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We're entering Week 10 of fantasy NBA basketball and it flew by if you ask me... It's becoming apparent where we stand at this point and whether we're sitting pretty at the top, just battling for beneficial seeding, or our teams are struggling and we need every W we can get to have a chance for a playoff berth.
If you're lucky enough to be in the first group, you have the luxury of keeping some benchwarmers who are not performing that well, but you expect to explode later on during fantasy playoffs - for example, Coby White. Whether you do this or not is up to you and your perception of what value those types of guys will bring later on, compared to the rest of your team, or the streaming spot.
The rest of us that are not a shoo-in for the playoffs are more desperate for some immediate contribution and just can't afford to keep slumping players solely due to their potential. Especially when so much short-term value can be found on most waiver wires. I've done some analysis of the week to come and here are my thoughts on the fantasy basketball streamers for Week 10.
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NBA Schedule Guide - Week 10
Quite a peculiar week is ahead of us, with no games on Christmas Eve, and a boatload of games on both Monday (11) and Saturday (14). Most fantasy owners will have full rosters on both of these days, so that leaves Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, and Sunday - all with either five or six games played. These are the days most owners will struggle with and the tactic to best overcome these difficulties will be our primary focus.
Here's the low-down:
Teams with 4 games:
Denver Nuggets
Golden State Warriors
Houston Rockets
Memphis Grizzlies
New Orleans Pelicans
Philadelphia 76ers
Sacramento Kings
Toronto Raptors
Teams with 3 games:
Atlanta Hawks
Boston Celtics
Cleveland Cavaliers
Dallas Mavericks
Detroit Pistons
Indiana Pacers
Los Angeles Lakers
Miami Heat
Milwaukee Bucks
Minnesota Timberwolves
New York Knicks
Oklahoma City Thunder
Orlando Magic
Phoenix Suns
Portland Trail Blazers
San Antonio Spurs
Utah Jazz
Washington Wizards
Teams with 2 games:
Brooklyn Nets
Charlotte Hornets
Chicago Bulls
Los Angeles Clippers
Number of teams playing each day:
Monday: 22
Tuesday: -
Wednesday: 10
Thursday: 12
Friday: 12
Saturday: 28
Sunday: 10
Back-to-Backs (beware of older or banged up players who might rest):
Monday/Tuesday: -
Tuesday/Wednesday: -
Wednesday/Thursday: -
Thursday/Friday: OKC
Friday/Saturday: ATL, BOS, CLE, GSW, IND, MIA, MIL, ORL, PHI, PHO
Saturday/Sunday: DAL, DEN, HOU, LAL, MEM, NOP, SAC, TOR
Sunday/Monday the following: -
Days with six or fewer games
Wednesday: 5 games
Thursday: 6 games
Friday: 6 games
Sunday: 5 games
Teams playing on three of these days:
Oklahoma City Thunder (3 games - Thurs, Fri, Sun)
Teams playing on Wed/Thurs:
-
Teams playing on Wed/Fri:
Golden State Warriors (4 games - Mon, Wed, Fri, Sat)
Philadelphia 76ers (4 games - Mon, Wed, Fri, Sat)
Boston Celtics (3 games - Wed, Fri, Sat)
Milwaukee Bucks (3 games - Wed, Fri, Sat)
Teams playing on Wed/Sun:
Denver Nuggets (4 games - Mon, Wed, Sat, Sun)
Houston Rockets (4 games - Mon, Wed, Sat, Sun)
New Orleans Pelicans (4 games - Mon, Wed, Sat, Sun)
Toronto Raptors (4 games - Mon, Wed, Sat, Sun)
Los Angeles Lakers (3 games - Wed, Sat, Sun)
Teams playing on Thurs/Fri:
Oklahoma City Thunder
Teams playing on Thurs/Sun:
Memphis Grizzlies (4 games - Mon, Thurs, Sat, Sun)
Sacramento Kings (4 games - Mon, Thurs, Sat, Sun)
Dallas Mavericks (3 games - Thurs, Sat, Sun)
Oklahoma City Thunder
Teams playing on Fri/Sun:
Charlotte Hornets (2 games - Fri, Sun)
Oklahoma City Thunder
Teams playing three games over the weekend (from Thursday to Sunday)
Dallas Mavericks
Memphis Grizzlies
Oklahoma City Thunder
Sacramento Kings
Baller Streaming Strategy for Week 10
With Tuesday having no games, and both Monday and Saturday having 11 or more games played, most fantasy owners can disregard these days. The other four days all have five or six games, and should prove much more challenging to field a full lineup.
Only the Thunder play on at least three of these days, but they don't have a game before Thursday. If you have a hot player on the OKC roster on your waiver wire, you have to make a decision on whether you add them at the start of the week, regardless of this fact, or you wait until Thursday and try to get a game or two out of other guys before the switch (thus risking the OKC player being picked up by a rival).
There are 13 other teams playing on two of these days, so there are plenty of players to chose from this week. These are the guys we will be looking at. Do keep in mind which days you need help with before adding these players though.
Streaming Options for Week 10
Shallower League Streaming Adds for the Week:
Dennis Schroder, PG, OKC, (68% Owned) - Strong Cats: 3PM, PTS, AST, FT%
Nerlens Noel, PF/C, OKC, (40% Owned) - Strong Cats: REB, FG%, STL/BLK
Willie Cauley-Stein, PF/C, GSW, (49% Owned) -Strong Cats: REB, FG%, STL/BLK
Enes Kanter, C, BOS, (47% Owned) -Strong Cats: REB, FG%
Donte Divincenzo, SG, MIL, (30% Owned) - Strong Cats: 3PM, STL, should see additional value with Eric Blesoe out
George Hill, PG/SG, MIL, (25% Owned) - Strong Cats: 3PM, AST, STL, should see additional value with Eric Blesoe out
Will Barton, SG/SF, DEN, (76% Owned) - Strong Cats: 3PM, a bit of everything
Paul Millsap, PF/C, DEN, (68% Owned) - Strong Cats: REB, STL/BLK, FG%, FT% - buyer beware: battling an injury so check his status before adding
Gary Harris, PG/SG, DEN, (58% Owned) - Strong Cats: 3PM, STL
P.J. Tucker, SF/PF, HOU, (68% Owned) - Strong Cats: 3PM, STL, REB
J.J. Redick, SG, NOP, (71% Owned) - Strong Cats: FT%, 3PM, TO
Josh Hart, SG/SF, NOP, (44% Owned) - Strong Cats: STL, REB, a bit of everything
Lonzo Ball, PG, NOP, (71% Owned) - Strong Cats: 3PM, AST, STL - buyer beware: poor %s
Derrick Favors, PF/C, NOP, (74% Owned) - Strong Cats: REB, BLK, FG%,
Danny Green, SG/SF, LAL, (51% Owned) - Strong Cats: 3PM, REB, STL/BLK
Serge Ibaka, PF/C, TOR, (77% Owned) - Strong Cats: PTS, REB, BLK a bit of everything - additional value while Pascal Siakam and Marc Gasol are out!
OG Anunoby, SF/PF, TOR, (71% Owned) - Strong Cats: 3PM, REB, STL/BLK - additional value while Pascal Siakam and Marc Gasol are out!
Brandon Clarke, PF/C, MEM, (67% Owned) - Strong Cats: REB, BLK, FG%
Dillon Brooks, SG/SF, MEM, (39% Owned) - Strong Cats: 3PM, PTS, FT%, STL
Jae Crowder, SF/PF, MEM, (31% Owned) - Strong Cats: 3PM, REB, STL
Richaun Holmes, PF/C, SAC, (74% Owned) - Strong Cats: PTS, REB, BLK/STL, FG%
Harrison Barnes, SF/PF, SAC, (73% Owned) - Strong Cats: 3PM, PTS, FT%
Nemanja Bjelica, SF/PF, SAC, (40% Owned) - Strong Cats: 3PM, REB, a bit of everything
Delon Wright, PG/SG, DAL, (47% Owned) - Strong Cats: FT%, AST, STL - should see additional value with Luka Doncic out
Tim Hardaway Jr., SG/SF, DAL, (42% Owned) - Strong Cats: 3PM, PTS, FT%, STL - should see additional value with Luka Doncic out
Dwight Powell, PF/C, DAL, (38% Owned) - Strong Cats: REB, FG%, STL/BLK
Cody Zeller, PF/C, CHA, (61% Owned) - Strong Cats: REB, FG%, BLK/STL
Miles Bridges, SF, CHA, (75% Owned) - Strong Cats: 3PM, STL/BLK, REB, PTS
Shallower League Add
Dillon Brooks, SG/SF, MEM - 39% Owned
Strong Cats: 3PM, PTS, FT%, STL
Brooks is a nice surprise for the Grizzlies this season as he is flirting with top-100 value on the year. He has been even better in the past two weeks with averages of 18.3 PTS with 2.4 3PM on 43.5 FG% and 90.0 FT%, 3.9 REB, 2.5 AST, 1.1 STL, 0.5 BLK, and 2.1 TO in 30 minutes per game which has him ranked at #83 on Yahoo.
He is pretty consistent as well. Since Nov 30 he played in 13 games and scored in double-digits in 11 of them. He also played less than 25 minutes in three of these games. And yet, he is still owned in just 39% of the leagues, which is a bit surprising to me.
With a four-game slate in Week 10, Dillon is worth a flier for all those in shallower leagues who are in need of some scoring and three-point shooting, so if you like what you can get with him don't hesitate too much, he might be gone off your FA pool soon.
Deeper League Add
Seth Curry, PG/SG, DAL - 15% Owned
Strong Cats: 3PM, PTS, FT%
Seth is a sharpshooter who often takes the back seat and offers a good option for perimeter shooting and stretching the defense. But lately, he's had a few flashy performances eclipsing the 20-point mark in three of his last five games. During this time he has averaged 18.6 PTS with 3.0 3PM on 59.3 FG% and 88.9 FT%, 3.4 REB, 2.6 AST, 0.4 STL, no BLK, and 2.4 TO in 25 minutes per outing. This has him inside the top-100.
Now, I know it's not fair to ask Seth to shoot this good every night. But with the increased opportunity that presented itself as a result of Doncic getting injured, I could see Seth hit two 3-pointers with points in the teens and a couple of boards and dimes in the short term.
Dallas only plays three games next week, but they come from Thursday till Sunday. With him being owned in just 15% of the leagues, and often being marked as just Stephen Curry's brother and therefore being undervalued - you might get away with having another streamer in your team for the games on Monday and Wednesday, and then making the switch on Thursday. This would be a good tactic and would definitely help you maximize the number of games your team plays in Week 10.
Insanely Deep League Add
Damion Lee, SG, GSW - 2% Owned
Strong Cats: 3PM, PTS, FT%
Pure gamble here, but we are talking about a player that is owned in just 2% of Yahoo leagues. Lee wasn't even on the radar up until about 10 days ago, but then was given the opportunity on Dec 12 and rewarded both the Warriors and insightful (or just plain lucky) fantasy owners that had him in their teams since. In the five games after Dec 12, Lee is averaging 12.8 points with 1.4 threes on 41.8% from the field and 84.6% from the charity stripe, along with 4.4 rebounds, 2.4 assists, 0.2 steals, no blocks, and 0.6 turnovers in 27 minutes a night on the scale of five games played.
Damion seems to have pushed Ky Bowman out of the rotation, and with the amount of playing time he is getting lately, he could make for a great speculative add even in the long run if he can keep it going. As for streaming purposes in Week 10, Golden State has four games, the last of which is on Saturday. So you can potentially get four games out of Lee, and then swap him out for another streamer on Sunday when you get a clear picture of what you need to finish off the week.
Other Deep League Options for the Week
Terrance Ferguson, SG/SF, OKC, (0% Owned) - Strong Cats: 3PM
Glenn Robinson III, SG/SF, GSW, (24% Owned) - Strong Cats: PTS, 3PM, REB, STL
Damion Lee, SG, GSW, (2% Owned) - Strong Cats: 3PM, PTS, FT%
Matisse Thybulle, SG/SF, PHI, (10% Owned) - Strong Cats: 3PM, STL/BLK
Daniel Theis, PF/C, BOS, (11% Owned) - Strong Cats: REB, FG%, BLK
Ersan Ilyasova, SF/PF, MIL, (4% Owned) - Strong Cats: PTS, 3PM, REB
Kyle Korver, SG/SF, MIL, (2% Owned) - Strong Cats: 3PM, FT%
Jerami Grant, SF/PF, DEN, (17% Owned) - Strong Cats: 3PM, FG%, STL/BLK
Mason Plumlee, PF/C, DEN, (6% Owned) - Strong Cats: REB, FG%, STL/BLK
Danuel House, SG/SF, HOU (25% Owned) - Strong Cats: 3PM, a bit of everything
Ben McLemore, SG, HOU (22% Owned) - Strong Cats: 3PM, a bit of STL/BLK
Jaxson Hayes, C, NOP, (20% Owned) - Strong Cats: REB, FG%, BLK
Rondae Hollis-Jefferson, SF/PF, TOR, (12% Owned) - Strong Cats: REB, STL/BLK - additional value while Pascal Siakam and Marc Gasol are out!
Patrick McCaw, SG/SF, TOR, (12% Owned) - Strong Cats: REB, STL/BLK - additional value while Pascal Siakam and Norman Powell are out!
Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, PG/SG/SF, LAL, (7% Owned) - Strong Cats: 3PM, FT%, STL
De'Anthony Melton, PG/SG, MEM, (5% Owned) - Strong Cats: AST, STL, FT%
Cory Joseph, PG, SAC, (2% Owned) - Strong Cats: AST, STL, a little bit of everything
Trevor Ariza, PG/SG/SF, SAC, (4% Owned) - Strong Cats: 3PM, STL, REB
Seth Curry, PG/SG, DAL, (15% Owned) - Strong Cats: 3PM, PTS, FT% - additional value while Luka Doncic is out
Maximilian Kleber, PF/C, DAL, (26% Owned) - Strong Cats: REB, FT%, 3PM
Nicolas Batum, SG/SF, CHA, (27% Owned) - Strong Cats: 3PM, AST - could have additional value with PJ Washington out
Malik Monk, SG, CHA, (5% Owned) - Strong Cats: 3PM, PTS
Marvin Williams, SF, CHA, (21% Owned) - Strong Cats: REB, 3PM, BLK/STL - could see additional value with PJ Washington out
Cody Martin, SF, CHA, (1% Owned) - Strong Cats: REB, STL, a little bit of everything - could see additional value with PJ Washington out
Bismack Biyombo, PF/C, CHA, (18% Owned) - Strong Cats: FG%, REB, BLK
I hope you guys enjoyed the article and I hope that this will help you win your matchups next week and bragging rights for the week after.
