NBA Waiver Wire: First Impressions

Two days in to the 2015-16 NBA season, and what have we learned?

• Kristaps Porzingis is a man-god who will re-write the rules of basketball, and of life.

• The transition to small-ball will not be easy for the Pacers.

• Andre Drummond is a monster.

• So is DeMarcus Cousins.

• Enes Kanter helps OKC's offense almost as much as he helps the opposition's.

• The Pelicans have about as many healthy bodies as the average episode of "The Walking Dead."

• And Kobe Bryant will not go gently into his good night.

Phil Jackson's Grand Experiment

A two-game sample is far too small to draw any real conclusions about the new-look Knicks. That said, the approach Phil Jackson and Derek Fisher are taking with this team merits further examination.

In the offseason, Jackson added a ton of depth in the frontcourt, leading many to believe that New York would be a plodding halfcourt-oriented squad. But in their first two games, that really hasn't been the case. In fact, the Knicks have been playing two entirely different styles depending on the personnel on the floor.

Fisher is starting Jose Calderon and Sasha Vujacic in the backcourt, with Carmelo Anthony, Robin Lopez and Porzingis in the frontcourt. Vujacic is filling in for Arron Afflalo, who is sidelined with a hamstring problem. That's a curious choice, as it leaves New York with a scandalously slow guard tandem to open games; either rookie Jerian Grant or second-year pro Langston Galloway would seem to be better options. Instead, he's kept that tandem intact as the keys to a second unit features Derrick Williams and Kyle O'Quinn in the frontcourt, and which has been playing at a much quicker pace.

Against the Bucks -- who, in fairness, were scandalously short-handed opening night -- that second unit ran the opposition off the floor and keyed a big win. Against the Hawks, who crushed the Knicks, that second unit closed a massive gap and made the game interesting for a little while.

The effectiveness of the bench is shown in Fisher's substitution pattern. Through two games, Fisher has played all-bench groups for a total of 29 minutes -- more than 30 percent of the time.

I'm generally disinclined to play rookies in fantasy leagues (more on that in a moment), but Porzingis (57 percent owned in Yahoo Leagues) could be a worthwhile play, as it seems the Knicks will give him all the playing time he can handle. And if Fisher continues to lean so heavily on that second unit, both O'Quinn (27 percent) and Williams (23 percent) will be valuable plays in many leagues.

Rookie Watch

More often than not, rookies are terrible investments in fantasy leagues, simply because of their hype-to-production ratios. More often than not, you'll find much better value in an improving second- or third-year pro than you will with a -- to borrow a Clyde Frazier-ism -- precocious neophyte. Of course, that doesn't mean you can ignore first-year players entirely; you just have to be aware of their limitations.

Take Porzingis, for example. He's just 20-years old. He's rail-thin, playing a position where he'll match up against real brutes on a regular basis. And he's on a team that has about 14 options at power forward. On the other hand, in the Knicks' opening night win over the Bucks, he did a great job of getting to the line (9-of-12 FT) and at 7-foot-3, he can't help but block some shots. If his outside shot starts falling, he'll be really dangerous.

Emmanuel Mudiay (82 percent) is also interesting. Like Porzingis, he's young, inexperienced and has every right to be overmatched, but he's getting a "sink or swim" opportunity to play. But as good as he's been in the early going, he's unplayable in formats that penalize for turnovers. Same goes for Jahlil Okafor (88%), who could be a 20-and-10 guy ... with another 10 in the TO column.

In the total-default auto-draft Yahoo team that I set up specifically to pull ownership stats, I landed Mudiay in one of the later rounds and picked up Porzingis on a waiver claim, dropping Deron Williams. (Sorry, D-Will ... someone else can pay to see if the move to Dallas rejuvenates your career. I think you're done.)

Some other rookies I'd be interesting in owning: Karl-Anthony Towns (94 percent)and Willie Cauley-Stein (21 percent) (as defense/rebounding plays they won't be as prone to massive turnover numbers) and Stanley Johnson (61 percent).

Picks for the Week:

As always, we're shooting for a cross-section of players who will be available for the taking in both shallow and deep talent pools. Percent-owned stats are based on a default Yahoo League with roto scoring; your mileage may vary. If you have a question about a specific player feel free to hit me up in the comments or on Twitter @charliezegers.

Kentavious Caldwell-Pope (71 percent) - Look back a couple paragraphs, to where I suggested playing second- or third-year players with upside. Caldwell-Pope is a fantastic example. And with Jodie Meeks (foot) sidelined for 2-3 months, Caldwell-Pope figures to log heavy minutes for Stan Van Gundy's Pistons.

Jordan Hill (16 percent) - The "Paul George at the four" experiment that drove so much discussion over summer lasted all of one game, as Hill started Thursday against the Grizzlies, with George shifting back to his more natural small-forward spot, though his playing time was unaffected. With the minutes, Hill could be a good source of boards.

Aaron Gordon (59 pecent) - Gordon's percent-owned numbers might be artificially low due to Scott Skiles' surprising decision to hand the starting job to Evan Fournier. Don't be fooled, Gordon is clearly the future of this franchise.

Mo Williams (61 percent) - Veteran point guard is an obvious play while Kyrie Irving is sidelined (and probably beyond, as Kyrie is rarely confused with Cal Ripken from a durability perspective).

Kent Bazemore (5 percent) - Hasn't shown it yet, but this veteran shooter has an opportunity to step into the role that made DeMarre Carroll a very rich man. Could be worth a roster spot if you can afford to wait and see.