Early-Week Fantasy Basketball Category Streamers for Week 13

Thunder Dan Palyo looks at some early-week waiver wire options for fantasy basketball leagues. These players may be free agents to target on waivers in Week 13.

The NBA season has been a roller coaster already for many fantasy basketball managers. Last week, we saw another slew of injuries to big-time players, which means IR spots are starting to fill up and the waiver wire is starting to thin out as teams look to replace the fantasy production of their injured stars. My goal is to help you navigate the wire this week and optimize your player pickups and streams to get your team on track.

Most leagues limit how many players you can stream each week in daily leagues. If your league only allows three moves per week, you need to be very efficient with your moves and grab players who will help you maximize your games played and help you win an extra category or two of counting stats.

The goal of this article each Monday morning will be to help you plan out your roster moves for the first half of the week. Planning ahead is important and I always include which teams play on optimal days for streaming in the very first section so you can look for additional players that I don't mention as well. All the rostered percentages used in this article are from Yahoo! Let's see who can help us start the week strong!

Weekly Schedule: Monday to Thursday

Teams that play only one game (AVOID): Atlanta, Brooklyn, Golden State, Houston, Indiana, LA Clippers, Minnesota

Teams that play three games (TARGET): Boston, Milwaukee

Teams that play back-to-back nights (TARGET): Phoenix, Orlando, Detroit, Boston

Shallow League Streaming Options

Dennis Schroder - PG (45%)

I try not to recommend too many guys who are 40% owned or more, but I am still a little surprised it's taken managers this long to add Schroder in standard leagues. He's been the clear second option in the Lakers' offense for the last two weeks and his solid play has helped them turn things around a bit and pull off a few nice wins lately. Add him if you haven't already if you need some scoring punch.

Naji Marshall - SG/SF (43%)

One more fairly obvious guy here, and then we will dive a bit deeper. Marshall has been fantastic now two games in a row since Zion Williamson went down with an injury. CJ McCollum returns tonight, but it's pretty clear that Naji is going to play big minutes and soak up a lot of shots on offense until Brandon Ingram returns (which could still be another three or four games). He's doing a little bit of everything, including racking up some really solid defensive stats (six steals in his last two games).

Montrezl Harrell - PF/C (23%)

Joel Embiid doesn't have a timetable to return from his injury, so I am going to assume we get at least a few more games from Trez in the starting lineup. He's very limited as a fantasy player, but he is really darn good at what he does and can really boost your FG%, points, and rebounds. His last three games have been awesome and we can expect something like 18-5 from him on great percentages for as long as he sticks in the lineup. The Sixers have two great matchups to start the week (Detroit again, and then OKC) so he is primed for a couple of nice outings.

Ayo Dosunmu - PG/SG (26%)

With Alex Caruso being banged up yet again (and can't seem to stay healthy), we are seeing Dosunmu's minutes trend back into the low 30s. He's been very inconsistent in the scoring department, but he also doesn't take a lot of shots in this offense and his value is mainly tied to his low turnovers, assists, and steals. It's not an upside add, but if you need a guard who won't hurt your percentages and want to chase some steals, he's your guy (he had five in one game against the Cavs last week).

Landry Shamet - SG (19%)

Shamet has been pretty disappointing since returning from injury as he's posted some fairly lackluster lines. But the minutes are still there and we know he can get hot from beyond the arc, we've seen him do it before. The Suns need guards in such a bad way right now with both Booker and Paul on the shelf, and you have to think that he's going to get it going offensively again at some point.

Deep Leagues Streaming Options

Josh Richardson - SG/SF (18%)

J-Rich is enjoying a nice recent stretch of production and has played 20+ minutes now in four straight. The Spurs are dealing with injuries to Devin Vassell and Keldon Johnson (questionable for tonight) and they badly need more playmakers on the floor. Richardson doesn't start, but he's been coming off the bench and acting as a catalyst for their second unit. He can score, pass, and rack up some defensive stats in a hurry. I think he's one of the best options down under 20% on the wire right now, go get him and do it fast!

Duane Washington Jr. - PG (6%)

With the injuries piling up in Phoenix, Washington might be the best addition of the week in deeper formats. He had his second 25+ point game this season last night as he came off the bench and hit five threes to lead all Phoenix scorers. The guy can get buckets and he now has a clear path to more playing time. He's a solid add or stream this week until we see just how long Chris Paul is going to be out.

Mark Williams - C (9%)

I'm definitely keeping Mark Williams on the list this week. Yes, he's been limited to around 15 minutes per game, but he continues to produce decent numbers in those minutes, and at some point, you have to think that Charlotte is going to give him a few more minutes. He's just teeming with upside in boards and blocks and he gets an undersized Raptors team twice to start the week. Go grab him if you need help in big man categories.

Anthony Lamb - SF/PF (6%)

Lamb is a repeat from last week, but what a week he had! He's coming off a career game against Orlando where he went 26-8-4 with two steals and five threes! His solid play has earned him major minutes in the rotation and as long as the Warriors have Wiseman, Kuminga, and JaMychal Green on the shelf, I would expect Lamb and Looney to continue to play solid minutes.

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