Early-Week Fantasy Basketball Category Streamers for Week 12

January 2, 2023

Thunder Dan Palyo looks at some early-week waiver wire options for fantasy basketball leagues. These players may be free agents to target on waivers in Week 12.

The calendar has turned over as Week 12 ushers in the new year. It's hard to believe that the NBA season is already two and a half months old, but here we are. Whether your team is up near the top of the standings in your league, or fading toward the bottom - streaming players in both H2H and roto formats is one way to get an advantage over your opponents!

Most leagues limit how many players you can stream each week in daily leagues. If your league only allows three moves per week, you need to be very efficient with your moves and grab players who will help you maximize your games played and help you win an extra category or two of counting stats.

The goal of this article each Monday morning will be to help you plan out your roster moves for the first half of the week. Planning ahead is important and I always include which teams play on optimal days for streaming in the very first section so you can look for additional players that I don't mention as well. All the rostered percentages used in this article are from Yahoo! Let's see who can help us start the week strong!

Weekly Schedule: Monday to Thursday

Teams that play only one game (AVOID): Washington

Teams that play three games (TARGET): Houston, OKC

Teams that play Tuesday/Thursday (TARGET): Utah, Boston

Shallow League Streaming Options

Kevin Love - PF/C (31%)

We are looking hard at a couple of Cavaliers here to start the week with Darius Garland looking doubtful for Cleveland's rematch with Chicago tonight. Love started against the Bulls on Saturday night in the absence of Evan Mobley and provided a massive 20-9 line with five made threes. He's going to pop off on nights when Mobley or Allen are out and does enough in his 15-20 minutes even when both guys are healthy to be useable in 12-team formats.

Caris LeVert - SG/SF (39%)

LeVert is a no-brainer stream tonight with Garland likely out. He went for 23-7-4 against the Bulls on Saturday and has seen 35 and 37 minutes of action in Cleveland's last two games. His FG% is always a gamble, but he's going to score and facilitate as he steps into the void left behind by Garland both in scoring and passing.

Alec Burks - PG/SG/SF (40%)

We get a least one more big Burks game tonight as Killian Hayes finishes out his three-game suspension. It's a good game environment tonight against the Blazers and Burks has 25+ point potential any given night. If you can stomach the risk of a poor shooting night, he's well worth an add for his ability to score and chip in a few threes, boards, and assists. He's even posted some decent steals numbers this season (0.8 per game in 21 minutes).

Jalen Williams - SG/SF (32%)

OKC has been playing smaller of late with Poku going down with an injury and Darius Bazley being buried on the bench. Williams has been playing some small-ball four and it's led to more minutes and some more even production of late. He's shooting the ball better overall and has raised his FG% to 51% on the season. His numbers are still quite modest across the board, but he's not hurting your team anywhere and is a solid source of counting stats nightly. I think he should be rostered in 12-team leagues and I'm willing to continue buying into his talent and opportunity here.

Landry Shamet - SG (23%)

The Suns are set to get Shamet and Cameron Payne back tonight against the Knicks and they badly need them as they have been struggling to score the basketball without Devin Booker. Shamet's last game was a 31-point outing in which he drilled seven three-pointers against Denver and he actually had another 31-point game against Washington back on December 20, too. I would add him and start him tonight, I think he's going to be the biggest beneficiary of Booker's absence for the next few weeks.

Deep Leagues Streaming Options

Tari Eason - SF/PF (17%)

We have been waiting patiently for the Eason breakout this season and maybe, just maybe, it happens this week. With three games between today and Thursday, I am willing to pick him up anyway and see what happens. He played 24 minutes against Dallas on Saturday night and grabbed 13 boards with three steals and a block. He's oozing with potential, especially in defensive stats and he just needs regular playing time. His perimeter shooting is hit-and-miss, but he's a high-energy guy who is going to rebound and pile up counting stats. Alperen Sengun missed Saturday's game and is questionable tonight, meaning Eason's minutes could continue to be there in the short term.

Jalen Johnson - PF/C (4%)

With Clint Capela out again tonight and the Warriors' front court being decimated by injuries, this is a great spot for Hawks youngsters Onyeka Okongwu and Johnson. JJ has three straight really good games now, playing 20+ minutes off the bench. John Collins is constantly in foul trouble and Johnson has been a major mismatch for opposing second units with his size and athleticism. I love how the schedule lines up this week for him with GSW, Sacto, and the Lakers all being favorable matchups.

Mark Williams - C (16%)

The Mark Williams experience has been really fun so far and I love watching this guy play. He's only a few games removed from a massive 17-13 game against OKC and he's shown the ability to contribute in limited minutes as the backup big man in Charlotte to Mason Plumlee. He's been good enough that the Hornets have left Nick Richards on the bench even while healthy the last two games. He gets the Lakers tonight, a team that has been pummeled by opposing big men.

Anthony Lamb - SF/PF (1%)

The Warriors have literally no frontcourt players backing up Kevon Looney and Draymond Green tonight as James Wiseman, Jonathan Kuminga, and JaMychal Green are all out against the Hawks. That should lead to plenty of small-ball lineups with Draymond at center and Lamb or Patrick Baldwin Jr. at the four. Lamb has been seeing pretty steady playing time and is a versatile player who can contribute in threes, boards, assists, and a handful of defensive stats.

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