November 9, 2018

Milos Zvekic analyzes Week 4 streaming opportunities for head-to-head fantasy basketball leagues. He reviews the upcoming NBA schedule and players to add.

Some of your lower end players letting you down? I know the feeling...

Unless you believe they have some serious untapped potential, that roster spot might be best used for streaming available players who are either in form or have favorable schedules and can help you win your next matchup.  And who knows, maybe that guy takes on an even larger role for his team and ends up being one of the cornerstones of your fantasy team.

If you're looking to stream and give yourself a better chance of winning your matchup next week, here are our Fantasy Basketball Streamers for Week 4.

NBA Schedule Guide - Week 4

This week, there are four games apiece on Tuesday and Thursday, followed by a six-game Sunday and Friday with seven. These are days that most teams will struggle to field a full lineup so we will focus on them. As for teams, most have four or three games, and the only team to avoid is the San Antonio Spurs with only two games next week, both coming on a day with 10 games.

Here's the low-down:

Teams with 4 games:
Atlanta Hawks
Boston Celtics
Denver Nuggets
Detroit Pistons
Houston Rockets
Indiana Pacers
Miami Heat
Milwaukee Bucks
New York Knicks
Oklahoma City Thunder
Orlando Magic

Teams with 3 games:
Brooklyn Nets
Charlotte Hornets
Chicago Bulls
Cleveland Cavaliers
Dallas Mavericks
Golden State Warriors
Los Angeles Clippers
Los Angeles Lakers
Memphis Grizzlies
Minnesota Timberwolves
New Orleans Pelicans
Philadelphia 76ers
Phoenix Suns
Portland Trail Blazers
Sacramento Kings
Toronto Raptors
Utah Jazz
Washington Wizards

Teams with 2 games:
San Antonio Spurs

Number of teams playing each day:
Monday: 18
Tuesday: 8
Wednesday: 20
Thursday: 8
Friday: 14
Saturday: 20
Sunday: 12

Back-to-Backs (beware of older banged up players who might rest):
Monday/Tuesday: -
Tuesday/Wednesday: ATL, DAL,
Wednesday/Thursday: OKC
Thursday/Friday: BOS
Friday/Saturday: BKN, MIA, PHI, SAC, WAS
Saturday/Sunday: HOU, LAL, MIL, NYK

Days with 6 or fewer games
Tuesday and Thursday, both with 4 games.
Sunday has 6 games.

Teams playing three games over the weekend (Thursday to Sunday):
Houston
Boston
Miami

Baller Streaming Strategy for Week 4

Most fantasy teams will have difficulties with the lack of guys playing on Tuesday and Thursday, so we will focus on players from teams who play on those days. Sunday and in part Friday could be tricky with 6 and 7 games respectfully so we will be taking them into consideration too.

Teams that play on both of the four-game days are Milwaukee, Portland and Phoenix, so their players will be hot commodities for streaming next week.

Milwaukee has another two games on Saturday and Sunday so their players have the most favorable schedule.

Next in line is Portland. Despite having just three games next week, two of them are on the four-game days as mentioned, and the last comes on Sunday with six games so that can be quite helpful.

Phoenix plays their third game on Saturday which has 10 games scheduled, so their players are more of an early week adds and can be dropped on Friday for a player from a team that plays on both Friday and Sunday - of course, if you need help on those days.

Teams that play on Friday and Sunday are Atlanta, Boston, Charlotte, Denver, Detroit, Indiana and Orlando - plenty of options to choose from.

Streaming Options for the Week

Shallower League Streaming Adds for the Week:

Marcus Morris, SF/PF, BOS (56% Owned) - Strong Cats: PTS, 3PM, REB, FT%
Terry Rozier, PG, BOS (56% Owned) - Strong Cats: FT%, 3PM
Jaylen Brown, SG/SF, BOS, (64% Owned) - Strong Cats: 3PM, REB, PTS
Zach Collins, PF/C, POR, (48% Owned) - Strong Cats: REB, BLK, FG%
Dewayne Dedmon, PF/C, ATL (62% Owned) - Strong Cats: FG%, REG, BLK
T.J. Warren, SF, PHO, (57% Owned) - Strong Cats: FG%, PTS, a bit of everything - buyer beware: is a game-time decision on Sunday
Bojan Bogdanovic, SG/SF, IND, (54% Owned) - Strong Cats: 3PM, PTS, FT%
Jeremy Lamb, SG/SF, CHA, (38% Owned) - Strong Cats: 3PM, FT%, PTS, REB
Malik Monk, SG, CHA, (23% Owned) - Strong Cats: 3PM, PTS, FT%
Cody Zeller, PF/C, CHA, (23% Owned) - Strong Cats: REB, FG%, BLK
D.J. Augustin, PG, ORL, (28% Owned) - Strong Cats: 3PM, AST, FT%

Player Recommendations

Shallower League Add

Al-Farouq Aminu, SF/PF, POR, (36% Owned) - Strong Cats: REB, 3PM, STL/BLK

Aminu is getting 30 minutes and averaging 0.9 threes, 9.2 boards and 0.9 steals a game this season while shooting 88.9% from the charity stripe. He's been even more effective in his last four games with 9.3 points with 0.8 threes on 40.6% from the field and no misses in eight attempts from the line, 9.8 rebounds, 0.5 assists, 1.0 steals and 0.8 blocks with 0.8 turnovers. This has him ranked just outside the top-50 in Yahoo 9-cat rankings for the last seven days.

If you had him during his 5-game stretch in Week 3, chances are you won your rebounds and stocks.

Next week Portland only plays three games, but two of them are on four-game nights on Tuesday and Thursday with the third game coming on a six-game Sunday. So if you need help in Al-Farouq's strong suits and don't mind his poor FG%, he could help fill the void on those scarce days.

Deep League Add

Ersan Ilyasova, SF/PF, MIL, (14% Owned) - Strong Cats: 3PM, REB, STL

Ilyasova has been an underrated player for most of his career. At age 31, he is past his prime now, but has found a great fit with this Bucks team, and is making the most of it averaging 9.3 PTS with 1.0 3PM on 51.9 FG% and 76.9 FT%, 6.6 REB, 1.4 AST, 0.8 STL, 0.4 BLK and 0.8 TO in 23 minutes per game. This production has him ranked inside the top-100 in Yahoo 9-cat rankings so far this season.

He probably won't keep shooting this well, but he is still doing easily enough for his owners to be happy.

If you're in a deeper league, you could do a lot worse than Ghostface Ilya. Especially if you take into consideration Milwaukee has four games next weeks, three of which are coming on nights with six or fewer games.

Insanely Deep League Add

Stanley Johnson, SG/SF, DET, (3% Owned) - Strong Cats: 3PM, REG

Stanley's inconsistency has prevented him from making the next step in his career so far. Still, he's had some good games and is getting enough playing time to finally make his owners smile. So far this season he is averaging 7.1 PTS with 1.1 3PM on 35.2 FG% and 80.0 FT%, 4.6 REB, 1.6 AST, 0.7 STL, 0.3 BLK and 2.3 TO in 28 minutes per outing.

Now, his biggest competition for minutes, Reggie Bullock and Luke Kennard, are both out with injuries and this could mean even more opportunity for Stanley to produce in his upcoming, four-game week.

Furthermore, if Stanley picks it up, and starts playing like Detroit was hoping he could when they drafted him back in 2015, he could even stick in your roster for a long while. However unlikely that he will improve so much, stranger things have happened. Johnson was the #8 pick in the draft, he has been gathering experience for three years now and he is still just 22.

If you don't mind his poor FG% and uncharacteristically high TO rate this season, he could be a decent pick up in the deepest leagues, at least for next week.

Other Deep League Options for the Week

John Henson, PF/C, MIL (7% Owned) - Strong Cats: BLK, REB, FG%
Donte Divincenzo, SG, MIL, (2% Owned) - Strong Cats: 3PM, REB, FT%
Evan Turner, SG/SF, POR, (15% Owned) - Strong Cats: STL, FT%, AST
Nik Stauskas, SG/SF, POR, (12% Owned) - Strong Cats: 3PM, PTS, FT%
Seth Curry, PG/SG, POR, (3% Owned) - Strong Cats: 3PM, FT%, PTS
Deandre Bembry, SF, ATL, (5% Owned) - Strong Cats: REB, 3PM, STL/BLK
Vince Carter, SG/SF, ATL, (1% Owned) - Strong Cats: 3PM, STL/BLK
Omari Spellman, PF, ATL, (1% Owned) - Strong Cats: 3PM, REB, rookie factor
Ryan Anderson, PF/C, PHO, (3% Owned) - Strong Cats: FT%, REB, 3PM
Josh Jackson, SG/SF, PHO, (25% Owned) - Strong Cats: a bit of everything - buyer beware: poor percentages and high TO
Isaiah Canaan, PG, PHO, (2% Owned) - Strong Cats: PTS, 3PM, AST, FT%
Trey Lyles, PF, DEN, (10% Owned) - Strong Cats: REB, STL
Cory Joseph, PG/SG, IND, (4% Owned) - Strong Cats: 3PM, AST, STL
Marcus Smart, PG, BOS, (12% Owned) - Strong Cats: AST, STL - buyer beware: dangerously low FG%
Tony Parker, PG, CHA, (6% Owned) - Strong Cats: PTS, AST, FT%
Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, SF/PF, CHA, (11% Owned) - Strong Cats: REB, FG%, STL/BLK
Ish Smith, PG, DET, (15% Owned) - Strong Cats: AST, 3PM, PTS
Terrence Ross, SG/SF, DET, (5% Owned) - Strong Cats: 3PM, PTS, FT%
Jonathon Simmons, SG/SF, ORL, (4% Owned) - Strong Cats: a bit of everything - buyer beware: listed as questionable on Sunday

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.

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