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Milos Zvekic analyzes Week 20 streaming opportunities for head-to-head fantasy basketball leagues. He reviews the upcoming NBA schedule and players to add.
The playoff hunt is in full swing in most leagues, while in others the playoffs have already begun. There's really no point in keeping low-end injured or out-of-form guys anymore. Their spot on your roster can be put to much better use for streaming, especially if you're in the midst of fighting for the postseason.
If you have some dead weight that you wouldn't mind dropping and are looking to maximize your chances of winning your matchup next week, you're in the right place!
Here are our fantasy basketball streamers for Week 20.
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NBA Schedule Guide - Week 20
With only three games played on Tuesday, it is obvious that most fantasy team will be looking for help on this day. Two other days, Thursday and Friday, have six and seven games, so we will be looking into players from teams who play on two of these days as they are the most likely to help fantasy owners fill out their rosters.
Here's the low-down:
Teams with 4 games:
Atlanta Hawks
Boston Celtics
Brooklyn Nets
Charlotte Hornets
Chicago Bulls
Cleveland Cavaliers
Detroit Pistons
Golden State Warriors
Houston Rockets
Indiana Pacers
Los Angeles Clippers
Los Angeles Lakers
Memphis Grizzlies
Miami Heat
Milwaukee Bucks
Minnesota Timberwolves
New Orleans Pelicans
Oklahoma City Thunder
Orlando Magic
Portland Trail Blazers
Teams with 3 games:
Dallas Mavericks
Denver Nuggets
New York Knicks
Philadelphia 76ers
Phoenix Suns
Sacramento Kings
San Antonio Spurs
Toronto Raptors
Utah Jazz
Washington Wizards
Number of teams playing each day:
Monday: 22
Tuesday: 6
Wednesday: 22
Thursday: 12
Friday: 14
Saturday: 18
Sunday: 16
Back-to-Backs (beware of older or banged up players who might rest):
Monday/Tuesday: -
Tuesday/Wednesday: BOS
Wednesday/Thursday: GSW, HOU, IND, MIA, MIN, UTA
Thursday/Friday: -
Friday/Saturday: BKN, LAL, MIL, NOP, PHO
Saturday/Sunday: CLE, DET, MEM, OKC, ORL
Sunday/Monday the following: ATL, LAC, NYK
Days with seven or fewer games
Tuesday: 3 games
Thursday: 6 games
Friday: 7 games
Teams playing on all three days:
No teams play on all three of these days
Teams playing on Tue/Thurs:
Oklahoma City Thunder (4 games - Tues, Thurs, Sat, Sun)
Orlando Magic (4 games - Tue, Thurs, Sat, Sun)
Denver Nuggets (3 games - Tue, Thurs, Sat)
New York Knicks (3 games - Tue, Thurs, Sun)
Teams playing on Tue/Fri:
Boston Celtics (4 games - Tues, Wed, Fri, Sun)
Toronto Raptors (3 games - Tues, Fri, Sun)
Team playing on Thurs/Fri:
No teams play on both Thursday and Friday
Teams playing three games over the weekend (from Thursday to Sunday)
Cleveland Cavaliers
Oklahoma City Thunder
Orlando Magic
Baller Streaming Strategy for Week 20
With only three games scheduled for Tuesday, most fantasy streamers will be looking to fill their gaps with players playing on this day. All six teams that play on Tuesday also play either on a six-game Thursday or on a seven-game Friday, the two following days with the fewest number of games next week.
It's a no-brainer that guys from these six teams will be able to help fantasy owners the most in their following matchups, so they will be our focus today.
Oklahoma City and Orlando (who both play on Tuesday and Thursday) along with Boston (who plays on Tuesday and Friday) should provide the best streaming value, as they all have a four-game week. Denver, New York, and Toronto can also provide decent streaming players since they also play on Tuesday and either Thursday (DEN and NYK) or Friday (TOR), even though they only play three times next week.
Streaming Options for the Week
Shallower League Streaming Adds for the Week:
Marcus Smart, PG/SG, BOS, (41% Owned) - Strong Cats: 3PM, STL, AST
Marcus Morris, SF/PF, BOS, (67% Owned) - Strong Cats: REB, 3PM, PTS, a bit of everything
Terry Rozier, PG/SG, BOS, (49% Owned) - Strong Cats: 3PM, STL, REB, AST
Jaylen Brown, PG/SG, BOS, (56% Owned) - Strong Cats: 3PM, PTS, REB, a bit of everything
Dennis Schroder, PG, OKC, (68% Owned) - Strong Cats: 3PM, PTS, AST
Jonathan Isaac, SF/PF, ORL, (72% Owned) - Strong Cats: REB, STL/BLK
Terrence Ross, SG/SF, ORL, (60% Owned) - Strong Cats: 3PM, FT%, PTS, STL
Evan Fournier, SG/SF, ORL, (75% Owned) - Strong Cats: 3PM, FT%, PTS, STL
D.J. Augustin, PG, ORL, (40% Owned) - Strong Cats: FT%, AST
Malik Beasley, PG/SG, DEN, (48% Owned) - Strong Cats: 3PM, PTS, STL - buyer beware: Isaiah Thomas is back so that's one more mouth to feed at the guard spot
Monte Morris, PG, DEN, (27% Owned) - Strong Cats: 3PM, PTS, AST, STL, FT%, FG% - buyer beware: Isaiah Thomas is back so that's one more mouth to feed at the guard spot
Isaiah Thomas, PG, DEN, (45% Owned) - Strong Cats: 3PM, PTS, AST - buyer beware: has just returned from injury and is in a crowded Denver backcourt
Kevin Knox, PF, NYK, (41% Owned) - Strong Cats: PTS, 3PM, REB
Mitchell Robinson, C, NYK, (47% Owned) - Strong Cats: REB, BLK, FG%
Danny Green, SG/SF, TOR, (45% Owned) - Strong Cats: 3PM, REB, STL/BLK
Shallower League Add
Jerami Grant, SF/PF, OKC, (74% Owned) - Strong Cats: 3PM, STL/BLK, FG%
If you're lucky enough to have Grant still hanging around on your waiver wire, be quick to take advantage. Jerami has cemented his place in the Thunder starting lineup and is rewarding his fantasy owners by flirting with top-50 value in the last 30 days. His averages over this period of time are 15.1 PTS with 1.8 3PM on 51.5 FG% and 64.3 FT%, 5.3 REB, 1.0 AST, 1.3 STL, 1.4 BLK, and 0.7 TO in nearly 35 minutes per game.
His playing time seems pretty safe, his contributions have been steady and the Thunder also have a decent playoff schedule as well.
Grant is much more than just a streaming option for next week and should be owned in most leagues. Moreover, if you're, by any chance, punting FT% Grant should have already been on your roster a long, loooong time ago!
Deeper League Add
Emmanuel Mudiay, PG, NYK, (16% Owned) - Strong Cats: PTS, STL, AST, 3PM
Mudiay has been much better on the Knicks this season, and his averages of 14.7 PTS with 1.1 3PM on 45.1 FG% and 75.6 FT%, 3.2 REB, 3.8 AST, 0.9 STL, 0.4 BLK and 2.2 TO in 26 minutes per game are a testament to this. His turnovers will drag you down, and his percentages are not elite, but his across-the-board contribution is something that is rarely found in a guy owned in just 16% of the leagues.
He has just returned from an injury that had him sidelined for a month, so he could take a while to shake off the rust. Although he did go 5-of-16 from the field (2-of-4 from three-point land) and 1-of-2 from the charity stripe for 15 points, six boards, one assist, three steals, one block and four turnovers in his return against the Timberwolves. So he might not take too long to get it going.
With the Knicks' schedule next week, Mudiay is a decent option for deeper league teams, even with Dennis Smith Jr. on the roster.
Insanely Deep League Add
Terrance Ferguson, SG/SF, OKC, (3% Owned) - Strong Cats: 3PM, STL
Terrance is not much more than a three-and-D specialist on a contender with two superstars on the team who command a lot of offensive touches and high usage. However, this is not necessarily a bad thing for him, as Paul George and Russell Westbrook open up a lot of space for Ferguson's catch-and-shoot open opportunities.
Ferguson is providing top-200 overall value in the previous month with averages of 10.1 PTS with 2.0 3PM on 47.1 FG% and 33.3 FT% (only one attempt every three games, so not really any impact), 1.6 REB, 1.2 AST, 0.7 STL, 0.2 BLK, and 0.3 TO in over 30 minutes per game. He is a pretty decent role-player for fantasy teams who look after their FG% and TO and need help in the threes and steals department. If you have such a team, Ferguson's value to you is much higher than his top-200 tag would indicate.
Furthermore, Ferguson has played 27 or more minutes in seven straight games. This should mean that his minutes are pretty safe, even with Schroder occasionally finishing the games in Terrance's place.
So, if you could use his qualities next week, Ferguson should still be available in all but the deepest of leagues.
Other Deep League Options for the Week
Daniel Theis, PF/C, BOS, (1% Owned) - Strong Cats: BLK, REB, FG%
Nerlens Noel, PF/C, OKC, (8% Owned) - Strong Cats: REB, BLK/STL
Raymond Felton, PG/SG, OKC (1% Owned) - Strong Cats: AST, STL
Markieff Morris, PF/C, OKC, (23% Owned) -Strong Cats: REB, STL/BLK, 3PM
Khem Birch, PF/C, ORL, (1% Owned) - Strong Cats: REB, BLK
Isaiah Briscoe, PG, ORL, (0% Owned) - Strong Cats: AST, rookie factor
Wes Iwundu, SG/SF, ORL, (0% Owned) - Strong Cats: REB, STL/BLK
Torrey Craig, SF, DEN, (1% Owned) -Strong Cats: 3PM, REB - buyer beware: not in form and seen a dip in playing time recently
Mason Plumlee, PF/C, DEN, (18% Owned) - Strong Cats: REB, BLK, STL, FG%
Damyean Dotson, SG, NYK, (3% Owned) - Strong Cats: PTS, 3PM
Mario Hezonja, SG, NYK, (23% Owned) - Strong Cats: PTS, STL, REB - buyer beware: sat out the last game and has lost playing time recently
Kadeem Allen, SG, NYK, (7% Owned) - Strong Cats: PTS, AST - buyer beware: has been unexpectedly sent to the G-league, might not play
Allonzo Trier, PF, NYK, (5% Owned) - Strong Cats: PTS, 3PM, FT%
Noah Vonleh, PF, NYK, (18% Owned) - Strong Cats: STL/BLK, REB, AST
Luke Kornet, PF/C, MIN, (2% Owned) - Strong Cats: REB, BLK/STL, FG%, FT% - buyer beware: shooting an abysmal 7-of-37 on this FGs in his last four games
Jeremy Lin, PG/SG, TOR, (13% Owned) - Strong Cats: FT%, AST, 3PM
OG Anunoby, PF, TOR, (3% Owned) - Strong Cats: 3PM, STL, REB - buyer beware: poor FT%
Norman Powell, SG/SF, POR (2% Owned) - Strong Cats: 3PM, FT%, a little bit of everything
Hope you guys enjoyed the article and the advice, and I hope that this will help you win your matchups next week and bragging rights for the week after.
