NBA Weekly Streamers for Week 12 (Jan 6 - Jan 12)

1 month ago by Milos Zvekic

Reaching the playoffs in our competitive fantasy NBA leagues is never easy. That's especially true if we had some bad luck with injuries to our key players, or if the guys we drafted with so much hope turned out to be duds. So we turn to our wits and try to out outsmart and outplay our rivals.

On a weekly level, we try to do so by picking the best options from the waiver wire to help us out for that week. Streaming the right guy or guys with the right schedule can make all the difference in a one-week matchup and get you one step closer to a playoff spot or a better seed.

I've done some analysis of the week to come and here are my thoughts on the fantasy basketball streamers for Week 12.

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NBA Schedule Guide - Week 12

Thursday will be the hardest day to fill the starting lineup with just four games played, followed by Tuesday with six and Saturday and Sunday with seven games each. Naturally, our focus turns to the eight teams that play on Thursday as all of them play on Saturday too, and five of them play on Tuesday as well.

Here's the low-down:

Teams with 4 games:
Atlanta Hawks
Boston Celtics
Brooklyn Nets
Charlotte Hornets
Chicago Bulls
Dallas Mavericks
Denver Nuggets
Golden State Warriors
Milwaukee Bucks
New Orleans Pelicans
New York Knicks
Oklahoma City Thunder
San Antonio Spurs
Utah Jazz
Washington Wizards

Teams with 3 games:
Cleveland Cavaliers
Detroit Pistons
Houston Rockets
Indiana Pacers
Los Angeles Lakers
Memphis Grizzlies
Miami Heat
Minnesota Timberwolves
Orlando Magic
Philadelphia 76ers
Phoenix Suns
Portland Trail Blazers
Sacramento Kings
Toronto Raptors

Teams with 2 games:
Los Angeles Clippers

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

Back-to-Backs (beware of older or banged-up players who might rest):
Monday/Tuesday: BKN, OKC, SAC
Tuesday/Wednesday: NYK, TOR
Wednesday/Thursday: BOS, HOU
Thursday/Friday: -
Friday/Saturday: CHI, DAL, LAL, MIL, NOP
Saturday/Sunday: DEN
Sunday/Monday the following: CHA

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

Teams playing on both Tuesday and Thursday:
Oklahoma City Thunder (4 games - Mon, Tue, Thurs, Sat)
Cleveland Cavaliers (3 games - Tue, Thurs, Sat)
Detroit Pistons (3 games - Tue, Thurs, Sat)
Minnesota Timberwolves (3 games - Tue, Thurs, Sat)
Portland Trail Blazers (3 games - Tue, Thurs, Sat)

We could also look at teams that play on Thursday and Saturday (7 games played):
Boston Celtics (4 games - Mon, Wed, Thurs, Sat)
Houston Rockets (3 games - Wed, Thurs, Sat)
Philadelphia 76ers (3 games - Mon, Thurs, Sat)

Teams with a GOOD START to the week (three games from Monday to Thursday)
Boston Celtics
Oklahoma City Thunder

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)
Los Angeles Clippers (2 games - Fri, Sun)
Los Angeles Lakers (3 games - Tue, Fri, Sat)
Memphis Grizzlies (3 games - Tue, Fri, Sun)
Miami Heat (3 games - Wed, Fri, Sun)
Phoenix Suns (3 games - Tue, Fri, Sun)

Teams with a POOR END to the week (one or no games from Thursday to Sunday)
Indiana Pacers (3 games - Mon, Wed, Fri)
Orlando Magic (3 games - Mon, Wed, Fri)
Sacramento Kings (3 games - Mon, Tue, Fri)
Toronto Raptors (3 games - Tue, Wed, Sun)

Baller Streaming Strategy for Week 12

Thursday with just four games will be the most challenging for us fantasy owners to field a decent team. Players from teams that play on Thursday provide the best schedule for streaming purposes so we will be looking at them. Furthermore, they all play their final game of the week on Saturday which is good for two reasons. One - seven games are played on Saturday so we might need help on this day as well. Two - you can drop that player after Saturday's game for another that plays on Sunday if you need the production.

Moreover, five teams play both on Thursday and Tuesday, the second scarcest day of the week. These teams are the Oklahoma City Thunder, the Cleveland Cavaliers, the Detroit Pistons, the Minnesota Timberwolves, and the Portland Trail Blazers. They will be our primary focus. We will also take a look at the players from the other three teams that play on both Thursday and Saturday, but not on Tuesday - the Boston Celtics, the Houston Rockets, and the Philadelphia 76ers.

Streaming Options for Week 12

Shallower League Streaming Adds for the Week:

Dennis Schroder, PG, OKC, (73% Owned) - Strong Cats: 3PM, PTS, AST, FT%
Nerlens Noel, PF/C, OKC, (49% Owned) - Strong Cats: REB, FG%, STL/BLK
Collin Sexton, PG/SG, CLE, (67% Owned) - Strong Cats: PTS, 3PM, FT%
Derrick Rose, PG/SG, DET, (77% Owned) - Strong Cats: PTS, AST, FT%
Gorgui Dieng, PF/C, MIN, (37% Owned) - Strong Cats: REB, FG%, STL/BLK - buyer beware: will return to the bench role when Karl-Anthony Towns returns from injury which could be very soon
Jeff Teague, PG, MIN, (74% Owned) - Strong Cats: AST, PTS, 3PM, FT%
Carmelo Anthony, SF/PF, POR, (76% Owned) - Strong Cats: 3PM, PTS, FT%, REB
Enes Kanter, C, BOS, (62% Owned) - Strong Cats:REB, FG%
Marcus Smart, PG/SG, BOS, (72% Owned) - Strong Cats: 3PM, AST, STL
P.J. Tucker, SF/PF, HOU, (62% Owned) - Strong Cats: 3PM, STL, REB
Eric Gordon, SG/SF, HOU, (44% Owned) - Strong Cats: 3PM, PTS, FT%

Shallower League Add

Nerlens Noel, PF/C, OKC - 49% Owned

Strong Cats: REB, FG%, STL/BLK

Noel has always been a per-minute monster, it's just been difficult for him to find playing time. He seems to have settled in nicely now with the Thunder and is averaging around 20 minutes per game both on the season and in the past 7 days. He is also ranked in the top-70 so far this season and is even better in the past week where his averages of 10.3 points (no three-pointers) on 66.7% from the field and 77.8% from the charity stripe, 7.3 boards, 0.7 dimes, 1.3 steals, 2.3 blocked shots, and just 0.7 turnovers have him ranked at #34 for the period.

These averages are insane for a guy playing just 20 minutes a game. But as Noel is unlikely to get a bigger opportunity, at least as long as Steven Adams is at OKC, he will be limited to some flashes of the bench.

This has an upside for those in shallower leagues, as Noel can be had off the wire in over half of Yahoo leagues. If you need help in stocks and boards next week, with this form and a great schedule - Nerlens really shouldn't be on your waiver wire for much longer.

Deeper League Add

Darius Garland, PG, CLE - 26% Owned

Strong Cats: AST, PTS, 3PM

I'm a sucker for taking chances on young talents, at least for a short period of one week. Garland has settled in nicely in Cleveland and earned his role. He has played 25 or more minutes in 10 straight games, eclipsing the 30-minute mark in four.

Over the previous week, his averages of 14.7 PTS with 2.3 3PM on 52.9 FG% and 33.3 FT%, 2.7 REB,
5.0 AST, 1.3 STL, 0.0 BLK, and 2.3 TO in over 32 minutes per outing have him ranked in the #122 spot. Now, of course, he will not be shooting this good from the field, but he will not miss two out of three free-throws either. The steals and assists are a bit higher than the season averages, so let's hope that it's because Garland is adapting to the NBA and improving.

If your team is in need of some three-point shooting and scoring with a dash of dimes and steals, Garland could be your guy. With all three of his games next week coming on days with seven or fewer games played, he is someone to consider for streaming purposes in deeper leagues.

Insanely Deep League Add

Sviatoslav Mykhailiuk, SG, DET - 1% Owned

Strong Cats: 3PM, STL, PTS

Svi is just in his 2nd year in the NBA. He was a mid-second-round pick in the 2018 draft and still hasn't had a real chance to prove himself. In his rookie year, he played a total of 42 games (mostly for the Lakers) and averaged around 10 minutes a night. This season, his playing time is up to around 18 minutes.

But now Luke Kennard is injured and Svi has been given the extra opportunity. In the five games since Kennard went down, Mykhailiuk is averaging 11.8 PTS with 2.8 3PM on 43.5 FG% and 62.5 FT%, 2.4 REB, 2.0 AST, 0.6 STL, 0.0 BLK, and 0.8 TO in 26 minutes per outing. Nothing too flashy, but for a guy owned in just 1% of Yahoo leagues, not too shabby either.

Kennard is set to miss at least another week, and with Detroit playing their three games on Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday, all days with seven or fewer matches, Svi could be worth a look for streaming as a three-point specialist who can contribute a bit to points, assists, and steals.

Other Deep League Options for the Week

Terrance Ferguson, SG/SF, OKC, (0% Owned) - Strong Cats: 3PM
Darius Bazley, SF/PF, OKC, (1% Owned) - Strong Cats: STL/BLK, REB
Darius Garland, PG, CLE, (26% Owned) - Strong Cats: AST, PTS, 3PM
Cedi Osman, SF/PF, CLE, (22% Owned) - Strong Cats: 3PM, PTS, STL
Kevin Porter Jr., SG, CLE, (6% Owned) - Strong Cats: a little bit of everything
Christian Wood, PF/C, DET, (20% Owned) - Strong Cats: REB, FG%, STL/BLK
Bruce Brown Jr., SG, DET, (10% Owned) - Strong Cats: STL, AST, REB
Langston Galloway, PG/SG, DET, (7% Owned) - Strong Cats: PTS, 3PM, FT%
Tony Snell, SG/SF, DET, (1% Owned) - Strong Cats: 3PM
Sviatoslav Mykhailiuk, SG, DET, (1% Owned) - Strong Cats: 3PM, STL, PTS
Sekou Doumbouya, SF/PF, DET, (3% Owned) - Strong Cats: REB, rookie factor - buyer beware: the potential is there but it's not proven
Kelan Martin, SG, MIN, (0% Owned) - Strong Cats: 3PM, REB
Shabazz Napier, PG/SG, MIN, (20% Owned) - Strong Cats: AST, 3PM, FT%
Jarrett Culver, PG/SG/SF, MIN, (13% Owned) - Strong Cats: STL/BLK, a little bit of everything + rookie factor - buyer beware: poor %s
Keita Bates-Diop, PG/SG/SF, MIN, (0% Owned) - Strong Cats: STL/BLK, REB
Kent Bazemore, SG/SF, POR, (25% Owned) - Strong Cats: 3PM, REB, STL/BLK - should see additional minutes with Rodney Hood out for the season
Anfernee Simons, SG, POR, (4% Owned) - Strong Cats: 3PM
Daniel Theis, PF/C, BOS, (10% Owned) - Strong Cats: REB, FG%, BLK
Danuel House, SG/SF, HOU (25% Owned) - Strong Cats: 3PM, a bit of everything
Ben McLemore, SG, HOU (7% Owned) - Strong Cats: 3PM, a bit of STL/BLK - buyer beware: will probably see his playing time drop with Eric Gordon back
Isaiah Hartenstein, PF, HOU (25% Owned) - Strong Cats: FG%, REB, STL/BLK - buyer beware: only played in a handful of games, the potential is there but it's not proven