After Sunday’s Christmas Day showcase, the NBA begins Week 11, which is a full week of action to end 2022. It’s a busy week of games that’s fairly balanced day-to-day with at least six games every night, while Tuesday’s Round of 10 schedule is the only day that reaches double-digit games. There are nine games on New Year’s Saturday with three games on New Year’s Day to wrap up the week.
With the games a little more spread out, only the Portland Trail Blazers have a light week of only two games, while every other NBA team plays three or four times. Be sure to take a look at both quality and quantity of matches, especially if you’re looking for players to make an instant short-term impact.
In this weekly feature throughout the season, you can find some of the hottest players, Deep League additions to consider, and a closer look at four dormant mics. The dormant targets listed below are not entirely common, but they are emerging as options with a lot of potential. The top fashion players are good mics to consider if available, but quickly disappear from the waiver wires. The deep league options at the bottom of the post can be useful if the upper options and the four dormant mics have already been picked up.
Things change quickly day by day throughout the season, so follow me on my Twitter account @ZT_sports if you’re looking for single-game streaming options, as well as cheap day-to-day DFS games.
Top Trending Players
- PG Cole Anthony, Orleanso Magic
- PG/SG Killian Hayes, Detroit Pistons
- SG/SF Bogdan Bogdanovic, Atlanta Hawks
- SG/SF Luguentz Dort, Oklahoma City Thunder
- SG/SF Lonnie Walker IV, Los Angeles Lakers
- SF/PF Brandon Clarke, Memphis Grizzlies
- SF/PF Miles Bridges, Charlotte Hornets
- SF/PF Trey Murphy III, New Orleans Pelicans
- PF/C Walker Kessler, Utah Jazz
- PF/C Jalen Duren, Detroit Pistons
- C Thomas Bryant, Los Angeles Lakers
SG/SF Norman Powell, Los Angeles Clippers (at DET, at TOR, at BOS, at IND)
Powell was sidelined for 10 games with a groin injury and as a result his ownership percentage fell well below 50%. Powell came back and showed no signs of rust, scoring a total of 35 points in 42 minutes in his first two games.
Dating back to before his absence, Powell has scored double-digit points in nine straight games, averaging 20.4 points, 3.3 boards and 2.0 assists in 25.3 minutes per game. He’s had multiple three-pointers in seven of his last eight games and usually shoots a high percentage from the field and the line.
Powell is the Clippers’ instant attacking option off the bench and takes on more work if stars like Kawhi Leonard or Paul George are sidelined. The Clippers start the week with a back-to-back on the road in Detroit and Toronto before finishing with road games in Boston and Indiana in good scoring environments. With back-to-back, there might also be extra work available. If someone in your league has dropped Stormin’ Norman, he’s a great way to score goals for the week ahead.
PF Jeremy Sochan, San Antonio Spurs (against UTA, at OKC, against NY, against DAL)
Spurs are also heading for a great four-game week this week which starts with a back-to-back game on Monday and Tuesday. As they continue to struggle at the bottom of the NBA in terms of overall record as key draw player Victor Wembanyama, they look set to give Sochan all the playing time he can manage. The team used a top-10 pick on Sochan last year, and it makes sense they’re trying to see what they have in the 19-year-old former Baylor Bear for the rest of the season.
Sochan has scored double-digit points in three straight games, including a career-high 23 points in his best game of the season Thursday against the Pelicans. He added nine rebounds and six assists in that game while helping replace Keldon Johnson, who was sidelined with back pain.
Even with Johnson back on Friday, Sochan did it again and this time had 13 points, nine rebounds, two blocked shots and four assists. The youngster should continue to have chances if he plays this well, and he has very favorable clashes in his three games this week. He’s available in over 85% of leagues coming Sunday, but he’s worth a look if he can stay in his expanded role
C James Wiseman, Golden State Warriors (against CHA, against UTA, against POR)
This is much more of a long-term recovery than Powell, but Wiseman has a high long-term cap. The No. 2 overall pick in the 2020 NBA Draft has struggled with injuries and been very limited, but he’s made his way back and looks set to earn a bigger role.
In Wednesday’s nasty 30-point loss to the Nets, Wiseman played 28 minutes and had a career-high 30 points with six rebounds, two assists and one blocked shot. He shot an impressive 12 of 14 from the field and even added a three-pointer. Wiseman’s big game was his second straight game with over 20 minutes and came as Golden State was without Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson, Donte DiVincenzo and Andrew Wiggins. He probably won’t get as many uses and opportunities, but it’s still a huge step up for the big man who is only 21 years old.
The Warriors worked to develop Wiseman behind the scenes, and he spent a lot of time in the G League. It could be just a one-game blow, or it could be Golden State’s start giving it a longer look. It has an incredibly high ceiling, so if you can hide it, it makes sense as an add-on and view option.
PG/SG Emmanuel Quickley, New York Knicks, (at DAL, at SAS, at HOU)
As usual at this stage of the season, there aren’t a ton of great playmaking options available that contribute assists or steals. Quickley has been playing well for the Knicks lately, though, and that makes sense as the Knicks head to Texas this week.
Quickley started Wednesday with 20 points, but stayed hot coming off the bench Friday with 15 points, three assists and three rebounds in just 21 minutes. He has more than 15 points in three straight games and has the potential for more if he plays more than 30 minutes like he did on Wednesday.
While his unscored numbers aren’t ideal, he can rack up enough points to be held in many leagues, as opposed to the under 25% leagues he belongs in. It also showed enough potential to be an awesome pickup if inserted into the lineup at any time.
Other options to consider
- PG Dennis Schroder, Los Angeles Lakers
- PG/SG Andrew Nembhard, Indiana Pacers
- PG/SG Ty Jerome, Golden State Warriors
- SG Landry Shamet, Phoenix Suns
- SG Malik Monk, Sacramento Kings
- SG/SF Quentin Grimes, New York Knicks
- SG/SF Austin Reaves, Los Angeles Lakers
- SG/SF Victor Oladipo, miami heat
- SG/SF AJ Griffin, Atlanta Hawks
- SG/SF Austin Rivers, Minnesota Wolves
- SF/PF Torey Craig, Phoneix Suns
- SF/PF Georges Niang, Philadelphia 76ers
- PF/C Moritz Wagner, Orlando Magic
- PF/C Santi Aldama, Memphis Grizzlies
- PF/C Jalen Smith, Indiana Pacers
- PF/C Wenyen Gabriel, Los Angeles Lakers
- C Naz Reid, Minnesota Timberwolves
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I’m a promoter at DraftKings and I’m also an avid fan and user (my username is Z.Thompson) and may occasionally play on my personal account in the games I offer advice on. Although I have expressed my personal views on the games and strategies above, they do not necessarily reflect the views of DraftKings and are not a representation that any particular strategy will guarantee success. All customers should use their own skill and judgment to create queues. I can also deploy different players and strategies than those I recommend above. I am not an employee of DraftKings and do not have access to any non-public information.