Welcome back, folks. Just a reminder that Waiver Wire Scoops goes over all the players that are available in 50 percent of ESPN leagues (or some that have been cut in a lot). The players on the list either played on Tuesday night or saw their value increase based on some piece of news (trade, injury, etc).
Don't forget you can ask me on Twitter about any player you want to drop or add. Plus you should be following me for constant updates, tips and game analysis as it happens. Follow me here.
1. James Johnson (TOR)- I'm not quite sure why he's not owned in 50 percent of leagues yet. He has fantastic D numbers, shoots the three and now he has played in 30 MPG over his last five.
2. Marcus Thornton (SAC)- Thornton is back at practice and has been on Twitter saying how he's feeling a lot better. The Jimmer experiment is looking like a failure at this point and most of his minutes should be pretty safe. If you're in a shallow league and can afford to have another week or so of DNPs, make sure you grab Thornton (66 percent owned).
3. Jerryd Bayless- Coach Casey left most of us hardcore basketball fans scratching our heads a little bit when it was announced he was going to start the U of A product against the Hawks. He was dealt the 2-7 offsuit of matchups by going against a talented and tall Joe Johnson; Johnson smoked Bayless to the tune of 24 points in the first half. Yikes. Bayless also had a team-low -23 points in +/- after leading the team in that category with +23 on Sunday against the Nets. He does have some nice value in most leagues since he is shooting the three (made two last night), is the backup PG and can fill it up with scoring numbers. Not to mention that Jose Calderon is on the block and J.B. would catapult in value as the team's starting one.
4. Landry Fields (NYK)- Landry "Out Here In The" Fields has been en fuego for the past week and he probably had his best game on Tuesday with 18 points, five boards, five steals and connecting on four three-point attempts in 31 minutes.
5. Iman Shumpert (NYK)- I was surprised to see that Iman Shumpert is the third-most cut player in ESPN leagues (behind Bogut and MarShon Brooks). He is still putting up steal numbers, taking threes and playing a decent amount of minutes. It's safe to assume that it's safe to assume Baron Davis probably won't come back healthy and play significant minutes.
6. Ronnie Brewer (CHI)- The Bulls will not play Rip Hamilton until he's 100 percent healthy and Luol Deng is still out with the injury to his shooting wrist. Brewer has been on fire for quite some time and has put to bed the idea that he's only good for steals. He is going to be a big part of the offensive plans while the Bulls deal with their health concerns on the wing.
7. J.J. Redick (ORL)- Jason Richardson's knee is acting up on him again and he'll miss Wednesday's game. It's pretty simple: J-Rich doesn't play, Redick should be owned in most competitive leagues.
8. Marvin Williams (ATL)- Starvin' Marvin is starting to eat yet again with the Hawks. He has hit 3.0 3PM (!!) in his last four games with the Hawks and has seen more than 22 minutes in each of his last five games. He is also doing this while T-Mac is healthy. Well, as healthy as T-Mac can be. Marvin might surge once T-Mac misses time and he should provide some value until that point, too.
9. Mike Dunleavy (MIL)- The Stephen Jackson drama should open the door nice and wide for Dunleavy to bust out.
10. Ed Davis (TOR)- Special Ed posted his first dub-dub last night with 11 points, 11 boards, a steal and a block in 26 minutes for the Raptors. He only had three fouls (that's good for him) and turned it over just once. If we combined that with Amir Johnson only playing 14 minutes, it makes Davis someone to watch in all leagues for his rebounding prowess. His name ain't Special Ed so won't he seckle with the mission.. If you get that reference, you're pretty awesome in my book... It's a lyric from A Tribe Called Quest.
11. Austin Daye (DET)- Tayshaun Prince is back, yet Daye has played in 28.7 MPG in the last three games. Daye has shown some nice versatility by playing some minutes at the four and can help fill in at the two while Ben Gordon deals with multiple tears in his shoulder. The Zag has huge upside with his multi-cat production. Don't let the seven points and garbage time on Tuesday fool you, Daye's value hasn't starting to trend down just yet.
12. Ramon Sessions (CLE)- Senor Sessions had 10 assists last night in his 28 minutes and is certainly a big winner for all of the injuries at the two with Daniel Gibson and Anthony Parker. For what it's worth, Parker and Gibson aren't expected to be out that long. Although it's worth noting that the Nevada product is rumored to be going to the Lakers via trade. There isn't too much upside there because of the Lakers inside approach and winning with D. Plus Sessions doesn't shoot the three, which would have really helped him as a kick-out option.
13. Tony Allen (MEM)- Marreese Speights is total garbage and the Grizzlies almost have to go small to keep that man from infecting the other players. Allen is one of the best defenders in the league and he was playing some minutes at the two with O.J. Mayo actually running the point (briefly). Allen has wonderful steals totals and he even blocked four shots last night. Not to mention he had 17 points and eight boards. By the way, that was a big win for Memphis on Tuesday.
14. Gordon Hayward (UTA)- Raja Bell will miss Wednesday's game with an adductor injury in his hip joint. Hayward has 31 MPG in his last five and made two 3PM in each of his last two games good for a 16.5 MPG average in that pair. It seemed like a long time coming for Raja Bell to get kicked out of the starting gig and Hayward should be able to handle his extra time in the rotation.
15. C.J. Miles (UTA)- Splitting hairs here with Miles and Hayward. Miles can fill it up, but I ranked Hayward ahead of him based on the minutes (22 in Miles' last five) and how Miles was almost completely out of the rotation just a few weeks ago.
16. Jordan Farmar (NJN)- While Anthony Morrow should kill it to help fill the scoring void left by MarShon Brooks, Farmar is also going to be a factor in helping the Nets try to score (key word: TRY). Farmar's last five are respectable with 12.6 PPG, 3.8 APG and 1.6 3PM per game in 26 MPG. He's also a great handcuff for the oft-injured Deron Williams.
17. Carlos Delfino (MIL)- I'd feel a lot better about him if he was able to put up two good games in a row for a change.
18. Leandro Barbosa- He returned from his ankle injury and only played 17 minutes. While he was flying high in fantasy leagues, the shakeup of the lineup doesn't bode well for him. There is nothing set in stone for Toronto though and it makes sense on paper to give The Blur more minutes.
19. Isaiah Thomas (SAC)- I really like Zeke Jr. and last night was another reason to continue the love fest. He has been a huge spark off the bench for the Kings. His last four games have been useful at almost any depth with 12.8 points, 4.5 assists and 2.3 from downtown in 26.0 minutes. Yes, Marcus Thornton will be back very soon and is taking part in practice, but Thomas has been playing too well to just ignore it. He was getting more minutes than Jimmer before Thornton went down and that's probably not going to change. Tyreke Evans also hasn't exactly been Cal Ripken when it comes to staying healthy and Thomas would probably be the favorite to take over at the one in the event of an injury (small injury for Reke last night, too).
20. Derrick Favors (UTA)- Al Jefferson is a game-time decision for Wednesday's game with the Clippers. Favors would get the start and really should remain owned in competitive leagues until we see Jefferson say healthy for a full week. The problem is Favors doesn't do much with Millsap and Jefferson both healthy.
21. Kyle Korver (CHI)- Korver will get a nice chunk of burn while Rip and Deng are on the mend. He's a bit of a one-trick pony for threes, but last we check that's a category in eight-cat leagues.
22. Brandon Rush (GSW)- Too much Brandon Rush for the Kings last night as he helped the Warriors to the win with his 20 points, six boards and four triples in 25 minutes. The problem here is that Rush, Dorell Wright and Klay Thompson (more on him below) are kinda canceling each other out. Also, if you have Dorell Wright and can get top-60 value for him in a trade, I'd be all over it.
23. Jason Thompson (SAC)- It doesn't look like Chuck Hayes is healthy. The Chuckwagon played just 13 minutes and only scored two points. Thompson, on the other hand, logged 31 minutes and double-doubled with 13 points and 11 boards. Personally, I'm a firm believer that Chuck will get it going eventually and Thompson is just a Band-Aid until Hayes proves to be healthy.
24. Alonzo Gee (CLE)- While the Mychel Thompson story is nice (below), Gee is likely to be in charge with most of the burden associated with the two. Gee also had a +13 compared to Thompson's -11. Gee's 11 points marked the second game in a row and he also had an impressive four steals. He's also a candidate to jack some of Casspi's minutes, too.
25. Andrew Goudelock (LAL)- The Charleston Chew has really picked up the slack for the Lakers' thin bench lately. In his last four games have yielded 11.5 PPG and 2.0 3PM. He is earning more minutes every game he plays and it would be a stretch at all to say he stands the most to gain should something happen to Kobe. Of course, Kobe is the is the ultimate warrior.
26. Darko Milicic (MIN)- Darko is going to play tonight. Pek has been playing great lately and the two are likely going to cancel each other out.
27. Josh Howard (UTA)- He is expected to start and will probably put up decent numbers. He is just hurt way too often for me to rank him as him as Miles and Hayward.
28. Tracy McGrady (ATL)- 14 points, four boards, a steal, a block and a three last night in 21 minutes. He's playing 20 MPG these days and is doing a decent job putting up stats in limited time. Don't get too attached to him though and he should be cut for any sort of long-term asset.
29. Avery Bradley (BOS)- Rajon Rondo is targeting Friday to make his return from his wrist injury. It's too bad for Bradley as he is really starting to become an asset for Boston; he played 37 minutes on Tuesday and is averaging 30.2 MPG over his last five.
30. Shawne Williams (NJN)- A lot of people forget that Williams shot 40 percent from the three-point line last year and had some nice hot streaks with the Knicks. He launched eight triples last night and finished with a line of eight points, three boards, three assists, a block, a steal and a three in 32 minutes. He is starting and also played in 27 minutes last game, so he's someone to think about for owners in very deep leagues.
31. Ekpe Udoh (GSW)- It feels like every time I write one of these Udoh has a good game. The Baylor Bear blocked four shots while scoring six and pulling down five boards. He makes so much sense to get minutes on a consistent basis, but Mr. Hand Down Man Down doesn't seem to agree.
32. Shaun Livingston (MIL)- It's too bad he doesn't shoot the three.
33. Mychel Thompson (CLE)- Hey, it's Klay's brother. Before last night's start Pepperdine's own had a total of 14 minutes played in the NBA. On Tuesday night he logged 31 minutes, scored eight, hit a couple threes (on his first four attempts of the year, stole one and blocked one. It was certainly surprising to see M.T. not play empty starters minutes and he's someone to watch since the Cavs might want to give him a look.
34. Nikola Vucevic (PHI)- Spencer Hawes is out yet again and Vucevic figures to get some burn. Although the Sixers have gone small for the most part. He has a nice fantasy skill set with threes and D though.
35. D.J. White (CHA)- The Byron Mullens Experience doesn't appear to be going well as teams seem to have figured out how to solve it. White got 20 minutes of action and was playing well before he hurt his knee.
36. J.J. Barea (MIN)- He is expected to return from his hammy issue on Wednesday. The Puerto Rican does provide some offensive punch, but Luke Ridnour is kind of hitting on all cylinders and it won't be easy for him to develop some consistency.
37. Dante Cunningham (MEM)- As mentioned above, Marreese Speights is garbage. Cunningham is outplaying him and logged 25 minutes. While Memphis should go small, Cunningham is athletic enough to fit any scheme and he might have some so-so production every once in a while. Obviously, deep leagues only.
38. Lance Stephenson (IND)- George Hill fractured his ankle and is out indefinitely. Stephenson and Dahntay Jones will pick up the slack left by 25 MPG that used to be filled by Hill. Stephenson gets the edge for value because he is now the backup PG behind Collison and has shown some skills at times. He's very inconsistent though, but the upside is there with some steals (0.5SPG in just seven MPG last four) , dimes and threes.
39. Kenyon Martin- Martin could make his decision on where to go this weekend. He needs a perfect storm to have value though. If he goes to the Hawks, it might be interesting.
40. Reggie Williams (CHA)- Williams returned to NBA action on Tuesday logged 13 minutes on his way to six points. He'll probably get some more burn while DJA is out. Augustin could miss at least another week and Williams might be able to hit 22 MPG the game before DJA comes back.
41. Jermaine O'Neal (BOS)- He played.
42. Dahntay Jones (IND)- He shoots the three and is the safer option for owners in really deep leagues seeking some scoring.
43. Samardo Samuels (CLE)- Tristan Thompson hurt his ankle yet again and could not return. Anderson Varejao (41 minutes) and Antawn Jamison (35 minutes) are locked in as the starters and Samuels won't have much upside off the bench. The Cavs don't have much behind them though with Erden barely playing (DNPCD). Also the calling up of Luke Harangody means Thompson's injury isn't minor
Thanks for reading and post your comments below.