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Fantasy Basketball Pickups: Christian Braun solidifies his role as a starter


Fantasy Basketball Pickups: Christian Braun solidifies his role as a starter

We're entering the second week of the NBA season, which means there's overreaction happening across the league. Is Tyrese Haliburton a bust this season? Were we too high on Jalen Johnson? Is Denver cooked? Many of those questions were answered Monday night to kick off a new week in fantasy programming.

Monday's 11 games gave us a lot of context and there are a lot of players who are clearly not in the squad enough, either because of injury or because they are simply playing too well. Here are 12 people who might be worth adding at this point.

Christian Braun – 34% were represented in the Yahoo leagues

Braun played well in Monday's win over Toronto, but has been fantastic in each of his three games. He averages 14.7 points, 6.0 rebounds, 1.3 assists and 1.7 blocks per game with efficient shot distribution. Braun won the starting shooting guard job in training camp, and it doesn't look like Julian Strawther will take it away from him anytime soon. He should be worth playing in 9-cat leagues for the remainder of the season.

Jeremy Sochan – 43%

He hasn't been perfect, but Sochan has made some real progress this season. He scored a season-high 22 points on Monday and has a career average of 19.0 points per game so far. The defensive depth is lacking and the free throw shooting is still poor, but Sochan is still having the best 9-cat season of his career, even if the sample size is small. They play three more games this week and Sochan should continue to provide solid numbers.

Payton Pritchard – 16%

Boston's sixth man struggled in the season opener, but he's been on fire ever since. He had 28 points on eight 3-pointers on Monday and is now averaging 16.3 points, 3.0 rebounds, 2.3 assists and 4.8 triples per game this season. Pritchard has been a fifth-round asset in 9-cat leagues so far, with most of his value coming from beyond the arc. If Pritchard continues to play this well, he certainly has a good chance of being named Sixth Man of the Year.

Scotty Pippen Jr. – 29%

Pippen Jr. didn't make it into the starting lineup when Ja Morant was sidelined, but he still played a lot and was incredibly effective. He played a season-high 31 minutes and recorded his second consecutive double-double. He has also recorded at least one steal and one block in three of his four games this season. He was still effective when Morant played, but he was an elite streaming option when Ja was out, even if he didn't start in his place.

Moses Moody – 4%

Stephen Curry and De'Anthony Melton have been ruled out for at least the Warriors' next two games, and Andrew Wiggins is not expected to play on Tuesday. Brandin Podziemski and Buddy Hield are obvious winners, but they aren't easy to find on the waiver wire. Moody should play a big reserve role on Tuesday and possibly Wednesday as well if Wiggins continues to be sidelined. He was a solid point scorer in the first two games, both of which were overwhelming victories.

Cody Williams – 1%, Brice Sensabaugh – less than 1%

Taylor Hendricks suffered a serious injury that resulted in him breaking his right fibula and dislocating his ankle. There's a good chance his season is over, and while John Collins should be the biggest beneficiary of minutes, both Williams and Sensabaugh will have a chance to play bigger roles. They may not be immediately great in fantasy, but they're both worth keeping an eye on.

Davion Mitchell – 2%

Mitchell made his second straight start when Immanuel Quickley was sidelined with a pelvic injury. After having eight assists in his first start, he had 16 points and six dimes in this one. Assuming IQ misses another game, Mitchell should be a solid streaming option in deeper leagues, although managers should just expect the assist production to continue. The points are nothing more than a nice bonus.

Ochai Agbaji – 10%, Jonathan Mogbo – 2%

Scottie Barnes exited Monday's game early after suffering a blow to the face, and if that keeps him from playing Wednesday, one of these guys will likely fill the void in the starting lineup. Agbaji replaced Barnes when he left that game, but Mogbo should be productive in deeper leagues if he gets the extra minutes.

Larry Nance Jr. – 1%

With Onyeka Okongwu out Monday, Nance filled the void as Atlanta's backup center. It was his first appearance of the season, but he finished the game with 15 points, three rebounds, four assists, two steals, one block and three 3-pointers in 23 minutes. Quin Snyder doesn't seem to have much interest in playing Clint Capela for more than 25 minutes. So if OO continues to miss games, Nance should continue to play a big role on the bench.

Tim Hardaway Jr. – 6%

If you need some triples, THJ is your guy. He had 20 points and three 3-pointers in Monday's loss and has started all four games for Detroit this year.

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