Welcome to The Playlist: my weekly column that lets you know who and what to play โ when it comes to music or other things in my rotation โ for the upcoming week in fantasy basketball.
Each week, you’ll see a compilation of the pickups you need to make, a quick look at the schedule and lineup notes (who’s in and out of rotations).
Press play and shuffle through the latest fantasy basketball info.
๐ Week 2 wrap up:
-
Victor Wembanyama registered his second-career 5×5 line in a win over the Jazz.
-
Paolo Banchero became the second-youngest player to post 50-10-5 in an NBA game. Unfortunately, Banchero tore his oblique and will be re-evaluated in 4-6 weeks.
-
Klay Thompson became the sixth player in NBA history to make 2,500 3s.
-
Paul George will make his season debut on Monday versus the Phoenix Suns.
โถ๏ธ Sticky – Tyler the Creator feat. GloRilla, Sexyy Red and Lil Wayne
๐ Top performers:
-
Top category player: Nikola Jokiฤ (surprise second, Devin Booker)
-
Most points fantasy points in Week 2: Nikola Jokiฤ (surprise second, Jalen Johnson)
๐ง Who’s in My Rotation: Waiver Pickups
Five players rostered between 39-46% of Yahoo leagues and should be added universally:
Other adds to make:
Bilal Coulibaly, SG/SF, Washington Wizards (50% rostered)
Coulibaly is showing no signs of cooling off, averaging 19 points with six boards, nearly three assists and a steal over his first five games. With Kyle Kuzma (groin) expected to miss a few weeks, the demand for Coulibaly’s scoring is at a premium and he’s delivering. He’s shooting an unsustainable 61% from and 48% from 3. Still, he should be rostered in all leagues, considering his upside as a defender and secondary scoring option for the Wizards.
Tari Eason – SF/PF, Houston Rockets (26% rostered)
For years, Eason’s had a category-league-friendly skillset. He just hasn’t been able to stay healthy. It also doesn’t help that the Rockets have one of the deepest squads in the league. Still, Eason is worth adding in 12-team leagues because he continues to be productive in various areas on a per-minute basis. He’s off to a great start, averaging over three stocks in 20 minutes per night along with 11 points, 4.5 boards and shooting 56% from the field. He’s legit and will continue being a fixture of the rotation. Houston plays four games this week, too.
Alex Sarr – PF/C, Washington Wizards (39% rostered)
The second overall pick in the 2024 NBA Draft has struggled with his shot in four of five games this season, but his defensive contributions are hitting. Sarr averaged 2.8 blocks per contest and got a steal in three of five games. He’s coming off his best scoring output of the year on Saturday, netting 17 points, and his rebounding is coming around, too. His defensive numbers are worth adding, but with Kyle Kuzma out, he should see more volume in this offense.
โถ๏ธ I See Now – Little Brother feat. Kanye West
Anthony Black- PG/SG, Orlando Magic (13% rostered)
Black’s been drawing rave reviews since the offseason, and he’ll be one of the players who will benefit the most from Paolo Banchero’s being out. The second-year pro has a versatile fantasy skillset where he’ll generate decent counting stats for rebounds, steals and stocks. Playing around 30 minutes a night, add him before it’s too late.
Bennedict Mathurin – SG/SF, Indiana Pacers (27% rostered)
I prefer Mathurin in points leagues, but he’s been efficient in his last two outings, shooting 16-for-32 from the field, 3-for-7 from 3 and 14-for-16 from the line. He started in place of Andrew Nembhard (knee) and could be looking at more opportunities with Aaron Nesmith dealing with an ankle injury. Mathurin was always a bucket, but expect little in stocks or assists.
Jordan Hawkins – SG, New Orleans Pelicans (28% rostered)
The Pelicans are down bad and Hawkins has provided fantasy managers with a strong source of 3s and points since CJ McCollum and Herb Jones went down with injuries. He’s averaging 38 minutes over the last three contests, so the opportunity size is too high to ignore. He’s worth adding in points and category leagues; just be mindful that he can be inefficient and makes little impact in assists or stocks.
Yves Missi – C, New Orleans Pelicans (16% rostered)
It might be hard to play Missi in Week 3 with the Pelicans’ unappealing schedule of three games on bigger slates (Monday, Wednesday and Friday). However, I’m taking a longer-term view on him because his minutes are rising and he’s proving to be a reliable shot-blocker โ a pretty scarce category to find on waivers. Missi is outplaying Daniel Theis and has started the past two games for New Orleans. With so few options in the frontcourt, plus the injuries piling up, the rookie out of Baylor is in a good position to see an uptick in production.
๐๏ธ Schedule Highlights:
-
Week 3 daily schedule of games: Monday (15), Tuesday (0), Wednesday (12), Thursday (3), Friday (13), Saturday (4), Sunday (11)
-
Prime streaming days: Thursday and Saturday
-
Teams playing on lighter slates: Bulls, Jazz and Spurs (play on Thursday and Saturday)
-
Teams playing four games: 76ers, Bucks, Bulls, Cavaliers, Celtics, Clippers, Grizzlies, Hawks, Heat, Hornets, Kings, Knicks, Lakers, Magic, Mavericks, Nuggets, Pacers, Pistons, Raptors, Rockets, Spurs, Suns, Thunder, Timberwolves, Trail Blazers and Warriors
-
Teams playing three games: Jazz, Nets, Pelicans and Wizards
-
Back-to-backs:
-
Wednesday/Thursday: Bulls, Spurs
-
Thursday/Friday: Bucks and Timberwolves
-
Friday/Saturday: Cavaliers, Clippers, Hawks and Nets
-
Saturday/Sunday: Raptors
-
Sunday/Monday: Kings, Rockets, Thunder and Wizards
-
๐ Injury news:
๐ Rotation notes:
Boston Celtics: Payton Pritchard is firmly in the Sixth Man of the Year conversation
The play: I’ll reiterate that he needs to be rostered in all leagues because his minutes continue to trend up. He’s a top 50 player in 9-cat leagues and has played over 27 minutes in five of seven games this year. He remains available in over 60% of leagues even though he’ll be leaned on heavily to run the second unit while also spending time with the starters. He’s in the top 10 in offensive efficiency ratings in the NBA, and he’s for real.
โถ๏ธ Just Do It – Jaylen Brown feat. A$AP Ferg
Charlotte Hornets: Mark Williams (foot) and Nick Richards (shoulder) are out on Monday.
The play: Expect Grant Williams to play and start as the small ball center. He was disappointing in his last game in that role, so I’ll avoid the situation altogether.
Memphis Grizzlies: Beam me up Scotty (and Santi)
The play: Santi Aldama has started five of seven contests so far and the recent ankle injury to Desmond Bane has him starting at small forward. He’s put up two double-doubles and has been a good source of points while shooting a good FG%. Scotty Pippen Jr. was one of my pickups last week, and he’s sustained his value as a backup point guard, dishing out double-digit assists in three of his last five outings. Keep riding the wave. He remains available in nearly 60% of leagues.
A deep league add is Jaylen Wells (4% rostered). He’s stepping in for Marcus Smart (ankle) and has provided solid production over his last two starts, averaging 36 minutes and dropping 15.5 points, 6.5 rebounds and 2.5 3s.
New Orleans Pelicans: Who’s left? It is what it is.
The play: First, it was Trey Murphy III, then Dejounte Murray. CJ McCollum and Herb Jones are on week-to-week timelines and have the Pelicans down four core players to start the year. It’s time to go deep in the bag for fantasy resources. I’d be looking at Jose Alvarado in deep leagues for steals and assists, Jordan Hawkins for scoring and Yves Missi for blocks and rebounds. In the meantime, Zion Williamson and Brandon Ingram will continue leading the way over the next month to keep the Pels in contention in a tough Western Conference.
โถ๏ธ It is what it is – Big Sean feat. Gunna
Philadelphia 76ers: Return of the (P)G
The play: It’s been real, Kelly Oubre Jr. Unfortunately, he looks like a drop once Paul George returns to the lineup. Oubre has been inefficient and ranks outside the top 150 in 9-cat leagues. Keep holding Andre Drummond even when Joel Embiid returns because we already know Embiid will rest periodically throughout the season.
โถ๏ธ Return of the G – Outkast
Toronto Raptors: Players stepping up amid injuries
The play: With Scottie Barnes and Immanuel Quickley out with injuries, Gradey Dick and RJ Barrett have been playing unreal basketball lately. Barrett ranks 46th in 9-cat leagues and 11th in points per game in points leagues, while Dick is 60th and 90th, respectively, in both formats. The deep sleeper benefiting from all of the injuries has been Jonathan Mogbo (7% rostered) who has been quietly good at racking up stocks. Keep an eye on him if you need defensive stats and until Immanuel Quickley and Scottie Barnes return, keep Barrett and Dick in your lineups.
Utah Jazz: A winless team searching for answers
The play: Rookie forwards Kyle Filipowski (6% rostered) and Cody Williams (2%) are getting more minutes after Taylor Hendricks suffered a season-ending injury. Keep both players on your radar in Week 3. They play on Thursday and Saturday, lighter slate days where you can sneak in a couple of additional streams for production. I prefer Filipowski, as he’s shown to have a better fantasy profile.
