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Teams need floor generals to run the offense and find their stars to generate points. With plenty of high-scoring performances this NBA season, don’t overlook those racking up the assists, as they can be valuable on the fantasy waiver wire. For this week’s leaderboard, we took a look at players with high assist numbers over the last few games, available in 50% or more of Yahoo leagues.
31% rostered, 11 APG over last 3 games
Immanuel Quickley was sidelined for Toronto’s two most recent games, and Shead flourished in an increased role. The third-year point guard put up 10 points and 16 assists on Nov. 6, followed by 20 points and 11 assists on Monday. Even if he doesn’t keep up the scoring output when Quickley returns, the Raptors have always received consistent facilitation from Shead. Through 10 games this season, he’s averaging 7.4 points, seven assists and 1.5 steals, making him a legitimate fantasy pickup for users in need of backcourt depth.
35% rostered, 10 APG over last 3 games
Green was featured on our Week 2 leaderboard, and since then, his assists have only increased. He’s averaging 7.6 assists on the season, and 10 over the last seven days. His best performances in that department came on Nov. 5 and Nov. 7, when he combined for 24 total assists across those games. Like Shead, Green isn’t much of a scorer, but he makes up for it as a floor general. As a forward, the veteran is a unique waiver wire option for those in deeper leagues.
36% rostered, 5.3 APG over last 3 games
We’ve seen Jenkins thrive as a Cade Cunningham replacement before, but we haven’t seen much of him starting in the backcourt with Cunningham. That changed in the Pistons’ most recent game where the two started in the backcourt in a win over the Wizards. In that start, the St. John’s product put up 22 points, 6 rebounds, 8 assists and 4 steals in 35 minutes. The Pistons desperately need another scorer, so for as long as Jenkins is getting big minutes, he is a must-roster player.
37% rostered, 4.3 APG over last three games
We have sung Allen’s praises here before, and with the Hornets dealing with so many injuries, Allen needs to be rostered. Dennis Schröder, Kon Knueppel and Brandon Miller are all out with injuries. Coby White has had his minutes ramped up slowly as the team eases him back. Thus, Allen should still receive plenty of opportunities to score, rack up assists, steals and 3s. In the Hornets’ most recent game, a win over the Cavaliers, Allen scored 27 points (8-for-14 shooting) with 6 assists and 2 steals. If you are dealing with injuries like the Hornets are, Allen is a suitable short-term replacement.
41% rostered, 4 APG over last 4 games
Burries has started five straight games for the Bucks, averaging 28.1 minutes in that span. As a top-10 pick on a rebuilding team, Burries should continue to see at least that amount of minutes. He put up 21 points, 11 rebounds and 6 assists on Nov. 6 against the Raptors, showing the flashes that could become more common in the foreseeable future.