Early-Week Fantasy Basketball Category Streamers for Week 9

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 9.

I thought last week's schedule was solid, but this week, we have probably the most balanced schedule that we have seen this year with no more than 10 games (10 on Wednesday) on any day this week and a really strong middle of the week with five games on Tuesday and four on Thursday. That means so many opportunities to stream!

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): Charlotte, Chicago, Denver, Detroit, LA Lakers, NY Knicks, Orlando, Philadelphia, Toronto

Teams that play three games (TARGET): Miami, LA Clippers

Only teams that play TUES/THURS (TARGET): Utah, Phoenix, New Orleans, Milwaukee, Houston

Shallow League Streaming Options

De'Andre Hunter - SF/PF (47%)

Hunter returned to action last night for the Hawks after missing four games and stepped right into 26 minutes on the wing. He hit two treys and finished with a 16-3-2 line on 54% shooting. This is more of a long-term add than a stream, but go check your league right now to see if he's still floating on waivers. With John Collins out for another few weeks, he should see plenty of minutes at the four and is a solid fantasy player.

Larry Nance Jr. - PF/C (39%)

Go get Nance ASAP as he's red hot right now and the Pelicans play a really valuable Tuesday-Thursday series this week against Utah, a team that has been really hurt by big men. Nance's stats against the Suns in the last two games are pretty darn impressive (16 PTS, eight REB, 4.5 AST, four STL, and 1.5 BLK on 80% from the floor) and show the type of player he can be when getting solid minutes for this surging Pelicans team. Utah gets Phoenix again on Saturday, too!

Caris LeVert - SF/SF (43%)

We still don't know Donovan Mitchell's status for the Cavs' game against the Spurs tonight, but LeVert has been excellent while filling in for him in the starting lineup, posting 22 points in both of his spot starts with some solid boards and assists. This is definitely a short-term move, though, as LeVert has not played all that well off the bench and could easily be jettisoned once the Cavs return to full health.

Deni Avdija - SF/PF (26%)

Are you getting tired of seeing him in this column yet? Then add him in some leagues and get his rostership up to the respectable level that it deserves! Deni is back to playing big minutes for a Washington team that has been missing a bunch of key players. Bradley Beal could return tonight, but his main competition for minutes on the wing is Rui Hachimura, who remains out. Deni is stuffing the stat sheet nightly and should be rostered for as long as he continues to play heavy minutes and maybe a bit longer!

Deep Leagues Streaming Options

Victor Oladipo - SG/SF (13%)

Miami is only one of two teams to play three times here in the early part of the week and VO has slowly seen his minutes tick up from 19 to 21 to 23 in his first three games back. It's possible he could sit out Wednesday or Thursday on a back-to-back, but Miami really needs him right now with Gabe Vincent continuing to be on the shelf, so I expect 20+ minutes from him tonight and in at least one of those two games on Wed/Thurs.

Naji Marshall - SG/SF (13%)

Marshall has really come on lately for the Pelicans and is one of a few role players who has played incredibly well for New Orleans while Brandon Ingram has been out. He played big minutes in both games over the weekend, logging 31 and 36 minutes against the Suns, and has scored in double-digits now in four of his last five games. He's contributing a handful of threes, boards, assists, and steals, too.

Nicolas Batum - SF/PF (9%)

The Clippers have three games in the first four days here and that means a back-to-back on Wed/Thurs could spell a rest day for Kawhi Leonard. Batum has settled into a starting spot on the wing nicely and has played 32+ minutes now in three straight games, posting some very useful stats. He's not the elite stat-stuffer he once was, but he can still drill open threes and contribute some boards and defensive stats. The Clippers must recognize the need for his veteran leadership and his steady play has helped out while they've been dealing with a rash of injuries, too.

Blake Griffin - PF/C (6%)

Yes, we should be using Blake Griffin, people! And while it seems like many, many years ago that he was dunking over a Kia Optima at the NBA dunk competition, Blake has resurfaced in Boston and is playing well while filling in for old man Al Horford. He's starting and playing 20+ minutes and has posted some nice point and board totals in his last three games, while Horford has already been ruled out tonight for the Celtics' game against the Clippers.

Specialist Streaming Options

THREES

Joe Harris - SG/SF (20%)

Harris and the other Brooklyn regulars all took the day off on Saturday, but they should be back in the lineup tonight and the Nets have a tasty matchup against the Wizards, a team that has allowed shooters to make threes in bunches. Since they don't play again until Thursday, you can dump Harris easily if you need to, but I think he can hit 3-4 treys tonight and he's seen his minutes level off around 30 even with Simmons, Warren, and Curry all back.

STEALS

Jordan Goodwin - PG (21%)

Goodwin has seen a big bump in minutes due to Beal's absence and got a start the other night with Monte Morris out, too. He has 11 steals in his last two games - ELEVEN! The dude is a baller and is now up to 1.3 swipes per game in only 20 minutes per contest on the season. He could start again tonight and he's definitely carved out a role off the bench even when Morris returns.

BLOCKS

Naz Reid - C (9%)

A deep league option here only, Reid has been swatting shots with regularity as of late. He has 12 blocks over his last five games and with KAT out of the lineup, he's settling into a 15-20 minute role behind Rudy Gobert that has enabled him to be pretty productive in points and rebounds, too, since he doesn't have to share the court with KAT at all.

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