Fantasy Basketball: Week 16 NBA Pickups – Deep League Edition

The following players are owned in less than 15% of Yahoo leagues, but could provide a spark to your fantasy team in Week 16. If you are playing in a league with more than 10 teams or more than the standard number of positions, this list is for you:

Jonny Flynn (13% owned) – The fantasy community has waited a long time for Flynn to take over as the Timberwolves starting point guard. With Luke Ridnour attending to a personal matter, Flynn had his first start of the year last Wednesday, finishing with 11 points, 5 assists, 4 rebounds, 2 steals, and a three-pointer.

Ridnour will likely miss both the Friday and Saturday games, giving Flynn ample opportunity to establish himself as the new field general of the young Wolves team.

After being injured for the first month and half, Flynn has received sporadic playing time, ranging from 11 to 25 minutes per game. Starting alongside the talented Minnesota forwards, Kevin Love and Michael Beasley would immediately boost Flynn’s assist average and make him a huge waiver wire pickup.

Ryan Gomes (7% owned) – The Clippers have proven to be a fantasy mecca for exciting, stat-stuffing players with the likes of Blake Griffin, DeAndre Jordan, Baron Davis, and Eric Gordon. Ryan Gomes is the fifth starter on the much improved team, but until recently has been fantasy-irrelevant. He is one of those hard-working role players, whose reality value far outweighs his fantasy usefulness.

The former Providence Friars star has improved every month this season. In January he averaged 9.6 points, 4.1 rebounds, 2.1 assists, 1.4 threes, and a steal per game. He does not excel in one specific category, but he contributes across the board.

With Eric Gordon out, he has stepped it up and is actually the 35th highest ranked fantasy player over the past week. Once Gordon returns, Gomes will still continue to start and produce. If you need help in the steals and threes, pick up Ryan Gomes.

Sam Young (3% owned) – With O.J. Mayo suspended, Sam Young’s minutes have drastically increased. This has resulted in four straight games of double-digit scoring. That being said, his strengths focus primarily on the scoring and steal categories (although he did have six assists last game).

O.J. Mayo won’t be returning until February 15, meaning that the Tony Allen and Sam Young will continue to share minutes at shooting guard and from time to time, play at the same time while Rudy Gay rests. Xavier Henry is all but missing from the current Memphis rotation.

Even when Mayo was active, Sam Young had been starting since January 12, with Mayo providing the spark off the bench. Over the past week, Young has produced on the offensive end, which has help lead to a four-game winning streak for the Grizzlies. Head coach Lionel Hollins will likely keep Young in the starting lineup as long as Memphis keeps winning.

Written by Win My Fantasy League Senior Writer Justin Hasan (J-Has)