Fantasy Basketball Pickups: Peyton Watson is an emergency add

Already playing without Jamal Murray, who’s in the league’s concussion protocol, the Denver Nuggets lost another critical player during Monday’s win over the Raptors. Aaron Gordon suffered a calf strain during the first quarter, playing just four minutes. His exit opened the door for Peyton Watson, who’s rostered in just one percent of Yahoo leagues and is now worth a roll of the dice. And his production against the Raptors was undoubtedly encouraging.

Watson played 31 minutes off the bench, finishing with 16 points (4-of-7 FGs, 7-of-9 FTs), three rebounds, one assist, two steals, two blocks, and one 3-pointer. Expecting that kind of offensive production from him moving forward may be a reach, but there’s no reason to doubt Watson’s availability to supply defensive value if Gordon misses time. More should be learned about the severity of Gordon’s calf strain either Tuesday or Wednesday, with the Nuggets playing games on Wednesday (Oklahoma City), Friday (Miami), and Sunday (Dallas).

Russell Westbrook (25% rostered) and Julian Strawther (2%) also had good games on Monday, but they aren’t the Nuggets to target in the aftermath of this one. Watson is. Let’s look at a few more of Monday’s top pickups:

Alex Sarr (43%), Washington Wizards

Sarr has struggled with his shot, making 36.2% of his attempts, and Monday’s loss to the Warriors was another challenging game in that regard. The rookie forward shot 3-of-10 from the field and 4-of-6 from the foul line, but that was the most significant issue with his stat line. Sarr finished with 10 points, 11 rebounds, two assists, and three blocked shots in 27 minutes. The minutes matched his season-high, and the presence of Jonas Valanciunas in the rotation make it difficult for Sarr to play much more than that. However, the rebounding and shot-blocking help compensate for the poor shooting, with the hope that Sarr can clean that up as he gains more experience.

Jose Alvarado (31%), New Orleans Pelicans

Alvarado has started the Pelicans’ last four games, with his ascension into the starting lineup coinciding with CJ McCollum joining Dejounte Murray on the injured list. While he did…

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Author : NBC Sports

Publish date : 2024-11-05 08:02:00

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