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Milos Zvekic analyzes Week 8 streaming opportunities for head-to-head fantasy basketball leagues. He reviews the upcoming NBA schedule and players to add.
Hey guys! We're back this week to bring you a look inside the NBA teams' upcoming schedules and their players' forms - all that to provide you with best information and advice for your streaming strategies.
There are some hidden gems this time around that should provide short-term value, but just might prove decent long-term options for your teams as well.
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 8.
NBA Schedule Guide - Week 8
Last week we focused on the scarcest game-days in Tuesday, Thursday, and Sunday, and had one team, the Lakers, playing on all three of these days. If you were quick enough to pick up a guy like Josh Hart, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope or even Tyson Chandler in the deepest of leagues, even though none of them exploded, they surely contributed to some of your stats like steals, threes or boards.
Week 8 has a lot of similarities, as all three days from Week 7 again have the lowest number of games played, and one team, the Utah Jazz, plays on all three of those days. But more on that later. Let's take an overall look first.
Here's the low-down:
Teams with 4 games:
Brooklyn Nets
Cleveland Cavaliers
Denver Nuggets
Detroit Pistons
New Orleans Pelicans
New York Knicks
San Antonio Spurs
Toronto Raptors
Teams with 3 games:
Atlanta Hawks
Charlotte Hornets
Chicago Bulls
Dallas Mavericks
Golden State Warriors
Houston Rockets
Indiana Pacers
Los Angeles Clippers
Los Angeles Lakers
Memphis Grizzlies
Miami Heat
Milwaukee Bucks
Minnesota Timberwolves
Oklahoma City Thunder
Orlando Magic
Phoenix Suns
Portland Trail Blazers
Sacramento Kings
Utah Jazz
Washington Wizards
Teams with 2 games:
Boston Celtics
Philadelphia 76ers
Number of teams playing each day:
Monday: 14
Tuesday: 10
Wednesday: 20
Thursday: 6
Friday: 20
Saturday: 18
Sunday: 8
Back-to-Backs (beware of older or banged up players who might rest):
Monday/Tuesday: -
Tuesday/Wednesday: DAL, ORL, SAS
Wednesday/Thursday: -
Thursday/Friday: PHO
Friday/Saturday: BKN, CLE, DEN, IND, LAL, MEM, MIA, SAC
Saturday/Sunday: NYK
Sunday/Monday the following: DET, MIL, NOP, UTA
Days with six or fewer games
Tuesday: 5 games
Thursday: 3 games
Sunday: 4 games
Team playing on all three of these days:
Utah Jazz
Teams playing on Tue/Thurs:
Phoenix Suns
Portland Trail Blazers
Teams playing on Tue/Sun:
San Antonio Spurs
Teams playing on Thurs/Sun:
New York Knicks
Teams playing three games over the weekend (from Thursday to Sunday)
New York Knicks
Baller Streaming Strategy for Week 8
As mentioned before, Utah plays all three of their games next week on the most scarce of days, so their players could prove quite valuable - especially in leagues with not too many starter spots and a deep bench.
On the other hand, if you're looking for volume in addition to filling roster spots on the low-game days, the Knicks and the Spurs all play on two of these days and have a four-game week ahead of them.
Although they also play only three games next week, apart from Utah, only Portland and Phoenix play on both Tuesday and Thursday which makes them decent streaming plays early in the week, with the latter especially interesting having their third and final game of the week on Friday. You can decide to cut that player after his Friday game and this provides you with an extra streaming spot over the weekend.
Players from these five teams will be in our focus this week.
Streaming Options for the Week
Shallower League Streaming Adds for the Week:
Derrick Favors, PF/C, UTA, (59% Owned) - Strong Cats: REB, FG%, BLK
Noah Vonleh, PF, NYK, (44% Owned) - Strong Cats: STL, REB, BLK
Mitchell Robinson, C, NYK, (19% Owned) - Strong Cats: FG%, REB, BLK - buyer beware: dealing with a heel issue
Allonzo Trier, SG, NYK, (23% Owned) - Strong Cats: 3PM, PTS, a bit of everything
Trey Burke, PG, NYK, (24% Owned) - Strong Cats: 3PM, PTS, FT%, AST
Kevin Knox, SF/PF, NYK (19% Owned) - Strong Cats: PTS, 3PM, rookie factor
Bryn Forbes, PG, SAS, (21% Owned) - Strong Cats: 3PM, PTS, FT%
Trevor Ariza, SG/SF, PHO (66% Owned) - Strong Cats: 3PM, STL, REB
Josh Jackson, SG/SF, PHO (19% Owned) - Strong Cats: REB, STL/BLK - buyer beware: poor percentages
Al-Farouq Aminu, SF/PF, POR, (34% Owned) - Strong Cats: 3PM, REB, STL/BLK - buyer beware: poor FG%!
Player Recommendations
Shallower League Add
Jae Crowder, SF/PF, UTA, (45% Owned) - Strong Cats: 3PM, PTS, REB, TO
A possible sixth man of the year candidate Jae Crowder is only owned in 45% of Yahoo leagues. And his game translates so well into fantasy. Such a shame. With averages of 12.4 points with 2.0 threes on 40.3 FG% and 70.4 FT%, 4.7 REB, 1.9 AST, 0.7 STL, 0.5 BLK and 0.8 TO in almost 29 minutes per game he is giving his owners something to smile about, especially if they don't mind the poor percentages.
Furthermore, Jae has lit it up in his last game hitting 8-of-13 from the field (6-of-10 from beyond the arc) and both of his free throws on his way to season-high 24 points, career-high seven assists, two boards and two turnovers in 33 minutes. This coming on the same night Kyle Korver made his Utah debut bodes well for Crowder's owners, as it could mean that Korver's arrival might not affect Jae's playing time.
There is also some chatter that Utah's star sophomore Donovan Mitchell is going to be deployed at the PG spot more often which could open up a minute or two for Crowder as well, or at least offset the Korver impact.
As a short-term option for next week, Crowder can be a strong play even in the shallower leagues. And if he continues to do well and starts hitting more of his shoots, he could provide a decent rest-of-season value as well.
Deep League Add
Elie Okobo, PG, PHO (19% Owned) - Strong Cats: STL, FT%, 3PM
The first pick of the second round in this year's draft had picked up quite a few DNPs in a row recently. But with Phoenix realizing that this season will be best used for developing their young talent and releasing Isaiah Canaan, Okobo has returned to the rotation.
He exploded in his first game back going 8-of-12 from the field (including 3-of-5 from three-point land) for 19 points, adding to that two boards, four dimes, three steals and three turnovers in 32 minutes. He cooled down a bit, but still followed up nicely with nine points on 4-of-11 from the field, one three, four rebounds, two assists, a steal and no turnovers in 29 minutes in his last game. Additionally, Elie was given the start in this one with Devin Booker out.
Even though this is quite a small sample size, the fact that Phoenix has only Okobo and De'Anthony Melton to cover PG minutes when Devin Booker needs a rest, and Melton only played 4 minutes in a game where Booker didn't play, shows us that Phoenix will rely on Okobo for the spot, at least for the time being.
Okobo has the opportunity and the talent to contribute both short and long-term to your fantasy team so he is worth a flier in deeper leagues. And if he doesn't work out, you can just ship him out after his third game of the week on Friday.
Insanely Deep League Add
Kyle Korver, SG/SF, UTA, (6% Owned) - Strong Cats: 3PM, FT%
Korver is finally free from his Cleveland nightmare in which he played just 15 minutes per game this season. He was traded to Utah and should fit right in, spreading the floor for the likes of Mitchell and the Ricky Rubio-Rudy Gobert pick-and-roll.
He showed just that in his debut, hitting 5-of-7 from the field (4-of-6 for three) for 14 points and grabbing two boards, an assist, a block and a turnover in 22 minutes of action.
Moreover, Korver is in good shooting form, hitting three or more three-pointers in four games in a row - not counting his six-minute cameo for Cleveland against the 76ers on Nov 23.
His new employer brought Kyle on for a reason and will not hesitate to use him. If his hand stays hot, he will provide a serious 3PM boost to your fantasy team, especially on those days with just a few games played next week.
Other Deep League Options for the Week
Royce O'Neale, SF, UTA, (0% Owned) - Strong Cats: a bit of everything
Damyean Dotson, SG, NYK, (5% Owned) - Strong Cats: STL, PTS, 3PM
Emmanuel Mudiay, PG, NYK, (11% Owned) - Strong Cats: STL, a bit of everything
Jakob Poeltl, C, SAS, (16% Owned) - Strong Cats: REB, BLK, FG%
Davis Bertans, PF/C, SAS, (3% Owned) - Strong Cats: 3PM, FT%, REB
Derrick White, PG, SAS, (9% Owned) - Strong Cats: AST, a bit of everything
Marco Belinelli, SG/SF, SAS, (10% Owned) - Strong Cats: 3PM, PTS, FT%
Patty Mills, PG, SAS, (14% Owned) -P Strong Cats: 3PM, PTS, FT%, AST
Richaun Holmes, PF/C, PHO, (6% Owned) - Strong Cats: REB, FG%, BLK
Jamal Crawford, SG/SF, PHO, (2% Owned) - Strong Cats: 3PM, PTS, AST
Zach Collins, PF/C, POR, (15% Owned) - Strong Cats: REB, BLK, FG%
Evan Turner, SG/SF, POR, (10% Owned) - Strong Cats: STL, REB, AST
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.
