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If you're looking to win your matchup next week (who isn't), have a player on your roster you wouldn't miss terribly, and you don't really care too much for long-term potential - that open roster spot could be put to very good use if you opt to stream.
This can help you get a few wins early on and put you in a good position to make the playoffs. Then you will be able to make some risks. Maybe add a high upside guy who isn't performing well or is injured, or trade in-form players for better, out of shape guys. This can prove vital later on when your quality players start performing well again.
So, if you're looking to stream and give yourself a better chance of winning your matchup next week, you're in the right place. Here are our Fantasy Basketball Streamers for Week 5.
Editor's Note: Our incredible team of writers received five total writing awards and 13 award nominations by the Fantasy Sports Writers Association, tops in the industry! Congrats to all the award winners and nominees including NBA Writer of the Year, Best NFL Series, MLB Series, PGA Writer and Player Notes writer of the year. Be sure to follow their analysis, rankings and advice all year long, and win big with RotoBaller! Read More!
NBA Schedule Guide - Week 5
This is a weird one, and definitely worth streaming. There are only three games being played on both Tuesday and Thursday, and only five on Sunday. Also, the Golden State Warriors have a five-game week coming up. The reigning champions, along with the scarce days will be our focus.
On the other hand, there are several teams playing only two games. Furthermore, and you don't see this too often, there is a franchise that plays only once in the following week. The Detroit Pistons have their only game scheduled for Wednesday, along with 21 other teams, so avoid streaming their players for the upcoming week.
Here's the low-down:
Team with 5 games:
Golden State Warriors
Teams with 4 games:
Brooklyn Nets
Chicago Bulls
Memphis Grizzlies
Miami Heat
Minnesota Timberwolves
New Orleans Pelicans
Orlando Magic
Philadelphia 76ers
San Antonio Spurs
Toronto Raptors
Utah Jazz
Washington Wizards
Teams with 3 games:
Atlanta Hawks
Boston Celtics
Dallas Mavericks
Denver Nuggets
Houston Rockets
Los Angeles Clippers
Los Angeles Lakers
New York Knicks
Oklahoma City Thunder
Phoenix Suns
Portland Trail Blazers
Sacramento Kings
Teams with 2 games:
Charlotte Hornets
Cleveland Cavaliers
Indiana Pacers
Milwaukee Bucks
Team with 1 game:
Detroit Pistons
Number of teams playing each day:
Monday: 18
Tuesday: 6
Wednesday: 22
Thursday: 6
Friday: 16
Saturday: 20
Sunday: 10
Back-to-Backs (beware of older banged up players who might rest):
Monday/Tuesday: GSW
Tuesday/Wednesday: CLE
Wednesday/Thursday: SAS
Thursday/Friday: -
Friday/Saturday: BOS, BKN, CHI, IND, NOP, PHI, SAC, TOR, UTA
Saturday/Sunday: GSW, LAL, ORL
Sunday/Monday the following: MEM, SAS
Days with six or fewer games
Tuesday and Thursday, both with 3 games.
Sunday has 5 games.
Teams playing on at least two such days
Atlanta
Denver
Houston
Golden State - playing on all three days
Teams playing three games over the weekend (Thursday to Sunday):
Golden State
Baller Streaming Strategy for Week 5
Well, just looking at the schedule for next week, it is obvious that those will Golden State players will have the best chance to fill out their rosters on Tuesday, Thursday and Sunday. In addition to playing on all three scarce game-days, The Warriors have five games next week. So, if you don't own any of their star players, I just hope you're not playing against any. Either way, you should look to pick some of the Warriors with a lower ownership up, at least for next week.
Other teams you should be looking at early on in the week are the Rockets, the Hawks and the Nuggets. All three teams play on both Tuesday and Thursday. With three games a piece on those days, their players will help you put forward a respectable roster. Or any roster at all. On the other hand, they do play just one other game, on a jam-packed Saturday, so you can drop their players on Friday and look for other options that fit your team's schedule and needs.
We should give an honorable mention to the Spurs as well as they are the only team (apart from the Warriors) that play on both Thursday and Sunday. No teams (again, sans Golden State) play on both Tuesday and Sunday.
Danger! There are four teams with only two games, and these are the Charlotte Hornets, the Cleveland Cavaliers, the Indiana Pacers, and the Milwaukee Bucks. And the Detroit Pistons have ONLY ONE GAME NEXT WEEK! Avoid, avoid, avoid!
Streaming Options for the Week
Shallower League Streaming Adds for the Week:
Jordan Bell, PF/C, GSW, (30% Owned) - Strong Cats: REB, BLK
P.J. Tucker, SG/SF, HOU, (36% Owned) - Strong Cats: 3PM, REB, STL
Dewayne Dedmon, PF/C, ATL (62% Owned) - Strong Cats: FG%, REB, BLK
Joe Harris, SG/SF, BKN (57% Owned) - Strong Cats: FG%, 3PM
Justin Holiday, SG/SF, CHI (56% Owned) - Strong Cats: 3PM, STL
D.J. Augustin, PG, ORL (43% Owned) - Strong Cats: FT%, AST, 3PM
Omari Spellman, PF, ATL, (19% Owned) - Strong Cats: 3PM, REB, rookie factor
Alex Len, PF/C, ATL, (21% Owned) - Strong Cats: FG%, REB, BLK
Player Recommendations
Shallower League Add
Derrick White, PG, SAS (31% Owned) - Strong Cats: AST, STL
White has returned from his injury, and in his second game, he already showed us why he should not be on any waiver wires. In 30 minutes he hit 4-of-9 from the field (1-of-2 from three-point range) and 5-of-6 from the charity stripe for 14 points, four rebounds, eight assists, two steals, and two turnovers.
San Antonio has a four-game week coming up, and two of those games are on Thursday and Sunday, so that is lovely for fantasy team's schedules. Furthermore, White will be given the keys to the Spurs offense with Dejounte Murray out for the season and Tony Parker now in Charlotte, so he is both a short, and long-term add.
Deep League Add
Quinn Cook, PG, GSW (28% Owned) - Strong Cats: PTS, 3PM, AST
Stephen Curry went down with a groin injury last week and missed Golden State's last game. Cook was the beneficiary, having been given 30 minutes in that game and he took full advantage. Quinn hit 11-of-16 shots (3-of-5 from beyond the arc) and both of his free throws for 27 points, three boards, five dimes, a steal, and no turnovers.
As long as Curry is out, Cook is a must-own player. Now, Curry is rumored to be progressing nicely and should be back in a few days, but in a 5-game week for the Warriors, they will probably take it easy on their All-Star so Cook should see enough minutes to provide his owners with solid value in the short-term.
Insanely Deep League Add
Alfonzo McKinnie, PF/C, GSW (2% Owned) - Strong Cats: 3PM, REB
Alfonzo has had a couple of decent games for the reigning champions and seems to have nailed down a spot in the rotation with him averaging 26 minutes a game over the last four.
He wasn't great in his last game where he took only three shots, but he did hit two of them and finished with four points, two rebounds, a steal and a block in 28 minutes.
He did have a gem however on October 30 where he hit 7-of-15 shots (4-of-6 from three) for 19 points, 10 rebounds, an assist and a block with no turnovers. He did stink it up a bit going 1-of-4 from the line, but that's quite easy to forgive after that performance.
If he can have more of those he could be quite helpful during the Warriors' five-game week.
Other Deep League Options for the Week
Jonas Jerebko, SF/PF, GSW, (2% Owned) - Strong Cats: STL, REB
Andre Iguodala, SG/SF, GSW, (5% Owned) - Strong Cats: AST, STL/BLK
Kevon Looney, PF/C, GSW, (4% Owned) - Strong Cats: FG%, REB
Monte Morris, PG, DEN, (17% Owned) - Strong Cats: PTS, STL, AST
Trey Lyles, PF, DEN, (9% Owned) - Strong Cats: REB, STL
Deandre Bembry, SF, ATL, (6% Owned) - Strong Cats: REB, 3PM, STL/BLK
Vince Carter, SG/SF, ATL, (1% Owned) - Strong Cats: 3PM, STL/BLK
Jeremy Lin, PG, ATL, (6% Owned) - Strong Cats: PTS, 3PM, AST, FT%
Gary Clark, SF, HOU, (0% Owned) - Strong Cats: 3PM, STL/BLK, REB
James Ennis III, SF, HOU, (3% Owned) - Strong Cats: 3PM, STL
Gerald Green, SG/SF, HOU, (1% Owned) - Strong Cats: 3PM, FT%
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.
