Fantasy Basketball Playoff Adds & Hired Guns - Semifinal Week

If you are reading this, that means you survived quarterfinal week or were fortunate enough to have earned a first round bye. The pickings are getting mighty slim at this juncture and the viable fantasy options on the waiver wire are few and far between among the frenzy of lineup shuffling that you are undoubtedly seeing on a nightly basis in leagues that allow daily lineup changes.

Building upon the initial edition of Playoff Adds & Hired Guns posted Friday and our Playoff Cram Session article, here are some players that can help you this week as you battle for the right to play for a championship.

Adds

Joakim Noah - Games This Week: 3 - Tuesday Boston, Thursday At Cleveland and Saturday Washington 

For every bad game, Noah has 3-4 solid games and one breakout performance that shows his true potential like his 18 points 15 rebound effort on Saturday night against Milwaukee. If he is still floating around your waiver wire grab him and hold on to him. He will be a good source of rebounds, puts up decent defensive statistics and can score in the mid teens which is an added bonus.

Michael Finley - Games This Week: 3 - Tuesday Golden State, Friday At Utah and Sunday At Portland

In the spirit of Jerry Stackhouse, Michael Finley is experiencing a mini renaissance. He is coming off a solid week averaging around 19 points, 5 rebounds and 2 three pointers a game over his last four. On Sunday, Finley had one of his better games of the season pouring home 22 points to go along with 6 rebounds. He is seeing around 25-30 minutes a night lately and can be a solid contributor in points and three pointers while helping out in rebounds. 

Nate Robinson - Games This Week: 4 - Tuesday At Milwaukee, Wednesday At Memphis, Friday At New Orleans and Sunday Orlando

Nate returned to action Sunday after missing the last four games with a sprained right knee. In only 18 minutes, Nate put up 12 points and 3 assists, picking up where he left off before being sidelined. It appears the Knicks will choose to play him the rest of the way if he is healthy, making him a steal off the waiver wire at this juncture. Nate can score points in bunches and contribute across the board in three pointers, assists, steals and to a lesser extent rebounds.

Also keep notice that the Knicks are among the few teams that play 4 games this week adding to Robinson's immediate value.

Hired Guns

Leon Powe - Games This Week: 3 - Tuesday At Chicago, Wednesday Indiana and Saturday At Charlotte

With the season winding down and the Celtics all but a lock for the #1 seed in the East, Powe is slowly starting to see increased playing time in frontcourt as the Celtics begin to look towards the playoffs. The big man is a good source of rebounds and can put up point total in the low to mid teens when given 25 minutes a night which seems very feasible going forward. He is a decent start in any of the Celtics 3 games this week.

Brevin Knight - Games This Week: 4 - Monday Dallas, Wednesday At Seattle, Thursday At Sacramento and Sunday Houston.

Knight is always being added and dropped and there is a good chance he is available in your league right now. Knight isn't much of a scorer; however, if you are looking for assists he on the better guys to roll the dice on. In his last game against Memphis Saturday, Knight had 11 assists to go along with 14 points showing fantasy owners that he can be a good play given the right matchup. He is a good play on Wednesday and Thursday this week in road games versus the Sonics and Kings. Grab him Tuesday and milk out two starts.

Quentin Richardson - Games This Week: 4 - Tuesday At Milwaukee, Wednesday At Memphis, Friday At New Orleans and Sunday Orlando

Q is far from a sexy option; however, he is seeing ample playing time (46 minutes in his return Friday night and 30 minutes Sunday) and has the ability to help across multiple categories. Friday night he had a great game putting up 20 points, 10 rebounds, 6 assists and 2 three pointers. Although I don't trust Q on a regular basis, he can have great fantasy upside against poor defensive clubs. I recommend using him on Tuesday At Milwaukee and Wednesday At Memphis.

Francisco Garcia - Games This Week: 4 - Tuesday Houston, Thursday LA Clippers, Saturday At Denver, Sunday LA Lakers

Garcia has been very up and down this season due to inconsistent playing time. Over his last 4 games he has seen between 27-30 minutes and is averaging around 15 points, 4 rebounds and 2 three pointers a game. Sunday against Seattle Garcia put up 21 points, 5 rebounds and 2 three pointers in 29 minutes of play. If he continues to see 27+ minutes a night, Garcia can be a solid regular contributor down the stretch. He is a good play against the Clippers Thursday and At Denver Saturday.