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Are you looking for something to give your team the edge for your next matchup? Do you have a bench player who you wouldn't miss too much? Do you want, need, have to win? If your answer is YES you're in the right place.
Streaming available players based on their form and schedule can give your team an advantage over your next week's opponent and help you get that much needed W. And we are here to help. We will analyze the schedule for Week 9 of the NBA, take a look at which teams have the best schedules, and focus on their players and what they could provide for your fantasy team.
If you believe streaming can help you take out your next week's rival, look no further. Here are our Fantasy Basketball Streamers for Week 9.
Editor's Note: Our incredible team of writers received five total writing awards and 13 award nominations by the Fantasy Sports Writers Association, tops in the industry! Congrats to all the award winners and nominees including NBA Writer of the Year, Best NFL Series, MLB Series, PGA Writer and Player Notes writer of the year. Be sure to follow their analysis, rankings and advice all year long, and win big with RotoBaller! Read More!
NBA Schedule Guide - Week 9
A pretty evened out week, with no teams playing fewer than three, nor more than four games. But some play on days with 10+ games, while others play on days with just three or five. Of course, we will focus on teams that play on those days with a lower number of games. There are five such teams, and their players should be your primary targets for streaming in Week 9.
Here's the low-down:
Teams with 4 games:
Boston Celtics
Cleveland Cavaliers
Dallas Mavericks
Indiana Pacers
Los Angeles Clippers
Los Angeles Lakers
Memphis Grizzlies
Miami Heat
Oklahoma City Thunder
Philadelphia 76ers
Phoenix Suns
Sacramento Kings
Toronto Raptors
Washington Wizards
Teams with 3 games:
Atlanta Hawks
Brooklyn Nets
Charlotte Hornets
Chicago Bulls
Denver Nuggets
Detroit Pistons
Golden State Warriors
Houston Rockets
Milwaukee Bucks
Minnesota Timberwolves
New Orleans Pelicans
New York Knicks
Orlando Magic
Portland Trail Blazers
San Antonio Spurs
Utah Jazz
Number of teams playing each day:
Monday: 22
Tuesday: 6
Wednesday: 22
Thursday: 8
Friday: 18
Saturday: 14
Sunday: 14
Back-to-Backs (beware of older or banged up players who might rest):
Monday/Tuesday: LAC, PHO
Tuesday/Wednesday: TOR, POR
Wednesday/Thursday: DAL
Thursday/Friday: -
Friday/Saturday: BOS, CHA, OKC, MEM
Saturday/Sunday: LAL
Sunday/Monday the following: NYK, PHI, SAC
Days with seven or fewer games
Tuesday: 3 games
Thursday: 4 games
Saturday: 7 games
Sunday: 7 games
Teams playing on three of these days:
Houston Rockets (3 games total this week)
Los Angeles Clippers (4 games)
Los Angeles Lakers (4 games)
Phoenix Suns (4 games)
San Antonio Spurs (3 games)
Teams playing on Tue/Thurs/Sat:
Houston Rockets
Los Angeles Clippers
Phoenix Suns
San Antonio Spurs
Team playing on Thurs/Sat/Sun:
Los Angeles Lakers
Teams playing three games over the weekend (from Thursday to Sunday)
Los Angeles Lakers
Baller Streaming Strategy for Week 9
Tuesday has just three games and Thursday five, so it is clear that those will be the toughest days to field a decent team. Four teams play on both of these days - Houston, LA Clippers, Phoenix and San Antonio. Furthermore, both Saturday and Sunday have only seven games apiece, and all these teams play on Saturday as well.
The slight advantage goes to the Suns and the Clippers as they have one additional game played on Monday, compared to the Rockets and the Spurs who only play these three games in Week 9.
It's also notable that the Lakers, who also have a four-game week, play on Thursday, and both on Saturday and Sunday, so their players make for a strong end of the week play. We will be looking at them as well.
This week, we will have one really shallow option, so this guy probably isn't available in most leagues, but in case he is, you should pounce on him immediately. To compensate, we will also take a look two other guys who will be available in all but the deepest of leagues.
Streaming Options for the Week
Shallower League Streaming Adds for the Week:
P.J. Tucker, SG/SF, HOU, (36% Owned) - Strong Cats: 3PM, REB, STL
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, PG/SG, LAC (54% Owned) - Strong Cats: FT%, STL/BLK, AST, a bit of everything
Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, SG/SF, LAL, (35% Owned) - Strong Cats: 3PM, PTS, STL, FT%
Josh Hart, SG/SF, LAL, (44% Owned) - Strong Cats: 3PM, STL/BLK
Trevor Ariza, SG/SF, PHO (67% Owned) - Strong Cats: 3PM, STL, REB
Josh Jackson, SG/SF, PHO (33% Owned) - Strong Cats: REB, STL/BLK - buyer beware: poor percentages
Player Recommendations
Shallower League Add
Rudy Gay, SF/PF, SAS, (67% Owned) - Strong Cats: 3PM, PTS, FT%, STL
Once a force both in real life and fantasy, Rudy Gay has slowed down a bit in the past year and a half due to his age and his move to San Antonio. Don't let that fool you though, as he is playing an important role once again, getting 27 minutes per game and returning stats which have him ranked at #69 in Yahoo rankings since the beginning of the season. This is due to his averages of 13.5 PTS with 1.4 3PM on 50.2 FG% and 82.1 FT%, 6.6 REB, 2.1 AST, 0.8 STL, 0.6 BLK, and 1.6 TO.
Moreover, two games ago he showed us a glimpse of the prime Rudy. He went 12-of-21 from the field (2-of-5 from three) and 5-of-5 from the charity stripe for 31 points with six boards, two assists, two steals and three turnovers before fouling out in 35 minutes.
Although we can't really expect Gay to have many games like this one, we could see him average around 15 points on good percentages, six boards and a handful of everything else. Not too shabby for a possible waiver wire add, eh?
Insanely Deep League Add
Mikal Bridges, SG/SF, PHO, (8% Owned) - Strong Cats: STL, 3PM, FT% - buyer beware: poor FG% and quite inconsistent
Now some of you must be thinking: "Hell, no! I'm not falling for him again!". And you would be right. Bridges has had a tough time finding his shot in his first month and a half in the NBA, hitting just 41.3% of his field goals. In addition to this, both his stats and his minutes have been quite fluky, so I wouldn't blame you if you opted for someone else as your streamer for the week. But there are some pretty nice facts backing Mikal up, so before you decide, hear me out.
First of all, he is a beast for steals. He has 1.4 steals in 22 and a half minutes per game in his debut season. Secondly, he brings a contribution to all other columns. A modest one, true, but he still contributes across the board. Third, he is picking his game up slowly. In his last four games, he is averaging two steals, 3.5 rebounds and 1.5 three-pointers. And he is getting more playing time as well, with 31 minutes a night over those four games. And finally, Devin Booker and T.J. Warren are both out with injuries so Bridges will have a lot of opportunity in the short-term.
Additionally, the worst part of Mikal's fantasy game at the moment is his shooting. But he shot 52.5% from the field in college. Now, I know NBA isn't college, but let's not forget that Bridges is a rookie. And the #10 pick at that. So it is to be expected that a decent shooter like Bridges will pick it up when he gets more experience and he is more acclimated to the league.
With four games and a favorable schedule next week, there's no time like the present to take a flier on him.
Another Insanely Deep League Add
Troy Daniels, PG/SG, PHO (1% Owned) - Strong Cats: FT%, 3PM, PTS
With the Suns' starting point guard Isaiah Canaan being waived, it was expected that one of the rookies, Elie Okobo or De'Anthony Melton, will step up to fill his shoes. That hasn't really happened, and instead, Daniels was the one who has been playing the best out of all three recently.
Troy is a proven three-point specialist and with some increased opportunity with Warren and Booker out, he has been flashy lately. He hit 17 threes in the last five games while playing just 21 minutes per game, and is averaging 12.6 points on 48.8% from the field with no misses from four attempts from the charity stripe, 2.6 boards, 0.6 dimes, 0.4 steals, 0.2 blocks, and 1.2 turnovers.
And his last game was his best one as he went 6-of-13 from the field (6-of-10 from beyond the arc) for 18 points and had four rebounds with no other stats, but also no turnovers in 32 minutes.
If Troy can keep hitting those treys, he can have some sneaky value, especially if you need help in that department for your next matchup.
Other Deep League Options for the Week
Danuel House, SG, HOU, (0% Owned) - Strong Cats: a bit of everything
James Ennis III, SF, HOU, (3% Owned) - Strong Cats: 3PM, STL
Gerald Green, SG/SF, HOU, (1% Owned) - Strong Cats: 3PM, FT%
Boban Marjanovic, C, LAC, (5% Owned) - Strong Cats: REB, BLK, FG%, FT%, PTS - buyer beware: they just refuse to unleash the Boban
Patrick Beverley, PG/SG, LAC (21% Owned) - Strong Cats: STL, AST, 3PM, REB
Marcin Gortat, C, LAC, (18% Owned) - Strong Cats: FG%, REB, BLK
Avery Bradley, PG/SG, LAC, (10% Owned) - Strong Cats: none really, but he once was a great fantasy player and is getting 30 minutes a night
Tyson Chandler, C, LAL, (7% Owned) - Strong Cats: FG%, REB, BLK
Elie Okobo, PG, PHO (6% Owned) - Strong Cats: STL, FT%, 3PM
De'Anthony Melton, SG, PHO (7% Owned) - Strong Cats: STL, AST, 3PM
Jamal Crawford, SG/SF, PHO (3% Owned) - Strong Cats: PTS, AST, 3PM
Richaun Holmes, PF/C, PHO, (18% Owned) - Strong Cats: REB, FG%, BLK
Jakob Poeltl, C, SAS, (19% Owned) - Strong Cats: REB, BLK, FG%
Bryn Forbes, PG, SAS, (13% Owned) - Strong Cats: 3PM, PTS, FT%
Davis Bertans, PF/C, SAS, (3% Owned) - Strong Cats: 3PM, FT%, REB
Derrick White, PG, SAS, (11% Owned) - Strong Cats: AST, a bit of everything
Marco Belinelli, SG/SF, SAS, (8% Owned) - Strong Cats: 3PM, PTS, FT%
Patty Mills, PG, SAS, (14% Owned) -P Strong Cats: 3PM, PTS, FT%, AST
Hope you guys enjoyed the article and the advice, and I hope that this will help you win your matchups next week and bragging rights for the week after.
