RADIO
As promised last week, I'm keeping the insightful intro my mate and chief NBA editor here at RotoBaller Trevor passed on as a legacy. I'dd just like to add that we will be focusing a bit more on deeper league adds, as those players are bit more tricky to find compared to the more obvious options available in shallower leagues.
This year we'll take more of a holistic approach to streaming, by providing a weekly overview of which teams to look at based on their schedules and what players to consider targeting in advance to maximize the bang for the buck you get out of limited weekly transactions. Streaming is just about maximizing a roster spot with whoever is available after all, it's never about targeting a specific player.
Anybody can go onto their waiver wire, look for the most interesting player with a game the next day, and add him. So we'll be plotting out our moves in advance because being able to target a stream two days out or add two extra games in one transaction is where you can really gain an edge over the average streamer. Hopefully, this weekly overview will help you realize that edge. Below you will find my fantasy basketball streamers for Week 15.
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NBA Schedule Guide - Week 15
Week 14 has two key days with just five and four games - Tuesday and Thursday. As a result, we will focus on teams playing on those days and players on those teams who might be available in your league and should help you sneak that extra category or two and win your matchup for the week.
Teams with 4 games:
Atlanta Hawks, Charlotte Hornets, Chicago Bulls, Dallas Mavericks, Houston Rockets, Los Angeles Clippers, Minnesota Timberwolves, New Orleans Pelicans, Oklahoma City Thunder ,Philadelphia 76ers, Phoenix Suns, Sacramento Kings, San Antonio Spurs
Teams with 3 games:
Boston Celtics, Brooklyn Nets, Cleveland Cavaliers, Denver Nuggets, Detroit Pistons, Golden State Warriors, Indiana Pacers, Los Angeles Lakers, Memphis Grizzlies, Miami Heat, Milwaukee Bucks, New York Knicks, Portland Trail Blazers, Toronto Raptors, Utah Jazz, Washington Wizards
Teams with 2 games:
Orlando Magic
Number of teams playing each day:
Monday: 18
Tuesday: 10
Wednesday: 18
Thursday: 8
Friday: 20
Saturday: 14
Sunday: 14
Back-to-Backs (beware of older banged up players who might rest):
Atlanta: Fri/Sat
Boston: Tue/Wed
Brooklyn: Fri/Sat
Charlotte: Fri/Sat
Dallas: Fri/Sat
Detroit: Sat/Sun
Indiana: Fri/Sat
Minnesota: Wed/Thurs
New York: Thurs/Fri
Oklahoma City: Sat/Sun
Sacramento: Mon/Tue
San Antonio: Tue/Wed
Teams Playing Twice on Days with Five or Fewer Games (Tue/Thurs):
Golden State, New York, Oklahoma City, Sacramento
Teams Playing Three in Four Days on the Weekend:
Oklahoma City
Baller Streaming Strategy for the Week
With only two days having fewer than seven games, it's a pretty evened out week. The two critical days we will be focused on Tuesday with five games and Thursday with four.
The teams with games on both those days are Golden State, New York, Oklahoma City and Sacramento, while only the later two have four games in this week. GSW and NYK play only one more game. The Warriors have a Saturday showdown against Boston while the Knicks finish off a back-to-back set on the road at Phoenix.
Sacramento's players are great pickups to start the week with games on Mon, Tue and Thurs. They finish off the week with a game against the defense oriented Spurs. Beware if you're looking to add their veterans though. The Kings are on a road trip this week so all these are away games and coach Dave Joerger said that he will be resting two "older" guys in every game.
As for closing out the week and getting that extra edge on the final couple of days, OKC is your team! In addition to playing on Tue and Thurs, they play a back-to-back on Saturday and Sunday, both days with 7 games. Pretty awesome for streaming, isn't it?
So we will focus on the Kings and the Thunder players, but will pay some attention to the situation in Golden State and New York as well.
Streaming Options the Week
More Obvious Streaming Adds from SAC, OKC, GSW and NYK for the Week:
De'Aaron Fox, PG, SAC, (54% Owned) - Strong Cats: FT%, AST, STL
Buddy Hield, SG, SAC, (52% Owned) - Strong Cats: FT%, 3PM, PTS
Michael Beasley, SF/PF, NYK (44% Owned) - Strong Cats: FG%, PTS, REB, BLK
Courtney Lee, SG/SF, NYK, (63% Owned) - Strong Cats: FT%, 3PM, PTS
George Hill, PG/SG, SAC, (51% Owned) - Strong Cats: 3PM, AST, STL, PTS
Bogdan Bogdanovic, SG, SAC (45% Owned) - Strong Cats: FG%, FT%, 3PM, STL, a bit of everything
MY MAN!!! This guy is my favorite active player. Why you ask?
Well, first of all, we're both from Serbia.
Second, he played for my favorite team in the whole world, Partizan Belgrade, and helped us win several championships! Actually, "helped" is an understatement. He led us to several championships. Yeah, that's more accurate.
Third, his performances for our National Team have always been great, and he plays his heart out every single game. He brought us great success there too.
Fourth, he is a winner. He won, or achieved great results everywhere he went. He has a lot of trophies in Serbia and the Region, he won the Turkish championship and Euroleague with Fenerbahce and has several second places with the Serbian national team too. The Olympics, the World Championship, the European Championship (where we played without Nikola Jokic, Milos Teodosic, Nemanja Bjelica and several other great players)...
And fifth, and most important...well if you've seen him play you know.
Sorry if I overstated my position on 2BOG, but if he is by any chance still on your waiver wire, go pick him up immediately. Not just because of this week's schedule, but because he can really become great. In the last two weeks, Bogdan has averaged 17.6 PTS with 2.4 3PM on 56.3 FG% and 88.9 FT%, 4.0 REB, 3.3 AST, 0.9 STL, 0.0 BLK and 1.9 TO in 31 minutes per game. He even started a few of those seven games.
PICK HIM UP!!!
Skal Labissiere, PF/C, SAC (13% Owned) - Strong Cats: REB, STL, BLK
Now Skal was playing great to finish last season averaging 12.2 PTS on 52.7 FG% and 70.6 FT%, 6.3 REB, 1.3 AST, 0.6 STL, 0.6 BLK and 1.3 TO in 26 minutes per contest since he was unleashed in mid March. He started off poorly this season however, and that had him dropped in most leagues, but he is starting to pick it up again getting 7.8 points with 6.0 rebounds and 1.0 steals for his owners in his last six games.
If defensive stats and rebounds are what your team needs, and you aren't bothered by a few missed free throws, you could give Skal a go in a deeper league.
Andre Roberson, SG/SF, OKC (7% Owned) - Strong Cats: REB, STL, BLK, FG%
It's pretty much slim pickings in Oklahoma after the top four guys (who are owned in 88% or more leagues), but Roberson is the next in line with some fantasy value. He is strictly a deep league specialist and he is not a good fit for every team.
He will tank your FT% (just yesterday he managed to miss four free throws in a row with no time elapsing on the clock), he will pass up open shots and will be of virtually no help in points and threes. If you can live with that, and could use a guy who averages 4.8 boards, 1.1 STL, 0.9 BLK, 53.2 FG% and just 0.9 TO in 27 minutes a night, Andre is the streamer you're looking for this week.
Jerami Grant, SF/PF, OKC (2% Owned) - Strong Cats: BLK, STL, REB, FG%
There are a lot of similarities in the games of Jerami Grant and Andre Roberson. They aren't offensively oriented, don't get many touches, rarely shoot the three and they can't hit their free throws (although to be fair to Grant, he looks like Peja Stojakovic compared to Andre this season). On the other hand, they get busy on the defensive end, grab some boards and don't hurt your FG% or TO.
Grant only plays 20 minutes a game, but if a few boards and some defensive stats are what you're looking for, and your league is hella deep, he might just be able to help you.
Golden State's bigs
Now here is a mystery. Who the hell are the Warriors going to play this week? Who will step up? Who will have us cursing his name as we watch our opponent get away from us in that rebound or block column? I honestly don't know. But I do know that Jordan Bell is out and that opens up some minutes for Zaza Pachulia, David West and Kevon Looney. None of them are anything more than a deep league streamer, but all of them have some strong suits.
If you're looking for rebounds, you're best off with Zaza. He's averaging 7.5 in 17 minutes in his last two without Bell. He has great percentages (58.9 FG%, 84.4 FT%) too.
If you're looking for defensive stats West is your guy with 0.6 STL and 1.1 BLK in just 13 minutes. He has a more positive impact on your FG% than both Zaza and Kevon too.
If you like to take risks, and love upside players, then you can go with Looney. He didn't shine in the increased opportunity with Bell on the sidelines, but he did play 30 minutes in the game before last. If you're looking for that X factor, it's a longshot but we have seen some great lines from GSW youth when given the chance.
Jarrett Jack, PG/SG, NYK (21% Owned) - Strong Cats: AST, STL, FT%
Jack was getting pretty hot there around New Year, even getting a triple-double against Chicago on Jan 10, but has hit a cold streak in his last three. Nevertheless, if you're after some PG categories, with the Knicks favorable schedule, he could be just what the doctor ordered.
He is averaging 11.4 points with 0.6 three-pointers on 55.6 from the field and no misses from the line, 3.1 boards, 7.3 dimes, 0.9 steals, 0.1 blocks and 2.9 turnovers in 29 minutes per game in the last two weeks. Even the addition of Trey Burke hasn't impacted his playing time so look for him to bounce back this week and help you win the AST column.
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