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Milos Zvekic analyzes Week 7 streaming opportunities for head-to-head fantasy basketball leagues. He reviews the upcoming NBA schedule and players to add.
Welcome back guys to our weekly streaming piece where we take a look at the upcoming schedule, analyze how it impacts our fantasy teams and suggest some players who could contribute to your team and help you win your weekly matchup.
We are looking at which teams play how many games, which days should be the hardest for most teams to field a decent number of players, and which possible free agents to target for streaming.
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 7.
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NBA Schedule Guide - Week 7
After Week 6 where streaming wasn't of too much help due to the poor schedule, we again have a decent week for streaming purposes in Week 7. Three teams play just two games so be sure to avoid their players, and there are three days of six-or-fewer games with another two having seven games apiece, so there should be some holes in every team's fantasy schedule. We will be looking to fill those holes.
Here's the low-down:
Teams with 4 games:
Charlotte Hornets
Chicago Bulls
Cleveland Cavaliers
Houston Rockets
Indiana Pacers
Los Angeles Lakers
New Orleans Pelicans
Phoenix Suns
San Antonio Spurs
Utah Jazz
Washington Wizards
Teams with 3 games:
Atlanta Hawks
Boston Celtics
Brooklyn Nets
Dallas Mavericks
Detroit Pistons
Golden State Warriors
Los Angeles Clippers
Memphis Grizzlies
Miami Heat
Milwaukee Bucks
Minnesota Timberwolves
New York Knicks
Orlando Magic
Philadelphia 76ers
Portland Trail Blazers
Toronto Raptors
Teams with 2 games:
Denver Nuggets
Oklahoma City Thunder
Sacramento Kings
Number of teams playing each day:
Monday: 14
Tuesday: 10
Wednesday: 20
Thursday: 6
Friday: 22
Saturday: 14
Sunday: 12
Back-to-Backs (beware of older banged up players who might rest):
Monday/Tuesday: IND
Tuesday/Wednesday: ATL, NYK, PHO
Wednesday/Thursday: LAC
Thursday/Friday: LAL
Friday/Saturday: BOS, BKN, CHI, CLE, DET, HOU, WAS
Saturday/Sunday: -
Sunday/Monday the following: LAC, NOP
Days with six or fewer games
Tuesday: 5 games
Thursday: 3 games
Sunday: 6 games
Team playing on all three of these days:
Los Angeles Lakers
Teams playing on Tue/Thurs:
Indiana Pacers
Toronto Raptors
Teams playing on Tue/Sun:
Memphis Grizzlies
Miami Heat
Phoenix Suns
Teams playing on Thurs/Sun:
Los Angeles Clippers
Baller Streaming Strategy for Week 7
With three out of their four games next week coming on the most scarce of days, the LA Lakers are the frontrunners for the best streaming team. This is the reason we will primarily be looking at options from the City of Angels.
Six other teams play on at least two of the three days with six or fewer games, so their players can prove decent options for your streaming strategy for Week 7.
And just a friendly reminder - Denver, Oklahoma City, and Sacramento have only two games next week, so generally, you probably could do better than streaming their players. But if you really want a guy from Denver or Sacramento, there could be some value there as the Nuggets play on Tuesday while the Kings take the court both on 3-game Thursday and 7-game Saturday. Oklahoma plays on Wednesday (10 games) and Friday (11 games), and as you should already be set for these days, it's most likely a good idea to avoid the Thunder.
Streaming Options for the Week
Shallower League Streaming Adds for the Week:
Josh Hart, SG/SF, LAL, (61% Owned) - Strong Cats: 3PM, STL/BLK
Thaddeus Young, SF/PF, IND, (61% Owned) - Strong Cats: STL, REB, FG%
Tyreke Evans, PG/SG, IND (58% Owned) - Strong Cats: PTS, STL, a bit of everything
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, PG/SG, LAC (51% Owned) - Strong Cats: FT%, STL/BLK, AST, REB
Kyle Anderson, SG/SF, MEM (61% Owned) -Strong Cats: REB, AST, STL/BLK
Rodney McGruder, SG/SF, MIA, (58% Owned) - Strong Cats: 3PM, PTS, REB
Trevor Ariza, SG/SF, PHO (66% Owned) - Strong Cats: 3PM, STL, REB
Fred Vanvleet, PG, TOR (44% Owned) - Strong Cats: 3PM, STL, AST
Danny Green, SG/SF, TOR (51% Owned) - Strong Cats: 3PM, STL/BLK - buyer beware: consistently inconsistent!
Player Recommendations
Shallower League Add
Bojan Bogdanovic, SG/SF, IND, (67% Owned) - Strong Cats: 3PM, PTS, FT%
Bojan is in great form and I will conceive that it is quite unlikely that he is sitting on your waiver wire. If, by some miracle, he is - go pick him up now and then come back to hear why.
He has scored 20 or more points in four out of his last five games, hitting 15 threes in that time span. Moreover, Babo, (as his teammates from the Croatian national team call him - it means Dad - because of his leadership abilities) is averaging 19.2 points with 3.0 treys on 61.5 FG% and 94.4 FT%, 3.8 boards, 2.0 dimes, 1.3 steals, no blocks, and 2.3 turnovers while playing 32 minutes per game in the last 14 days. This has him ranked at #36 for that period.
Although Indiana's star player Victor Oladipo has missed the last three games, and that might have helped Bojan's value a bit, he should still be owned, well, probably in all leagues.
In addition to already beasting while Oladipo is out, Now both Domantas Sabonis and Myles Turner are game-time decisions. If they remain out, Bojan could be the undisputed #1 offensive choice for the Pacers until they return. This situation reminds me of the unlikely 50-point scenario we saw with Terrence Ross back in his Toronto days. And Bojan certainly has the hot hand for it at the moment.
Deep League Add
Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, SG/SF, LAL (40% Owned) - Strong Cats: STL, FT%, 3PM
After a disastrous start to the season, KCP has finally bounced back. He strung together six double-digit hauls in a row and has hit a total of 14 threes in them. This has him ranked in the top-100 for the last 14 days with averages of 12.8 PTS with 2.3 3PM on 40.7 FG% and 95.0 FT%, 3.5 REB, 1.0 AST, 1.0 STL, 0.2 BLK and 0.7 TO in 22 minutes per game.
Combined with the Lakers very favorable schedule, Caldwell-Pope should be high on your list of streaming adds for next week if you're in the market for some 3-and-D guys. With his minutes also trending up (27 per game in his last three), KCP is finally back on track and if he was dropped in your league, you would be wise to take advantage.
Insanely Deep League Add
Bam Adebayo, PF/C, MIA, (10% Owned) - Strong Cats: REB, FG%, STL/BLK
Although I believe Mikal Bridges to be the hot player to add in deep leagues as he is ranked in the top-25 in Yahoo leagues in the last seven days, I will go for Adebayo here for two reasons:
- Even though Mikal is only owned in 17% of the leagues, I believe that most competitive leagues have him owned already.
- Adebayo could be the surprise for the week which not many people expect.
Let's discuss the later reason. Adebayo is getting just 17 minutes per game this season and in that time is averaging 6.8 PTS on 54.4 FG% and 69.0 FT%, 5.9 REB, 1.2 AST, 0.6 STL, 0.7 BLK, and 1.1 TO. That's a decent haul for us in the deepest of leagues, especially considering the limited time.
So what makes Adebayo a decent risk/reward option for next week?
His biggest competition for minutes, Hassan Whiteside, has been battling some knee issues and has been on and off the injury report for some time now. He was pulled from the game after logging only 16 minutes when he injured the knee back on Nov 3, and missed the following match back on Nov 5. Furthermore, Hassan has missed his last practice because of the issue, so his owners must be sweating.
But this bodes well for Adebayo's short-term outlook. He played an average of 30 minutes in those two games on Nov 3 and Nov 5 in Hassan's absence, and there is no reason to suspect otherwise if Hassan misses a game or two. And even if he doesn't, Bam should be good for some decent boards and stocks, if you're in the market for those stats.
Other Deep League Options for the Week
Lance Stephenson, SG/SF, LAL, (11% Owned) - Strong Cats: a bit of everything
Tyson Chandler, C, LAL, (7% Owned) - Strong Cats: FG%, REB, BLK
Doug McDermott, SF, IND, (1% Owned) - Strong Cats: 3PM, FT%
Cory Joseph, PG, IND, (4% Owned) - Strong Cats: STL, AST, 3PM
Aaron Holiday, PG, IND, (2% Owned) - Strong Cats: 3PM, PTS
Patrick Beverley, PG/SG, LAC, (21% Owned) - Strong Cats: STL, 3PM, AST
Marcin Gortat, C, LAC, (21% Owned) - Strong Cats: REB, BLK, FG%
JaMychal Green, PF/C, MEM, (17% Owned) - Strong Cats: REB, FG%
Garrett Temple, SG/SF, MEM, (21% Owned) - Strong Cats: 3PM, PTS, STL, FT%
Shelvin Mack, PG, MEM, (14% Owned) - Strong Cats: 3PM, AST, PTS
Justise Winslow, SF/PF, MIA, (18% Owned) - Strong Cats: REB, a bit of everything - buyer beware: poor percentages!
Wayne Ellington, SG/SF, MIA, (22% Owned) - Strong Cats: 3PM, PTS, STL, FT%
Mikal Bridges, SG/SF, MIA, (17% Owned) - Strong Cats: 3PM, STL, FT%
Richaun Holmes, PF/C, PHO, (2% Owned) - Strong Cats: REB, FG%, BLK
Jamal Crawford, SG/SF, PHO, (1% Owned) - Strong Cats: 3PM, PTS, AST
Isaiah Canaan, PG, PHO, (2% Owned) - Strong Cats: 3PM, AST
Delon Wright, PG, TOR, (4% Owned) - Strong Cats: 3PM, FT%
OG Anunoby, SF/PF, TOR, (5% Owned) - Strong Cats: 3PM, STL - buyer beware: coming back from injury
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.
