Feb. 14 Fantasy Basketball Takeaways: Top Rookies and Waiver Wire Options | Rui Hachimura, Precious Achiuwa, Tre Mann, Harrison Barnes, Brandin Podziemski and More

There were 13 NBA games played on Wednesday, so there’s a ton to discuss from a fantasy basketball perspective.

Let’s talk about some of the top outings from waiver wire options from Feb. 14.

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Waiver Wire Options

Los Angeles Lakers’ Rui Hachimura made 13-of-19 shots and scored 36 points in the team’s win over the Utah Jazz. Hachimura, owned in 36% of leagues, also had two rebounds and one assist and block across 34 minutes played.

Hachimura has started six games in a row and played over 30 minutes in four straight. He’s averaging 18.5 points, 4 rebounds, 1 assist and 0.8 blocks across 34.5 minutes in that four-game span. The points are great, but until some of his other numbers improve, he’s just a good fantasy asset in deeper leagues.

Boston Celtics’ Payton Pritchard, rostered in 5% of leagues, recorded 28 points, four rebounds and three assists in the team’s blowout win over the Brooklyn Nets. Pritchard was 11-of-16 overall and 6-of-9 from behind the 3-point line.

Pritchard usually only plays 15 or so minutes a game, but because of the lopsided nature of the game and with several teammates (like Jaylen Brown) inactive, Pritchard starred for Boston. This looks more like a one-game blip than anything, but I’d at least keep an eye on him in deeper leagues.

New York Knicks’ Precious Achiuwa, rostered in 75% of leagues, finished with 23 points, 14 rebounds and five assists across 43 minutes in the team’s loss to the Orlando Magic. 

Achiuwa has been playing a ton of minutes of late, with over 38 minutes in eight straight. He’s averaging 14.5 points, 10.9 rebounds, 1.6 blocks, 1.5 assists and 1.1 steals over 41.6 minutes in that span. At full strength, Achiuwa isn’t likely going to play nearly this many minutes, but until that happens, he’s a pretty solid fantasy asset in all formats.

Charlotte Hornets’ Tre Mann, owned in 54% of leagues, tallied 21 points, eight rebounds, six assists and two steals across 30 minutes in the team’s win over the Atlanta Hawks.

Mann has started in all three games he’s played with Charlotte, averaging 13.7 points, 7.3 assists, 7 rebounds and 1.3 steals across 30.3 minutes in those games. He’s one of the most added waiver wire guys since the trade deadline, and for good reason. Mann should play plenty of minutes for the Hornets, and if he can continue posting similar numbers, he’s a good fantasy asset in all leagues.

Atlanta’s De'Andre Hunter, owned in 38% of leagues, totaled 21 points, three rebounds and one assist and steal across 28 minutes off the bench in the team’s loss to Charlotte.

Hunter has now had back-to-back 20-point performances, with nine rebounds and some additional steals, blocks and assists mixed in. He should be owned in deeper leagues, but I’d hold off adding him in standard leagues until he can consistently provide more than just points.

Los Angeles Clippers’ Norman Powell, rostered in 43% of leagues, finished with 21 points and two rebounds across 31 minutes off the bench in the team’s win over the Golden State Warriors. 

Powell got some extra minutes with Kawhi Leonard inactive, so that helped Powell be much more productive than normal. If Leonard or Paul George are ever out, Powell could be streamed in all formats, but at full health, Powell is just a decent deep league option.

Sacramento Kings’ Harrison Barnes, rostered in 52% of leagues, recorded 20 points, five rebounds and one block across 33 minutes in the team’s win over the Denver Nuggets.

Barnes hit 20 points for the first time in six games - he reached double figures in just one other game in between the 20-point outings. He adds a few rebounds, but not much else on a nightly basis. That makes Barnes a decent deep league option.

Miami Heat’s Duncan Robinson accumulated 20 points, four assists and one rebound and steal across 33 minutes played in the team’s win over the Philadelphia 76ers. He’s rostered in 36% of leagues.

Robinson started again with Jimmy Butler, Terry Rozier and Josh Richardson out of action. Robinson is in a good groove right now, so we'll see if he can continue it after the All-Star break. He’s another deep league option because of his scoring ability.

Washington Wizards’ Corey Kispert had another solid game in the team’s loss to the New Orleans Pelicans. Kispert, owned in 28% of leagues, had 20 points, six assists, four rebounds and one steal across 32 minutes.

Kispert had been in a good shooting groove before back-to-back five-point outings. He looks to have gotten back on track on Wednesday, and remains a strong deep league for the time being. 

Chicago Bulls’ Andre Drummond racked up 10 points, 15 rebounds and one steal and block across 28 minutes in the team’s loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers. He’s rostered in 52% of leagues.

Drummond started and got a few extra minutes on Wednesday and responded with another solid double-double. His fantasy ceiling is limited by coming off the bench and playing only so many minutes, so when you see he’s starting, or a couple Bulls’ big men are out, that’s when you need to stream Drummond. He’s a deep league fantasy asset when the team is close to full strength, or he’s coming off the bench.

Philly big man Paul Reed ended the night with 18 points, 12 rebounds, two assists and one block across 39 minutes played.

Reed, owned in 64% of leagues, has scored in double figures in four straight games, also averaging 10 rebounds over that span. He should play plenty of minutes without Joel Embiid around, and if he can produce like he has lately, he’s a decent option in all formats.

Indiana Pacers’ Isaiah Jackson, rostered in 7% of leagues, posted 15 points, 11 rebounds, four blocks and one assist across 32 minutes in the team’s win over the Toronto Raptors. 

Jackson usually doesn’t play a bunch of minutes, but with several big men on the team out, Jackson got a start and over 30 minutes of action for the first time this season. It shows that he’s not a half bad streaming option if something similar happens at some point later in the season.

Top Rookies

Several rookies posted big nights on Wednesday, led by Golden State’s Brandin Podziemski. He’s owned in 68% of leagues and went for 25 points, eight assists, seven rebounds and one steal across 32 minutes off the bench. Podz was 9-of-12 overall and made all five of his 3-pointers.

Podziemski has been a pleasant surprise this season and has helped the Warriors go on a little surge of late (despite Wednesday’s loss). He should remain a good fantasy asset in all formats for the time being, even while coming off the bench. He needs to be rostered in deeper leagues and dynasties.

Memphis Grizzlies’ GG Jackson II, owned in 56% of leagues, totaled 20 points, nine rebounds and three blocks across 24 minutes in the team’s win over the Houston Rockets.

Jackson is averaging 19.4 points, 6.2 rebounds, 1.2 blocks and steals and 1 assist across 28 minutes over the past five games he’s played in. That’s enough fantasy production for most league setups, but especially deeper leagues and dynasties.

Amen Thompson and Ausar Thompson each had solid outings on Wednesday.

Amen Thompson finished with 19 points, 12 rebounds, two assists and steals and one block across 34 minutes in the Rockets’ loss. He’s owned in 63% of leagues.

Amen Thompson continues to stuff the stat sheet and is playing some of his best basketball of his young career. He should remain a big part of the rotation the rest of the season, and at his recent numbers, I like him in almost every format.

Ausar Thompson is owned in 68% of leagues. He tallied 14 points, seven rebounds, two steals and one assist and block across 29 minutes in the Detroit Pistons’ loss to the Phoenix Suns.

Ausar Thompson also has stuffed the stat sheet of late and is doing enough to roster and play in almost every league out there. He too should have a big role the remainder of the season.

Utah’s Keyonte George, owned in 52% of leagues, tallied 13 points, seven assists, five rebounds and two steals across 33 minutes.

George got right back into double figures after missing in the previous game, which was the first time in the past nine games that he failed to score at least 10 points. Wednesday was a well-rounded effort for him, but typically he doesn’t do enough to roster outside of deep leagues and dynasties. 

Miami’s Jaime Jaquez Jr., owned in 45% of leagues, delivered 12 points, nine rebounds, three assists and two steals across 32 minutes on Wednesday. 

He continues to be a solid deep league and dynasty option, but probably needs to score a bit more to be rostered in standard leagues again.