Feb. 29 Fantasy Basketball Takeaways: Top Rookies and Waiver Wire Options | Cameron Johnson, Jeremy Sochan, Malik Beasley, Grant Williams, Cam Whitmore and More

There were eight NBA games played on Thursday night, so let’s talk about some of the top performances.

We’ll focus on players that are available in at least a few leagues out there, along with some of the lesser known rookies.

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Waiver Wire Options

We’ll begin with Brooklyn Nets’ Cameron Johnson, who is owned in 80% of leagues. He tallied 29 points, four assists, two steals and one rebound across 30 minutes in the team’s win over the Atlanta Hawks. Johnson made 10 of his 15 shots from the floor, including 7-of-11 from 3-point land.

It was Johnson’s best scoring game of the season and just the fifth time he topped 20 points in a contest. Of late, Johnson has typically provided around 10 points, and just a few other stats, but that was also in far fewer minutes.

Johnson has started the past two games and played between 29-30, and when he’s doing that, he’s a much better fantasy asset. He’s worth an add in most formats if those things continue.

Brooklyn’s Dennis Schroder added 23 points on 9-of-15 shooting. Schroder, owned in 78% of leagues, also had eight rebounds and seven assists across 27 minutes played.

Schroder has started three straight games for the Nets, averaging 18.7 points, 4.7 assists, 3.7 rebounds and 1 assist across 26.2 minutes. That’s plenty of production for most leagues out there, at least until he cools off a bit.

Washington Wizards’ Marvin Bagley III, rostered in 77% of leagues, finished with 23 points, four rebounds, two blocks and one assist across 34 minutes in the team’s overtime loss over the Los Angeles Lakers. He made 11-of-14 shots from the floor.

Bagley has only missed six shots over the past two games, combining for 43 points over that span. He’s a good source for rebounds most nights, and at least for the time being, should be rostered/played in most leagues.

San Antonio Spurs’ Jeremy Sochan, rostered in 56% of leagues, tallied 21 points and 10 rebounds across 32 minutes in the team’s surprise win over the Oklahoma City Thunder.

Sochan didn’t make a shot over his previous two games, but broke out in a big way on Thursday. He usually is a streaky scorer, so he might be worth streaming, especially with the right matchups, for the time being.

Washington’s Corey Kispert, owned in 40% of leagues, had 20 points, six assists and rebounds and one steal across 27 minutes off the bench on Thursday.

Twenty appears to be Kispert’s favorite number, as that’s four times over the past five games that he scored exactly that many points. He’s been great of late and should be added in all formats for the time being.

Milwaukee Bucks’ Malik Beasley, owned in 47% of leagues, made 7-of-12 shots and five triples on his way to a 19-point showing in the team’s win over the Charlotte Hornets. He also had two rebounds across 28 minutes.

Beasley’s scoring is far too inconsistent night to night to roster in standard leagues, but he’s a decent option in deeper leagues. Like most 3-point specialists, Beasley tends to get hot for several games, so he might be a streaming option for a couple games.

Denver Nuggets’ Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, owned in 38% of leagues, tallied 18 points, two rebounds and assists and one steal and block across 34 minutes played in the team’s win over the Miami Heat.

He’s been hot of late, and I suggested adding him a couple days ago. That remains true still, even with few other stats outside of points. He’s scored in double figures in three straight games.

San Antonio’s Tre Jones, rostered in 85% of leagues, tallied 17 points, eight assists, six rebounds and one steal across 33 minutes in the team’s win.

Jones averages around 10 points per game for the season, but is up to 14.3 points over the past three contests. He’s also averaging 7.7 assists and 5.7 rebounds per game over that short span, so I was surprised to see him available in 15% of leagues yet. He’s worth adding unless you simply don’t have the roster spot.

Charlotte’s Grant Williams, owned in 24% of leagues, recorded 17 points, five rebounds, three assists and one block across 30 minutes off the bench on Thursday.

Williams was coming off a couple down scoring games, so his outing against the Bucks was a step in the right direction. Since joining the Hornets, he’s averaging 13.9 points, 4.9 rebounds, 1.9 assists and 0.4 blocks and steals in 28.2 minutes off the bench. That’s enough production to play him in most deeper leagues.

Top Rookies

A few rookies also had solid showings.

Utah Jazz rookie Keyonte George accumulated 19 points, nine assists, three rebounds and one steal across 31 minutes in the team’s loss to the Orlando Magic. He’s rostered in 56% of leagues.

George has been great over the past few weeks. He’s still a rookie, so down off games are bound to happen at times, but most nights, he’s good for around 15 points, at least five assists and a few boards. He should be owned in all dynasties and deep leagues by now, and he does enough most nights to at least consider him as a streaming option in standard leagues.

Houston Rockets’ Cam Whitmore, owned in 17% of leagues, finished the night with 14 points, eight rebounds and one block across 27 minutes in the team’s loss to the Phoenix Suns.

In his five games since a three-game absence, Whitmore is averaging 12.6 points, 3.8 rebounds, 0.8 blocks and 0.4 steals and assists.

He’s put together some solid outings as a rookie, but he’s been inconsistent, which explains his lower own percentage. The biggest thing working against him is playing time, but if he can get the minutes he did on Thursday, he’s a much better fantasy option. Keep a close eye on him over the next couple games.

Atlanta’s Kobe Bufkin, owned in just 4% of leagues, totaled 12 points and three rebounds and assists across 19 minutes off the bench. 

Bufkin has carved out a small role with Trae Young sidelined. He’s done some solid things over the past couple games and could be streamed in deeper leagues and dynasties until that role diminishes again. 

It’s also worth noting that the Hawks have been in some lopsided games of late, which has allowed Bufkin to get some extra run. Keep that in mind before you decide to pick him up - it might be better to wait until the team’s in a close game to see the kind of role he truly has.

Utah’s Taylor Hendricks makes this article again after another solid outing. He played 27 minutes, tallying 10 points, seven rebounds and one assist, block and steal along the way.

He’s started four straight games for the Jazz, averaging 26.9 minutes, 9.8 points, 6.8 rebounds, 0.8 steals and assists and 0.5 blocks per game over that span. He’s basically just a fantasy asset for his scoring and rebounding, but he’s not a half bad option in deeper leagues and dynasties. His own percentage is 9%, a number that I expect to rise over the rest of the season.