Jan. 17 Fantasy Basketball Takeaways: Top Rookies and Waiver Wire Options | Georges Niang, Gary Trent Jr., Josh Hart, Jae Crowder, Dereck Lively II and More

There was a 10-game slate of NBA games played on Wednesday, so there’s a lot to discuss.

Let’s get into some of the better performances from waiver wire options, including some rookies, from Jan. 17.

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Waiver Wire Options

Cleveland Cavaliers’ Georges Niang easily had his best game of the season on Wednesday. He made 13-of-14 shots overall, 5-of-6 3-pointers and 2-of-3 at the free throw line to post 33 points.

Niang, who is being shown as owned in 3% of leagues right now, also had five rebounds and two assists in the team’s blowout win over the Milwaukee Bucks. It was not only Niang’s first 30-point outing of the season, but the first time he’s gone over 16 points.

Niang played 27 minutes in the game, a mark he’s gotten close to in four of the past six games now. He’s only failed to reach double figures in one of those games, and it was by a single point. His big showing on Wednesday should allow him to receive plenty of minutes in the upcoming games. If he can start averaging around 15 points a game, he does enough else on the court to be a decent fantasy asset. I’d definitely consider adding Niang now in deeper leagues given his recent numbers.

Another day, another time for Detroit Pistons’ Jaden Ivey making this story. Ivey, who is owned in 75% of leagues, recorded 32 points, six assists, four rebounds and one steal in the team’s loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves.

I’m not really sure what else to say about Ivey that I haven’t already said. He extended his run of double-digit scoring games to 11 games, over which time he’s averaging 18.5 points, 5.1 rebounds, 4.8 assists, 0.7 blocks and 0.6 steals. If he’s available in your league, add him now.

Toronto Raptors’ Gary Trent Jr., owned in 36% of leagues, went off for 28 points, two rebounds and one steal in the team’s win over the Miami Heat. He made his sixth start of the year and played nearly 31 minutes.

The Raptors were playing their first game without Pascal Siakam, while also missing several other players. Trent took advantage and tallied his third 20+ point game of the year. He’s capable of these kinds of outings and could be in line for more games like this after the trade. Keep a close eye on him over the next couple games.

Minnesota’s Jaden McDaniels finished the night with 23 points, three rebounds and one steal in the team’s win. He’s owned in 40% of leagues.

While McDaniels is capable of these big scoring nights, he’s been too inconsistent to see his own percentage get much higher. He’d probably need one of the team’s top scorers to be out an extended period to consistently put up numbers like he did on Wednesday.

Minnesota’s Kyle Anderson posted four points, nine assists, three rebounds, two blocks and one assist in the team’s win. He’s owned in 23% of leagues. 

Anderson stuffed the stat sheet on Wednesday, which is something he does pretty much every time he plays. The problem with him is the lack of points - he’s scored in double figures in three of the past five games, but had two and four points in the other two games. Once he is consistently at or above 10 points, he’d be a fine waiver wire pickup.

New York Knicks’ Josh Hart totaled 10 points, 14 rebounds and one assist across nearly 30 minutes played in the team’s win over the Houston Rockets. Hart is owned in 35% of leagues.

It was the seventh time this season Hart has recorded double-digit rebounds in a game. What’s holding him back from being owned in more leagues is his consistency as a scorer - Wednesday was the first time he reached double figures in seven games.

Charlotte Hornets’ Nick Richards, who is owned in 50% of leagues, tallied 10 points, 12 rebounds and two assists and blocks in the team’s loss to the New Orleans Pelicans. 

It was the seventh double-double of the season for Richards. Over his last eight games, he’s averaging 8.5 points, 9.4 rebounds, 1.3 assists and blocks and 0.3 steals. I’d like to see him scoring above 10 points a game before considering him for a waiver wire pickup, but he’s very close.

New Orleans’ Trey Murphy III contributed 18 points, five rebounds and one assist and steal in the team’s win. He’s owned in 63% of leagues.

It was Murphy’s fourth time over 10 points in the past four games, and he’s filled up the stat sheet pretty well with either rebounds or assists over that span. He’s a decent fantasy asset, but because he’s playing between 22-27 minutes most nights, his fantasy ceiling is capped and there’s probably better options out there.

The last guy I want to mention is Milwaukee’s Jae Crowder. He played his first game since mid-November and finished with 15 points, one rebound and one steal across 19 minutes played. He was 5-of-13 overall and 4-of-10 on his 3-pointers.

It was good to see Crowder back on the court and playing nearly 20 minutes, but the Bucks also played without Giannis Antetokounmpo, so we won’t get a real gauge on how much Crowder might play going forward until the Bucks are at full strength. He’s going to be a part of Milwaukee’s rotation and could be a decent fantasy asset on his 3-point shooting numbers. Crowder, who is only owned in 4% of leagues, will need to provide some rebounds, assists, steals and blocks with his points to be a viable waiver wire option though.

Rookie Standouts

Dallas Mavericks’ Dereck Lively II had a strong double-double during the team’s loss to the Los Angeles Lakers. Lively was 8-of-9 from the floor to score 16 points. He grabbed 11 rebounds and also had two assists and one steal.

Lively is owned in 64% of leagues right now. That number would probably be a bit higher if he hadn’t missed so many games recently. He definitely needs to be owned in dynasty leagues and deeper formats, and probably does enough on a nightly basis to be rostered in standard leagues too.

New Orleans’ Jordan Hawkins had his second big game in the past three outings. He totaled 21 points, six rebounds and one assist and steal across just 24 minutes played.

Hawkins, who is owned in 10% of leagues, scored 34 points a couple games ago. He tallied nine points, but didn’t do much else in the game in between. He simply needs more nights like Wednesday to be a bigger fantasy asset outside of dynasty or deep leagues.

Portland Trail Blazers’ Duop Reath, who is owned in 23% of leagues, scored in double figures for the third straight game. He tallied 17 points, seven rebounds and three assists across 25 minutes played in the team’s win over the Brooklyn Nets. 

Reath was 7-of-9 shooting on the night and marked his third straight game with at least six field goals made. There’s some inconsistent showings sprinkled in here and there, but Reath has been a pretty solid fantasy asset since about the start of the new year. 

Detroit’s Ausar Thompson went for seven points, nine rebounds and one assist and block in the team’s loss. He’s owned in about 50% of leagues right now.

Thompson has at least six rebounds over the past four games, but has only scored in double figures once in that span. I get why his own percentage is high, but until he starts scoring in double figures more regularly, his own percentage shouldn’t go any higher.

Milwaukee’s Andre Jackson Jr. got a little extra playing time in the team’s lopsided loss and he ended the game with six points and eight rebounds. He’s only owned in 4% of leagues.

The lopsided game afforded Jackson some more time on the court in a game he started because Antetokounmpo was out with an injury. I was interested to see how many minutes Jackson would get with Crowder back from his injury, but we’ll have to wait to see how that looks.