NBA Waiver Wire: Pick-Ups and FAAB for Week 23

Once more, I'll offer my congratulations if you've made it this far. It takes a lot of planning, concentration, an ounce of luck and an inordinate amount of skill to win a competitive league, and you are now that much closer to your goal. Things are getting tough, though. Players are injured, others are resting, glory is going up in flames, but you can pull through and come out victorious on the other side, though it means that some hard decisions need to be made. Good luck making those calls, because it's now or never.

Point Guard

Ish Smith: (all leagues); (FAAB: $3)
Smith has taken the starting point guard role from Isaiah Canaan and doesn't appear like he's in danger of losing it at this point, and with four games on deck this week, he's someone most teams could use. In his last seven games, Smith is averaging 13.6 points, 6.9 assists and 1.7 steals, and while he is not the provider of three-pointers like Canaan is, those assists are worth more than their weight in gold.

Jordan Clarkson: (standard leagues); (FAAB: $4)
So, the Jeremy Lin move into the starting lineup happened a little prematurely, but thankfully for fantasy owners, it wasn't at the expense of Clarkson, who happened to have his best games as a pro alongside Lin. In the last four games, Clarkson is averaging 18.0 points, including a career-high 30 against the Thunder on Tuesday, 4.3 rebounds, 3.8 assists and 1.3 steals in 33 minutes per game. He's not an assist-heavy player, but the scoring, rebounds, steals and free throw percentage are useful, particularly considering he shot 90 percent from the line last week. The Lakers are in full-on tank mode and Clarkson is one of the only players with any future on the team, so he'll continue to be a featured cog.

Others to consider: It's likely that we've seen the last of Patrick Beverley this season, so Jason Terry now moves into the starting lineup and his results have been mixed so far. The Rockets have a great schedule next week though, and the 9.5 points, 2.5 three-pointers, 2.5 rebounds, and 3.5 assists in his two starts could help fantasy teams out. Another player bumped due to injury is Shane Larkin in New York. He's been playing monstrous minutes with Alexey Shved's season effectively done, and while he is not a stat stuffer, you can get some nice assists and steals from the second-year point man.

Shooting Guard

Kentavious Caldwell-Pope: (most leagues); (FAAB: $3)
There is little doubt that Caldwell-Pope is the Pistons' shooting guard. The fact that he's played 38 minutes per game and taken 16.7 shots in his past six appearances should spell that out for you. Even with a similarly large role early this season, KCP was unable to really flourish, but that is not the case now. In those six games, Caldwell-Pope is averaging 20.3 points, 2.3 three-pointers, 4.7 rebounds and 1.3 steals and with the possibility that Greg Monroe may not return this season, KCP will continue to be a focal point of the offense. While it may be easy enough to get three-pointers off the wire, 20-point scorers are not as abundant, and that is exactly what Caldwell-Pope is at the moment.

Evan Turner: (some standard leagues); (FAAB: $3)
Turner is a rare type of player, in a number of ways. For one, he has eligibility at point guard, shooting guard and small forward, so he offers tremendous position flexibility. Secondly, he is an elite source of assists, especially for a guy who can be slotted in other spots aside from point guard. Over the last week, Turner has averaged 7.5 assists in four games, with Isaiah Thomas playing two of those contests. He's added 15.3 points, 6.8 rebounds and 0.8 steals while shooting a fantastic 51 percent from the field. Don't expect the field goal percentage to continue, and he's a drain from the line, but for head-to-head counting stats, Turner can bump a few categories and that can be useful. Very useful.

Others to consider: With Kyle Lowry's status up in the air, Lou Williams is worth a look. He may not be available, but some owners may have been frustrated with his lean run over the last month. He's fought back, averaging 17 points in his last four and is now one of the key scorers in Lowry's absence.

Small Forward

Corey Brewer: (deeper standard leagues); (FAAB: $2)
Houston is doing its best to rival Oklahoma City and New Orleans as one of the most injury-riddled teams, with now Donatas Motiejunas joining Terrence Jones on the sideline, and with Dwight Howard playing limited minutes and sitting one half of back-to-backs. But that opens up minutes for a number of players. Josh Smith is likely already owned, but with the Rockets forced to go smaller than usual, Brewer becomes someone whose value may tip you over the edge this week. Houston plays four games, with a favorable schedule, and Brewer should be able to help in steals, rebounds and could throw in some three-pointers. His 6.6 rebounds per game over the last two weeks, combined with one steal per game, are useful and could be exceeded this week. He's also had a game of six three-pointers during his stay in Houston. Don't expect the world, but make sure Brewer is on your radar.

Matt Barnes: (deeper standard leagues); (FAAB: $3)
Head coach Doc Rivers has stated that he'll try to rest some of his bigger names down the stretch, and while Barnes is a key cog, he's not someone I can see being rested before the playoffs. Flying under the radar, Barnes has averaged 2.8 three-pointers per game over the last month, while also contributing 1.1 steals and 1.2 blocks, an extremely valuable combination of stats. The only players averaging over one per game in those three categories in the last month are Paul Millsap, Draymond Green, Kawhi Leonard, Danny Green and Kyle Korver, and you won't find any of them on the waiver-wire. Except Barnes.

Others to consider: Despite being in a reserve role, Jae Crowder is averaging 31 minutes per game over the last two weeks, with 13.7 points, 6.9 rebounds, and 1.1 steals, and if you can absorb his poor percentages, Boston's four games should make Crowder someone who can help in playoff matchups.

Power Forward

Ersan Ilyasova: (all leagues); (FAAB: $6)
Hopefully, you added Ilyasova last week because he had a game for the ages Thursday, though that wasn't one out of the box. Ilyasova is averaging 19.8 points, 2.8 three-pointers, 8.3 rebounds, and one steal with 52 percent shooting from the field in his last six games. Those are top-20 numbers, so make sure you are looking to Ilyasova for the rest of this season.

Marvin Williams: (deeper standard leagues); (FAAB: $2)
Cody Zeller is still troubled by a sore shoulder, which means Williams is going to be heavily relied upon over the coming week. In his last five appearances, Williams has been playing 37 minutes per game, and while he's averaging 9.2 points, the 1.8 three-pointers and 7.2 rebounds could be vital contributions to a lot of fantasy squads.

Others to consider: The Lakers have decided that Carlos Boozer and Jordan Hill will sit, while healthy, for around five games, and that means there are at least two more games for Ed Davis to be the primary backup big man. Even if Hill and Boozer return mid-week, adding Davis early on may give you head start in blocks and rebounds for your matchup.

Center

Zaza Pachulia: (all leagues); (FAAB: $5)
Much like KCP above, there is no doubt that Pachulia is the Bucks' undisputed starting center. He barely has a weakness at this point, averaging 13.3 points, 10.8 rebounds, 3.8 assists, and 2.0 steals per game, while shooting 54 percent from the field and 82 percent from the line in the last six. Head coach Jason Kidd is riding his starting five into the playoffs with a very settled rotation (and that is a bizarre thing to say about Kidd), so Pachulia is a minimal-risk proposition for the near future. Ride him while he is hot.

Boris Diaw: (deeper leagues); (FAAB: $1)
We have not seen the same Diaw this season as we did last year, but of late, the big Frenchman is putting it all together again as the Spurs begin to look dangerous again. In the last week, Diaw is averaging 15.4 points, 1.3 three-pointers, 3.8 rebounds and 1.8 assists per game and has upped his field goal attempts to 12 per game over that stretch. He's becoming more involved and we can usually expect more on the assist front from him as well. It's hard to own him in standard leagues, but deeper 12-team leagues could benefit from Diaw's diversity.

Others to consider: Diaw's teammate, Tiago Splitter has also been putting together his best form at the end of the season. Aside from his 64 percent shooting from the field and 79 percent from the line, Splitter has been averaging 13.3 points, 5.8 rebounds, one steal and 0.8 blocks in just 23 minutes per game over the last four. Like Diaw, he's not for everyone in every league, but if you need what he brings, Splitter is a consistent, low-level option.