop: Holiday played 16 minutes in Saturday’s loss, hitting just 3-of-11 shots on his way to seven points. He is going to get more run with Victor Oladipo out for the season but will likely struggle to have value outside of deeper formats.
- Kyle O’Quinn (12%) – Drop
- Doug McDermott (11%) – Drop
- TJ Leaf (6%) – Drop
Golden State Warriors def. Boston Celtics 115-111
Warriors
- Kevon Looney (33%) – Drop
- Andre Iguodala (21%) – Drop
- Shaun Livingston (6%) – Drop
Celtics
- Robert Williams (16%) – Drop
- Aron Baynes (13%) – Drop
- Daniel Theis (11%) – Drop
Denver Nuggets def. Philadelphia 76ers 126-110
Nuggets
- Mason Plumlee (39%) – Drop: Plumlee had another productive game Saturday but remains a tough player to roster outside of the deeper formats. His playing time will likely start to trend down with performances such as this coming only in blowouts.
- Monte Morris (31%) – Drop
- Malik Beasley (29%) – Drop: Beasley scored 14 points in Saturday’s victory, however, remains simply a points streamer in deeper leagues, especially as the Nuggets continue to get their healthy guys back on the floor.
- Trey Lyles (28%) – Watch
- Juancho Hernengomez (22%) – Drop
- Torrey Craig (11%) – Drop: Craig shifted into the starting lineup with Jamal Murray on the sidelines. He ended with 15 points in 35 minutes but Murray does not sound as though he is going to miss extended time.
76ers
- T.J. McConnell (22%) – Add: McConnell moved into the starting lineup with the 76ers down on troops. The move did little to increase his production and in fact, the bench is probably a better fit for the crafty point guard. He is still worth picking up as a backend source of assists and steals.
- Wilson Chandler (18%) – Drop
- Landry Shamet (17%) – Stream: Shamet was disappointing Saturday as he was presented with an opportunity to see extra court time. He remains an integral part of the 76ers rotation and is worth considering as a perimeter guy if you need a short-term boost.
- Mike Muscala (15%) – Drop
- Jonah Bolden (11%) – Drop
Portland Trail Blazers def. Atlanta Hawks 120-111
Trail Blazers
- Evan Turner (34%) – Drop
- Zach Collins (30%) – Drop
- Moe Harkless (26%) – Watch: Harkless took on more of an offensive role Saturday with Damian Lillard on the sidelines. His playing time continues to trend in the right direction and owners should monitor his progress moving forward.
- Seth Curry (15%) – Watch: Curry replaced Damian Lillard in the starting lineup Saturday, coming away with a season-high 22 points including four triples. Lillard sounds as though he will only miss this game which will likely send Curry back to a bench role for the upcoming game. This is the type of performance Curry can deliver when afforded the playing time and owners could keep an eye on the situation to see if he can stay hot over the coming days.
- Jake Layman (16%) – Watch
Hawks
- DeAndre Bembry (48%) – Add: Bembry was terrible again Saturday, making it back-to-back poor performances. He deserves another shot before completely cutting ties given the Hawks apparent willingness to develop him across the backend of the season.
- Alex Len (48%) – Stream: Len was far from his best in Saturday’s loss but is still a viable streamer if you need points, rebounds, and blocks. Just be prepared for inconsistencies in his production from night-to-night.
- Jeremy Lin (46%) – Stream: Lin finished with double-digit scoring for the third straight game, adding another six assists. He is typically going to receive playing time in the low 20’s which is not going to be enough to warrant a permanent roster spot in most 12-team leagues.
- Omari Spellman (18%) – 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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