Fantasy Basketball 2021: Hidden Gems to Pick Up for NBA Week 8

The Houston Rockets have been one of the most pleasant surprises of the NBA season.

Houston is 7-2 in its past nine games and has easily eclipsed the 100-point mark in all of those contests.

Armoni Brooks and Garrison Mathews have been among the surprise individuals who have led the Rockets during this successful stretch without Jalen Green and John Wall.

Brooks emerged as a fantasy basketball waiver-wire star in the past week, as he attempted 39 field goals in a three-game span.

The rookie's high shot volume makes him a hidden gem among those who are not rostered in a high percentage of Yahoo leagues.

Armoni Brooks announced his spot in Houston's scoring rotation with 14 points against the Brooklyn Nets on Wednesday.

The Houston product followed that up with 21 points versus the Milwaukee Bucks and 18 points in a loss to the Memphis Grizzlies.

The rookie point guard has not been afraid to attempt a high volume of shots. He made 50 percent of his attempts in two of the past three games. Brooks has been effective from three-point range as well, recording four made three-pointers in back-to-back games.

The 23-year-old is rostered in 9 percent of Yahoo fantasy basketball leagues as of Monday, per FantasyPros, so he could be the perfect addition for a roster that needs a jolt in the scoring department.

Marvin Bagley III is making the most out of his run of extended minutes in the Sacramento Kings rotation.

The 2018 first-round pick was on the floor for at least 19 minutes in each of his past four contests.

Bagley has been fairly productive in those appearances, as he reached double figures in points three times and recorded two double-doubles. The consistent increase in minutes is a welcome development for Bagley, who played more than 20 minutes just once in October and November.

He should generate some much-needed confidence from his play over the past week, which could lead to more sustained point and rebound totals. If that is the case, his fantasy roster percentage should move up, so it is worth taking a risk on him.

The Chicago Bulls have half of their roster in health and safety protocols as of Monday morning.

Zach LaVine's entrance into the protocols hurt the potential scoring output of the franchise while the players on the roster get healthy.

Nikola Vucevic and Lonzo Ball will shoulder most of the scoring responsibilities for the time being, but they need help from their teammates for the Bulls to be competitive in the next week.

Alfonzo McKinnie played 29 minutes in Saturday's loss to the Miami Heat. He could feature in a similar role in the next week as Billy Donovan pieces together his rotation.

McKinnie is a risky waiver-wire addition because Ball and Vucevic will still be on the floor, but someone has to score in a supporting role, rebound and dish out some assists. He may not be on your fantasy roster for more than a week, but he could be useful if you need some help at forward.