Fantasy Basketball Pickups: Ausar Thompson is back on the radar

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Unfortunately, in fantasy basketball, an injury usually transforms a low-rostered player into one of greater importance. That may be the case for Detroit Pistons SF/PF Ausar Thompson (37%), as his team may have lost a starter for an extended period during Wednesday’s win over the Magic.

Starting guard Jaden Ivey suffered what appeared to be a severe lower left leg injury when Magic guard Cole Anthony crashed into him while diving for a loose ball. The Pistons guard was stretchered off the court with his left leg covered, and more details regarding the severity of the injury will be learned in the coming days. That’s where Thompson comes into play. He didn’t have the best night, finishing with six points (3-of-9 FGs, 0-of-2 FTs), five rebounds, one assists, four steals, and five turnovers in 25 minutes.

But Ausar has been the replacement in the lineup for most of the games Ivey has missed this season, with Detroit’s November 13 loss to Milwaukee (Ron Holland II) being the exception. And Thompson did not make his season debut until November 25. While Malik Beasley (36%) is another possibility and provides more scoring than Thompson, he’s been the preferred choice when Tim Hardaway Jr. or Tobias Harris could not play.

Let’s look at a few more of Wednesday’s top pickups:

PG/SG Malcolm Brogdon (33%), Washington Wizards

Brogdon came off the bench on Wednesday as Jordan Poole was back in the lineup. However, he played 28 minutes off the bench, and there was also the matter of Bilal Coulibaly exiting Wednesday’s win over the Bulls during the first half with an illness. While Kyle Kuzma was the choice to start the third quarter in Coulibaly’s place, Brogdon (12/4/6/0/1) will have added value if Coulibaly misses time as part of a nine-man rotation.

SG/SF Kentavious Caldwell-Pope (24%), Orlando Magic

Caldwell-Pope’s improved production recently has him closing in on top 100 season-long value. A top-60 player over the past two weeks, he finished Wednesday’s loss to the Pistons with 21 points, two rebounds, two assists, two steals, one block, and four 3-pointers in 34 minutes. Orlando has lost multiple players to injury, so…

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Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/fantasy-basketball-pickups-ausar-thompson-070523221.html

Author : NBC Sports

Publish date : 2025-01-02 07:05:00

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