NBA Fantasy Weekly Streamers for Week 6 (Jan 25 - Jan 31)

January 25, 2021

Milos Zvekic's fantasy basketball waiver wire streamers for head-to-head leagues. He reviews the Week 6 NBA schedule (1/25 - 1/31) and streaming options to pick up.

I couldn't come up with my usual pun, which was exSTREAMly frustrating!

As always my dear fellow fantasy enthusiasts, I am here to take a look at the following week's NBA schedule, pinpoint days that will be difficult to navigate with a decent amount of playing guys, and suggest some options based on teams that play on those days.

Here are my thoughts on the fantasy basketball streamers for Week 6. 

NBA Schedule Guide - Week 6

Here's the low-down:

Teams with 4 games:
Brooklyn Nets
Charlotte Hornets
Cleveland Cavaliers
Dallas Mavericks
Denver Nuggets
Detroit Pistons
Golden State Warriors
Indiana Pacers
Los Angeles Clippers
Los Angeles Lakers
Miami Heat
Minnesota Timberwolves
New Orleans Pelicans
Orlando Magic
Philadelphia 76ers
San Antonio Spurs
Toronto Raptors
Utah Jazz
Washington Wizards (Beware, they have had six games postponed due to Covid. None have been postponed yet for next week, but the risk of that happening is real)

Teams with 3 games:
Atlanta Hawks
Boston Celtics
Chicago Bulls
Houston Rockets
Milwaukee Bucks
New York Knicks
Oklahoma City Thunder
Phoenix Suns
Portland Trail Blazers
Sacramento Kings (I've taken into account that their game against Memphis on Monday has been postponed)

Teams with 2 games:
Memphis Grizzlies (I've taken into account that their game against Sacramento on Monday has been postponed)

Number of teams playing each day:
Monday: 20
Tuesday: 6
Wednesday: 26
Thursday: 8
Friday: 20
Saturday: 16
Sunday: 12

Back-to-Backs (beware of older or banged-up players who might rest):
Monday/Tuesday: -
Tuesday/Wednesday: ATL, UTA, WAS
Wednesday/Thursday: DET, GSW, LAL, MIA, PHO
Thursday/Friday: LAC
Friday/Saturday: CHA, DAL, MIL, NOP, SAC, SAS
Saturday/Sunday: -
Sunday/Monday the following: CLE, DEN, MIN, NYK

Days with SIX or fewer games:
Tuesday: 3 games
Thursday: 4 games
Sunday: 6 games

Teams playing on all three days:
Los Angeles Clippers (4 games - Tue, Thurs, Fri, Sun)

Teams playing on both Tuesday and Thursday:
Los Angeles Clippers (4 games - Tue, Thurs, Fri, Sun)
Houston Rockets (3 games - Tue, Thurs, Sat)

Teams playing on both Tuesday and Sunday:
Los Angeles Clippers (4 games - Tue, Thurs, Fri, Sun)
Utah Jazz (4 games - Tue, Wed, Fri, Sun)
Washington Wizards (4 games - Tue, Wed, Fri, Sun) - beware of postponements!
New York Knicks (3 games - Tue, Fri, Sun)

Teams playing on both Thursday and Sunday:
Los Angeles Clippers (4 games - Tue, Thurs, Fri, Sun)

Teams with a GOOD START to the week (three games from Monday to Thursday)
Detroit Pistons (4 games - Mon, Wed, Thurs, Sat)
Golden State Warriors (4 games - Mon, Wed, Thurs, Sat)
Los Angeles Lakers (4 games - Mon, Wed, Thurs, Sat)
Miami Heat (4 games - Mon, Wed, Thurs, Sat)

Teams with a GOOD END to the week (three games from Thursday to Sunday)
Los Angeles Clippers (4 games - Tue, Thurs, Fri, Sun)

Teams with a POOR START to the week (one or no games from Monday to Thursday)
Milwaukee Bucks (3 games - Wed, Fri, Sat)
New York Knicks (3 games - Tue, Fri, Sun)

Teams with a POOR END to the week (one or no games from Thursday to Sunday)
Atlanta Hawks (3 games - Tue, Wed, Fri)
Boston Celtics (3 games - Mon, Wed, Sat)
Chicago Bulls (3 games - Mon, Wed, Sat)
Memphis Grizzlies (3 games - Mon, Wed, Sat)
Oklahoma City Thunder (3 games - Mon, Wed, Fri)

Baller Streaming Strategy for Week 6

With games on all three days with six and fewer days (Tuesday, Thursday and Sunday), players from the LA Clippers will be the most sought after commodity in Week 6. The Rockets play on both Tuesday and Thursday, so despite having just three games next week, their players are a decent early week option. They are scheduled to play against the Wizards (who have had their previous six games postponed due to Covid related issues) on Tuesday however, so be sure to check on the status of that game before adding anyone from Houston for streaming purposes as

Utah (4 games), Washington (4 games) and New York (3 games) all play on Tuesday and Sunday so their players can be helpful as well. I will repeat myself one more time here, beware of Washington's guys and be sure to check whether their games will go on or not before picking up any players involved in their games. I don't trust that they will have the full week, and therefore I will not be suggesting anyone from Washington as we are focusing on streaming for next week, and there looks to be too much risk involved with them being healthy and playing all their games.

Streaming Options for Week 6

Shallower League Streaming Adds for the Week (Rostered in 25-75 % of Yahoo leagues):
Nicolas Batum, SF/PF, LAC, (52% Rostered) - Strong Cats: AST, STL, REB, FT%
Lou Williams, PG/SG, LAC, (42% Rostered) - Strong Cats: 3PM, PTS, FT%
Marcus Morris Sr.,PF/C, LAC, (26% Rostered) - Strong Cats: 3PM, REB
Eric Gordon, SG/SF, HOU, (52% Rostered) - Strong Cats: 3PM, PTS, FT%
DeMarcus Cousins, PF/C, HOU, (49% Rostered) - Strong Cats: REB, BLK/STL - positive circumstance: if Christian Wood misses more time he will be starting
Bojan Bogdanovic, SF/PF, UTA, (73% Rostered) - Strong Cats: 3PM, PTS, FT%
Jordan Clarkson, PG/SG, UTA, (74% Rostered) - Strong Cats: 3PM, PTS, FT%
Joe Ingles, SG/SF, UTA, (36% Rostered) - Strong Cats: 3PM, AST, a little bit of everything - buyer beware: played just 20 minutes on average in his previous couple of games due to just returning from Achilles soreness
Elfrid Payton, PG, NYK, (53% Rostered) - Strong Cats: AST, STL
Alec Burks, PG/SG, NYK, (56% Rostered) - Strong Cats: 3PM, PTS, FT%
Nerlens Noel, PF/C, NYK, (35% Rostered) - Strong Cats: REB, STL/BLK - buyer beware: plays very limited minutes
Immanuel Quickley, PG, NYK, (30% Rostered) - Strong Cats: 3PM, AST, FT%
Obi Toppin, PF/C, NYK, (26% Rostered) - Strong Cats: REB, STL/BLK - buyer beware: plays very limited minutes and is probably not worth adding for streaming purposes except in very deep leagues

Shallower League Add

Nicolas Batum, SF/PF, LAC, (52% Rostered) 

Strong Cats: AST, STL, REB, FT%

After being waived by the Hornets back in November, Batum's future in the NBA was quite uncertain. Fast forward two months, and here we are! Batum is playing close to 30 minutes a game and averaging 10.2 PTS with 2.1 3PM on 50.9 FG% and 87.0 FT%, 4.9 REB, 2.5 AST, 1.3 STL, 0.4 BLK and 0.7 TO with one of the biggest title contenders in the league. This has him ranked at #61 on Yahoo.

He might be one of the biggest surprises of the season, especially since nobody expects a "breakout season" from a 32-year-old veteran! We all know what he can do, and he has been known to keep up similar stats for longer periods of time in the past, so a significant drop off is not something to be expected.

It is unlikely that he will keep shooting this well from the field as he is a 43.5% career shooter, but with him getting the right passes at the right position on this strong Clippers team, it is not unfathomable. And with the Clippers having such a favorable schedule in a four-game week, this is the perfect time to add Nic if he is still available in your league.

Who knows, if he keeps playing like this, you might just keep him long-term as well.

Deeper League Add

Ivica Zubac, C, LAC, (22% Rostered)

Strong Cats: FG%, REB, BLK

I really like Zubac, but I must admit that it's not because of his fantasy output. He is a 7-foot big who can shoot free throws, which is not that common in the NBA, and I respect that. Furthermore, he gets decent stats given his limited playing time, and I respect that as well. He is also from Mostar in Bosnia and Herzegovina, and one of my closest friends is from the very same city, so Ivica is definitely my guy! But those limited minutes...they really hurt his fantasy game.

Zubac is averaging 7.6 points on 70.3% from the field and 81.6% from the charity stripe, 5.2 boards, 0.9 dimes, 0.4 steals, 0.9 blocks and 0.9 turnovers in just 18 minutes a night. Those percentages look sooo tasty, but unfortunately, they don't help fantasy teams too much as he takes just 4.0 FG attempts and 2.4 free-throws per outing.

Despite the low minutes, Zubac is ranked at #157 this season, and if your team is punting something like threes or assists, this rank would probably jump inside the top 100 if you take that into consideration. And even if you're not punting those cats, but just need some boards and blocks on high efficiency and low turnovers, he can provide that for you on next week's scarce gamedays.

Insanely Deep League Add

Jae'sean Tate, SG, HOU, (6% Rostered)

Strong Cats: 3PM, REB, STL/BLK 

- positive circumstance: rookie factor
- buyer beware: also the rookie factor

Tate is an undrafted rookie who has impressed (up to a point) so far with the Rockets. He has averaged 8.9 points with 0.7 threes on 50.5% from open play and 66.7% from the free-throw line along with 4.4 rebounds, 1.9 assists, 0.8 steals, 0.9 blocks and 1.3 turnovers in 26 minutes per game which is good enough for spot #163 in Yahoo rankings. Not great, not terrible - especially for someone who was available on almost all free agent pools at the beginning of the season.

Now, there are plenty of risks with Tate.

Crowded rotation. Houston has 10 guys averaging over 20 minutes this season. Six of them have SG eligibility on Yahoo. Moreover, they just added Kevin Porter Jr. so he might take away some minutes from Tate as well.

Undrafted rookie. It does happen, but there aren't too many success stories beginning with these two words are there? You don't get guys like Ben Wallace, John Starks, or in modern times Fred Vanvleet that often, so Tate has his work cut out for him. Although, should the Rockets opt for a rebuild after James Harden's departure, he could see a significant enough role to be quite valuable.

On the other hand, he did just block three shots and get three steals in his previous game and has been racking up boards and stocks all season long. For a guy who is owned in just 6% of the leagues and who plays on both Tuesday and Thursday next week, if that is what you're looking for, he could fit in quite well in your team. At least for next week's streaming purposes.

Other Deep League Options for the Week

Rostered in less than 25% of Yahoo leagues

Ivica Zubac, C, LAC, (22% Rostered) - Strong Cats: FG%, REB, BLK
Luke Kennard, SG/SF, LAC, (13% Rostered) - Strong Cats: 3PM, PTS, REB, AST
Patrick Beverley, PG/SG, LAC, (20% Rostered) - Strong Cats: 3PM, REB, AST, STL
P.J. Tucker, PF/C, HOU, (19% Rostered) - Strong Cats: 3PM, STL, REB
Jae'Sean Tate, SG, HOU, (6% Rostered) - Strong Cats: 3PM, REB, STL/BLK - positive circumstance: rookie factor; - buyer beware: also the rookie factor
Ben McLemore, SG/SF, HOU, (3% Rostered) - Strong Cats: 3PM, a little bit of everything
Sterling Brown, SG/SF, HOU, (2% Rostered) - Strong Cats: 3PM, a little bit of everything
David Nwaba, SG/SF, HOU, (1% Rostered) - Strong Cats: STL, a little bit of everything
Royce O'Neale, SF/PF, UTA, (21% Rostered) - Strong Cats: 3PM, REB, a bit of everything
Georges Niang, SF/PF, UTA, (0% Rostered) - Strong Cats: REB, 3PM - buyer beware: is seeing fewer minutes with Ingles' return
Derrick Favors, PF/C, UTA, (9% Rostered) - Strong Cats: REB, BLK, FG% - buyer beware: plays just 16 minutes a game so far this season
Reggie Bullock, SG/SF, NYK, (4% Rostered) - Strong Cats: 3PM, REB
Austin Rivers, SG/SF, NYK, (6% Rostered) - Strong Cats: 3PM, PTS, AST - buyer beware: his minutes dropped significantly with Alec Burks back, and has missed his previous two games with Achilles soreness
Kevin Knox II, SF/PF, NYK, (2% Rostered) - Strong Cats: 3PM

I hope that my work helps you out! If you are like me and you collect your opponent's tears after you beat them in a test tube as well, please make sure to take a pic of the tube and send it over so we can enjoy it together!

More Fantasy Basketball Analysis