A double-game week is a tempting time to grab the first available player on a hot team. Round 5 has four double-game clubs — Tasmania, Sydney, South East Melbourne and New Zealand — but fantasy draft managers should resist treating every bench eruption as a permanent promotion.
The official NBL Round 5 guide confirms the four double-game teams, while the NBL schedule begins on Wednesday, 14 October. These are priority checks if the player is available in your particular Buckets Draft league, not claims about universal waiver availability. Confirm player position eligibility and your league’s round-scoring settings before lodging a claim.
Priority 1: David Johnson — useful role, inflated recent ceiling
Johnson has the best blend of recent evidence and plausible short-term opportunity on this list. The Tasmania wing produced a spectacular 32-point game against Illawarra, and the league’s Round 5 SuperCoach guide records 41 fantasy points in Round 4. Tasmania now has two fixtures. That combination makes him an obvious first check in leagues where he is somehow still unrostered.
The catch is the nature of the breakout. The NBL’s report on Tasmania’s record 122-point game describes extraordinary team shooting. Johnson’s scoring burst was real; it is not proof he will get the same shots, minutes or efficiency every night. Draft call: ADD if available and you need scoring upside; do not pay as though the 32-point outing is his baseline.
Priority 2: Taran Armstrong — a safer creation profile
Armstrong is a different proposition. The league lists him at 30.8 SuperCoach points per game entering Round 5, and Tasmania’s double gives him two chances to contribute. As a ball-handler, his appeal is not dependent solely on three-point accuracy; assists and on-ball responsibility can support a more repeatable fantasy line.
The NBL’s earlier account of his return to Tasmania described his established role running the JackJumpers. That supports the type of opportunity we are targeting, though it does not guarantee a particular number of assists this week. Draft call: ADD where available, especially if your roster lacks a dependable guard; check scoring format before preferring him to a higher-upside scorer.
Priority 3: Josh Bannan — frontcourt production before fixture hype
Bannan’s 38 SuperCoach points in Round 4 and two Tasmania games put him firmly on the radar. He is less likely to be sitting on a waiver wire in competitive leagues, but a player should not be ignored merely because he is a recognisable name. Check first, then move on if he is rostered.
Unlike a speculative injury replacement, Bannan already has an established frontcourt role. That matters more than trying to guess who will receive ten extra minutes after a team-mate is hurt. Draft call: priority frontcourt ADD if available; otherwise do not burn time chasing a player your league already owns.
Watch, not automatic add: New Zealand’s replacement ball-handlers
Parker Jackson-Cartwright is expected to miss both of New Zealand’s Round 5 games. That creates a real distribution problem, but it does not establish a single new 30-minute starting point guard. The NBL injury update lists Jackson-Cartwright’s lower-leg issue as return TBC, while the Round 5 SuperCoach report says he will miss both fixtures.
Izayah Le’Afa and Dejan Vasiljevic are names to check in confirmed team selections because they are established Breakers guards, not because we can prove either inherits Jackson-Cartwright’s entire workload. Mojave King is a separate wing-scoring option rather than an obvious point-guard substitute. The club’s confirmed signing of King was as an injury replacement for Josiah-Jordan James, not for Jackson-Cartwright. Draft call: WATCH the starting five and actual ball-handling split; avoid a blind high-priority claim on a guessed replacement.
Longer-term watch: Makur Maker
Maker has already appeared in Buckets’ earlier NBL27 coverage, and the NBL’s Round 5 guide lists a 19.3 SuperCoach average with an Illawarra double coming in Round 6. He is not a Round 5 fixture play: Illawarra plays once. His value is as a developing big-man role worth reassessing after more minutes data.
If your bench has room for an upside stash, Maker is a legitimate candidate. If you need a guaranteed starter this round, he is not the safe answer. Draft call: STASH in deeper leagues; reassess before Round 6 rather than assume an instant breakout.
How to set the claims
For a typical league where Johnson, Armstrong and Bannan are all genuinely free agents, the order depends on roster needs: Armstrong first for reliable guard creation; Bannan first for frontcourt balance; Johnson first for an aggressive scoring swing. This is intentionally different from simply ranking last weekend’s points. Where your league uses best-game rather than cumulative-round scoring, the value of two fixtures can change materially.
Do not claim that a player is free in your league until you have checked the waiver screen. Do not assume a player’s SuperCoach price, ownership percentage or eligibility translates to Buckets Draft. Use the Buckets draft strategy guide for roster and scoring context, and verify final teams before the first Round 5 game.
Buckets verdict: The Round 5 waiver edge is identifying repeatable opportunity before everyone chases the same hot box score. Johnson is the upside scorer, Armstrong the creation play, Bannan the balanced frontcourt check, and New Zealand’s guard situation a wait-for-evidence puzzle. There is no reason to invent a Parker Jackson-Cartwright replacement before the Breakers actually show us one.
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