We have a whopping two-game sample for most teams, so it’s time to make extremely emotional decisions about our rosters! I get it, the high from the start of the season is intoxicating, which means most are hyper-focused, turning over every stone and scooping those “fliers” from the waiver wire. That doesn’t mean the landscape is barren, though. In this piece, I will highlight players rostered in fewer than 50% of Yahoo leagues who may offer fantasy basketball utility.

For next week, the NBA schedule is full on Monday and Wednesday, with 11 and 13 games, respectively. Tuesday, Thursday and Sunday have between 3-5 games, while Friday and Saturday have 7-8 games.

There are four teams that play only two games — HOU, LAC, PHI and SAC.

Here are the teams that have a back-to-back:

• BKN — Fri/Sat
• CHA — Sat/Sun
• CHI — Fri/Sat
• CLE — Tue/Wed
• DEN — Fri/Sat
• DET — Wed/Thu
• IND — Fri/Sat
• LAC — Tue/Wed
• NOP — Wed/Thu
• NYK — Tue/Wed
• ORL — Mon/Tue
• PHO — Sat/Sun
• TOR — Wed/Thu
• UTA — Wed/Thu

Waiver Wire Targets

Lugentz Dort — OKC (23% rostered) — Dort has been a field-goal percentage killer for most of his career, exceeding 40% just once. He will contribute a little something something in every category, but never to the point of getting the Kool-Aid man to burst through the wall and scream, “Oh, yeah!” Back in 2021-22, he did average 17.2 points with 4.2 rebounds, though. Through two games this season, he’s averaging 16.5 points, 6.5 rebounds, 2 assists, 1.5 steals and 1 block while shooting 57% from the field and 66% from downtown. He’s obviously not going to keep that efficiency up, but he’s played 33 and 39 minutes, respectively, and we know minutes are half the battle. Yo, Joe! The scoring will be volatile, but Dort will provide some across-the-board counting stats.

Josh Okogie — PHO (31% rostered) — Okogie has averaged 32.5 minutes in two games. He is the unsexiest, most meh fantasy player out there. That said, he’s locked into the starting lineup and will be on the court for 30+ minutes a game. With the Suns having Devin Booker, Bradley Beal and Kevin Durant to take care of the offense, Okogie is there to do the dirty work and hit the open shot. Through two games, he’s been flying all over the court, crashing the offensive glass and diving for loose balls. He’s only racked up one steal, but defensive stats are volatile and I’d expect that number to increase. In the first two seasons of his NBA career, Okogie was posting an average of 1+ steals in 25 minutes per game.

Alec Burks — DET (9% rostered) — With Monty Williams deciding to start Killian Hayes and Ausar Thompson, that has relegated Jaden Ivey to the bench. Interestingly, though, it’s been Burks who has been the one balling. The Pistons are lacking floor spacers at the moment with Bojan Bogdanovic out, and Burks has converted at a 40% clip so far. He also doesn’t stand in the corner for catch-and-shoot opportunities. He has legitimate secondary play-making skills and went 11-of-12 from the line on Friday. Until Bogdanovic returns and/or the playing time dissipates into the low-20s, Burks can have some utility.

Alex Caruso — CHI (17% rostered) — Caruso is a steals specialist who will dish out some dimes as well. He’s racked up two steals in each of the first two games, led the league in steal percentage a few years ago and is always amongst the league leaders. I’ve been a Caruso fan ever since he was a member of the Lakers, so my perspective is obviously clouded. That said, what intrigues me is that there could be more playing time than I initially expected. The Bulls acquired Jevon Carter in the offseason, but he’s averaging only 14.5 minutes. Ayo Dosunmu gets around 10 minutes now. Caruso played 20 minutes in the opener when the team got blown out by 20 points. On Friday, he played 32 minutes in a win. Things that make you go hmmmm.

Jalen Suggs — ORL (8% rostered) — Suggs was selected by the Magic with the fifth overall pick in the 2021 NBA Draft. He has always been an elite defender, but the offense hasn’t translated yet. And it may not. He shot 3-of-12 from the field and 2-of-7 from downtown in the opener, but came back and shot 4-of-5 in the second game. All offseason, there was talk about how diligent he’s been in working on his shot… yadda, yadda, yadda… That said, players get better and he’s still only 22 years old. I’ve seen Isaac Okoro and Matisse Thybulle improve their outside shots. As mentioned earlier, Suggs is an elite defender and racked up four steals and two blocks on Friday. He’s starting and will likely play around 28 minutes per game. At worst, you’re getting a difference maker for defensive stats. The upside is that a young, former lottery pick figures it out and puts it all together. The risk/reward ratio is extremely favorable and he’s an easy drop if he doesn’t.

Tim Hardaway Jr. — DAL (21% rostered) — I joked on the Twitter machine that THJ plays hot potato with the basket because once someone passes him the ball, he’s immediately chucking it up towards the rim… as if the ball was a hot potato (This is why I get paid the big bucks). Anyways, THJ will provide absolutely zero in the defensive categories. Fine, to be fair, he’s been out there 29 minutes per game so far and a pass will inadvertently hit him in the back of the head, counting as a steal. THJ has averaged 15.5 field goal attempts through two games and drained three treys per contest. He’s even grabbed 5 rebounds and dished out 2.5 dimes. Points can be difficult to find and THJ will at least go down swinging to provide them for your squad.

Kelly Olynyk — UTA (19% rostered) — Walker Kessler has been disappointing to start the season because he hasn’t been blocking shots, but it’s also because he’s often not on the floor! On Friday, the Clippers played small ball and the Jazz countered with Olynyk, who played 27 minutes and contributed 15 points, four rebounds, three assists, one steal, one block and two treys. This is what Olynyk can do, and has done, throughout most of his career. The playing time could be inconsistent depending on matchups, but the center eligibility and ability to contribute across the board is useful.

Talen Horton-Tucker — UTA (28% rostered) — THT is shooting 31% from the field. Absolutely gross and vomit inducing. That said, he’s starting and has averaged 24.5 minutes, 9.0 points, 2.0 treys, 2.0 boards, 6.0 dimes, 1.5 steals and 1.0 block. Will Hardy has said that he thinks THT pairs well with Jordan Clarkson, and Jordan pairs well with Lauri Markkanen. He also likes Kris Dunn with Collin Sexton and Keyonte George for the second unit. If you can stomach the field-goal percentage drain, it’s hard to ignore the contributions in dimes and defensive stats. I think George will eventually rise to the top of the depth chart at some point while THT could get traded. Until that happens, though, THT has utility.

Andrew Nembhard — IND (14% rostered) — Nembhard only played 22 minutes on Wednesday, but racked up 10 assists while scoring 12 points. The important thing in his situation is that Rick Carlisle has removed TJ McConnell from the rotation primarily because of Nembhard, who can play both on and off the ball. It’s tough in most head-to-head leagues to hold and stash players, but if your bench is deep or you have the space, Nembhard could be valuable. Not only can he provide dimes in a reserve role, but if Tyrese Haliburton misses time, he’s a plug-and-play option.

Dillon Brooks — HOU (36% rostered) — “3-and-D-illon” is similar to Dort in that both can kill the field goal percentage. Brooks is shooting 60% from the field in two games, but that’s obviously going to regress. The important numbers are that he’s averaging 32.6 minutes per contest and 10 shots per game. There will be some boards and dimes, but nothing to write home about. Those are better than nothing, though.

Caris LeVert — CLE (20% rostered) — LeVert is the microwave off the bench for the Cavaliers. He’s chucked up 17 and 16 shots, respectively, and played 32 minutes in each contest. One of those was with Darius Garland and Donovan Mitchell starting while the other was with Garland sitting. His role remained the same, which is to huck-and-chuck the house down, for better or for worse.

Jalen Johnson — ATL (40% rostered) — Whoa, how is Johnson not rostered on every team? He’s played an average of 29.5 minutes in the first two games and looked great in both. The athleticism jumps off the screen and the production has been there. He’s converting over 60% of his shots, grabbing rebounds and stuffing the defensive stat cats. This is not simply a matter of he and Saddiq Bey splitting the power forward minutes. They have played next to each other at times. The third-year breakout could be a real thing for Johnson.

Coby White — CHI (48% rostered) — The shooting efficiency has been rough but he’s starting and has played an average of 35.5 minutes. He’s attempted an average of 14.5 shots with 8.0 of those from beyond the arc. While the defensive stats have been negligible, White has grabbed a combined 10 rebounds while dishing out a total of 12 dimes. It’s surprising that this kind of volume and playing time is still available on the wire.

Cole Anthony — ORL (29% rostered) — Anthony is a professional getter of buckets and is the main guy off the bench for the Magic. He’s attempted an average of 13.5 shots while playing 26 minutes per game. He won’t contribute much else, but if you need points, Anthony is a solid option.

Peyton Watson — DEN (1% rostered) — Watson only played 11 minutes in the opener but received 18 minutes on Friday. His length and athleticism jump off the screen, allowing him to rack up a steal and four blocks. More importantly, he’s drilled 3-of-6 attempts from downtown. The Nuggets bench was overhauled in the offseason and I think Watson continues to be a bigger part of it as the season progresses. I view Watson as Bilal Coulibaly, but a little further along and with lower hype.

Ziaire Williams — MEM (6% rostered) — For full disclosure, I’ve been high on Ziaire since he was drafted. That said, he’s starting and has played an average of 30 minutes so far. The fantasy production hasn’t been overwhelming, as there have been no defensive stats and just middling points with some rebounds and three dimes in the last contest. I think he will continue to grow, though, as he gets more experience and confidence. The Grizzlies have him guarding opposing point guards at times and he’s not just a catch-and-shoot player. He’s navigating pick-and-roll action, serving as the “oop” man and attacking closeouts. I think some defensive stats will start appearing soon because of this length and athleticism, while more boards and dimes wouldn’t shock me.

Killian Hayes — DET (8% rostered) – Hayes has surprisingly started the first two games for the Pistons, playing an average of 30.5 minutes. The shooting has been awful — 4-of-12 and 2-of-10, respectively — but he’s getting the volume. In addition, he’s racked up two steals and a block in each game. That’s not sustainable, but he’s showing the capacity to contribute. He’s only dished out three dimes in each game because Cade Cunningham is initiating the offense. Minutes are minutes, so if you need what he offers, you pull the hat over your eyes and jump on until they are no more.

Chris Duarte — SAC (3% rostered) — Duarte played only 15 minutes in the opener, but that’s because he was recovering from an injury. On Friday, he received 26 minutes. While the production wasn’t good — 1-of-7 shooting with one rebound, three assists and one steal — there’s a chance that he enters the starting lineup and plays more. Kevin Huerter has struggled and Mike Brown benched him in favor of Duarte in the preseason because of Duarte’s ability to be more of a defensive presence.

(Photo of Alex Caruso, Coby White: David Banks-USA TODAY Sports)