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Fantasy Basketball Pickups: Grab this Knicks player off the waiver wire Quick-ley

Week 12 of the fantasy basketball season is upon us, and, just like every Monday, I'll break down several players who are less than 50 percent of Yahoo fantasy basketball leagues.

But before we get to this week's waiver pickups, here are the games played by each team in Week 12.

Four games: 21 teams (76ers, Bulls, Cavaliers, Clippers, Hawks, Heat, Hornets, Lakers, Mavericks, Nets, Pacers, Pelicans, Pistons, Raptors, Rockets, Spurs, Suns, Thunder, Timberwolves, Trail Blazers and Jazz

Three games:Eight teams (Celtics, Bucks, Grizzlies, Knicks, Kings, Magic, Nuggets and Warriors)

Two games: One team (Wizards)

Okay, now that you know which teams to target for streaming, let's get to the pickups. Oh, and real quick, let me get a mulligan for Landry Shamet's disappearing act. Appreciate it!

Priority Add

Immanuel Quickley - PG/SG, New York Knicks (48% rostered)

Quickley closed out Week 11 ranked 52nd in per-game value, and he's been phenomenal filling in for Jalen Brunson, averaging 25.3 points, 5.0 rebounds, 9.7 assists, 3.3 threes and 1.7 steals with only 1.3 turnovers in his last three games. He's logged over 40 minutes in the previous three contests, and the third-year pro is lined up for much more in Week 12.

Brunson (hip) is not ready to return to the court — and the Knicks haven't provided a definitive timeline on when they expect him back — making Quickley a must-add in all leagues and formats.

While his last three performances last week were impressive (he put up a career-high 36 points last Thursday and career-high 15 assists on Tuesday), Quickley's sustained fifth-round value for the past two weeks. The only knock on Quickley is his field-goal percentage, but fantasy managers won't be complaining much after seeing his production in points, threes, assists, and free-throw percentage. Since he's arguably the Knicks' best on-ball defender, he'll also be great for steals. He's registered at least one steal or block in 10 of his last 11 games, so make sure he's not sitting on your waivers on Monday.

Advice: Add in all points and H2H leagues

Mid-tier Adds

Marcus Morris Sr. - PF/C, Los Angeles Clippers (48% rostered)

Morris is a full-time starter, playing a shade under 30 minutes per night who has provided sixth-round value on a per-game basis over the past two weeks. He should be over 50% rostered by now. Morris is always quick to pull up from deep, which is likely why he struggles with efficiency. However, he's shooting 38 percent on threes this season (above league average), and he's also knocking down over two per contest with nearly five rebounds.

Not to get too nerdy, but per Stathead, Morris is one of only four players with center eligibility to make at least two threes per game, shoot at least 38% from beyond the arc and pull down at least five rebounds per game this season.

He even blocked a season-high three shots on Saturday night. I've been recommending him for a few weeks now, and with the Clippers playing four games in Week 12 (including a Thursday/Friday B2B where Kawhi Leonard could sit), Morris needs to be off waivers in deep leagues.

Advice: Add in 12 team points and H2H leagues. Stream if Kawhi Leonard sits in shallow leagues.

Jalen Williams - SG/SF, Oklahoma City Thunder (31% rostered)

J-Dub is the Thunder's third-best player, and the rookie combo guard finally has job security within a chaotic and unpredictable Thunder rotation. He's only 225th in per-game value this season, but he's been playing much better of late. Over the past two weeks, he's just outside the top 100 in per-game value (106), and it's not all that surprising, considering that both his role and production are improving month over month.

October: 16.4 min, 9.0 pts, 1.5 rebs, 2.0 asts, 0.5 3PM and 2.5 stocks

November: 26.2 min, 10.9 pts, 3.4 rebs, 2.6 asts, 0.7 3PM and 0.8 stocks

December: 30.3 min, 12.3 pts, 4.2 rebs, 2.7 asts, 0.8 3PM and 1.2 stocks

Williams has shot over 50 percent from the field each month and is quietly becoming a reliable source of points and rebounds for fantasy managers. He offsets his poor three-point shooting with high-percentage shots at the rim. He's riding a stretch of six straight games scoring in double figures, and with four games in Week 12, Williams is worth scooping up.

Advice: Add in 12 team points and H2H leagues

Jeremy Sochan - PF, San Antonio Spurs (34% rostered)

I love to see the positive movement on Sochan. His roster-rate has gone up by eight percent since I recommended him last week, and he's in for another strong week ahead. He finished 125th in per-game value last week, but things are heading in the right direction. Sochan is averaging 13.4 points, 6.8 rebounds, 2.8 assists and 1.6 stocks in his previous five games with 47/22/85 shooting splits. The lack of threes could be better, but he's at least attempting them at a higher rate and cashed two in his last outing. More impressively, his one-hand free-throw shooting is yielding promising results.

Not to mention, another ringing endorsement from Spurs HC Greg Popovich:

His confidence is growing and with the Spurs trending out of contention for the play-in tournament, expect Popovich to continue exploring more ways to utilize Sochan nightly. The Spurs are another team with four games in Week 12, so he should get another run in deep leagues.

Advice: Add in 12 team points and H2H leagues. Stream in shallow leagues ahead of the Spurs' Friday/Saturday back-to-back set.

Naz Reid - C, Minnesota Timberwolves (38% rostered)

Reid has been a top-100 player for the past month, averaging 13.7 points, 7.3 rebounds, 1.3 assists, 1.3 threes and 1.8 stocks with 56/40/63 shooting splits. His minutes spiked to 23.1 per game in December, and he's one of the few Wolves players to bring any tenacity on defense.

Karl-Anthony Towns is still weeks away from returning to play, so Reid will be in the rotation if he continues to knock down threes, rebound and protect the rim. And frankly, he's been better than Rudy Gobert lately, so pick him up if he's available.

Advice: Add in 12 team H2H leagues

Short-term but worth a look

Kevin Love - PF/C, Cleveland Cavaliers (29% rostered)

The elder statesman of a burgeoning Cavs team, Love remains a streamable option in fantasy. The Cavs have four games this week, and Love may get some additional minutes if Evan Mobley (ankle) continues to miss any time. Mobley is questionable heading into Monday's tilt against the Bulls.

Love finished inside the top 100 in per-game value last week (92) after averaging 13.0 points, 7.7 rebounds, 1.0 assists, 2.7 threes and 1.0 stocks across three games in Week 11.

Love's specialties are points, rebounds and threes, so give him a look if you're looking for a big in Week 12.

Advice: Stream in 12 team leagues

Alec Burks - PG/SG/SF, Detroit Pistons (40% rostered)

Killian Hayes has one game before returning from his three-game suspension, but Burks is worth streaming in Week 12 even after Hayes returns. Burks has been a high-usage player for the Pistons off the bench, so fantasy managers should take advantage of him getting a larger share of the workload while Hayes is out of the lineup. The Pistons have a busy four-game week, and two of the teams are against former teams of Burks — the Warriors and Sixers. It's always great when the revenge narrative is in play.

Burks finished 32nd in per-game value in Week 11, averaging 19.5 points, 3.8 rebounds, 3.8 assists, 3.8 threes and 1.5 stocks per contest over his last four games. Keep him locked into lineups.

Advice: Stream in 12 team points and H2H leagues

Jevon Carter - PG/SG, Milwaukee Bucks (15% rostered)

As Jrue Holiday has missed his last three games with a hamstring injury and non-COVID illness, Carter is a plug-and-play. Carter is primarily a defensive specialist, tallying at least one stock in six of his last seven games. He's not producing as he did earlier in the season — where he dropped one of the best sound bites of the year — but he's averaged 9.7 points, 4.0 rebounds, 2.7 assists, 1.7 threes and 1.4 stocks with 44/46/100 shooting splits in 29.3 minutes per contest without Holiday in the lineup the last three games.

Just be aware that Holiday could be back any day now, which would send Carter back to the waivers.

Advice: Stream while Jrue Holiday is out.

Watch list

Mark Williams - C, Charlotte Hornets (16% rostered)

I was too early on the Mark Williams hype train after Williams destroyed the Thunder on Thursday and had his best game as a pro:

Still, he followed up that monster double-double with eight points, seven rebounds and four turnovers in only 15 minutes of play on New Year's Eve.

I grabbed Williams on a couple of teams, but Hornets HC Steve Clifford is going to experiment with several frontcourt players like Nick Richards, Kai Jones and JT Thor along with Williams. Williams earned the most minutes compared to his peers in Saturday's loss to the Nets, but I'm not sure he'll be fully unleashed yet.

Clifford is still using the training wheels for his rookie center, and with so many bodies getting minutes in a deep rotation, consistency is an issue in the short term.

Advice: I'd keep an eye on him for now and would roster him in 14-team leagues until a trade or injury happens to free up more minutes for the big man.

Others to consider by my rankings:

Donte DiVincenzo - PG/SG, Golden State Warriors (42%)

Quentin Grimes - SG/SF, New York Knicks (41%)

Norman Powell - SG/SF, Los Angeles Clippers (48%)

Max Strus - SG/SF, Miami Heat (25%)

Rui Hachimura - SF/PF - Washington Wizards (36%)

Daniel Gafford - C, Washington Wizards (38%)

Kevon Looney - C, Golden State Warriors (29%)

Caris LeVert - SG/SF, Cleveland Cavaliers (37%)