NBA Waiver Wire Streamers for Fantasy Basketball Week 10 (Dec 20 - Dec 26)

December 19, 2021

Milos Zvekic analyzes Week 10 streaming opportunities for head-to-head fantasy basketball leagues for the 2021-22 season. He reviews the upcoming NBA schedule and players to add.

A six-day NBA week is ahead with no games played on the day before Christmas. Five of six days have between five and eight games played and only Thursday has a 12-game slate scheduled before the break on Friday.

That's why we will be taking a bit of a different approach to streaming this week and look at players from teams that play several games in a short period of time, instead of looking at players who play on particular days, as most days will need some assistance from the waiver wire for most fantasy managers.

We're looking ahead to the NBA schedule for next week. Here are the fantasy basketball streamers for Week 10.

NBA Schedule Guide - Week 10

Thursday has 12 so you probably won't need too much help on this day, but all other days have between five and eight games, so it's pretty much impossible to predict where most fantasy teams will need to focus. That is why I won't take my usual approach and target days with the fewest games played, but instead, target teams that play three games in four days during next week, so you can combine them with other players and get help on almost all days with just one streaming spot.

Here's the low-down:

Teams with 4 games:
Oklahoma City Thunder
Orlando Magic

Teams with 3 games:
Atlanta Hawks
Boston Celtics
Brooklyn Nets
Chicago Bulls
Dallas Mavericks
Denver Nuggets
Detroit Pistons
Golden State Warriors
Houston Rockets
Indiana Pacers
Los Angeles Clippers
Los Angeles Lakers
Memphis Grizzlies
Miami Heat
Milwaukee Bucks
New Orleans Pelicans
New York Knicks
Philadelphia 76ers
Phoenix Suns
Sacramento Kings
San Antonio Spurs
Toronto Raptors
Utah Jazz
Washington Wizards

Teams with 2 games:
Charlotte Hornets
Cleveland Cavaliers
Minnesota Timberwolves
Portland Trail Blazers

Number of teams playing each day:
Monday: 14
Tuesday: 12
Wednesday: 12
Thursday: 24
Friday: 0
Saturday: 10
Sunday: 16

Back-to-Backs (beware of older or banged-up players who might rest):
Monday/Tuesday: -
Tuesday/Wednesday: -
Wednesday/Thursday: ATL, DEN, HOU, MIL, OKC, ORL
Thursday/Friday: -
Friday/Saturday: -
Saturday/Sunday: -
Sunday/Monday the following: CHI, LAL, MEM, SAS

Teams with a GOOD START to the week (three games from Monday to Thursday)
Oklahoma City Thunder (4 games - Mon, Wed, Thurs, Sun)
Orlando Magic (4 games - Mon, Wed, Thurs, Sun)
Houston Rockets (3 games - Mon, Wed, Thurs)

Teams with a GOOD MIDDLE of the week (three games from Wednesday to Saturday)
Atlanta Hawks (3 games - Tues, Thurs, Sat)
Milwaukee Bucks (3 games - Tues, Thurs, Sat)

Teams with a GOOD END to the week (three games from Thursday to Sunday)
-

Teams with a POOR START to the week (one or no games from Monday to Thursday)
Cleveland Cavaliers (2 games - Wed, Sun)

Teams with a POOR END to the week (one or no games from Thursday to Sunday)
Charlotte Hornets (2 games - Mon, Thurs)
Minnesota Timberwolves (2 games - Tues, Thurs)
Portland Trail Blazers (2 games - Tues, Thurs)
Cleveland Cavaliers (2 games - Wed, Sun)
Houston Rockets (3 games - Mon, Wed, Thurs)
Boston Celtics (3 games - Mon, Wed, Sat)
Chicago Bulls (3 games - Mon, Wed, Sun)
Los Angeles Clippers (3 games - Mon, Wed, Sun)
Sacramento Kings (3 games - Mon, Wed, Sun)
Toronto Raptors (3 games - Mon, Wed, Sun)

Baller Streaming Strategy for Week 10

With no apparent weak spots in the next week's NBA schedule, and Friday hosting no games, we will be targeting players from teams that play three games in four days, and looking to potentialy swap them out after those games.

There are three teams that play on Monday, Wednesday and Thursday - Oklahoma City, Orlando (four games next week) and Houston (three games). Players from these teams are good pickups to start the week with. After this, if you have enough weekly adds, you can swap them out for someone playing on Saturday and then for another player that plays on Sunday. Or, in the case of Oklahoma and Orlando, you can just keep the player for the entire week as these teams play on Sunday as well (so four games in a six-day week).

Another cluster of games comes on Wednesday, Thursday and Saturday. Atlanta and Milwaukee have games on all three of these days (both teams have just these three games this week). With Friday having no games, these teams essentially play on three game-days in a row. One strategy could be to target players that play before Wednesday, swap them out for a player from one of these two teams, and after Saturday pick up another player for Sunday if possible/necessary.

We will focus on players from these five teams.

Be on alert though, Covid-19 is raging again and a lot of players are missing games. Chicago even had a few of their games postponed, so make sure the player you're picking up is healthy and playing.

Streaming Options for Week 10

Shallower League Streaming Adds for the Week (Rostered in 25-75ish % of Yahoo leagues):

Luguentz Dort, SG/SF, OKC, (70% Rostered) - Strong Cats: 3PM, PTS, STL
Chuma Okeke, PF, ORL, (40% Rostered) - Strong Cats: 3PM, PTS, REB, STL/BLK - buyer beware: only getting relevant minutes due to a Covid outbreak at Orlando
Franz Wagner, SG/SF, ORL, (75% Rostered) - Strong Cats: 3PM, PTS, REB, a bit of AST, FT%, STL - positive circumstance: is getting a lot more usage with half of Orlando out
Jae'Sean Tate, SF/PF, HOU, (75% Rostered) - Strong Cats: FG%, REB, STL/BLK
Garrison Mathews, SG/SF, HOU, (39% Rostered) - Strong Cats: 3PM, PTS, STL - positive circumstance: is the starter with Jalen Green out with an injury
Eric Gordon, SG/SF, HOU, (35% Rostered) - Strong Cats: 3PM, PTS, AST
Alperen Sengun, C, HOU, (58% Rostered) - Strong Cats: REB, FG%, STL/BLK
Kevin Huerter, SG/SF, ATL, (42% Rostered) - Strong Cats: 3PM, REB, AST
Bogdan Bogdanovic, SG/SF, ATL, (72% Rostered) - Strong Cats: 3PM, PTS, STL, AST, a bit of everything - buyer beware: missed three weeks due to an ankle injury but should be back in the next game or two
Danilo Gallinari, SF/PF, ATL, (29% Rostered) - Strong Cats: 3PM, FT%
Grayson Allen, SG/SF, MIL, (42% Rostered) - Strong Cats: PTS, 3PM, FT%, REB
Pat Connaughton, SG/SF, MIL, (58% Rostered) - Strong Cats: 3PM, REB, a bit of STL

Shallower League Add

Franz Wagner, SG/SF, ORL, (75% Rostered)

Strong Cats: 3PM, PTS, REB, a bit of AST, FT%, STL

Positive Circumstance: is getting a lot more usage with half of Orlando out

Orlando has so many sidelined players that Wagner and Chuma Okeke are the only ones to have played all seven games over the past two weeks. During this time Franz has averaged 17.9 PTS with 1.0 3PM on 47.1 FG% and 84.6 FT%, 6.1 REB, 3.9 AST, 1.0 STL, 0.1 BLK and 1.9 TO in over 33 minutes per outing. This output has him ranked at #79 for this period. Furthermore, he has hit double-digits in scoring for 13 games straight.

Wagner plays heavy minutes, contributes across the board, doesn't hurt you much in any category and has managed to stay healthy so far. At the moment, that's all you can ask from a guy who is still available in 1 out of 4 leagues.

And, with four games from six days next week, he really shouldn't be hanging around on many waiver wires.

Deeper League Add

Darius Bazley, SF/PF, OKC, (22% Rostered) 

Strong Cats: REB, STL, BLK, 3PM

Darius "don't leave your drafts without him" Bazley has been quite underwhelming since he was hyped up by fantasy managers before the 2020/2021 season. His poor shooting, both from the field and from the line is killing his fantasy game and in most cases overshadowing his decent stock numbers.

Nevertheless, Bazley can contribute in certain cases, and then some. Over the period of the previous 14 days, he is ranked inside the top 100 with averages of 8.8 points with 1.0 three-pointers while shooting 50.0% from the field and 63.6% from the charity stripe (on 1.8 attempts a night), 5.0 boards, 0.7 dimes, 1.3 steals, 1.5 blocks and 0.8 turnovers in just over 27 minutes a night.

His field goals have been decent over this period, and the steals and block are off the hook. He also contributed nicely in rebounds and threes without hurting your TO too much. The assists are really low and that FT% isn't helping anyone, but for a guy rostered in just 1/5 of the leagues, this is not bad at all.

So, if you're looking to beat your opponent in steals, blocks or rebounds, Bazley could be the guy to help you do it in a week where he has four games. Just don't count on him helping with your percentages!

Insanely Deep League Add

Josh Christopher, SG, HOU, (2% Rostered)

Strong Cats: 3PM, STL, FG%

Rockets' rookie has been getting some decent playing time lately with a number of his teammates missing time, and he did use it nicely. In the last week, Christopher has played 28 minutes per game and averaged 11.8 PTS with 1.3 3PM on 53.1 FG% and 66.7 FT%, 2.3 REB, 4.3 AST, 1.0 STL, 0.0 BLK and 2.5 TO.

The turnovers are a bit much, with him getting five in his last game, and it would be nice if he was contributing in the FT% or BLK department a bit more. But in case you're looking for some assists, points or steals and you're stuck with little options in a deep league, Josh could be your guy!

With three games from Monday till Thursday, he can help you out to get your week off to a nice start, and then he's an easy swap to someone that plays on Saturday or Sunday.

Other Deep League Options for the Week

Rostered in less than 25% of Yahoo leagues

Derrick Favors, C, OKC, (22% Rostered) - Strong Cats: REB, FG% - buyer beware: plays limited minutes 
Darius Bazley, SF/PF, OKC, (22% Rostered) - Strong Cats: REB, STL, BLK, 3PM
Kenrich Williams, SF/PF, OKC, (3% Rostered) - Strong Cats: 3PM, STL
Jeremiah Robinson-Earl, SF/PF/C, OKC, (5% Rostered) - Strong Cats: REB, 3PM
Aleksej Pokusevski, SF/PF, OKC, (6% Rostered) - Strong Cats: REB, STL/BLK - buyer beware: plays limited minutes
Tre Mann, SG, OKC, (1% Rostered) - Strong Cats: 3PM
Gary Harris, SG/SF, ORL, (13% Rostered) - Strong Cats: PTS, 3PM, STL, AST, REB - buyer beware: only getting relevant minutes due to a Covid outbreak at Orlando
Robin Lopez, C, ORL, (9% Rostered) - Strong Cats: REB, FG%, BLK - buyer beware: only getting relevant minutes due to a Covid outbreak at Orlando
Mychal Mulder, PG, ORL, (0% Rostered) - Strong Cats: 3PM - buyer beware: only getting minutes due to a Covid outbreak at Orlando
Hassani Gravett, PG, ORL, (0% Rostered) - Strong Cats: 3PM, AST - buyer beware: only getting minutes due to a Covid outbreak at Orlando
B.J. Johnson, SF, ORL, (0% Rostered) - Strong Cats: 3PM, REB - buyer beware: only getting minutes due to a Covid outbreak at Orlando
Armoni Brooks, PG, HOU, (7% Rostered) - Strong Cats: 3PM, STL, a bit of PTS, AST, REB - buyer beware: nursing an ankle injury
D.J. Augustin, PG, HOU, (1% Rostered) - Strong Cats: 3PM, STL, AST, FT%
KJ Martin, SF, HOU, (5% Rostered) - Strong Cats: a little bit of REB, PTS, AST
Josh Christopher, SG, HOU, (2% Rostered) - Strong Cats: 3PM, STL, FG%
Daniel Theis, PF/C, HOU, (24% Rostered) - Strong Cats: REB, 3PM, BLK, FG% - buyer beware: he misses more games than he plays
Cam Reddish, SG/SF, ATL, (17% Rostered) - Strong Cats: PTS, 3PM, STL
Timothé Luwawu-Cabarrot, SG/SF, ATL, (1% Rostered) - Strong Cats: STL, 3PM
Lou Williams, PG/SG, ATL, (2% Rostered) - Strong Cats: PTS, 3PM, STL
Delon Wright, SG/SF, ATL, (1% Rostered) - Strong Cats: AST, STL
George Hill, PG/SG, MIL, (2% Rostered) - Strong Cats: 3PM, AST, STL - buyer beware: only getting relevant minutes due to a Covid outbreak at Milwaukee
Jordan Nwora, SF, MIL, (5% Rostered) - Strong Cats: PTS, 3PM - buyer beware: only getting relevant minutes due to a Covid outbreak at Milwaukee
DeMarcus Cousins, PF/C, MIL, (8% Rostered) - Strong Cats: REB, STL/BLK - buyer beware: only getting relevant minutes due to a Covid outbreak at Milwaukee
Sandro Mamukelashvili, PF/C, MIL, (0% Rostered) - Strong Cats: 3PM, STL/BLK - buyer beware: only getting minutes due to a Covid outbreak at Milwaukee

Good luck guys! I hope you will stream your way to victory!

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