RADIO
This is it! Everything we have worked for this whole season is coming to a culmination in Week 21. Some leagues have already started their playoffs, but in most leagues, Week 21 is the Regular season finale. For those of us in the hunt, it's the last chance to make the playoffs. For those lucky enough to have already secured a spot, it's a chance to pick up the best seed possible and improve the chances of lifting the trophy.
The perfect time to say "Thanks" to those marginal players with poor schedules in favor of fresh pickups from the waiver wire that will vastly improve your chances of winning this week's matchup. It's important who you pick, but it can be even more important when he plays, so we will be looking at teams 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.
It's GO BIG or GO HOME! Are you ready!? Here are our Fantasy Basketball Streamers for Week 21.
NBA Schedule Guide - Week 21
It's pretty evened out this week with most days having seven or more games. The critical days for most teams will be Thursday and Saturday with just five games apiece. This is where the schedule will take the biggest toll and this is what we will concentrate on.
Here's the low-down:
Teams with 4 games:
Chicago Bulls
Cleveland Cavaliers
Denver Nuggets
Golden State Warriors
Houston Rockets
Indiana Pacers
Los Angeles Lakers
Memphis Grizzlies
Miami Heat
New Orleans Pelicans
Orlando Magic
Toronto Raptors
Utah Jazz
Teams with 3 games:
Atlanta Hawks
Boston Celtics
Brooklyn Nets
Charlotte Hornets
Dallas Mavericks
Detroit Pistons
Los Angeles Clippers
Milwaukee Bucks
New York Knicks
Oklahoma City Thunder
Philadelphia 76ers
Phoenix Suns
Portland Trail Blazers
Sacramento Kings
San Antonio Spurs
Washington Wizards
Team with 2 games:
Minnesota Timberwolves
Number of teams playing each day:
Monday: 14
Tuesday: 16
Wednesday: 14
Thursday: 10
Friday: 20
Saturday: 10
Sunday: 18
Back-to-Backs (beware of older banged up players who might rest):
Dallas: Sat/Sun
Denver: Tue*/Wed
Golden State: Thurs/Fri*
Houston: Tue*/Wed*
LA Clippers: Fri/Sat
Memphis: Fri/Sat*
Miami: Mon/Tue*
New Orleans: Tue*/Wed*
Orlando: Fri*/Sat*
Portland: Mon*/Tue
Toronto: Tue/Wed*
Washington: Fri*/Sat*
* = away game
Teams playing twice on days with 5 or fewer games:
Charlotte, Miami, Oklahoma City, Phoenix, San Antonio
Teams playing three games over the weekend (Thursday to Sunday):
Golden State
Baller Streaming Strategy for Week 21
With the days pretty evened out this week, every team will have a hole on a day or two, but most fantasy teams will suffer on five-game Thursday and Saturday. That is where most teams will need help and that is what we will focus on.
Five teams play on both those days and it would be wise to target their players. These teams are Charlotte, Miami, Oklahoma City, Phoenix and San Antonio.
From this lot, only Miami plays four games this week. All other teams play three. Advantage Miami. Furthermore, they play on Monday and Tuesday, so their players are the best early week pickups. Match point. Moreover, Miami is dealing with a few absences which could open up court time for some players available even in the deepest of leagues. Game, set, match!
So, Miami's guys will have the most opportunity to help you out, but we won't turn our backs to players from the other four teams with favorable schedules. Here's my take on who to target this week.
Streaming Options for the Week
Shallower League Streaming Adds for the Week:
James Johnson, SF/PF, MIA (44% Owned) - Strong Cats: FG%, AST, STL/BLK
Kelly Olynyk, PF/C, MIA, (36% Owned) - Strong Cats: FG%, REB, 3PM
Tyler Johnson (currently day-to-day), PG/SG, MIA (34% Owned) - Strong Cats: FT%, STL, a bit of everything
Jeremy Lamb, SG/SF, CHA, (40% Owned) - Strong Cats: 3PM, FT%, REB, PTS, a bit of everything
Marvin Williams, SF/PF, CHA, (43% Owned) - Strong Cats: 3PM, REB, FT%, a bit of everything
Alex Len, PF/C, PHO, (31% Owned) - Strong Cats: REB, BLK, FG%
Dejounte Murray, PG/SG, SAS, (45% Owned) - Strong Cats: AST, REB, STL
Rudy Gay, SF/PF, SAS, (43% Owned) - Strong Cats: REB, PTS, a bit of everything
Kyle Anderson, SG/SF, SAS, (25% Owned) - Strong Cats: REB, STL/BLK, FG%, a bit of everything
Player recommendations
Shallower League Add
Frank Kaminsky, PF/C, CHA, (38% Owned) - Strong Cats: FT%, REB, 3PM
Frank "The Tank" is showing his true potential and is Charlotte's second scorer, behind their undisputed leader - Kemba Walker, in the last five games. During that period Kaminsky's posted some lines and is averaging 16.4 PTS with 2.8 3PM on 50.0 FG% and 80.0 FT%, 4.0 REB, 2.0 AST, 0.2 STL, 0.6 BLK and 0.4 TO in almost 25 minutes per game. This insanely efficient shooting has gotten him in the top-100 for the period.
Even though we can't expect Frank to keep this level up for too long, the bright side is, he only needs to do it for another week or so and his owners in need of threes, rebounds or points will be glad he was their pickup when he pushes them towards the playoffs.
Deep League Add
Justise Winslow, SF/PF, MIA, (21% Owned) - Strong Cats: REB, STL, a bit of everything
Justise Winslow has been filling it up lately. In his last four games, he has averaged 12.3 PTS with 1.5 3PM on 55.9 FG% and 62.5 FT%, 4.5 REB, 2.3 AST, 1.8 STL, 0.8 BLK and 1.0 TO in 26 minutes a game. That's creeping up on top-50 value right there. Now Tyler Johnson being out for the last two has helped him get more time, but boy did he use it well.
If you anticipate that you will need some help to win boards and stocks this week, a mix of Winslow's skill and Miami's great schedule could be the winning formula.
Insanely Deep League Add
Jerami Grant, SF/PF, OKC, (3% Owned) - Strong Cats: FG%, REB, BLK
Jerami Grant has scored in double digits in 7 of his past 11 games, and in four straight. And scoring is NOT his strong suit. His 11.4 points with 0.8 threes on 58.1% from the field and 63.6% from the line along with 4.0 boards, 0.5 dimes, 0.3 steals, 0.8 blocks and 0.8 turnovers in 21 minutes per game are a clear sign that Grant is filling his role quite nicely.
He is helping Oklahoma in their playoff push and, if he can keep this up, he could help out a deep league team with the same goal. Will that team be yours?
Other Deep League Options for the Week
Wayne Ellington (currently day-to-day), SG/SF, MIA (14% Owned) - Strong Cats: 3PM, FT%, PTS
Rodney McGruder, SG, MIA, (0% Owned) - Strong Cats: 3PM
Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, SF, CHA, (22% Owned) - Strong Cats: FG%, REB, STL/BLK
Michael Carter-Williams, PG, CHA, (1% Owned) - Strong Cats: REB, AST, STL/BLK
Patrick Patterson, PF/C, OKC, (2% Owned) - Strong Cats: 3PM, FT%
Raymond Felton, PG, OKC, (1% Owned) - Strong Cats: 3PM, FT%, AST
Tyson Chandler, C, PHO, (10% Owned) - Strong Cats: FG%, REB
Dragan Bender, PF/C, PHO, (4% Owned) - Strong Cats: 3PM, REB, STL/BLK
Danny Green, SG/SF, SAS, (23% Owned) - Strong Cats: 3PM, FT%, STL/BLK
Patty Mills, PG, SAS, (16% Owned) - Strong Cats: 3PM, FT%, AST
Manu Ginobili, SG/SF, SAS, (3% Owned) - Strong Cats: 3PM, FT%, AST
Hope you guys enjoyed the article and the advice, and I hope that this will help you win your matchups for next and bragging rights for the week after.
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