Basketball Pickups: Forever and Ever, Amen (Thompson)

by Zak Hanshew, Rotoworld

Cam Whitmore (35% rostered)
Whitmore finished Sunday’s loss to Minnesota with 14 points, two rebounds, an assist, a steal and three triples across 19 minutes. In five games leading up to this one, Whitmore averaged 21.0 points, 6.4 boards and 3.0 triples across 21.6 minutes, scoring at least 17 in each of them. His 17-point scoring streak was snapped, but it wasn’t for lack of trying. Whitmore attempted 13 shots, which was the third-highest total on the team behind Jalen Green’s 15 and Alperen Sengun’s 14. He connected on only four of them, but he was still able to stroke three triples for the fifth time in his last six games. We’d still love to see more playing time from the rookie, but he’s still been quite productive in limited minutes over the last two weeks. Whitmore is worth a look off the waiver wire.

Amen Thompson (24% rostered)
Thompson posted eight points, seven rebounds, two assists and a steal across 20 minutes Sunday in a 111-90 loss to Minnesota.In 11 games before Sunday’s performance, Thompson averaged 9.3 points, 6.3 rebounds, 2.7 assists, 1.5 steals and 0.7 blocks while shooting 58% from the floor and 80% from the charity stripe. Thompson logged just 19 minutes per tilt in that span, but much like Cam Whitmore, the fellow rookie hasn’t needed big minutes to post fantasy-relevant numbers. Thompson is ranked just inside the top 130 in per-game fantasy value, so he’s not a must-roster option in 12-team leagues just yet. He’s trending in that direction, and he should be added off of the waiver wire by fantasy managers with the available roster space. He went off for 19/7/4/2/1 on Friday vs. Toronto in a career-best performance, and though he couldn’t replicate those numbers Sunday, he’s still flashed his monster upside.

Scoot Henderson (54% rostered)
Fresh off his second 30-point game of the season Friday against Denver, Henderson delivered a 14/8/9 line on Sunday. He’s crept into the top 120 over the past two weeks and is ranked inside the top 40 over the last week. Henderson will still struggle with consistency, efficiency and turnovers, as evidenced by Sunday’s 3-of-16 shooting performance, but he’s shown tremendous improvements as the season’s progressed. If that wasn’t enough to convince you to add him, his sport goggles make him one of the sharpest-looking guys on the court every night.

Nick Richards (52% rostered)
He provided 12 points, 10 rebounds and two assists in Sunday’s loss to Indiana. Naughty Nicky has averaged 14.0 points, 9.2 rebounds and 2.0 blocks across his last six games in 30.5 minutes, and though his streak of games with a block was snapped at seven, he’s still proven to be an excellent shot-blocker who offers quality rebounds and FG% to boot. Mark Williams isn’t walking through the door.

Jacob Gilyard (4% rostered)
Gilyard finished Sunday’s loss with 13 points, six assists, two rebounds, two steals and three triples across 36 minutes after posting a 16/2/5/2/1 line (including five three-pointers) in Friday’s loss to the Warriors. Memphis’ lineup is a surprise each and every night based on who’s included in the seemingly never-ending injury report. Gilyard is worth a look if you need dimes, steals and triples.

Gary Trent Jr. (39% rostered)
After a rough start to the season, GTJ is back on the map, and he’s still available in 61% of fantasy leagues. He’s ranked inside the top 75 over the last week behind averages of 17.3 points, 5.0 rebounds, 1.7 steals and 4.0 triples. It was encouraging to see him stick with the first unit over Bruce Brown on Sunday even with both Immanuel Quickley and RJ Barrett back in action.

Keyonte George (17% rostered)
He finished Sunday’s win over Milwaukee with 19 points, 10 rebounds, two assists and five triples across 25 minutes. George was monstrous in this one, delivering a big double-double and staying on the court late in the come-from-behind victory. Milwaukee led 95-83 heading into the fourth quarter, but Utah blitzed the Bucks with a 40-13 fourth quarter to turn a double-digit deficit into a double-digit victory. George, Walker Kessler (13 points, eight rebounds, three blocks), Kelly Olynyk (8/7/6) and Lauri Markkanen (21 points) led the charge late, hitting big shots and grabbing key rebounds to put the Bucks away. Over his last four, George has averaged 16.5 points, 4.9 rebounds, 2.3 assists and 2.5 triples, making him worth adding off of the waiver wire.