Feb. 26 Fantasy Basketball Takeaways: Top Rookies and Waiver Wire Options | Bennedict Mathurin, Dennis Schroder, Dorian Finney-Smith, Jaime Jaquez Jr., Gradey Dick and More

There were only four NBA games on Monday, but there’s still plenty to talk about from a fantasy basketball perspective.

Let’s discuss the top waiver wire options and rookies from games played on Feb. 26.

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Waiver Wire Options

Let’s kick things off by discussing Indiana Pacers’ Bennedict Mathurin. He’s owned in 62% of leagues and tallied 34 points, nine rebounds, five assists, two steals and one block across 39 minutes played in the team’s loss to the Toronto Raptors. Mathurin was 11-of-15 from the field and 5-of-8 from 3-point land.

Indiana played without Aaron Nesmith, so it gave Mathurin some extra scoring opportunities. He’s taken either 14 or 15 shots in the past three games, this game he just made a bunch of shots to post the big game. 

He’s rebounded well over those three games, while also adding in five assists each contest.  That’s enough production to consider streaming Mathurin if Nesmith continues to miss games - Mathurin might also be worth streaming even if Nesmith is back, just to see if Mathurin can stay hot from the floor.

Miami Heat’s Kevin Love played just 15 minutes, but finished with 19 points, seven rebounds and one assist in the team’s win over the Sacramento Kings. Love is rostered in 18% of leagues.

Miami played without several players, some due to suspensions and others injuries, which afforded Love some extra scoring chances. The veteran took advantage and was extremely efficient, making 6-of-9 shots overall. 

Love usually gets around 15 minutes a game, regardless of who else is available for Miami. He’s worth streaming when the team isn't close to full health, but otherwise is just a deep league option. Because he doesn’t play even half of a game most nights, his ceiling is capped.

Brooklyn Nets’ Dennis Schroder, owned in 77% of leagues, totaled 18 points, five assists and two rebounds across 26 minutes in the team’s win over the Memphis Grizzlies. 

It was a good sign to see Schroder excel for Brooklyn, as this was just his second time scoring in double figures since his first game with the team. Over six games with the team, he’s averaging 25.7 minutes, 9.8 points, 4.2 assists and 2.7 rebounds. It isn’t great fantasy production, but maybe Monday’s game can get him going, so keep a close eye on him over the next game or two.

Memphis Grizzlies’ Lamar Stevens totaled 17 points, six rebounds, two assists and one block across 23 minutes off the bench in the team’s loss on Monday. He’s rostered in just 4% of leagues right now.

Stevens has gotten a decent amount of playing time over the past five games, and has scored in double figures in all but one of those contests. He’s averaging 12.4 points, 6.8 rebounds, 1.2 blocks, 1 assist and 0.4 steals across those games in 22.9 minutes.

Memphis is nowhere near 100% full strength, and they might not be anywhere close for the rest of the season. With how Stevens has played of late, I like the idea of riding the hot hand. If his minutes dip and production falls off, then you can just drop him, but his averages over the past few games are better than what most other waiver wire players can offer in deep leagues.

Miami’s Caleb Martin took advantage of several teammates being out and got 14 shots up. He made six, half of which were 3-pointers, on his way to a 16-point showing. Martin, owned in 20% of leagues, also had six rebounds and one assist and steal across 40 minutes played.

Martin has started seven straight games, but had only been over 30 minutes played in two of those contests. Martin reached double figures in points for just the third time in that span. While his production will fall when the team is at full health, he’s getting enough minutes every night to be a fantasy asset in deeper leagues. He definitely should be streamed if several of his teammates are out for a future game.

Haywood Highsmith, rostered in 3% of leagues, played 29 minutes off the bench for Miami, totaling 15 points, four rebounds, three steals and one block.

He’s another possible streaming option as the Heat look to piece a small rotation together. Until Highsmith can produce a statline like this with the team at full strength, he’s only going to be a streaming option in deep leagues though.

Detroit Pistons’ Quentin Grimes, owned in 8% of leagues, accumulated 14 points, three rebounds and blocks, two assists and one steal across 24 minutes off the bench in the team’s loss to the New York Knicks.

Grimes typically fills out the stat sheet well, and he did again Monday, but the scoring was a nice surprise. In his first two games with the Pistons (after playing for the Knicks previously), Grimes has combined for 19 points, six assists, five rebounds, four blocks and three steals. 

He’s a guy to keep an eye on, as playing on the Pistons should allow him to play plenty of minutes, giving him plenty of chances to stuff the stat sheet and be a decent fantasy asset. His own percentage is pretty low because these two games with Detroit were his first since late January, so that percentage could jump quickly.

Brooklyn’s Dorian Finney-Smith, rostered in 14% of leagues, finished the night with 13 points, nine rebounds, four assists and one block across 25 minutes played.

After four straight games in which he made just one field goal, Finney-Smith has combined for 24 points and 18 boards over the past two games. He played between 24-30 minutes in those two games, and if that keeps up, he’s got a decent chance to be a good fantasy asset. I’d add him in deeper leagues and keep a close eye on him in standard leagues.

Top Rookies

Only three rookies really stood out to me on Monday. 

The first was Miami’s Jaime Jaquez Jr. He started and played 38 minutes, totaling 26 points, five rebounds, three steals and two assists in the team’s win.

Jaquez, owned in 46% of leagues, had his best game since returning from an injury in late January. Of course, it came with several teammates out, but Jaquez held a big role for the team earlier this season, so it’s possible this kind of outing gets him rolling again. 

He could be streamed if some of the team’s top scorers miss more action, but he definitely needs to be played in deeper leagues and dynasties. Keep a close, close eye on him the next couple nights to see if he’s worth adding in standard leagues again.

Toronto’s Gradey Dick made 7-of-9 shots and all four of his triples on his way to an 18-point outing. He’s owned in 10% of leagues.

Dick has scored 18 points in two straight games now, and on Monday, he added some rebounds - he typically just scores for his fantasy value.

Playing 20-24 minutes a night isn’t great for a player’s fantasy value, but Dick has proved he can contribute good numbers in that amount of time. He could be added in deep leagues and dynasties, at least until he cools off as a scorer.

Detroit’s Ausar Thompson, rostered in 73% of leagues, had seven points, four rebounds and three assists and steals across 36 minutes in the team’s loss.

Thompson’s statline isn’t really that great, but it shows he can fill up the stat sheet. If he can put it all together and consistently score 12-15 points a game, he’s going to creep closer to 100% owned.