January 29, 2018

Milos Zvekic analyzes Week 16 streaming opportunities for head-to-head fantasy basketball leagues. He reviews the upcoming NBA schedule and players to add.

If you have an open Streaming spot or two on your roster and are pondering over who to pick up from the scarce quality on your Waiver Wire, this article may help you make the right decisions. We will look at daily games played, see which teams to target and which to avoid and then analyze which players from those teams could prove to be this weeks matchup winners for the owner who was insightful enough to pick them up before his competition.

This year we'll take more of a holistic approach to streaming, by providing a weekly overview of which teams to look at based on their schedules and what players to consider targeting in advance to maximize the bang for the buck you get out of limited weekly transactions. Streaming is just about maximizing a roster spot with whoever is available after all, it's never about targeting a specific player.

Anybody can go onto their waiver wire, look for the most interesting player with a game the next day, and add him. So we'll be plotting out our moves in advance because being able to target a stream two days out or add two extra games in one transaction is where you can really gain an edge over the average streamer. Hopefully, this weekly overview will help you realize that edge. Below you will find my fantasy basketball streamers for Week 16.

NBA Schedule Guide - Week 16

Week 16 is pretty evened out as no day has more than nine nor less than five games played. The days that are most likely to have an open spot on your roster are Thursday with five games, Monday and Sunday with six games apiece.

Teams with 4 games:
Atlanta Hawks
Boston Celtics
Brooklyn Nets
Charlotte Hornets
Denver Nuggets
Indiana Pacers
Memphis Grizzlies
Miami Heat
Milwaukee Bucks
Minnesota Timberwolves
New York Knicks
Oklahoma City Thunder
Philadelphia 76ers
Phoenix Suns
Portland Trail Blazers
Toronto Raptors

Teams with 3 games:
Cleveland Cavaliers
Dallas Mavericks
Detroit Pistons
Golden State Warriors
Houston Rockets
Los Angeles Lakers
New Orleans Pelicans
Orlando Magic
Sacramento Kings
San Antonio Spurs
Utah Jazz
Washington Wizards

Teams with 2 games:
Chicago Bulls
Los Angeles Clippers

Number of teams playing each day:
Monday: 12
Tuesday: 18
Wednesday: 16
Thursday: 10
Friday: 18
Saturday: 18
Sunday: 12

Back-to-Backs (beware of older banged up players who might rest):
Brooklyn: Tue*/Wed
Cleveland: Tue*/Wed
Denver: Mon/Tue*
Golden State: Fri*/Sat*
Indiana: Fri*/Sat
Memphis: Wed*/Thurs
Miami: Fri*/Sat*
Milwaukee: Thurs*/Fri
Minnesota: Mon*/Tue*
New Orleans: Fri*/Sat*
New York: Tue/Wed*
Oklahoma City: Thurs*/Fri
Orlando: Tue*/Wed
Philadelphia: Fri/Sat*
Portland: Tue*/Wed
Sacramento: Fri/Sat
Toronto: Thurs*/Fri
Utah: Fri*/Sat*
- away game*

Teams Playing Twice on Days with Six or Fewer Games:
Atlanta, Boston, Charlotte, Denver, Minnesota, Oklahoma City, Phoenix, Toronto

Teams Playing Three Times on Days with Six or Fewer Games:
Memphis, Milwaukee

Teams Playing Three in Four Days on the Weekend:
Milwaukee, Oklahoma City, Toronto

Baller Streaming Strategy for the Week

With Week 16 not having pretty evened out days when it comes to games played, I would advise that you first look at your fantasy team's schedule and figure out which days you are looking to fill with a Streamer. As it is most likely to be on Monday, Thursday and/or Sunday, we will be looking at players from teams that play on all three or at least on two of those days.

Memphis and Milwaukee have the most advantageous schedule so we will be focusing on their players primarily. Memphis has some intriguing options for both deep and shallower leagues with their roster going through some changes and injuries lately. On the other hand, most of Milwaukee's players' fantasy value comes from the guys already owned in most leagues, but we will dig a bit deeper to try and find something worth streaming in deep leagues.

There are also eight teams playing on two "six-or-less" game days. Apart from Memphis and Milwaukee, Denver and Minnesota are the only teams that play on Monday and Thursday. Atlanta, Boston, Charlotte, and Phoenix all play on both Monday and Sunday while Oklahoma City and Toronto play on Thursday and Sunday. We will scan through all these teams and pick the most valuable and intriguing options.

Streaming Options for the Week

More Obvious Streaming Adds for the Week:

John Henson, PF/C, MIL, (40% Owned) - Strong Cats: FG%, REB, BLK
Trey Lyles, PF, DEN, (34% Owned) - Strong Cats: FG%, 3PM, REB
John Collins, PF/C, ATL (56% Owned) - Strong Cats: FG%, REB, BLK
Ersan Ilyasova, SF/PF, ATL, (39% Owned) - Strong Cats: FT%, 3PM, REB
Dewayne Dedmon, C, ATL, (36% Owned) - Strong Cats: FG%, REB
Taurean Prince, SF, ATL, (54% Owned) - Strong Cats: FT%, 3PM, REB
Marcus Morris, SF/PF, BOS (38% Owned) - Strong Cats: 3PM, PTS, REB
Marvin Williams, SF/PF, CHA, (57% Owned) - Strong Cats: FG%, FT%, 3PM, REB
Jeremy Lamb, SG/SF, CHA (48% Owned) - Strong Cats: FT%, 3PM, PTS, REB
Frank Kaminsky, PF/C, CHA, (38% Owned) - Strong Cats: 3PM, FT%
Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, SF, CHA, (32% Owned) - Strong Cats: FG%, REB, BLK/STL
Josh Jackson, SG/SF, PHO, (39% Owned) - Strong Cats: PTS, a bit of everything
Marquese Chriss, PF/C, PHO, (48% Owned) - Strong Cats: REB, BLK
Greg Monroe, PF/C, PHO, (53% Owned) - Strong Cats: FG%, PTS, REB

Deeper League Adds

Mario Chalmers, PG/SG, MEM (7% Owned) - Strong Cats: FG%, AST, STL

Memphis is a hospital at the moment. This has benefited all three of our streaming heros from the Grizzlies this week. In addition to Chandler Parsons who is an injury list regular, unfortunately, and Mike Conley who has been ruled out for the season, Tyreke Evans, Ben McLemore, JaMychal Green, James Ennis III have all been missing games lately. Green and Ennis III should be back at some time during next week, and Evans is ill, so that shouldn't keep him out for too long, right?

But with Conley out Chalmers is definitely worth a pickup, especially with such a favorable schedule. He played a great game in his last outing against the Clippers on Jan 27 finishing with 17 points with two three-pointers on 6-of-10 from the field and 3-of-4 from the line, four rebounds, 10 assists, one steal, two blocks and three turnovers in 33 minutes. Even if the Memphis' guards return, Chalmers should keep some value in 25+ minutes a game for the remainder of the season, let alone next week.

Jarell Martin, PF/C, MEM (3% Owned) - Strong Cats: PTS, REB, a bit of everything

Jarell has missed a game himself last week, but has been on fire in the last six he has played in with averages of 12.3 PTS with 0.8 3PM on 55.6 FG% and 75.0 FT%, 5.7 REB, 0.8 AST, 0.5 STL, 0.7 BLK and 1.5 TO in 27 minutes per outing. With Jarell you get decent percentages, nice rebounding and scoring and a boost in defensive stats. That and the Grizzlies' schedule for next week should be enough for him to be on the radar in deeper leagues.

Dillon Brooks, SG/SF, OKC (7% Owned) - Strong Cats: 3PM, PTS, STL, a bit of everything

Dillon has been getting it done for the past two weeks as he is posting value of just outside the top-100 with 14.3 PTS with 2.0 3PM on 55.2 FG% and 75.0 FT%, 4.4 REB, 1.4 AST, 1.1 STL, no blocks and 2.0 TO in 30 minutes per contest. If you're looking for some 3-and-D with nice percentages and a few rebounds to boot, he is your guy for the week. He might get a few minutes less with Tyreke back in the rotation, but he will still be a decent option for next week in deeper leagues, and if Tyreke is traded, his ROS outlook improves significantly.

Jerami Grant, SF/PF, OKC (2% Owned) - Strong Cats: BLK, STL, REB, FG%, and
Terrance Ferguson, SG/SF, OKC (2% Owned) - Strong Cats: 3PM, FT%, some defensive stats

One of the best perimeter defenders out there, Andre Roberson, has suffered a season-ending injury last night. We wish him a full recovery. However, we are here for fantasy NBA reasons so this unfortunate turn of events does open up almost 27 minutes of Andre's playing time to be divided mostly among Jerami Grant and Terrance Ferguson. They are two quite different players so if you need blocks and rebounds Grant is more likely to help you out, while Ferguson will be more helpful on the offensive end with his three point shooting and is getting his owners 0.7 STL and 0.5 BLK so if he can keep that up, he could be useful as a three-point and defensive stat specialist in more than just the deepest of leagues. Furthermore, Fergie is a rookie, so it is possible that he hasn't shown us all he's capable of yet.

Mason Plumlee, PF/C, DEN, (25% Owned) - Strong Cats: REB, BLK, STL FG%

With Paul Millsap out, Denver has gotten some decent contribution from Mason Plumlee. In his last 5 games he has averaged 9.6 PTS on 60.0 FG% and 50.0 FT%, 7.4 REB, 2.6 AST, 1.6 STL, 1.2 BLK and 1.8 TO in 25 minutes a night. Millsap won't be back for another couple of weeks so we can expect Plumlee to keep getting the goods. Maybe not at this rate when it comes to stocks, but enough to contribute heavily as a streamer if he's available in your league.

Other Deep League Options for the Week

Terry Rozier, PG/SG, BOS (19% Owned) - Strong Cats: 3PM, STL, REB
Andre Iguodala, SG/SF, GSW, (16% Owned) - Strong Cats: a bit of everything
Jamal Crawford, SG/SF, MIN, (12% Owned) - Strong Cats: 3PM, PTS, FT%
Nemanja Bjelica, PF, MIN, (3% Owned) - Strong Cats: 3PM, FG%, FT%, STL
Thon Maker, PF/C, MIL, (5% Owned) - Strong Cats: 3PM, defensive stats
Hope you guys enjoyed the article and the advice, and I hope that this will help you win your matchups for next and bragging rights for the week after.

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