Cam Thomas scored 36 points against Cleveland, the most for a player off the bench in a season-opening game in NBA history.
It’s important to act quickly on the waiver wire during the first week of the season. While there will be plenty of outlier performances that won’t be duplicated, there could be some playing time trends or role changes that make players worth adding now for the long haul. Let’s highlight some players to consider adding who are still available in the majority of Yahoo leagues.
Max Strus, Cleveland Cavaliers (46% available)
Talk about a great debut. Strus left the Heat during the offseason and found himself in the starting five for the Cavaliers in their first game against the Nets. In addition to starting, he logged a whopping 39 minutes. To say he made the most of his playing time would be an understatement. He accumulated 27 points, 12 rebounds, seven three-pointers, two assists, one steal and one block.
Strus isn’t going to play 39 minutes on a regular basis. He also isn’t going to reach double-digit rebounds often. However, the Cavaliers clearly want him to play significant minutes. He attempted 13 three-pointers in that game and should continue to shoot them at will, especially with defenses likely focusing on Donovan Mitchell and Darius Garland. While this may be cheating because Strus is rostered in just over half of leagues already, his three-point shooting prowess makes it worth double-checking to see if he’s available in your league.
Dereck Lively II, Dallas Mavericks (52% available)
During the preseason, it appeared Lively was ticketed to begin the regular season as the Mavericks’ starting center. He didn’t start against the Spurs, though, with the Mavericks deciding to roll out Maxi Kleber at center, and the duo of Grant Williams and Derrick Jones at the forward spots. After looking great when he finally entered the game, Lively landed with the starters coming out of halftime. He ended up playing 31 total minutes, posting 16 points, 10 rebounds, one steal and one block.
Luka Doncic looked excited to have Lively on the floor with him. They often ran the pick-and-roll together, and Doncic was clearly targeting Lively on lob passes. While Kleber figures to be a mainstay in Dallas’ rotation, Jones isn’t likely to log significant playing time, even if he remains a token starter. The Doncic-Lively pairing looks electric. Add Lively now while you still can.
Cam Thomas, Brooklyn Nets (53% available)
Thomas is instant offense. When he catches fire, he can score with the best of them. He showed that in the Nets’ season opener against the Cavaliers, posting 36 points over 25 minutes off the bench. He shot 13-for-21 from the field and 8-for-11 from the free-throw line. No other player on the team attempted more than 12 shots from the field.
The Nets have some exciting young players, but they are going to need someone to help take some of the scoring pressure off Mikal Bridges and Cameron Johnson. Nic Claxton isn’t going to light up the scoring column at center, Dorian Finney-Smith is known more for his defensive prowess and Ben Simmons is hesitant to shoot at all. Thomas might not consistently churn out productive stat lines, but he has the potential to explode offensively whenever he steps onto the floor.
Deni Avdija, Washington Wizards (56% available)
Despite starting in the Wizards’ season opener against the Pacers, Avdija logged only 21 minutes. He at least made the most of his playing time, finishing with nine points, seven rebounds, five assists and one steal. Part of the reason for his reduced role could have been the lopsided score. With the Wizards losing by 23 points, none of their starters logged more than 28 minutes. In total, they had 14 players make an appearance in the game.
Avdija averaged 27 minutes per game last season, and the Wizards have less depth this year, so it would be a surprise to see him play fewer minutes this season on a regular basis. He’s not likely to score a ton of points even if he plays more moving forward, but he showed an ability to contribute in multiple areas that can be valuable in most formats. It should also help his value that the Wizards play either three or four games in each of the next five weeks.
Coby White, Chicago Bulls (57% available)
White begins this season as the Bulls’ starting point guard. He logged 31 minutes in their first game against the Thunder, recording 15 points, four rebounds, four assists and two three-pointers. His competition at the position is Alex Caruso, Jevon Carter and Ayo Dosunmu. They played 20, 16 and nine minutes off the bench, respectively. Dosunmu might not have even played that much had he not come in for garbage time at the end of the fourth quarter.
White’s overall stat line could have been even better had he not shot 4-for-14 from the field. The Bulls talked all offseason about how they need to shoot more three-pointers. White is one of their best options from behind the arc, so he should play a lot moving forward.
Jalen Johnson, Atlanta Hawks (66% available)
The Hawks finally were able to trade John Collins during the offseason. They have several young appealing forward options, so it made sense for them to move on from Collins. Saddiq Bey grabbed the start at power forward in their first game, scoring 15 points over 29 minutes against the Hornets. However, Johnson was even more impressive off the bench, finishing with 21 points, seven rebounds, two assists, two steals, one block and one three-pointer over 29 minutes of his own.
What was so encouraging about Johnson’s performance was that the Hawks went with a short rotation in a close game. Each of their starters played at least 29 minutes, with three of them logging at least 31. Only three players came off the bench to play at least 19 minutes and they used only four bench players in total. A leading role off the bench could leave Johnson with plenty of value as the season moves along.
