March 4 Fantasy Basketball Takeaways: Top Rookies and Waiver Wire Options | Patrick Beverley, Ayo Dosunmu, Luguentz Dort, Duop Reath, Kris Murray and More

The NBA had just six games on Monday, but there were some extremely tight and exciting games.

Let’s discuss some of the top individual performances from waiver wire options and rookies.

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Waiver Wire Options

Let’s start things off by talking about Milwaukee Bucks’ Patrick Beverley. He got a start with Giannis Antetokounmpo and Khris Middleton out with injuries and played 34 minutes. Beverley finished with 12 points, nine rebounds, four steals, two assists and one block in the team’s comeback win over the Los Angeles Clippers.

Having Antetokounmpo and Middleton out of the lineup opened up some extra minutes, and Beverley stuffed the stat sheet well to stick on the court. It was Beverley’s second straight game in double figures.

Since joining the Bucks, Beverley has played in 10 games, averaging 18.4 minutes, 6.4 points, 3.5 rebounds, 2.5 assists, 0.9 steals and 0.4 blocks. He’s owned in just 6% of leagues, but showed he can be a decent streaming option in deeper leagues with some extended minutes. If Antetokounmpo and Middleton also miss the team’s next game, Beverley will certainly be added and played by a lot of fantasy owners.

Memphis Grizzlies’ Luke Kennard, rostered in 14% of leagues, finished with 25 points, seven assists and two rebounds across 27 minutes in the team’s win over the Brooklyn Nets. 

Kennard has missed a bunch of games lately, but made six triples on Monday to score his most points this season - Kennard hadn’t even gone over 20 points. The Grizzlies seem to have a different guy or two step up each game, and last night, it was Kennard’s turn. He’s a pretty solid deep league option when he’s playing, and could turn into a standard league option if he plays the rest of the season.

Chicago Bulls’ Ayo Dosunmu, rostered in 75% of leagues, totaled 20 points, five assists, two rebounds and one steal across 39 minutes in the team’s win over the Sacramento Kings. 

Dosunmu scored over 20 points for the third time in the past five games. He’s only failed to score in double figures once over the past 10 games. He typically fills the stat sheet a bit more, so I like the idea of adding him in any format if you need some extra help.

Portland Trail Blazers’ Dalano Banton, owned in just 4% of leagues, tallied 18 points, seven rebounds and four assists across 33 minutes in the team’s loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves.

Banton has gotten a decent amount of playing time over the past three or so weeks, and has now scored in double figures in six of the past nine contests. He’s averaging 11.1 points, 3.8 rebounds, 1.9 assists, 0.6 steals and 0.3 blocks across 18.7 minutes. While he’s not playing a ton, he’s still a usable fantasy asset in deep leagues, at least for the time being.

Oklahoma City Thunder’s Luguentz Dort, rostered in 39% of leagues, totaled 15 points, two rebounds and assists and one steal across 24 minutes during the team’s loss to the Los Angeles Lakers.

Dort is a streaky scorer, but has now scored in double figures in two straight games. He’s averaging 11.9 points, 3.1 rebounds, 1.1 steals, 0.9 assists and 0.6 blocks across 27.9 minutes. He’s getting enough minutes and scoring enough points to be a fantasy asset, but until he fills out the stat sheet better, I’d look elsewhere for my fantasy production, especially knowing he doesn’t always score in double figures.

Lakers’ Taurean Prince, owned in just 6% of leagues, accumulated 14 points, six rebounds and one assist and block across 22 minutes in the team’s win on Monday.

Prince made four triples in the contest, marking his first makes from deep in the past five games - he hadn’t scored in double figures since Feb. 22. Prince usually plays fairly well for stretches, so Monday could have been the start of one of those stretches. I’d personally look for a different option, but in deep leagues where the options are slim, Prince could work for a short time.

Memphis’ Jake LaRavia, rostered in 3% of leagues, tallied 14 points, 10 rebounds, three assists and two steals across 29 minutes on Monday.

LaRavia makes this article for the second straight day. He’s scored in double figures in three of the past five games, and also showed he can provide big rebound numbers on Monday. Until his playing time dips (which might not happen this season), LaRavia is a pretty solid option in deep leagues and dynasties.

John Konchar is another Memphis player who excelled on Monday. Konchar, owned in 9% of leagues, finished the game with nine points, eight rebounds, four assists and one steal across 31 minutes.

Konchar usually stuffs the stat sheet pretty well, and if he’s going to play that many minutes, he makes for a pretty solid fantasy asset in deeper leagues. I’d keep a close eye on him over the next couple games to see if his minutes remain high. If they do, then you can add/play him in deeper leagues until his minutes fall or his production drops off.

Top Rookies

A handful of rookies also turned in solid outings on Monday.

Portland’s Duop Reath was the top-scoring rookie, tallying 26 points on 10-of-14 shooting - he was 5-of-6 from 3-point land. He also had three rebounds and one assist, steal and block across 39 minutes played.

Portland was missing several players, which afforded Reath, who is owned in 21% of leagues, some extra playing time. If guys like Deandre Ayton, Malcolm Brogdon, Jerami Grant, Scoot Henderson and Matisse Thybulle continue to miss games, Reath will continue to get some extra run. He’s a streaming option in deeper leagues and dynasties until the team is closer to full health.

Kris Murray was another Trail Blazer who took advantage of all those guys being out. He started and played 35 minutes, tallying 14 points, five rebounds, two assists and one steal and block along the way.

Murray has turned in a couple solid games over the past few days, but until he can score a little more consistently, I’d look elsewhere for fantasy help. He’s owned in 4% of leagues right now. Murray is at least a streaming option in deep leagues and dynasties for the time being because he’s playing so many minutes.

Rayan Rupert also enjoyed some extra playing time for Portland. He logged 23 minutes, posting 13 points and six rebounds for his team.

Rupert, owned in 1% of leagues, hasn’t gotten much playing time this season, but has played in three straight. He’d be another streaming option in deeper leagues and dynasties if several of his teammates are inactive again.

Memphis rookie Trey Jemison, who is barely owned in any leagues, totaled 10 points, seven rebounds and one block across 19 minutes in the team’s win.

Jemison has turned in some solid efforts this season, but also doesn’t play every game. Without a set role, it makes it difficult to determine how to approach Jemison from a fantasy perspective. I’d personally wait until he’s got more of an established role before using a roster spot on him.