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Waiver review: Kleiza replacing Melo
I don't know if the third part of that is relevant this week, but the other two parts of that sure are. Take Linas Kleiza, for example. He's been a bench player for Denver for a couple years now ... but why? He's got all the tools. All he ever needed was a chance. And now he has it.
Same goes for Indiana's Stephen Graham. I've loved his game since college. There's no reason why he shouldn't be a bigger force in the league.
Well, each of them are starting now, and each of them are amongst the guys you should be looking at this week to fill out your rosters.
Top Waiver Wire Pickups
1. Linas Kleiza, SG, Denver
With Carmelo Anthony out of the lineup for a few weeks, the Nuggets have turned to Kleiza to fill the starting role. They've done so in the past too, and it's typically come with solid results. Maybe it's the defense why he can't stick in the rotation consistently. But this time George Karl has no choice. He's playing both Kleiza and J.R. Smith, who's also no coach's pet, and each of them are coming through in big ways. Kleiza led the team in scoring in the team's Wednesday game against Miami, pumping in 21 points while hitting four threes and grabbing seven boards. The game before that saw him go for 11 and four. You can expect him to keep putting up double-digits while Melo remains on the sidelines.
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| Von Wafer's addition to the Rockets lineup has benefitted many fantasy owners already. (Scott Cunningham / Getty Images) |
2. Von Wafer, G, Houston
The guy who committed to my Charlotte 49ers out of high school, only to eventually shun us at the last minute for Florida State, has now found a home with the Rockets. In his last four games, he's outperformed Rafer Alston and Aaron Brooks to put up 61 points (15.3), 11 threes and five steals. They took down the Celtics in Boston on Wednesday and Wafer was a big part of it. He'll continue to see good minutes for Houston for the foreseeable future, especially while Tracy McGrady is repeatedly on and off the injured list.
3. Mardy Collins, PG, Los Angeles Clippers
Never thought I'd be talking about Collins, I'll be honest with you. His game isn't very exciting, he's bounced around the league with no success and is stuck behind Baron Davis, Jason Hart and Mike Taylor at point guard in L.A. However, the perfect storm has occurred, placing all three of those other guys on the pine, with Collins stepping up and taking charge for the Clips. In his last two games, he's had a 17-point effort, a 12-assist outing, pulled down 12 boards and swiped five steals. That's quality production — the kind of production you can't ignore while you can snag it on the cheap.
4. Nick Collison, C, Oklahoma City
He missed six of the last seven games, but his return was as good as one could hope for. Against Minnesota on Wednesday, Collison scored 17 points and had 10 rebounds, while shooting 6-of-8 from the floor and 5-of-5 from the line. The Thunder needs all they can get from him, so you can expect to see him getting a lot of playing time.
5. Nedad Krstic, PF, Oklahoma City
Collison will get his time, sure. But so will the newly signed Krstic. He's been out of the NBA with a variety of health issues, but inked with the team earlier this week and made his debut to the tune of six points, five boards, two blocks and a steal in 15 minutes of action. If he keeps that up, you can best believe he'll be seeing more and more of the court in Oklahoma.
6. Earl Watson, PG, Oklahoma City
Yeah, weren't not done with the Thunder quite yet. If Watson isn't owned in your league and you need steals, he could likely be No. 1 on this list for you. I'll be honest — he doesn't do a hell of a lot else for you. However, he's collected at least six steals in seven of his last eight games, and that's important for many owners out there.
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| Be sure to take advantage of Stephen Graham's added playing time while you still have the chance. ( / Getty Images) |
7. Stephen Graham, G/F, Indiana
Graham has some nice skills and is a big (6-foot-6) guard who should be doing more at this point in his career. The Pacers are giving him that chance now. With Marquis Daniels out of the lineup for a while, Graham's been doing some good things. He had 13 points and seven boards in his most recent outing, while pumping in 16 with five rebounds the night before. He shot 12-for-22 (55 percent) in those two games and will keep playing while Mike Dunleavy adjusts to the court. Take advantage of him while you can.
8. Bobby Simmons, F, New Jersey
He's starting for the Nets right now, and they've been a good source of fantasy gold this season. In his last four games, Simmons has put up 51 points (12.8), 23 boards (5.8), made nine three (2.3) and ripped off five steals (1.3). Those are pretty solid numbers across the board for owners in deeper leagues. I know he's already been scooped up in both of my big ones, so feel free to snag away as well.
9. Louis Amundson, F/C, Phoenix
OK, I had to look his name up a couple times, I'll be honest. I remember seeing him a couple times with the 76ers, but he never did much. And he wasn't doing much of anything with Phoenix, either, until a couple games ago. That just happened to coincide with Shaquille O'Neal's trip to the injured list. Robin Lopez isn't ready to step in yet, so Amundson's been the guy, and he's been playing well. Ripping down 27 boards in three games is solid work for a relative nobody in fantasyland. Fourteen of them came in his last game, to go with nine points, a steal and a block. He might not be here long, though, so don't waste time. Get him in there now while he can still make a difference for you.
10. Flip Murray, G, Atlanta
I've wasted my time with Flip before, so I'm a little leary of him. However, he's averaged 15.5 points the last two games, hit three threes, gets a steal a night and can be a deecnt fill-in for short stretches. You'd have to be in a really deep league to keep him in there any longer than a couple days at a time, but it's better than a lot of other options out there.
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