March 25 Fantasy Basketball Takeaways: Top Rookies and Waiver Wire Options | Jeremy Sochan, Dalano Banton, Jared Butler, Peyton Watson, Marcus Sasser and More
Taking a look at some of the top performances from waiver wire options across NBA games played March 25.
There were 11 NBA games played on Monday, March 25, so there’s plenty to discuss from a fantasy basketball perspective. Let’s dive into some of the top-performing waiver wire options and rookies.
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Waiver Wire Options
We’ll open things up by talking about San Antonio Spur’s Jeremy Sochan, who is owned in 64% of leagues. He made 10-of-19 shots to score 26 points, while also grabbing 18 rebounds and adding in an assist, steal and block across 36 minutes.
Sochan bounced back in a big way from a couple of down scoring games in a row. He continues to fill up the stat sheet every night, and remains a solid streaming option in all formats.
Portland Trail Blazers’ Dalano Banton, owned in 47% of leagues, totaled 28 points, 11 rebounds, five assists, two blocks and one steal across 39 minutes off the bench.
Banton has now scored in double figures in eight straight games, even though he’s come off the bench for five of those contests. He’s also averaging 4.9 rebounds, 3 assists, 1.3 steals and 0.8 blocks per game. That’s enough production to own him in all deeper leagues, and he’s not a bad streaming option in standard leagues for the time being.
Washington Wizards’ Corey Kispert, rostered in 40% of leagues, recorded 19 points, 12 rebounds, three assists and two steals across 39 minutes played.
Kispert scored in double figures for the fourth straight game. He usually doesn’t fill the stat sheet up this well, so that was a bonus. Until he can deliver similar statlines to Monday’s game on a somewhat regular basis, I’d only want to roster Kispert in deeper leagues.
Washington’s Jared Butler, rostered in 1% of leagues, had eight points, 13 assists, four rebounds and two steals and blocks across 27 minutes off the bench.
Butler has gotten some extended minutes over the past couple weeks, and while he isn’t scoring a ton, he’s filling up the stat sheet pretty well. He’s a solid streaming option in deeper leagues for now.
Washington’s Richaun Holmes, rostered in 22% of leagues, went for 14 points, 15 rebounds, two assists and one steal and block across 31 minutes.
Holmes has started seven straight games for the Wizards, averaging 10.9 points, 10.4 rebounds, 1 assist and block and 0.6 steals across 27.9 minutes. That’s enough production to utilize him in deeper leagues for the time being.
Atlanta Hawks’ De'Andre Hunter, owned in 59% of leagues, recorded 24 points, seven rebounds and three assists across 34 minutes in a huge comeback win.
He’s had some inconsistent showings of late, but remains a pretty solid streaming option in all formats with Trae Young still out. He’s starting games now and gets plenty of minutes even if he’s coming off the bench.
Denver Nuggets’ Peyton Watson, rostered in 4% of leagues, accumulated 10 points, nine rebounds, three blocks, two assists and one steal across 22 minutes off the bench.
Watson typically only plays 12-16 minutes per game, but got some extra run in a lopsided win. He’d be tough to trust as a fantasy asset outside really deep leagues, but could be streamed if the team were ever missing a key rotation player or two.
Memphis Grizzlies’ Santi Aldama, owned in 62% of leagues, finished the night with five points, nine rebounds, four blocks, three assists and one steal across 31 minutes.
His point total won’t inspire you, but he still produced a really strong fantasy outing with all his other stats. It shows that Aldama is a solid streaming option in all formats, even without many points.
Houston Rockets’ Jock Landale, owned in 22% of leagues, had 17 points, nine rebounds, two assists and one block across 32 minutes.
Landale continues to be a pretty solid and consistent fantasy asset in deeper leagues with Alperen Sengun out of action. I’d keep utilizing him until Sengun is back in action.
New York Knicks’ Precious Achiuwa, rostered in 33% of leagues, tallied nine points, 16 rebounds and one assist, steal and block across 26 minutes off the bench.
Achiuwa played just seven minutes in the previous game, so Monday was a nice bounceback effort from him. When he’s playing that many minutes, he’s a solid streaming option in deeper leagues.
Top Rookies
Detroit’s Marcus Sasser, owned in 9% of leagues, contributed 24 points, six assists and one rebound and steal across 35 minutes on Monday.
Sasser started for the second straight game, and if he can heat up from the floor, he can be a useful fantasy asset in deeper leagues and dynasties. He’s struggled to score over the past several weeks, so I’d wait to see another game or two of similar production before adding him.
Houston’s Amen Thompson, rostered in 72% of leagues, totaled 12 points, nine rebounds, two assists and one steal and block across 28 minutes.
Thompson only scored four points in the team’s previous game, so this was a good sign from the rookie. He continues to fill up the stat sheet well every night, which should have him owned in all deeper leagues/dynasties and on the radar as a streaming option in standard leagues.
Indiana Pacers’ Jarace Walker, owned in just 2% of leagues, recorded eight points, seven assists, four rebounds and one steal across 29 minutes off the bench on Monday.
Walker got some extra playing time with a couple teammates inactive, showing Walker could be a streaming option in the future if more teammates miss time. I’d like to see a few more productive games before adding Walker though.
Toronto Raptors’ Javon Freeman-Liberty, owned in barely any leagues, ended the night with 15 points, four rebounds, two assists and one steal across 29 minutes.
Freeman-Liberty started for the second time in the past four games - he played at least 20 minutes in all those contests. His scoring has been a bit inconsistent, so I’m not ready to add him quite yet, but he’s someone to keep an eye on because he’s playing a healthy amount of minutes.
Portland’s Toumani Camara, owned in 7% of leagues, finished with 12 points, five rebounds and two steals and blocks across 35 minutes played.
Camara has now scored in double figures in three straight games, and filled the stat sheet pretty well each night. He’s a decent streaming option in deeper leagues or dynasties until his playing time drops off.
Memphis’ GG Jackson II, rostered in 58% of leagues, recorded 15 points, three rebounds, two assists and one steal across 30 minutes.
Jackson’s scoring has dipped a bit the past two games, but he’s still been in double figures in eight straight contests. He’s averaging 22.5 points, 4.9 rebounds, 2 assists, 0.5 steals and 0.4 blocks over that span. He remains a solid streaming option in all leagues, even after fading a bit the past couple games.
Denver’s Julian Strawther, rostered in 2% of leagues, accumulated 14 points, two rebounds and one assist over 22 minutes off the bench.
Strawther got some extra playing time with Aaron Gordon and Jamal Murray out of action. Strawther won’t be a fantasy asset if the team is at full strength, but he could be a streaming option if a couple of his teammates are out of action.