Basketball Pickups: Kelly Olynyk torments Detroit

By Raphielle Johnson

While it certainly wasn’t the biggest game of the eight on Thursday’s NBA schedule, the matchup between the Jazz and Pistons garnered plenty of attention. Detroit entered the game having lost 24 straight, and in the eyes of many, the Jazz represented the Pistons’ best chance to end that run before the calendar flips to 2024. On the other hand, Utah was worthy of attention for fantasy reasons. With Lauri Markkanen and Talen Horton-Tucker joining the team’s lengthy list of absentees, someone was bound to provide solid streaming value.

Enter Kelly Olynyk (24%, Yahoo), who was back in the starting lineup after coming off the bench in Utah’s two games prior. Since scoring 13 points in a December 8 loss, he had scored 27 points in six games, so he may not have been the most appealing pickup ahead of Thursday’s game. Managers who took the plunge were rewarded for their faith, as Olynyk finished Utah’s win over Detroit with 27 points, three rebounds, six assists, four steals, and three 3-pointers in 35 minutes.

Olynyk’s six-game run before Thursday certainly wasn’t good, but he’s still providing 11th-round per-game value in 9-cat formats. Also coming up big for the Jazz in Detroit was Kris Dunn (3%), who dished out 10 assists while only committing one turnover. The former lottery pick was also responsible for 13 points, five rebounds, two steals, and one blocked shot, putting forth an effort that may make him worthy of consideration in deep leagues if Horton-Tucker isn’t cleared to play in Saturday’s game at Toronto.

Let’s take a look at a few other top pickups from Thursday:

Aaron Nesmith (20%)

Despite coming off the bench, Nesmith remains a more valuable fantasy player than the man he’s backing up, Obi Toppin. Known for his perimeter shooting ability when he entered the league, Nesmith has improved substantially on the defensive end of the floor. He finished Thursday’s loss to the Grizzlies with 14 points, five rebounds, four steals, three blocks, and four 3-pointers in 28 minutes. Now a top 100 player in 9-cat formats, Nesmith is averaging nearly 25 minutes per game, which is enough for him to have an impact in category leagues.

Rui Hachimura (13%)

With LeBron James (ankle) sitting out Thursday’s game against the Timberwolves, Hachimura was able to make his third start of the season. He was productive, finishing the defeat with 18 points, four rebounds, one steal, and two 3-pointers in 34 minutes. Of course, you’d like to see more production in the rebound category, but that’s easier said than done when dealing with Rudy Gobert and Karl-Anthony Towns on the other side.

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Moritz Wagner (13%)

The second game that Orlando has played since starting center Wendell Carter Jr. returned from a broken finger was also the second of a back-to-back, as the Magic were in Milwaukee on Thursday. After playing all three of his centers in Wednesday’s loss to the Heat, Magic coach Jamahl Mosley returned to two, with Wagner backing up Carter and Goga Bitadze picking up a DNP-CD.

Wagner was effective in the loss to the Bucks, playing 27 minutes and finishing with 21 points, eight rebounds, two assists, one steal, one block, and one 3-pointer. Congrats to the managers who decided to hold onto Wagner, especially with Carter needing to get his conditioning up after missing some six weeks of game action. Eventually, WCJ will get back to playing starters’ minutes, which would limit the fantasy values of Wagner and Bitadze.

Andre Drummond (11%)

Fantasy managers banking on the improved Bulls beating the Spurs by a comfortable margin may have added Drummond before the game. If so, good call. The Bulls won by 19, blowing the game open in the fourth quarter, and Drummond only needed 19 minutes off the bench to do his damage. The veteran center finished with 12 points, eight rebounds, one assist, five steals, and two blocks, shooting 5-of-10 from the field and 2-of-3 from the foul line. With starting center Nikola Vucevic averaging 34.0 minutes per game, it’s difficult for Drummond to get the run he needs to impact fantasy basketball. But the matchup worked out in his favor on Thursday.

Dean Wade (4%)

There aren’t many teams as banged up as the Cavaliers are currently. Darius Garland and Evan Mobley are out for an extended period, and Donovan Mitchell missed the last two games due to illness. Wade, who has been starting for Mobley, knocked down six 3-pointers and recorded a line of 20 points, nine rebounds, and two blocks in 26 minutes. Wade hasn’t been an impactful option for most of his season, but he’s hit double figures in three of his last four games. Depending on what happens with Mitchell and Sam Merrill, who tried to play through a sore wrist on Thursday but couldn’t, Wade could be worth a roll of the dice for Saturday’s game against the Bulls.