NBA Waiver Wire Streamers for Fantasy Basketball Week 11 (Dec 27 - Jan 2)

Milos Zvekic analyzes Week 11 streaming opportunities for head-to-head fantasy basketball leagues for the 2021-22 season. He reviews the upcoming NBA schedule and players to add.

If you end up winning
Your next week's matchup
You might be thanking
Your streaming pick up

In a close battle of NBA fantasy
Coming down to a stat or two
Your streamer a hero can be
But the question is - WHO?

We're looking ahead to the NBA schedule for next week. Here are the fantasy basketball streamers for Week 11.

NBA Schedule Guide - Week 11

This week is pretty tough to predict when it comes to streaming. Thursday is definitely the primary target with just four games played, followed by Saturday with six. We will be focusing on players from teams playing on both of these days. The thing is, all these teams play just three times this week (although they all have their last game on Saturday so you can still get a four-game week if you drop them for another player who plays on Sunday).

All other days have between seven and ten games played and it's pretty much anyone's guess which fantasy teams will need help with their starters on which days. Not to mention Covid-19 implications - my head would explode if I tried to factor this one in as well.

Here's the low-down:

Teams with 4 games:
Boston Celtics
Chicago Bulls
Cleveland Cavaliers
Dallas Mavericks
Houston Rockets
Los Angeles Clippers
Los Angeles Lakers
Miami Heat
Minnesota Timberwolves
New York Knicks
Oklahoma City Thunder
Phoenix Suns
Sacramento Kings
San Antonio Spurs
Utah Jazz

Teams with 3 games:
Atlanta Hawks
Brooklyn Nets
Charlotte Hornets
Denver Nuggets
Golden State Warriors
Indiana Pacers
Memphis Grizzlies
Milwaukee Bucks
Orlando Magic
Portland Trail Blazers
Toronto Raptors
Washington Wizards

Teams with 2 games:
Detroit Pistons
New Orleans Pelicans
Philadelphia 76ers

Number of teams playing each day:
Monday: 14
Tuesday: 16
Wednesday: 18
Thursday: 8
Friday: 20
Saturday: 12
Sunday: 14

Back-to-Backs (beware of older or banged-up players who might rest):
Monday/Tuesday: HOU, MIN
Tuesday/Wednesday: LAL, MIA, NYK, OKC, SAC
Wednesday/Thursday: -
Thursday/Friday: CLE
Friday/Saturday: CHI, HOU, LAC, SAS, UTA
Saturday/Sunday: -
Sunday/Monday the following: CHA, DAL, MIA, MIN, ORL

Days with six or fewer games
Thursday: 4 games
Saturday: 6 games

Teams playing on both days:
Brooklyn Nets (3 games - Mon, Thurs, Sat)
Denver Nuggets (3 games - Tues, Thurs, Sat)
Golden State Warriors (3 games - Tues, Thurs, Sat)
Milwaukee Bucks (3 games - Tues, Thurs, Sat)
Washington Wizards (3 games - Tues, Thurs, Sat)

Teams with a GOOD START to the week (three games from Monday to Thursday)
-

Teams with a GOOD END to the week (three games from Thursday to Sunday)
Cleveland Cavaliers (4 games - Tues, Thurs, Fri, Sun)

Teams with a POOR START to the week (one or no games from Monday to Thursday)
Detroit Pistons (2 games - Wed, Sat)
New Orleans Pelicans (2 games - Tues, Sat)
Toronto Raptors (3 games - Tues, Fri, Sun)
Indiana Pacers (3 games - Wed, Fri, Sun)

Teams with a POOR END to the week (one or no games from Thursday to Sunday)
Philadelphia 76ers (2 games - Tues, Thurs)
Detroit Pistons (2 games - Wed, Sat)
New Orleans Pelicans (2 games - Tues, Sat)
Atlanta Hawks (3 games - Mon, Wed, Fri)
Charlotte Hornets (3 games - Mon, Wed, Sun)
Memphis Grizzlies (3 games - Mon, Wed, Fri)
Portland Trail Blazers (3 games - Mon, Wed, Fri)

Baller Streaming Strategy for Week 11

Four games on Thursday and six games on Saturday are the scarcest of next week. There are five teams that play on both of these days: Brooklyn, Denver, Golden State, Milwaukee and Washington (all with three games next week).

We will focus on players from these five teams.

All five teams have a three-game week ending on Saturday so you still have room for another add on Sunday if necessary. Furthermore, apart from the Nets, all other teams start their week on Tuesday. So in an ideal scenario you could pick someone up for Monday, switch to some of the options from the five teams we will go over here and then move on to someone on Sunday - of course in case you have only one streaming spot open and at least three weekly moves.

Be on alert though, Covid-19 is raging again and a lot of players are missing games and some games are being postponed as well.

Streaming Options for Week 11

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

Patty Mills, PG/SG, BKN, (60% Rostered) - Strong Cats: PTS, AST, 3PM
Monte Morris, PG/SG, DEN, (63% Rostered) - Strong Cats: 3PM, AST, STL
Otto Porter Jr., SF/PF, GSW, (32% Rostered) - Strong Cats: REB, 3PM, STL - positive circumstance: is seeing increased minutes with Andrew Wiggins out and now Draymond Green has entered the health and safety protocols as well
Grayson Allen, SG/SF, MIL, (39% Rostered) - Strong Cats: PTS, 3PM, FT%, REB - buyer beware: with several Bucks' players returning, could see a drop in minutes
Pat Connaughton, SG/SF, MIL, (52% Rostered) - Strong Cats: 3PM, REB, a bit of STL - buyer beware: with several Bucks' players returning, could see a drop in minutes
DeMarcus Cousins, PF/C, MIL, (41% Rostered) - Strong Cats: REB, STL/BLK

Shallower League Add

Patty Mills, PG/SG, BKN, (60% Rostered)

Strong Cats: PTS, AST, 3PM

It's slim pickings for shallow leagues this week with only six viable players from the five teams that play on both Thursday and Saturday falling into the "rostered in 25-75% of leagues" category, but Mills definitely stands out. The veteran guard has been on a tear this season and, additionally, he has stepped up with the Nets' stars being out. In the past 14 days Mills is averaging 23.8 points with 5.0 three-pointers on 46.7% from the field and 88.9% from the charity stripe, 4.0 boards, 4.4 dimes, 0.8 steals, 0.0 blocks and 2.2 turnovers in 38 minutes a night. This has him ranked at #40 during this stretch.

And while James Harden did miss four games in this period, and Kevin Durant missed two as well, these stats are still impressive from the Aussie.

Mills is hovering around top-100 on the season as well and isn't showing signs of stopping. With Durant likely to miss at least a couple more games, Patty should hold on to decent value, so if you're looking for some help in the points, threes or assists department on Monday, Thursday and Saturday next week, Patty should be high up on your priority list.

Deeper League Add

Otto Porter Jr., SF/PF, GSW, (32% Rostered)

Strong Cats: REB, 3PM, STL

Positive Circumstance: is seeing increased minutes with Andrew Wiggins out and now Draymond Green has entered the health and safety protocols as well

Otto's on fire! His averages of 13.0 PTS with 2.3 3PM on 55.2 FG%, 6.7 REB, 2.7 AST, 1.0 STL, 2.3 BLK and 0.7 TO (no FT attempts) over his previous three games while Wiggins was out have him ranked at #22 during the past seven days.

OPJ was always a quality fantasy player due to him not hurting you anywhere (career averages: 47.8 FG%, 79.3 FT%, 0.8 TO) while helping out across the board. And now, with him finally getting close to 30 minutes a game he is at it once again!

Although Wiggins should be back in the next couple of days (entered the protocols on 19th of December) Otto should have another game or two without him. Furthermore, Draymond has entered the protocols today (26th of December) and should miss the entire week which could open up more minutes again.

With the three games from Tuesday until Saturday, each with eight or fewer games played, and with him being in such high spirits, Otto should be rostered in most leagues.

Insanely Deep League Add

Nemanja Bjelica, PF, GSW, (5% Rostered)

Strong Cats: REB, 3PM, a little bit of everything

Positive Circumstance: is seeing increased minutes with Andrew Wiggins out and now Draymond Green has entered the health and safety protocols as well

This is a controversial pick right here, but any chance I get to talk up one of my fellow Serbians - I have to take it!

Bjelica is a great player with a very high basketball IQ, "clutch" was his middle name back in Europe and he was once upon a time the Euroleague MVP. Not that any of this matters when it comes to NBA fantasy - all that we care about are the stats on our scoreboards. At least that's me...

But this does mean that Bjelica can play and usually does when given the opportunity. And the opportunity will be there with both Wiggins and Green out.

Now, if you ever read any of my previous articles, you're probably used to me posting some stats. I won't do that here though so if you like basing your decisions on stats and form, there are probably better picks out there than Beli. But if you're a firm believer in his abilities, and need some all-around contribution in a really deep league, Nemanja could reward your courage and faith with his three games on scarce days (8, 4 and 6 games played on these days) next week.

Other Deep League Options for the Week

Rostered in less than 25% of Yahoo leagues

Bruce Brown, SG/SF, BKN, (5% Rostered) - Strong Cats: STL, REB
DeAndre' Bembry, SF/PF, BKN, (2% Rostered) - Strong Cats: STL, REB, FG%
James Johnson, PF/C, BKN, (1% Rostered) - Strong Cats: a little bit of everything
Nicolas Claxton, C, BKN, (17% Rostered) - Strong Cats: REB, FG%, BLK
Blake Griffin, PF/C, BKN, (20% Rostered) - Strong Cats: a little bit of everything but poor % this season - buyer beware: misses games left and right
Jeff Green, SF/PF/C, DEN, (14% Rostered) - Strong Cats: PTS, REB
Bones Hyland, PG/SG, DEN, (5% Rostered) - Strong Cats: AST, 3PM, STL
Facundo Campazzo, PG/SG, DEN, (15% Rostered) - Strong Cats: AST, 3PM, STL
JaMychal Green, PF/C, DEN, (1% Rostered) - Strong Cats: REB, STL/BLK
Austin Rivers, PG/SG, DEN, (1% Rostered) - Strong Cats: 3PM, PTS
Nemanja Bjelica, PF, GSW, (5% Rostered) - Strong Cats: REB, 3PM, a little bit of everything - positive circumstance: is seeing increased minutes with Andrew Wiggins out and now Draymond Green has entered the health and safety protocols as well
Gary Payton II, PG/SG, GSW, (15% Rostered) - Strong Cats: STL, 3PM - positive circumstance: is seeing increased minutes with a few guards out, even started on occasion
Kevon Looney, PF/C, GSW, (6% Rostered) - Strong Cats: REB, FG%, STL/BLK
Juan Toscano-Anderson, SF/PF, GSW, (3% Rostered) - Strong Cats: REB, AST, STL (but not a lot of any of them)
George Hill, PG/SG, MIL, (2% Rostered) - Strong Cats: 3PM, AST, STL - buyer beware: with Bucks getting their regular players back, Hill could see a drop in minutes
Jordan Nwora, SF, MIL, (22% Rostered) - Strong Cats: PTS, 3PM - buyer beware: had a nice run while the Bucks had Covid issues, but dropped out of the rotation in their previous game
Donte DiVincenzo, PG/SG, MIL, (16% Rostered) - Strong Cats: 3PM, STL/BLK - buyer beware: just returned from a long term injury
Wesley Matthews, SG/SF, MIL, (0% Rostered) - Strong Cats: 3PM
Deni Avdija, SG/SF, WAS, (22% Rostered) - Strong Cats: REB, STL/BLK
Corey Kispert, SG/SF, WAS, (2% Rostered) - Strong Cats: 3PM - buyer beware: became a regular part of the rotation due to Covid hitting the Wizards
Davis Bertans, PF/C, WAS, (4% Rostered) - Strong Cats: 3PM, STL
Aaron Holiday, PG, WAS, (1% Rostered) - Strong Cats: 3PM, AST

I hope this helps you out on your way to a win in week 11!

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