Early-Week Fantasy Basketball Category Streamers for Week 16

January 30, 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 16.

It will be February in only a few days and the NBA season is already about halfway over. Remember that the All-Star break is usually a few weeks later than the actual mid-point of the season. What does that mean? It means you have no time to lose if you're fantasy basketball team is going to make a push for the playoffs in your league. Unless you're sitting at the top of the standings, you can't afford to hold onto any dead weight! Cut those fringe players and stream those spots to maximize your chances of winning THIS WEEK!

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): Boston, Houston, Indiana, Utah

Teams that play three games (TARGET): Golden State, LA Lakers

Shallow League Streaming Options

Dennis Schroder - PG (36%)

The Lakers have three games to start the week and both Anthony Davis and LeBron James will be resting tonight against the Nets. It should be the Westbrook and Schroder show on offense, and Schroder has some appeal even when the Lakers are fully healthy. You can stream Thomas Bryant and Rui Hachimura tonight, but both guys lose some appeal for Tuesday and Thursday's games if LeBron and AD are both healthy.

Kevon Looney - C (45%)

Looney slid back into the starting lineup last game but could be heading back to the bench again with Andrew Wiggins healthy. Either way, he's been productive and he's still likely heading for a 20-24 minute role and has remained productive. With three games in four nights, the GSW players have an optimal start to the week, which means we also should consider...

Donte DiVincenzo - SG/SF (24%)

He's fresh off an 11-assist game and he continues to put up useable numbers off the bench for the Warriors. His minutes probably take a hit this week if Wiggins and the regular starters all play, but he's worth adding if you need help in threes and steals, specifically.

Jeremy Sochan - PF (39%)

The Spurs rookie is coming off his best game as a pro as he dropped 30 points on the Suns with 8 boards and 5 assists. He continues to impress and improve by the week and you'd probably be wise to grab him now before he's universally owned in standard leagues.

Dorian Finney-Smith - PF/C (32%)

DFS has produced in a big way since Christian Wood went down. He has 29 points and 21 boards in his last two games and is playing almost 40 minutes a night as the Mavericks are really short-handed. He does a little of everything and is being forced to take more shots instead of just being a low-usage 3-and-D player.

Deni Avdija - SF/PF (31%)

Kristaps Porzingis returns for the Wizards tonight, but Deni should continue to get solid minutes off the bench now that Rui Hachimura is in L.A. He should be more highly-rostered than this, c'mon people! Matchups with the Spurs and Detroit here to start the week are spots we want to attack, too.

Deep Leagues Streaming Options

Naji Marshall - SG/SF (18%)

Marshall returned to the starting lineup for the Pelicans last night. He shot terribly from the floor but added four boards and six assists. The Pelicans just can't seem to get all their guys healthy at the same time, meaning Marshall should continue to be a big part of the rotation for now.

Jonathan Kuminga - PF/C (17%)

Another Warrior to consider here with their awesome schedule early in the week is Kuminga. He's hit double figures in points in all four games since returning from injury and should continue to earn minutes in the low-20s playing off the bench even with Wiggins healthy.

Mark Williams - C (11%)

Williams has been a regular here in this column. If you need points, boards, and blocks in deeper formats, Williams is always in play and he seems to be leveling off around 18-20 minutes for now, which is plenty of run for him to produce some decent numbers.

Pat Connaughton - SG/SF (10%)

Dwight Powell - PF/C (5%)

Powell doesn't offer much statistical diversity, but with Christian Wood out he's playing a ton of minutes and can post respectable totals in points, rebounds, and percentages.

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