Advertisement

Priority Pickups: Another week, another OKC wing. Anthony Morrow, you're up

Atlanta, Golden State and Indiana all have 2-game weeks upcoming, which means many of you will be looking for temporary assistance. Let's sweep the league for a five-pack of widely available replacement options...

[Join FanDuel.com's $2.5m Week 11 fantasy league: $25 to enter; top 21,840 teams paid]

SG/SF Anthony Morrow, OKC (32 percent owned)

OK, this will serve as last call on Morrow, a player we highlighted last week following his return to practice. Morrow dropped 28 points on the Celtics on Wednesday, going 11-for-16 from the field in 31 minutes with four 3s and five boards. These days, plenty of shots are available in OKC, and Morrow happens to be on the short list of Earth's best shooters. His career three-point percentage is 43.0, which is absurd (historically so). Westbrook and Durant are weeks away, so Morrow won't be starved for minutes. If you like points and threes (without sacrificing field goal percentage), this is your pickup.

[Yahoo Sports Fantasy Basketball: Still time to sign up!]

PG Zach LaVine, Min (13 percent owned)

Last week, Ricky Rubio suffered an ugly-looking ankle injury — seriously ugly — and he's expected to be sidelined for a protracted period of time

. We're talking weeks and months, not days. In Rubio's absence, Minnesota has turned to the 19-year-old LaVine to run with the starters. The hyper-athletic rookie played 34 minutes on Wednesday, shooting poorly (2-for-9, 0-for-2 on 3s) but delivering nine assists in a 113-101 loss, and not totally displeasing his coach:

“You got two 19-year-old guys you’re putting out there,” Saunders said. “Sometimes it takes a little time for them and for the team to get into the game.”

[...]

“I believe we’re seeing Zach grow up right before our eyes,” Saunders said.

Rubio is clearly an irreplaceable piece for the Wolves, a tip-of-the-spear player both offensively and defensively. Please keep in mind that LaVine is just a kid — his Yahoo headshot looks like an eighth-grade class photo. He'll be asked to serve as caretaker, pushing the offensive pace. Let's not expect loaded stat sheets just yet. But the minutes and assists should be there. LaVine gets a Friday-Saturday back-to-back (at NO, at Dal), then a three-game week at home (NY, SA, Sac).

K. J. McDaniels throws down (Photo by Mike McGinnis/Getty Images)
K. J. McDaniels throws down (Photo by Mike McGinnis/Getty Images)

SG/SF K.J. McDaniels, Phi (23 percent owned)

The good news is that McDaniels cracked the starting lineup for Philly on Thursday, unquestionably an exciting development for the fantasy community. The bad news is that he was just 2-for-6 from the field (all 3s), and his team lost by 53. Yup, fifty-three. Not a misprint. Within the context of a 53-point loss, maybe it's OK that the Sixers were -17 in McDaniels' minutes.

In any case, the 6-foot-6 Clemson rookie is seeing plenty of floor time — 25-28 minutes per night — he's knocking down 1.3 threes per game while piling up defensive goodies. McDaniels has five steals and a dozen blocked shots over his six November games; he averaged 1.1 steals and 2.8 blocks as a collegiate player last season. So if you're looking for a category specialist with three-point appeal, give McDaniels a test-drive. At the very least, you'll enjoy the highlights.

PF/C Chris Kaman, Por (14 percent owned)

Yeah, sure, fine ... no one really gets fired up to add Kaman, particularly when he's seeing less than 20 minutes per game. But it's awfully tough to argue with Kaman's recent production. Over Portland's last five games, he's averaging 12.0 points, 7.0 boards, 2.0 blocks and just 1.6 turnovers. Those numbers will play in most leagues, and he has a four-game week on deck. Feel free to drop him at the first sign of trouble/injury.

SG Ben McLemore, Sac (25 percent owned)

No one's going to promise that McLemore's shooting percentages will remain at their current levels (45.6 from the floor, 43.6 from the arc), but the second-year guard has scored double-digits in five straight, draining 14 threes during that stretch. McLemore is starting, averaging 29.7 minutes per game, and ... well, not much else. You can't expect much in the way of assists, boards, steals or blocks. But if you're looking for scoring and threes — and if Morrow is long gone — then McLemore can help.