Thursday’s five games weren’t the most compelling in the world. Blowouts galore, and not a ton to write home about from a fantasy perspective either. There are still plenty of guards that played tonight that are worth our attention though, especially in New York, where the absence of Elfrid Payton (hamstring) has created far more fallout then you’d think. Read below for the night’s best adds, guys worth holding and guys who are better suited on your waiver wire than on a roster. Let’s dive right in!

Thursday’s Pickups

Derrick Rose – Rostered in 59% of Yahoo leagues

Rose ascended to the starting lineup on Thursday filling in for the injured Elfrid Payton (sore hamstring) who came into this game listed as doubtful to play. It sounds like Payton could miss more than one game here, and as a result Rose has a very real chance to make a push to keep the starting job depending on how well he plays during this stretch (and how long it is too). At the very least he makes for a solid streaming option for points and assists while he has this role, but keep in mind that he won’t help much with defensive stats and will not shoot this well on most nights.

Jalen Brunson – Rostered in 29% of Yahoo Leagues

Brunson has been playing really well of late and warrants a roster spot in most 12 team settings until he cools off. The flood of fantasy managers who scooped him up in the last few days may look at this line and be unimpressed at first glance, but his minutes were limited by the blowout. The fact that he maintained efficiency and collected a steal are positives for him, and had this game been close, and he got up to the 29 minute mark that he’s averaged over his last five games, this would be a much better line. Add him if he’s still on your wire and keep him active until the wheels fall off.

Bruce Brown – Rostered in 15% of Yahoo leagues

Brown has really upped his production with both Kevin Durant (hamstring) and Jeff Green (shoulder) out and in fact has gotten himself up into the top-90 over this 10 game stretch he’s played without Durant. He’s mostly getting it done on a high steal count (1.6 per game), and his most recent stretch of higher scoring totals can be attributed to stepping up without Green. I think he’s still worth a speculative pick up especially if you need steals. He may not be as productive whenever Green comes back, but as long as Durant remains sidelined he has a pathway to keep it up.

Facundo Campazzo – Rostered in 10% of Yahoo leagues

Yeah the line didn’t look great tonight, but those 32 minutes sure do. Coming into tonight, he’s had been playing at a top-70 pace with Paul Millsap (knee), Gary Harris (adductor) and JaMychal Green (shoulder) out of the lineup, floated by averages of 12.2 points, 2.3 triples, 4.0 assists and 1.5 steals in 28.8 minutes per game. The shot didn’t fall for him tonight, but as long as he’s still seeing that playing time, I feel good about him staying near that ballpark.

Alec Burks – Rostered in 18% of Yahoo leagues

Burks also remerged as a result of Elfrid Payton’s absence, and he could be on the cusp of streamable as long as he is out. Without Rose stealing his reserve minutes, Burks could become a cheap source of points and 3’s in a 25 minute role. I attribute tonight’s line to abysmal Kings defense more than a sign of things to come for Burks though.

Holds

Nerlens Noel – Rostered in 57% of Yahoo leagues

Noel has not nearly been as exciting as he was hyped up to be during Mitchell Robinson’s (hand) absence, but make no mistake, he should not be dropped no matter how many minutes Taj Gibson is getting behind him. Noel has still been a top-90 player as a starter, and has been top 6 in the league in shots blocked per-game (2.1) in that span as well. His elite blocks, solid rebounding and stellar FG% is enough to keep him rostered, and I still believe he has room to

Nic Batum – Rostered in 47% of Yahoo leagues

Batum is starting to hit the wire en masse, and I get it. He’s been doing pretty much nothing in the box score since returning from his concussion, and the last two games have given off the appearance of a down trend in minutes (when really it’s just the result of a couple of blowouts). I think he’s been too good to drop after a rough week of games (top-75 on the season). His value already came in muted ways (great percentages and low turnovers mixed with steals and threes), so when he’s struggling the bottom feels much lower than it actually is for him. In my mind, as long as he’s starting and getting at least 27 min a night, he’s still worth rostering. I think his remarkable consistency up to this point of the schedule should warrant a little more patience for him to get back on the horse.

Better on Your Watchlist

Immanuel Quickley – Rostered in 23% of Yahoo leagues

People are going to flock to Quickley after this monster game, but I’m skeptical that this is a repeatable performance on most night with Payton out. He looks like he’ll be relegated to a 20 minute role off the bench, which is enough time for him to pop off, but it’ll be fairly inconsistent. Consider IQ the same way you did when it was just him and Elfrid Payton pre-Derrick Rose trade. He’ll have his moments, but it’ll likely be inconsistent.

Moe Wagner – Rostered in 8% of Yahoo leagues

Wagner was scooped up again after his one big game against the Clippers last time out, but you’re doing yourself no favors trying to find a worthwhile streaming option from any of Washington’s three centers. Wagner starts but his minutes are all over the place, Robin Lopez sees a relatively consistent and large amount of minutes, but is not a fantasy option and Alex Len just doesn’t play. Best to point your attention elsewhere.