Every week, Adam Ronis drops by with his fantasy basketball waiver wire guide and trends to watch, walking you through how to attack the week ahead for fantasy hoops.

It’s an odd schedule this week with every team playing Monday and all teams off on Tuesday due to Election Day. All teams play four games except Brooklyn, New Orleans, Utah, and Washington, which all play three. 

Replacements will be needed with several big-name players getting injured this past week. Paolo Banchero was off to a great start and will miss at least four weeks with an oblique strain. Jamal Murray is in the concussion protocol, CJ McCollum has a right adductor strain and will miss two to three weeks, and Desmond Bane has an oblique strain.

Fantasy Basketball Waiver Wire Adds This Week

Guards To Add in Fantasy Basketball This Week

Payton Pritchard (Boston Celtics)

Pritchard is playing more minutes than expected, averaging close to 28 minutes per game. Kristaps Porzingis remains out and Jaylen Brown missed his second game Monday. He is averaging 16.0 points, three rebounds, 2.8 assists, and 4.1 three-pointers per game. The Celtics are averaging 123.6 points per game.

Scottie Pippen Jr. (Memphis Grizzlies)

Pippen has played well and has an increased role with Desmond Bane and Marcus Smart out. Pippen has three double-doubles in seven games. He has played 27, 29, and 31 minutes the last three games and is coming off a 14-point, four-rebound, three-assist game with two threes. For the season, he is averaging 11.4 points, 6.8 assists, 3.2 rebounds, 1.1 steals and one three-pointer.

Jose Alvarado (New Orleans Pelicans)

The Pelicans have been decimated by injuries. CJ McCollum, Dejounte Murray, Trey Murphy, and Herb Jones are all out. Alvarado has stepped into the starting lineup and can help in deeper leagues. In the three games Alvarado has started, he is averaging 12.3 points, six assists, 4.7 rebounds, 2.3 three-pointers, and 1.3 steals. The shooting percentage will be an issue at 37.8% from the field. He started his fourth game of the year on Monday and was inefficient again, going 4 for 14 from the field, though he did go 7 for 7 at the FT line.

Forwards To Add in Fantasy Basketball This Week

Bilal Coulibaly (Washington Wizards)

Another mention of Coulibaly after another good week. He’s taking advantage of Kyle Kuzma being out. Coulibaly has scored at least 22 points in three of the last five games and has taken a big leap offensively compared to his rookie season. While the 55.2% shooting from the field and 44.0% from three-point range won’t last, he’s helping in multiple categories. He is averaging 17.7 points, 5.8 rebounds, 2.5 assists, two three-pointers, and one steal per game.

Santi Aldama (Memphis Grizzlies)

With Desmond Bane out, Aldama has been starting and contributing. He has played 33, 35, and 31 minutes in the last three games. Aldama has two double-doubles in the last five games. As a starter, Aldama is averaging 13.0 points, 8.5 rebounds, 3.8 assists, 1.2 three-pointers, and 0.7 blocks and shooting 44.9% from the field.

Tari Eason (Houston Rockets)

It all comes down to minutes for Eason. It’s clear he’s a good fantasy player when he’s on the court. The Rockets are deep and Eason has been coming off the bench. Eason had his best game on Saturday against the Warriors, playing 35 minutes in an overtime game, and had 27 points, nine rebounds, four steals, and three blocks. In 20.5 minutes per game, he is averaging 11.5 points, 4.5 rebounds, 2.2 steals, 1.5 assists, 1.2 three-pointers and one block. 

Centers To Add in Fantasy Basketball This Week

Alex Sarr (Washington Wizards)

Sarr is still raw offensively and averaging 24.8 minutes per game. He’s more appealing to those in need of blocks. He is averaging 2.5 blocks per game and has four shots in two of his last three games. While the second-overall pick isn’t shooting well from the field, he is averaging 1.2 three-pointers per game and has at least five rebounds in all five games.

Mo Wagner (Orlando Magic)

Wagner might only help for a short period. Wendell Carter Jr. left Saturday’s game with a plantar fascia strain and Wagner will likely get the start in his place. Wagner played 28 minutes on Friday and had 14 points, five rebounds and two steals.

Players To Drop In Fantasy Basketball This Week

• Gary Trent Jr. (Milwaukee Bucks)
• Stephon Castle (San Antonio Spurs)
• Mike Conley (Minnesota Timberwolves)

Fantasy Basketball Trends To Watch Entering Week 3

RJ Barret is breaking out.

Barrett played better in Toronto last season after being traded from New York and he’s off to a great start. With Scottie Barnes and Immanuel Quickley out due to injuries, Barrett is running the show for the Raptors with a 34.1% usage rate. He is averaging 28.8 points, 5.8 rebounds, 7.3 assists, three three-pointers, and shooting 49.4% from the field. Consider playing his player props before they rise.

Jordan Poole looks … good?

Buying players off a down season on a discount is ideal and Jordan Poole is the latest example. He was mentioned as a preseason sleeper as part of our draft kit, so hopefully he’s on your team. Poole shot 41.3% from the field, 32.6% from three-point range, and averaged 17.4 points last season. In the first five games of the season, Poole is averaging 22.2 points, 5.4 assists, 2.8 steals, and 4.4 three-pointers, while shooting 46.2% from the field, including 51.2% from beyond the arc.

Cleveland’s new offense is a wagon.

Kenny Atkinson taking over as coach for the Cavaliers has been great for fantasy. Cleveland was near the bottom in pace last season and is playing faster. After averaging 110.8 points last season, which was 23rd in the NBA, the Cavaliers are second in the NBA behind the Celtics with an average of 123.1 points per game. Evan Mobley has benefitted the most and has favorable props for overs on most nights. Mobley is averaging only 29.6 minutes per game due to several blowouts. In more competitive games, Mobley will see more minutes.

Looking for even more NBA action this week? Check out our NBA Player Props Tool to find the best edges in your daily player prop betting, our Bet Tracker for our daily free NBA bets, as well as our NBA DFS projections for each main slate.