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The Playlist: Week 9 waiver wire pickups and previewing a star-studded Christmas slate

dan titus
Fantasy analyst
·8 min read

Welcome to The Christmas Playlist! That's right. Christmas for fantasy basketball is coming early, and I'll let you know who and what to play in your lineup and when it comes to music for the upcoming week.

Before we jump in, I want to wish everyone a safe and happy holiday! Now, press play and shuffle through the latest fantasy basketball info and my favorite Christmas songs.

Who should fantasy basketball managers be adding and plugging into their lineups this week?
Who should fantasy basketball managers be adding and plugging into their lineups this week?

🏀 Week 8 wrap up

  • Victor Wembanyama became the sixth player in NBA history with a 30-point, 10-block performance on Saturday night. He also notched 70-plus fantasy points for the fifth time this season.

  • Jayson Tatum dropped a 43/15/10 triple-double with nine 3s against the Bulls on Saturday. He became the fifth player in NBA history to record 40+ points, 15+ rebounds, 10+ assists and 5+ 3s in a game.

  • Kawhi Leonard has practiced in full, is traveling with the team and could return on Friday against the Warriors.

🥇Top players for Week 8

  • Points leagues: Domantas Sabonis (152.4 fantasy points)

  • 9-category leagues: Victor Wembanyama

🎧 Who's in My Rotation: Waiver Pickups

Players who should be rostered in all leagues under 50%:

Gradey Dick, Bilal Coulibaly, Alex Sarr, Ayo Dosunmu, De'Andre Hunter, Yves Missi, Goga Bitadze.

Players who added this week under 40%:

Royce O’Neale- SF/PF, Phoenix Suns (23% rostered)

Devin Booker and Grayson Allen are hurt, giving O’Neale more breathing room for playing time. He’s been an effective fantasy player whenever one of the Suns’ big three has been injured. He's started seven of his last eight games for Phoenix. O’Neale ranks 92nd in 9-cat leagues and, as a starter, is posting a solid 15-5-3 with almost four triples per game. Add him for the Suns’ four week.

Jaden McDaniels - SG/SF, Minnesota Timberwolves (26% rostered)

He’s up three percent from when I recommended him last week, so get working y'all. I’ve already outlined that I like the Wolves' schedule, playing four games with two falling on Wednesday and Sunday. Jaden McDaniels has been a top-60 player in 9-cat leagues over the past two weeks and offers fantasy managers a blend of points, rebounds and stocks. If he’s unavailable, look for Nickeil-Alexander Walker (6%) to also be in for some run in Week 9.

Ben Simmons - PG/C, Brooklyn Nets (31% rostered)

The oft-injured Simmons is averaging 12.3 points, 5.0 rebounds, 8.3 assists and 1.3 steals in his last three games without Dennis Schröder in BK. There’s always a risk with Benny, but currently, he’s playing well enough to be rostered in points and 12+ team leagues. He’s also playing 31 minutes per game over that span, and with the Nets in sell mode, this could be a nice opportunity for all parties involved to take advantage of Simmons being healthy and playing well enough to be rostered in fantasy.

Larry Nance Jr. - C, Atlanta Hawks (12% rostered)

Nance has traditionally been a productive fantasy player when playing at least 20 minutes and that’s been the case over the past two games sans Onyeka Okongwu (knee). The veteran center stuffed the box score late last week, averaging 14 points, 11.5 rebounds and 3.0 assists with three stocks. Okongwu will likely miss at least two additional games this week and the Hawks have a Saturday/Sunday back-to-back that could force him to miss at least one of those games. Nance is a guy who will have more value towards the back end of the week.

  • Buddy Hield, Miles McBride, Spencer Dinwiddie and Julian Champagnie

  • Obi Toppin, Andrew Nembhard, TJ McConnell, Cason Wallace, Dru Smith, Tari Eason and Jake LaRavia. If Ja Morant gets nicked up again, then add Scotty Pippen Jr.

🗓️ Schedule Highlights

Kicking the week off with a 14-game slate on Monday is far from ideal. You’ll have to make some start/sit decisions with 28 teams on tap. There are no games on Tuesday because of Christmas Eve. The best streaming opportunities will come on Christmas Day (Wednesday) and Sunday.

Here’s the list of the total number of games played this week:

  • Daily schedule: Monday (14), Tuesday (0), Wednesday (5), Thursday (9), Friday (8), Saturday (9) and Sunday (6)

Teams I’d avoid streaming players from the Cavs, Clippers, Kings and Pelicans because they all play two games and they’re not on the preferred streamable days of Wednesday and Sunday. Also, there aren’t many streamable assets from the Cavs, Clippers and Nuggets right now anyway.

Here’s the rest of the team's number of games played:

  • 16 teams play four games: Celtics, Grizzlies, Hawks, Heat, Knicks, Magic, Mavericks, Nets, Nuggets, Pacers, Rockets, Spurs, Suns, Thunder, Timberwolves and Warriors

  • 10 teams play three games: 76ers, Blazers, Bulls, Bucks, Hornets, Jazz, Lakers, Pistons, Raptors and Wizards

Of the four-team game teams, the Celtics, Nets, Spurs and Timberwolves play on both Wednesday and Sunday, with two additional games in the week. The back-to-back schedule can be found below:

  • Thursday/Friday: Grizzlies, Magic, Nets, Pacers, Pelicans and Rockets

  • Friday/Saturday: Knicks, Mavericks, Nuggets, Suns and Warriors

  • Saturday/Sunday: Hawks, Heat and Thunder

🚑 Injury news

Notable Week 8 injuries include:

  • Magic C Mo Wagner (knee) is out for the season

  • Grizzlies G Ja Morant missed Saturday's contest with a back injury

  • Suns G Devin Booker will miss at least two games with a groin injury

  • Mavs G Luka Dončić missed the past two contests with a heel contusion, but he is questionable ahead of Monday’s matchup versus Portland

  • Damian Lillard missed the past two games with a calf injury

Latest injury reporting for all NBA teams

NBA Injury Report - Monday, December 23

🧑🏿‍🎄 Christmas Day slate

This will be the Spurs' second stop on their four-game road trip. These two teams have never played on Christmas Day.

One reason to watch: We need to see Victor Wembanyama redeem himself in the Mecca. In his first and only appearance in Madison Square Garden, Wemby scored 14 points (4-14 FG, 6-6 FT) with 9 rebounds, 2 assists and a block. I expect he’ll be much improved after putting up his best numbers of the season in December.

A rematch of the Western Conference Finals is second on the Christmas menu. These teams also haven’t played on Christmas and hopefully, we’ll see Luka Dončić back for this fun matchup.

One reason to watch: Kyrie Irving rarely disappoints on Christmas, averaging 27 points, 5.5 boards, 5.0 assists, 1.8 steals and 3.0 3s in six games. Also, the 14-13 Wolves have lost two straight since Anthony Edwards' brutally honest critique of the Wolves offense. Ant-Man’s Christmas debut is a gift, although the NFL had to hate scheduling the Ravens and Texans during the start of this contest.

It's a classic Atlantic division rivalry where we’ll actually have a chance to see a healthy Sixers squad take on the defending champions in Boston. No one needs a signature win or statement game more than the Sixers.

One reason to watch: While it could have entertaining moments, Boston is by far the better team. Jrue Holiday hasn’t played to his standard, and I’ve seen him on several 12-team waiver wires. Maybe a nice game against his former team can get him back on track. I expect J’s to go off as the Sixers still find their footing.

Who knows how many times we’ll see LeBron James and Stephen Curry play against each other on Christmas. Cherish it — even though both teams are having a bit of an identity crisis.

One reason to watch: LeBron versus Steph is always a must-see TV. Depending on the outcome of the Spurs/Knicks and this game, the Lakers could become the league's winningest team on December 25 with a victory.

We’ll see if Devin Booker can gut it out, but plenty of notable players are still suiting up for the nightcap. Kevin Durant is averaging 28.6 points, 7.5 rebounds and 4.8 assists in 11 games on December 25. Nikola Jokić dropped a 41/15/15 triple-double on the Suns the last time they faced each other two years ago on Christmas Day.

One reason to watch: I'll take the over on Jokić putting up another triple-double on the Suns because they have no answer for him. Hopefully, Booker can play because a short-handed Suns team will have their hands full. Not for nothing, Russell Westbrook has two triple-doubles on Christmas and is averaging 23/8/8 for his career on December 25.