Week 5 Possible Pick-up Preview Post

As week 5 of the NBA is upon us, your fantasy basketball league has probably already seen a few roster position shake-ups.  And, with the adding and dropping of players comes a steady flow of new waiver wire pick-ups for you to contemplate adding to your team.  The following players are a few of those pick-ups you might want to consider:

• Mike Dunleavy--Indiana Pacers (SG/SF) Dunleavy is nearing a return and could pay off big for owners.  Although it will probably take him several games to get into full action, he has tremendous upside if he can remain healthy.  Look for him to take some minutes from Dahntay Jones and Brandon Rush.
• Drew Gooden--Dallas Mavericks (PF/C) With the absence of Dampier, Gooden has come on strong over the past 4 starts, averaging nearly 15 points, 13 rebounds and over a block in 36 minutes.  If he can keep any part of that going he should be rostered in most leagues.
• Anthony Morrow--Golden State Warriors (SG/SF) As I have stated in previous articles, now is the time get him if he is still available!  There is a 50/50 chance he is not sitting around waiting to be picked anymore, let's just say I hope you got there soon enough.  In a starting gig, and a whole 48 minutes of action on Friday, Morrow scored 23 points on 61.5% shooting, with 6 rebounds, 4 3's, and 2 steals.  Not to mention, he's shooting close to 90% from the charity stripe!
• Beno Udrih--Sacramento Kings (PG/SG) Again, with the absence of one player, comes the emergence of another.  In 7 games as a starter (Kevin Martin is out until January), Udrih has averaged 17 points, 5 assists, over 1 three and 37 minutes of action, and he still is owned in less than 50% of leagues!
• Darren Collison--New Orleans Hornets (PG) I'm like a broken record, but Chris Paul has been injured for over a week now and won't return for close to 3 more weeks, and Collison has stepped in nicely over his 5 games as a starter.  He capped Saturday night off scoring 22 points, to go with 11 assists, 2 3's, and a perfect 4/4 from the line.
• Marcus Thornton--New Orleans Hornets (PG/SG) With a rotisserie of players going through the SG position for the Hornets Thornton has been a quiet producer.  Over the past 6 games he has averaged 18 points, including over 2 3's and rebounds, and 1 steal per game.  He ended up playing over 38 minutes in Sunday's game, scoring 24 points and 5 3's, and might end up winning the starting SG position if he keeps playing like that.
• Mickael Pietrus--Orlando Magic (SG/SF) It seems as if  apple Pie-trus has won the starting SF position, even with the return of Rashard Lewis (Lewis is starting at PF).  Although he doesn't fill up the stat sheet, Pietrus can normally be relied on for his scoring and 3's.  If you need a boost in either of those categories take a look at him. 

With managers starting to panic, and fantasy basketball teams starting to unfold, comes an entire new crop of players on the free agent list for you to take a look at.  Don't be shy when it comes to picking up players; if you wait too long the next big thing will pass you by and end up being on someone else's team (a la Brandon Jennings).  Then you won't be able to sleep at night because you won't be able to stop thinking about your team, and you'll wake up with cold sweats thinking why, why?!?  Have at least one roster spot on your team that you are always willing to move for a "hot" pick-up, and just do it!  If it doesn't work out, there will almost always be another player to fill your needs.

Good luck!

By the way, I finally moved out of the basement in my fantasy league, going from 10th to 6th in a 12 team league thanks to a 7-2 victory this past week.  So I know what I'm talking about, ha ha!