In Denver, the Nuggets have played without Jamal Murray (recovering from ACL injury) and now will be without Michael Porter Jr. (back). Enter Bones Hyland - a 2021-22 Fantasy Basketball sleeper!
We played almost 1/4 game of the season so far. While it's still early, some teams have changed their roster due to injury or poor performance of the starting player.
To add/drop a player, unless you badly need short-term points for the current week matchup, you need to check the roster situation and roles, player's style instead of the recent stats, or who's hot.
For instance, if LeBron James is out, that doesn't mean that the next small forward in line would replace him. It's clear Anthony Davis or Russell Westbrook would be the beneficiaries.
However, people don't apply the same thinking process when choosing a player from the waiver wire.
All data comes from NBA.com.
Update - Bones Hyland, along with Austin Rivers, will miss multiple games due to COVID.
2021-22 Fantasy Basketball: Bones Hyland
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Denver's Current Roster Situation
Since Michael Porter Jr is out due to a back injury, someone has to step up and play heavy minutes. Facundo Campazzo has been decent for the past few games putting up 11.6 points, 1.2 rebounds, 3.6 assists, 1.4 steals after he logged in 20+ minutes. It's not bad for a waiver player, but Bones Hyland was day-to-day with an ankle injury.
In his return to the floor on Monday, November 29th, Hyland dropped 19 points and added three assists and a steal in 21 minutes against a tough Miami Heat team. Bones knocked down five of his eight 3-pointers and both free throws.
He's Better Than His Competitor
| PLAYER | TEAM | GP | POSS | FREQ | PPP | PTS | FT FREQ | TO FREQ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nikola Jokic | DEN | 14 | 0.8 | 0.035 | 1.55 | 1.2 | 0.091 | 0.091 |
| Ja Morant | MEM | 19 | 2.7 | 0.109 | 1.35 | 3.6 | 0.059 | 0.039 |
| Gary Trent Jr. | TOR | 20 | 1.1 | 0.063 | 1.33 | 1.4 | 0.048 | 0.000 |
| Stephen Curry | GSW | 19 | 1.8 | 0.071 | 1.32 | 2.4 | 0.029 | 0.029 |
| Bones Hyland | DEN | 14 | 0.9 | 0.116 | 1.23 | 1.1 | 0.154 | 0.077 |
| Karl-Anthony Towns | MIN | 20 | 2.0 | 0.093 | 1.23 | 2.5 | 0.200 | 0.100 |
| DeMar DeRozan | CHI | 21 | 3.5 | 0.145 | 1.22 | 4.2 | 0.151 | 0.082 |
| Immanuel Quickley | NYK | 20 | 1.2 | 0.131 | 1.21 | 1.4 | 0.042 | 0.125 |
| Jaylen Brown | BOS | 12 | 1.8 | 0.080 | 1.19 | 2.1 | 0.143 | 0.000 |
| Ricky Rubio | CLE | 20 | 0.6 | 0.031 | 1.18 | 0.7 | 0.000 | 0.091 |
| Gordon Hayward | CHA | 22 | 1.3 | 0.079 | 1.14 | 1.5 | 0.103 | 0.103 |
| De'Andre Hunter | ATL | 11 | 1.4 | 0.117 | 1.13 | 1.5 | 0.067 | 0.000 |
| Joel Embiid | PHI | 10 | 4.5 | 0.190 | 1.11 | 5.0 | 0.333 | 0.111 |
| Tyrese Maxey | PHI | 20 | 1.0 | 0.056 | 1.11 | 1.1 | 0.158 | 0.053 |
His Points Per Play (PPP) in isolation ranks 5th in the league. Even though his sample size is relatively small, his turnover frequency and free-throw frequency are also solid.
According to RAPTOR a metric produced by FiveThirtyEight.com, Hyland has outproduced Campazzo. Although Hyland is just slightly better than average, you need to consider that it includes his recent bad games while playing injured.
Combining all the data we have from various websites, we know that Hyland is a solid isolation player who can shoot three-pointers to expand the court. His defensive liability is a relatively minor issue because he's coming off the bench behind Monte Morris and Will Barton.
Is He Just A Scorer?
Another thing that interests me about his potential is his passing skills. When he attempts to drive, his assist rate is 16.7%. It's noticeable because he's generally categorized as a scorer.
If he is the total package who knows how to shoot, pass and slash, why has he been so obscure so far? His initial given role when the season started was a three-point shooting bench scorer. Thanks to a big night on Monday, he is now shooting 35.2% from deep.
Hyland was contemplated as a good shooter when drafted. According to Kostya Medvedovsky's Blog, three-point shooting needs 242 attempts to be stabilized. Hyland has shot only 71 threes with inconsistent playing time. I expect him to increase his shooting efficiency once he's given consistent minutes.
Conclusion
Bones Hyland is a rookie. With that comes certain expectations, like inconsistent play. Anthony Edwards struggled a lot last year before he started to show his massive potential. It's outrageous to expect Hyland to be explosive right away. However, I believe he will be a solid contributor to Fantasy Basketball teams, we just need to give him a few more games to figure things out.
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