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Every new week in fantasy NBA brings new rivals and new challenges. Each different than the one before, but with the same goal - to beat us in our matchup.
Streaming helps us adapt to the new circumstances, overcome them as best possible, and ultimately reach our regular-season goal of reaching the playoffs. Each week we're looking to maximize our teams' games and contributions in critical categories. Everything to get that sweet W!
Week 15 is no different and we will look into it and take some notes of how to navigate it. Here are my thoughts on the fantasy basketball streamers for Week 15.
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NBA Schedule Guide - Week 15
Here's the low-down:
Teams with 4 games:
Chicago Bulls
Cleveland Cavaliers
Dallas Mavericks
Denver Nuggets
Detroit Pistons
Houston Rockets
Sacramento Kings
Toronto Raptors
Utah Jazz
Teams with 3 games:
Atlanta Hawks
Boston Celtics
Brooklyn Nets
Charlotte Hornets
Golden State Warriors
Los Angeles Clippers
Los Angeles Lakers
Memphis Grizzlies
Miami Heat
Milwaukee Bucks
New Orleans Pelicans
New York Knicks
Oklahoma City Thunder
Philadelphia 76ers
Phoenix Suns
Portland Trail Blazers
San Antonio Spurs
Washington Wizards
Teams with 2 games:
Indiana Pacers
Minnesota Timberwolves
Orlando Magic
Number of teams playing each day:
Monday: 12
Tuesday: 18
Wednesday: 12
Thursday: 12
Friday: 14
Saturday: 20
Sunday: 8
Back-to-Backs (beware of older or banged-up players who might rest):
Monday/Tuesday: DAL, CLE, MIA
Tuesday/Wednesday: MEM, NYK
Wednesday/Thursday: SAC, UTA
Thursday/Friday: DEN, TOR
Friday/Saturday: BKN, DAL, LAL, POR
Saturday/Sunday: -
Sunday/Monday the following: DET, PHO
Days with seven or fewer games
Monday: 6 games
Wednesday: 6 games
Thursday: 6 games
Friday: 7 games
Sunday: 4 games
Teams playing on Sunday + another three of these days:
Chicago Bulls (4 games - Mon, Wed, Fri, Sun)
Detroit Pistons (4 games - Mon, Wed, Fri, Sun)
Houston Rockets (4 games - Mon, Wed, Fri, Sun)
Teams playing on Sunday + another two of these days:
Denver Nuggets (4 games - Mon, Thurs, Sat, Sun)
Toronto Raptors (4 games - Mon, Wed, Thurs, Sat)
Teams not playing on Sunday but playing on other three of these days:
Sacramento Kings (4 games - Mon, Wed, Thurs, Sat)
Utah Jazz (4 games - Mon, Wed, Thurs, Sat)
Oklahoma City Thunder (3 games - Mon, Wed, Fri)
Teams with a GOOD START to the week (three games from Monday to Thursday)
Cleveland Cavaliers (4 games - Mon, Tue, Thurs, Sat)
Sacramento Kings (4 games - Mon, Wed, Thurs, Sat)
Utah Jazz (4 games - Mon, Wed, Thurs, Sat)
Teams with a GOOD END to the week (three games from Thursday to Sunday)
Denver Nuggets (4 games - Tue, Thurs, Fri, Sun)
Toronto Raptors (4 games - Tue, Thurs, Fri, Sun)
Teams with a POOR START to the week (one or no games from Monday to Thursday)
Orlando Magic (2 games - Mon, Sat)
Minnesota Timberwolves (2 games - Mon, Sat)
Indiana Pacers (2 games - Wed, Sat)
Brooklyn Nets (3 games - Wed, Fri, Sat)
Milwaukee Bucks (3 games - Tue, Fri, Sun)
Los Angeles Lakers (3 games - Tue, Fri, Sat)
New Orleans Pelicans (3 games - Tue, Fri, Sun)
Portland Trail Blazers (3 games - Wed, Fri, Sat)
Phoenix Suns (3 games - Tue, Fri, Sun)
Teams with a POOR END to the week (one or no games from Thursday to Sunday)
Orlando Magic (2 games - Mon, Sat)
Minnesota Timberwolves (2 games - Mon, Sat)
Indiana Pacers (2 games - Wed, Sat)
Memphis Grizzlies (3 games - Tue, Wed, Fri)
Miami Heat (3 games - Mon, Tue, Sat)
New York Knicks (3 games - Tue, Wed, Sat)
Oklahoma City Thunder (3 games - Mon, Wed, Fri)
San Antonio Spurs (3 games - Mon, Wed, Sat)
Baller Streaming Strategy for Week 15
Sunday has just four games played so players from teams playing on this day will be our primary focus. As all other days have between six and 10 games, it is pretty difficult to predict which fantasy teams will have trouble on which days.
With Tuesday having nine games and Saturday ten, these days will be covered in most teams, so we will disregard them to make things a bit simpler.
So, now we are left with Monday, Wednesday, and Thursday - all with six games apiece, and with Friday with seven games played.
First, we will take a look at players from teams that play on Sunday plus another three of these four days with seven or fewer games. These teams are: the Chicago Bulls, the Detroit Pistons and the Houston Rockets.
There are another two teams that play on Sunday and two more scarce days: the Denver Nuggets and the Toronto Raptors.
With only five teams fitting these descriptions, I've widened the search to teams that don't play on Sunday, but do play at least three games on the days with six or seven games. There are three such teams: the Cleveland Cavaliers, the Sacramento Kings, and the Utah Jazz.
Streaming Options for Week 15
Shallower League Streaming Adds for the Week:
Kris Dunn, PG/SG/SF, CHI, (34% Owned) - Strong Cats: AST, STL
Thaddeus Young, SF/PF, CHI, (46% Owned) - Strong Cats: REB, FG%, STL
Tomas Satoransky, PG/SG, CHI, (59% Owned) - Strong Cats: 3PM, STL, AST, FT%
Christian Wood, PF/C, DET, (34% Owned) - Strong Cats: REB, FG%, STL/BLK
Reggie Jackson, PG/SG, DET, (35% Owned) - Strong Cats: PTS, 3PM, AST, FT%
P.J. Tucker, SF/PF, HOU, (44% Owned) - Strong Cats: 3PM, STL, REB
Eric Gordon, SG/SF, HOU, (46% Owned) - Strong Cats: 3PM, PTS, FT%
Will Barton, SG/SF, DEN, (79% Owned) - Strong Cats: 3PM, a bit of everything
Gary Harris, PG/SG, DEN, (49% Owned) - Strong Cats: 3PM, STL - buyer beware: just returned from injury
Jerami Grant, SF/PF, DEN, (38% Owned) - Strong Cats: 3PM, FG%, STL/BLK
Michael Porter Jr., SF, DEN, (58% Owned) - Strong Cats: 3PM, REB, STL/BLK
Serge Ibaka, PF/C, TOR, (79% Owned) - Strong Cats: PTS, REB, BLK a bit of everything
OG Anunoby, SF/PF, TOR, (57% Owned) - Strong Cats: 3PM, REB, STL/BLK
Norman Powell, SG/SF, TOR, (63% Owned) - Strong Cats: 3PM, PTS, FT%, FG%, STL
Marc Gasol, C, TOR, (77% Owned) -Strong Cats: REB, 3PM, AST, STL/BLK
Darius Garland, PG, CLE, (39% Owned) - Strong Cats: AST, PTS, 3PM
Collin Sexton, PG/SG, CLE, (73% Owned) - Strong Cats: PTS, 3PM, FT%
Larry Nance Jr., PF/C, CLE, (63% Owned) - Strong Cats: REB, FG%, STL/BLK
Harrison Barnes, SF/PF, SAC, (66% Owned) - Strong Cats: 3PM, PTS, FT%
Nemanja Bjelica, SF/PF, SAC, (63% Owned) - Strong Cats: 3PM, REB, a bit of everything
Bogdan Bogdanovic, SG/SF, SAC, (65% Owned) - Strong Cats: 3PM, AST, STL, PTS, a bit of everything
Joe Ingles, SG/SF, UTA, (79% Owned) - Strong Cats: 3PM, AST, STL
Jordan Clarkson, PG/SG, UTA, (31% Owned) - Strong Cats: 3PM, PTS, FT%
Shallower League Add
Eric Gordon, SG/SF, HOU - 46% Owned
Strong Cats: 3PM, PTS, FT%
Gordon has been on a tear lately with averages of 18.6 PTS with 4.4 3PM on 40.9 FG% and 75.0 FT%, 2.6 REB, 1.4 AST, 0.1 STL, 0.3 BLK, and 0.9 TO in 30 minutes a game in the last 14 days. Despite the lack of defensive stats, this is still good enough for #125 in Yahoo leagues. And this is with both James Harden and Russell Westbrook healthy! Furthermore, he scored 25 points on two straight occasions and hit six treys apiece in both these contests.
Gordon has been injured for most of the season and has just found his groove, which can explain why he is owned in less than half of the leagues. It could be argued that he should be owned in more, especially with his recent performances.
And now the Beard is flagged with a Game Time Decision tag for the Sunday's game against the Nuggets after getting a knee to his thigh in their previous contest, so if he were to miss time, this would open up a lot more shots for Gordon. However, this is the Beard we're talking about. Chances he misses games next week for a bruised thigh are minimal.
Nonetheless, Gordon is playing some great offense, and if he can complement that with a splash of stocks here and there, he should be rosterable in most leagues, especially considering Houston's good schedule next week.
Deeper League Add
Danuel House, SG/SF, HOU - 11% Owned
Strong Cats: 3PM, a bit of everything
Danuel has been very good to start the season, but ever since he returned from his shoulder injury he just hasn't been the same. His ownership fell from over 30% down to just 11% now in a matter of weeks and it's a risky move adding him outside the deep leagues.
But even with his poor form of late, House is still inside the top-150 on the season with averages of 10.0 PTS with 1.9 3PM on 42.7 FG% and 75.0 FT%, 3.9 REB, 1.2 AST, 0.9 STL, 0.6 BLK, and 0.9 TO in 30 minutes per game. Even though he has been moved to the bench role, he is still getting 27 minutes in the last two weeks and is hanging around the same value in this period as well.
He has shown us he can be a worthy fantasy contributor and with Houston's four-game slate next week, owners in deep leagues with a craving for some threes and defensive stats should be on the lookout.
Insanely Deep League Add
Cristiano Felicio, C, CHI - 2% Owned
Strong Cats: FG%, REB
It's quite a dice roll here with Felicio, but with most of Chicago's frontcourt being out with injuries, he is in a good position to get some minutes and help his fantasy owners in some big men stats. A good indication of this is the fact he got 21+ minutes in two straight games and grabbed nine boards in each of them.
Now Felicio is probably not going to dazzle you with his performances. He is not a blocking specialist either, so if you're looking for a big who can swat with the best of them - look elsewhere. But if you're in the deepest of leagues, need help with rebounding, a few made field goals on good percentages and someone not to tank your TO and FT%, Cristiano could be your guy.
With Chicago playing four times on favorable days next week and the Bulls' physio room full of tall players, Cristiano should be good for around 30 boards over this stretch.
Other Deep League Options for the Week
Luke Kornet, PF/C, CHI, (10% Owned) - Strong Cats: BLK, 3PM, FT% - additional value with the injuries in Chicago
Chandler Hutchison, SG/SF, CHI, (1% Owned) - Strong Cats: REB, STL
Cristiano Felicio, C, CHI, (2% Owned) - Strong Cats: FG%, REB
Coby White, PG, CHI, (20% Owned) - Strong Cats: PTS, 3PM
Bruce Brown Jr., SG, DET, (8% Owned) - Strong Cats: STL, AST, REB - buyer beware: missed previous two games due to illness
Langston Galloway, PG/SG, DET, (5% Owned) - Strong Cats: PTS, 3PM, FT%
Tony Snell, SG/SF, DET, (1% Owned) - Strong Cats: 3PM - buyer beware: missed previous game for an undisclosed reason
Sviatoslav Mykhailiuk, SG, DET, (14% Owned) - Strong Cats: 3PM, STL, PTS
Sekou Doumbouya, SF/PF, DET, (16% Owned) - Strong Cats: REB,
Danuel House, SG/SF, HOU (11% Owned) - Strong Cats: 3PM, a bit of everything
Ben McLemore, SG, HOU (5% Owned) - Strong Cats: 3PM, a bit of STL/BLK
Austin Rivers, PG/SG, HOU (1% Owned) - Strong Cats: 3PM, STL
Torrey Craig, SG/SF, DEN, (1% Owned) - Strong Cats: a little bit of everything
Monte Morris, PG, DEN, (9% Owned) - Strong Cats: 3PM, PTS, AST, FT%
Malik Beasley, PG/SG, DEN, (6% Owned) - Strong Cats: 3PM, FT%, PTS, STL
Rondae Hollis-Jefferson, SF/PF, TOR, (4% Owned) - Strong Cats: REB, STL/BLK
Cedi Osman, SF/PF, CLE, (27% Owned) - Strong Cats: 3PM, PTS, STL
Alfonzo McKinnie, PF, CLE, (1% Owned) - Strong Cats: REB, a little bit of everything
Cory Joseph, PG, SAC, (2% Owned) - Strong Cats: AST, STL, a little bit of everything
Kent Bazemore, SG/SF, SAC, (21% Owned) - Strong Cats: 3PM, REB, STL/BLK
Royce O'Neale, SF, UTA, (6% Owned) - Strong Cats: FT%, 3PM, REB, STL and plays almost 30 minutes a game
I hope you guys enjoyed the article and I hope that this will help you win your matchups next week and bragging rights for the week after.
