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Milos Zvekic analyzes Week 24 streaming opportunities for head-to-head fantasy basketball leagues. He reviews the upcoming NBA schedule and players to add.
We're pretty deep into fantasy playoffs and congratz are in order for all of you who have made it this far. It's all of nothing how, and even the best of players are drop material if they're in risk of missing games or if they have poor schedules.
Streaming is a powerful tool when you know that it doesn't matter what your team will look like in a week or two.
If you're looking to take advantage of the schedule and maximize your games played and with them the chances of moving on to the next round or even winning the title and six months worth of bragging rights - you're right where you want to be! Here are our fantasy basketball streamers for Week 24.
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The NBA has switched it up a bit this week. Instead of the usual suspects - Tuesday and Thursday, this week it's Monday, Wednesday and Friday that have the fewest games played. Players from teams playing on these days will be the stars of our today's article.
Here's the low-down:
Teams with 4 games:
Denver Nuggets
Los Angeles Clippers
Los Angeles Lakers
Memphis Grizzlies
Oklahoma City Thunder
Orlando Magic
Portland Trail Blazers
Sacramento Kings
Washington Wizards
Teams with 3 games:
Atlanta Hawks
Boston Celtics
Brooklyn Nets
Charlotte Hornets
Chicago Bulls
Cleveland Cavaliers
Dallas Mavericks
Detroit Pistons
Golden State Warriors
Houston Rockets
Indiana Pacers
Miami Heat
Milwaukee Bucks
Minnesota Timberwolves
New Orleans Pelicans
Philadelphia 76ers
Phoenix Suns
San Antonio Spurs
Toronto Raptors
Utah Jazz
Teams with 2 games:
New York Knicks
Number of teams playing each day:
Monday: 8
Tuesday: 20
Wednesday: 10
Thursday: 16
Friday: 12
Saturday: 18
Sunday: 14
Back-to-Backs (beware of older or banged up players who might rest):
Monday/Tuesday: ORL
Tuesday/Wednesday: CHI, LAL, WAS
Wednesday/Thursday: -
Thursday/Friday: DEN
Friday/Saturday: BOS, IND, MIN, POR
Saturday/Sunday: LAC, MEM, SAC
Sunday/Monday the following: CHA, DAL, MIL
Days with six or fewer games
Monday: 4 games
Wednesday: 5 games
Friday: 6 games
Teams playing on all three days:
Oklahoma City Thunder (4 games - Mon, Wed, Fri, Sun)
Portland Trail Blazers (4 games - Mon, Wed, Fri, Sat)
Utah Jazz (3 games - Mon, Wed, Fri)
Teams playing on Mon/Wed:
Memphis Grizzlies (4 games - Mon, Wed, Sat, Sun)
Oklahoma City Thunder
Portland Trail Blazers
Phoenix Suns (3 games - Mon, Wed, Sat)
Utah Jazz
Teams playing on Mon/Fri:
Oklahoma City Thunder
Portland Trail Blazers
Utah Jazz
Team playing on Wed/Fri:
Los Angeles Lakers (4 games - Tue, Wed, Fri, Sun)
Washington Wizards (4 games - Tue, Wed, Fri, Sun)
Oklahoma City Thunder
Portland Trail Blazers
Golden State Warriors (3 games - Wed, Fri, Sun)
Indiana Pacers (3 games - Wed, Fri, Sat)
Utah Jazz
Teams playing three games over the weekend (from Thursday to Sunday)
Denver Nuggets
Los Angeles Clippers
Sacramento Kings
Baller Streaming Strategy for Week 24
Monday has just four games and Wednesday only five. It will be most difficult for fantasy owners to fill their starting lineups then. Additionally, when you're finished with these two days, you can discard those players for others playing three games from Thursday to Sunday for example, so you can use one roster spot for a five-game week using this tactic.
With Friday also having only six games, perhaps some teams will find it useful to pick up a player who plays on this day as well. There are three teams playing on all three of these days - Oklahoma City Thunder, Portland Trail Blazers, and Utah Jazz. Their players will be our primary focus today.
The Lakers and the Wizards play on both Monday and Wednesday and have a four-game week so their players could be quite useful as well, while the Warriors and the Pacers play on both of these days, but only have one more game next week, so their players could be good punts for the beginning of the week.
Streaming Options for the Week
Shallower League Streaming Adds for the Week:
Jerami Grant, SF/PF, OKC, (74% Owned) - Strong Cats: 3PM, STL/BLK, FG%
Enes Kanter, C, POR, (55% Owned) - Strong Cats: REB, FT%, FG%
Al-Farouq Aminu, SF/PF, POR, (37% Owned) - Strong Cats: REB, STL, 3PM
Derrick Favors, PF/C, UTA, (73% Owned) - Strong Cats: STL/BLK, FG%, REB
Jae Crowder, SG/SF, UTA, (44% Owned) - Strong Cats: 3PM, PTS, a bit of everything
Justin Holiday, SG/SF, MEM, (26% Owned) - Strong Cats: 3PM, FT%, STL
Joakim Noah, C, MEM, (26% Owned) - Strong Cats: REB, STL/BLK, FG% - buyer beware: missed the game on Friday due to a knee issue
Josh Jackson, SG/SF, PHO (32% Owned) - Strong Cats: REB, STL/BLK - buyer beware: is questionable for Saturday's game (knee)
Mikal Bridges, SG/SF, PHO, (29% Owned) - Strong Cats: STL/BLK, 3PM, FT%
Tyler Johnson, PG/SG, PHO, (26% Owned) - Strong Cats: 3PM, PTS, FT%, STL/BLK, REB - buyer beware: has missed four straight and is questionable for Saturday's game
Shallower League Add
Dennis Schroder, PG, OKC, (64% Owned) - Strong Cats: 3PM, PTS, AST
Before we get more into why Dennis could be a decent streaming option for next week, let me just point out that if you value FG% and TO as categories, you will probably able to find a better fit in a more shallow league.
Still here? Great! Let's talk about Schroder.
He is a volume player, not too high on efficiency. He is good for scoring, threes, assists and a few boards with a steal here and there. His season averages are nothing spectacular with 15.5 PTS with 1.5 3PM on 41.2 FG% and 81.0 FT%, 3.6 REB, 4.2 AST, 0.8 STL, 0.2 BLK, and 2.2 TO in 29 minutes per game, which is just barely enough for top-200 value in Yahoo leagues. But if you have can find a way to disregard his weak categories, that kind of contribution in points and assists combined is not easy to find on any waiver wire.
Now even with Russell Westbrook on the floor, Schroder has found a way to get almost 30 minutes a game. But there is one extra appeal to him at the moment. Westbrook has accumulated his 16th technical of the season and has already served a one-game suspension. This saw Dennis play 36 minutes and get 20 points. Should Westy get two more technicals, he will earn another one-game suspension. And so on for every 2 technicals. I'm not saying "the walking triple-double" will go nuts and start collecting penalties - but it is possible that he gets at least one during their four-game week.
So, if you're in the market for a floor general that will help you in those PG stats, and can take a hit in your FG% and TO, Schroder is a decent option with his schedule next week.
Deeper League Add
Maurice Harkless, SF, POR, (12% Owned) - Strong Cats: REB, STL/BLK, FG%
Moe has shown his potential as a fantasy asset two years ago when he finished the season as with top-100 value. Since then he has been slowed down by injuries quite a lot which has seen him overlooked in plenty of leagues. But Moe is back and is on a mission to prove himself yet again.
And he has been doing just that lately with averages of 10.3 PTS with 1.0 3PM on 54.5 FG% and no misses from the charity stripe, 3.0 REB, 1.7 AST, 1.3 STL, 1.3 BLK, and 0.7 TO in 27 minutes per game in the last week. This is good enough for top-70 value during that period. The best thing about this is that none of the stats are too far off from his career averages, apart from the FT%.
Now, he is shooting the ball better, and scoring more as a result.
He is going berserk on defense - but he's always like that.
He is 0.2 TO below his career average - but maybe he just matured and makes better decisions. Plus, it's not too big of a difference anyway.
He is getting half an assist more per game compared to his career average. But he is also playing 5 minutes more, so that could be the explanation.
Furthermore, he is grabbing over one rebound less in this period than he usually does, so he actually has some room to improve as well.
If you're looking for a defensive machine that will contribute across the board and not hurt you too much anywhere (maybe just in the FT% department if he strings together a few misses), Harkless is worth a longer look, especially if you only have next week in mind.
Insanely Deep League Add
Seth Curry, PG/SG, POR, (3% Owned) - Strong Cats: 3PM, PTS, FT%
The younger Curry brother has off fantasy radars for most of the season. But he has finally strung together some decent performances and is back in our minds. In his last six games, Seth is averaging 12.7 PTS with 2.3 3PM on 44.8 FG% and 90.9 FT%, 2.7 REB, 0.5 AST, 0.8 STL, 0.3 BLK, and 0.8 TO in 22 minutes per game - good enough for top-130 value.
He is seeing increased opportunity with CJ McCollum out with an injury and will continue to do so for the foreseeable future as CJ is expected to miss the rest of the regular season. In the two games without McCollum, Seth has hit seven treys for 31 points, six boards, two dimes, three steals, one block and two turnovers. That is something most deep league owners can get on board with.
If you need a reliable free throw shooter with three-point depth and scoring prowess, who might also contribute a steal here and there, Seth Curry and his lovely schedule could be just what the doctor ordered.
Other Deep League Options for the Week
Nerlens Noel, PF/C, OKC, (7% Owned) - Strong Cats: REB, BLK/STL
Markieff Morris, PF/C, OKC, (22% Owned) - Strong Cats: REB, STL/BLK, 3PM
Terrance Ferguson, SG/SF, OKC, (1% Owned) - Strong Cats: 3PM, STL
Abdel Nader, PF, OKC (0% Owned) - Strong Cats: BLK/STL
Jake Layman, PF, POR, (3% Owned) - Strong Cats: 3PM, REB, STL/BLK
Rodney Hood, SG/SF, POR, (10% Owned) - Strong Cats: PTS, 3PM, STL, FT%
Kyle Korver, SG/SF, UTA, (7% Owned) - Strong Cats: 3PM, FT%, PTS
Royce O'Neale, SG/SF, UTA, (2% Owned) - Strong Cats: 3PM, REB
Raul Neto, PG, UTA, (0% Owned) - Strong Cats: AST, STL, 3PM
Delon Wright, PG/SG, MEM, (23% Owned) - Strong Cats: AST, STL
Bruno Caboclo, SF/PF, MEM, (1% Owned) - Strong Cats: REB, 3PM - buyer beware: Memphis' rotation is weird
Tyler Dorsey, PG, MEM, (0% Owned) - Strong Cats: 3PM, PTS, AST - buyer beware: Memphis' rotation is weird + will see fewer minutes when Conley plays
Richaun Holmes, PF/C, PHO, (6% Owned) - Strong Cats: REB, FG%, BLK
De'Anthony Melton, PG, PHO, (1% Owned) - Strong Cats: FT%, AST, STL - buyer beware: only has value with Tyler Johnson out
Dragan Bender, PF/C, PHO, (1% Owned) - Strong Cats: not much, but a 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.
