RADIO
Another week of fantasy NBA is ahead of us and even though we're still in the first half of our seasons, every matchup is important. Not just for bragging rights over our rival this week, but also because every win brings us a step closer to the playoffs and having a better position when it is most important.
For those of us using our last roster spot to gain advantage week after week by streaming, the following week is as good as any to find additional value in our free-agent pool. To help us all out, I've taken a look at the NBA schedule for next week and written down some thoughts about the fantasy basketball streamers for Week 9.
Here's what you can expect if you're streaming.
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
Once again, Tuesday (six games), Thursday (four games) and Sunday (five games) will be the most difficult for fantasy owners. All other days have eight or more games so we will be focusing all our attention on players from teams that play on these three days.
Here's the low-down:
Teams with 4 games:
Charlotte Hornets
Dallas Mavericks
Detroit Pistons
Los Angeles Clippers
Memphis Grizzlies
Milwaukee Bucks
Oklahoma City Thunder
Phoenix Suns
Portland Trail Blazers
Toronto Raptors
Washington Wizards
Teams with 3 games:
Atlanta Hawks
Boston Celtics
Brooklyn Nets
Chicago Bulls
Cleveland Cavaliers
Denver Nuggets
Houston Rockets
Indiana Pacers
Los Angeles Lakers
Miami Heat
Minnesota Timberwolves
New Orleans Pelicans
New York Knicks
Orlando Magic
Philadelphia 76ers
Sacramento Kings
San Antonio Spurs
Utah Jazz
Teams with 2 games:
Golden State Warriors
Number of teams playing each day:
Monday: 14
Tuesday: 12
Wednesday: 18
Thursday: 8
Friday: 20
Saturday: 18
Sunday: 10
Back-to-Backs (beware of older or banged up players who might rest):
Monday/Tuesday: PHO
Tuesday/Wednesday: CHA, NOP, ORL
Wednesday/Thursday: -
Thursday/Friday: -
Friday/Saturday: DET, MEM, MIN, NYK, PHI, PHO, POR, SAC, WAS
Saturday/Sunday: CHA, LAC, MIL
Sunday/Monday the following: DEN, IND, TOR
Days with six or fewer games
Tuesday: 6 games
Thursday: 4 games
Sunday: 5 games
Teams playing on all three days:
Los Angeles Clippers (4 games - Tues, Thurs, Sat, Sun)
Los Angeles Lakers (3 games - Tues, Thurs, Sun)
Teams playing on Tue/Thurs:
Atlanta Hawks (3 games - Tues, Thurs, Sat)
Brooklyn Nets (3 games - Tues, Thurs, Sat)
Utah Jazz (3 games - Tues, Thurs, Sat)
Los Angeles Clippers
Los Angeles Lakers
Teams playing on Tue/Sun:
Charlotte Hornets (4 games - Tues, Wed, Sat, Sun)
Indiana Pacers (3 games - Tues, Fri, Sun)
Los Angeles Clippers
Los Angeles Lakers
Team playing on Thurs/Sun:
Milwaukee Bucks (4 games - Mon, Thurs, Sat, Sun)
Los Angeles Clippers
Los Angeles Lakers
Teams playing three games over the weekend (from Thursday to Sunday)
Los Angeles Clippers
Milwaukee Bucks
Baller Streaming Strategy for Week 9
Similarly to the previous week, Tuesday, Thursday and Sunday are the scarcest days as there are between four and six games played on each of them.
The Lakers and the Clippers are the only teams to play on all three of these days and their players are our primary targets for streaming this week.
Six other teams play two games on these three days - Atlanta, Brooklyn, Charlotte, Indiana, Milwaukee, and Utah.
Atlanta, Brooklyn, and Utah play on both Tuesday and Thursday, so if you have full lineups for Monday and Wednesday, and your options from the LA teams aren't great, you could resort to players from either one of these teams for help at the beginning of the week. They play just one more game though, and that's on Saturday with nine games, so you could swap the guy you put in for Tuesday and Thursday out on Friday if you need help on either Friday or Sunday, provided you're set for Saturday.
Charlotte and Indiana play on Tuesday and Sunday so you will need to find another way to fill in the void on Thursday if you opt for their players.
Milwaukee can help with filling out your lineups for Thursday with a four-game slate next week. And with their games coming on Monday, Thursday, Saturday and Sunday, they're players are great to end the week with.
Here are some options from these eight teams.
Streaming Options for Week 9
Shallower League Streaming Adds for the Week:
Patrick Beverley, PG/SG, LAC, (59% Owned) - Strong Cats: 3PM, STL, AST, a bit of everything but low FG% - buyer beware: missed the previous game with a concussion
Ivica Zubac, C, LAC, (28% Owned) - Strong Cats: REB, FG%, FT%, BLK
JaVale McGee, C, LAL, (36% Owned) - Strong Cats: REB, FG%, STL/BLK
Dwight Howard, PF/C, LAL, (41% Owned) -Strong Cats: REB, FG%, STL/BLK
Danny Green, SG/SF, LAL, (51% Owned) - Strong Cats: 3PM, REB, STL/BLK
Jabari Parker, SF/PF, ATL, (74% Owned) - Strong Cats: PTS, REB, a bit of everything. Additional value while John Collins out until Dec 23!!!
Alex Len, PF/C, ATL, (34% Owned) - Strong Cats: REB, BLK, 3PM
De'Andre Hunter, SF, ATL, (32% Owned) - Strong Cats: 3PM, PTS
Kevin Huerter, SG, ATL, (42% Owned) - Strong Cats: 3PM, PTS, some AST
DeAndre Jordan, C, BKN, (7% Owned) -Strong Cats: REB, FG%, STL/BLK
Joe Harris, SG/SF, BKN, (70% Owned) - Strong Cats: 3PM, PTS, FT%, FG%
Taurean Prince, SF/PF, BKN, (56% Owned) - Strong Cats: 3PM, PTS, REB, STL
Nicolas Batum, SG/SF, CHA, (28% Owned) - Strong Cats: 3PM, AST - buyer beware: missed his previous two games with a finger issue, but could have great value with PJ Washington and Marvin Williams out
Cody Zeller, PF/C, CHA, (50% Owned) - Strong Cats: REB, FG%, BLK/STL
Miles Bridges, SF, CHA, (79% Owned) - Strong Cats: 3PM, STL/BLK, REB, PTS
Jeremy Lamb, SG/SF, IND, (76% Owned) - Strong Cats: 3PM, PTS, FT%, REB
T.J. Warren, SF/PF, IND, (78% Owned) - Strong Cats:3PM, PTS, STL
Joe Ingles, SG/SF, UTA, (64% Owned) - Strong Cats: 3PM, AST, STL
Shallower League Add
Taurean Prince, SF/PF, BKN - 56% Owned
Strong Cats: 3PM, PTS, REB, STL
Taurean has been one of the nices surprises at the back end of the drafts this season. He is playing well above his ADP of 140, and his averages of 13.1 PTS with 2.7 3PM on 39.6 FG% and 72.7 FT%, 6.3 REB, 2.2 AST, 0.9 STL, 0.4 BLK, and 2.1 TO in over 30 minutes per game have him ranked around the top-100 on Yahoo. This is some great stuff by Taurean, and if he could get his shot to start falling more often, he could improve even further.
With Caris Levert out for at least another week or two, and Iman Shumpert getting waived, Prince should be getting 30+ minutes per game, even with the return of Wilson Chandler, and therefore continue to provide for his owners.
So, if you don't mind the poor percentages, you could use a three-point specialist who contributes across the board, and Prince is available in your league, Tuesday of Week 9 is the ideal time to add him with three games from Tuesday to Saturday.
Deeper League Add
Donte Divincenzo, SG, MIL - 9% Owned
Strong Cats: 3PM, STL, FT%, a little bit of everything
I had a difficult time picking between Donte and George Hill who will both benefit from Eric Bledsoe's two-week absence, but I went with youth and potential here. Donte was a starter in the first game without Bledsoe and done quite nicely with 15 points (6-of-8 from the field, 1-of-2 for three and 2-of-2 from the line), five boards, four dimes, three steals and one turnover in 25 minutes.
He was also starting when Khris Middleton was out a month ago and had decent averages of around 10 points, five rebounds, two assists, 1.5 threes, and 1.5 steals. If his last game was any indication, DiVincenzo could keep it going in the starter role and stick around the top-100, at least in the short-term.
If you could use some three-points shooting and steals, DiVincenzo is a great target, especially late in the week with three games coming from Thursday until Sunday.
Insanely Deep League Add
Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, PG/SG/SF, LAL - 7% Owned
Strong Cats: 3PM, FT%, STL
KCP is the definition of hit-or-miss option for next week, as he could provide great value if he plays like we know he is capable of, but I could easily see him contribute next to nothing. Here's why...
He is almost a non-factor in most leagues this season, sitting just outside the top-200 with averages of 8.5 PTS with 1.2 3PM on 46.4 FG% and 79.3 FT%, 2.1 REB, 1.8 AST, 0.8 STL, 0.2 BLK, and 0.9 TO in 24 minutes per outing. This is his usual role with the Lakers this year, and that's not going to change when everyone is healthy.
But Kyle Kuzma is not. He missed the previous two games, is set to miss the duel with Atlanta on Dec 15 as well, and it's not looking like he'll be back during Week 9. This is good news for Caldwell-Pope's owners, as he has been pretty good in the two games without Kuzma, hitting the 15-point mark both times, along with a combined five three-pointers, three boards, four dimes, three steals and four turnovers. He also shot 50% or better from the field in both games.
If KCP gives us this sort of production next week, he could have quite a positive impact on PTS, 3PM and STL categories, a sprinkle of contribution on several others, and not hurt us anywhere either. That is, IF he can give us this sort of production. But with Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, you never know. That is why he is owned in just 7% of Yahoo leagues.
Other Deep League Options for the Week
Maurice Harkless, SF, LAC, (5% Owned) - Strong Cats: REB, BLK/STL, FG%
Landry Shamet, PG, LAC, (10% Owned) - Strong Cats: PTS, 3PM, FT%
Rajon Rondo, PG, LAL, (5% Owned) - Strong Cats: AST, STL, 3PM - buyer beware: missed 12 games out of 26 so far this season and two of the last three due to injuries
Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, PG/SG/SF, LAL, (7% Owned) - Strong Cats: 3PM, FT%, STL
Allen Crabbe, SG/SF, ATL, (0% Owned) - Strong Cats: 3PM
Cam Reddish, PG/SG/SF, ATL, (10% Owned) - Strong Cats: 3PM, STL, a little bit of everything
Damian Jones, PF/C, ATL, (7% Owned) - Strong Cats: BLK/STL, REB, FG%
Garrett Temple, SG/SF, BKN, (22% Owned) - Strong Cats: 3PM, PTS, STL
David Nwaba, SG/SF, BKN, (0% Owned) - Strong Cats: 3PM, STL/BLK
Malik Monk, SG, CHA, (5% Owned) - Strong Cats: 3PM, PTS
Marvin Williams, SF, CHA, (17% Owned) - Strong Cats: REB, 3PM, BLK/STL - buyer beware: currently battling an injury
Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, SF, CHA, (1% Owned) - Strong Cats: REB, BLK/STL, could see additional value with PJ Washington and Marvin Williams out
Bismack Biyombo, PF/C, CHA, (6% Owned) - Strong Cats: FG%, REB, BLK
Doug McDermott, SF, IND, (3% Owned) - Strong Cats: PTS, 3PM, FT%
Aaron Holiday, PG, IND, (4% Owned) - Strong Cats: PTS, 3PM, AST, STL
Justin Holiday, SG/SF, IND, (9% Owned) - Strong Cats: 3PM, PTS, FT%
Wesley Matthews, SG/SF, MIL, (4% Owned) - Strong Cats: 3PM, FT%, a bit of everything
Donte Divincenzo, SG, MIL, (9% Owned) - Strong Cats: 3PM, STL, should see additional value with Eric Blesoe out
Sterling Brown, SG/SF, MIL, (0% Owned) - Strong Cats: REB, STL
Ersan Ilyasova, SF/pF, MIL, (6% Owned) - Strong Cats: PTS, 3PM, REB
George Hill, PG/SG, MIL, (13% Owned) - Strong Cats: 3PM, AST, STL, should see additional value with Eric Blesoe out
Kyle Korver, SG/SF, MIL, (1% Owned) - Strong Cats: 3PM, FT%
Robin Lopez, C, MIL, (1% Owned) - Strong Cats: REB, FG%, BLK
Royce O'Neale, SF, UTA, (2% Owned) - Strong Cats: FT%, 3PM, REB, STL and plays almost 30 minutes a game
Emmanuel Mudiay, PG, UTA, (1% Owned) - Strong Cats: AST, a (very) little bit of everything - could provide some value while Mike Conley is out
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.
