October 29, 2017

Trevor Crippen analyzes Week 3 streaming opportunities for head-to-head fantasy basketball leagues. He reviews the upcoming NBA schedule and players to add.

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.

Week 3 is a pretty lopsided week as far as scheduling, with almost 2/3 of the teams playing a solid 4 games, but Brooklyn somehow only playing just 2. Time to lay off the Nets for a week. There are also only 2 games on Thursday and 4 games on Tuesday, so players on those teams will be highly coveted for streaming purposes.

NBA Schedule Guide - Week 3

Teams with 4 games: Boston, Charlotte, Dallas, Denver, Houston, Indiana, LA Clippers, LA Lakers, Memphis, Miami, Minnesota, New Orleans, New York, Orlando, Phoenix, Portland, San Antonio, Toronto, Utah

Teams with 3 games: Atlanta, Chicago, Cleveland, Detroit, Golden State, Milwaukee, Oklahoma City, Philadelphia, Sacramento, Washington

Teams with 2 games: Brooklyn

Number of teams playing each day:

Monday: 18
Tuesday: 8
Wednesday: 24
Thursday: 4
Friday: 24
Saturday: 10
Sunday: 20

Back-to-Backs (beware of older / banged up players who might rest)

Atlanta: Sun/Mon (Week 4)
Boston: Sun/Mon (Week 4)
Charlotte: Sun (Week 2)/Mon
Chicago: Fri/Sat
Dallas: Fri/Sat
Denver: Sun (Week 2)/Mon, Fri/Sat
Detroit: Fri/Sat
Golden State: Sun (Week 2)/Mon
Indiana: Tues/Weds
LA Clippers: Sat/Sun
LA Lakers: Thurs/Fri
Memphis: Sat/Sun
Miami: Sun/Mon (Week 4)
Milwaukee: Tues/Weds
Minnesota: Sat/Sun
New Orleans: Fri/Sat
New York: Sun (Week 2)/Mon
Orlando: Sun (Week 2)/Mon
Phoenix: Tues/Weds, Sun/Mon (Week 4)
Portland: Weds/Thurs
Sacramento: Tues/Weds
San Antonio: Sun (Week 2)/Mon, Thurs/Fri

Teams Playing Twice on Days with Five or Fewer Games (Tues/Thurs/Sat):

Detroit, Golden State, LA Lakers, Sacramento

Teams Playing Three in Four Days on the Weekend:

LA Lakers, San Antonio (rest alert!)

Baller Streaming Strategy for the Week

You will have a full lineup on Wednesday, with all buy 6 teams in action. So to maximize streaming, target players from the Lakers if possible early to try to get some action on both Tuesday and Thursday, then you can pick a guy going on Saturday. However, the only viable option available in more than 50% of Yahoo leagues is Larry Nance Jr.

An alternate streaming strategy would be going for the best available guy playing Tuesday (note -- Brooklyn plays the Suns, making Nets players a very interesting one-day stream despite their two-game week), then target the Warriors role players to get some action on Thursday and Saturday. In that case, you can target Andre Iguodala, Nick Young, Zaza Pachulia, Shaun Livingston, or Jordan Bell, depending on what categories you're most interested in.

Players on the Pistons and Kings also have added value if you grab one on Tuesday, then hold through to their games on a sparse Saturday. Ish Smith is an interesting option on the Pistons, while the Kings have a trio of widely available guys who can provide a little bit of something, depending on your needs -- Skal Labissiere, Bogdan Bogdanovic, and Garrett Temple.

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