RADIO
No puns or jokes from me today as Fantasy NBA playoffs are no laughing matter! And it's getting close, the playoffs are either near or here and we need to get ready for them.
I hope this finds you in a good spot, ready to attack the title! I also hope you saved at least one streaming spot as it can be quite valuable in these tough matchups that the playoffs usually bring. If not, then this article might help you not only decide who to pick up, but also who to drop due to a poor schedule.
Here are my thoughts on the fantasy basketball streamers for Week 15.
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 15
Here's the low-down:
Teams with 5 games:
Detroit Pistons
Toronto Raptors
Teams with 4 games:
Atlanta Hawks
Boston Celtics
Chicago Bulls
Cleveland Cavaliers
Dallas Mavericks
Denver Nuggets
Houston Rockets
Indiana Pacers
Los Angeles Clippers
Memphis Grizzlies
Milwaukee Bucks
Minnesota Timberwolves
New Orleans Pelicans
New York Knicks
Oklahoma City Thunder
Phoenix Suns
Portland Trail Blazers
San Antonio Spurs
Utah Jazz
Washington Wizards
Teams with 3 games:
Brooklyn Nets
Charlotte Hornets
Golden State Warriors
Los Angeles Lakers
Miami Heat
Orlando Magic
Philadelphia 76ers
Sacramento Kings
Number of teams playing each day:
Monday: 14
Tuesday: 16
Wednesday: 18
Thursday: 14
Friday: 20
Saturday: 12
Sunday: 20
Back-to-Backs (beware of older or banged-up players who might rest):
Monday/Tuesday: DET, TOR
Tuesday/Wednesday: ATL, BOS, DEN, IND, MEM, NOP
Wednesday/Thursday: DAL, OKC, PHO, UTA
Thursday/Friday: CHI, CLE, LAC, MIL, TOR
Friday/Saturday: GSW, HOU, PHI, WAS
Saturday/Sunday: DET, POR
Sunday/Monday the following: CHI, DAL, DEN, MEM, MIN, NOP, NYK, ORL, SAS
Days with SEVEN or fewer games:
Monday: 7 games
Thursday: 7 games
Saturday: 6 games
Teams playing on all three days:
Detroit Pistons (5 games - Mon, Tue, Thurs, Sat, Sun)
Oklahoma City Thunder (4 games - Mon, Wed, Thurs, Sat)
Phoenix Suns (4 games - Mon, Wed, Thurs, Sat)
Utah Jazz (4 games - Mon, Wed, Thurs, Sat)
Sacramento Kings (3 games - Mon, Thurs, Sat)
Teams playing on Monday and Thursday:
Detroit Pistons (5 games - Mon, Tue, Thurs, Sat, Sun)
Oklahoma City Thunder (4 games - Mon, Wed, Thurs, Sat)
Phoenix Suns (4 games - Mon, Wed, Thurs, Sat)
Utah Jazz (4 games - Mon, Wed, Thurs, Sat)
Sacramento Kings (3 games - Mon, Thurs, Sat)
Toronto Raptors (5 games - Mon, Tue, Thurs, Fri, Sun)
Cleveland Cavaliers (4 games - Mon, Thurs, Fri, Sun)
Dallas Mavericks (4 games - Mon, Wed, Fri, Sun)
Teams playing on Monday and Saturday:
Detroit Pistons (5 games - Mon, Tue, Thurs, Sat, Sun)
Oklahoma City Thunder (4 games - Mon, Wed, Thurs, Sat)
Phoenix Suns (4 games - Mon, Wed, Thurs, Sat)
Utah Jazz (4 games - Mon, Wed, Thurs, Sat)
Sacramento Kings (3 games - Mon, Thurs, Sat)
Houston Rockets (4 games - Mon, Wed, Fri, Sat)
Washington Wizards (4 games - Mon, Wed, Fri, Sat)
Brooklyn Nets (3 games - Mon, Wed, Sat)
Teams playing on Thursday and Saturday:
Detroit Pistons (5 games - Mon, Tue, Thurs, Sat, Sun)
Oklahoma City Thunder (4 games - Mon, Wed, Thurs, Sat)
Phoenix Suns (4 games - Mon, Wed, Thurs, Sat)
Utah Jazz (4 games - Mon, Wed, Thurs, Sat)
Sacramento Kings (3 games - Mon, Thurs, Sat)
Portland Trail Blazers (4 games - Tue, Thurs, Sat, Sun)
Los Angeles Lakers (3 games - Tue, Thurs, Sat)
Teams with a GOOD START to the week (three games from Monday to Thursday)
Detroit Pistons (5 games - Mon, Tue, Thurs, Sat, Sun)
Toronto Raptors (5 games - Mon, Tue, Thurs, Fri, Sun)
Dallas Mavericks (4 games - Mon, Wed, Fri, Sun)
Oklahoma City Thunder (4 games - Mon, Wed, Thurs, Sat)
Phoenix Suns (4 games - Mon, Wed, Thurs, Sat)
Utah Jazz (4 games - Mon, Wed, Thurs, Sat)
Teams with a GOOD END to the week (three games from Thursday to Sunday)
Detroit Pistons (5 games - Mon, Tue, Thurs, Sat, Sun)
Toronto Raptors (5 games - Mon, Tue, Thurs, Fri, Sun)
Cleveland Cavaliers (4 games - Mon, Thurs, Fri, Sun)
Chicago Bulls (4 games - Tue, Thurs, Fri, Sun)
Los Angeles Clippers (4 games - Tue, Thurs, Fri, Sun)
Milwaukee Bucks (4 games - Tue, Thurs, Fri, Sun)
Portland Trail Blazers (4 games - Tue, Thurs, Sat, Sun)
Teams with a POOR START to the week (one or no games from Monday to Thursday)
Charlotte Hornets (3 games - Wed, Fri, Sun)
Golden State Warriors (3 games - Tue, Fri, Sat)
Orlando Magic (3 games - Wed, Fri, Sun)
Philadelphia 76ers (3 games - Tue, Fri, Sat)
Teams with a POOR END to the week (one or no games from Thursday to Sunday)
Brooklyn Nets (3 games - Mon, Wed, Sat)
Baller Streaming Strategy for Week 15
With Monday, Thursday and Saturday being the only days with seven or fewer games played, our focus will be on teams that play on these days. There are five such teams, so there should be enough options available out there in most leagues for us fantasy managers to fill some gaps in our rosters on these days.
Teams that play on all three days are Detroit (five-game week), Oklahoma City, Phoenix, Utah (all with a four-game week) and Sacramento (with three games next week). Players from these teams will be our focus today.
Furthermore, Toronto has a five-game week so I can't skip them over, even with most of their games being played on more crowded days.
Streaming Options for Week 15
Shallower League Streaming Adds for the Week (Rostered in 25-75 % of Yahoo leagues):
Saddiq Bey, SF, DET, (29% Rostered) - Strong Cats: 3PM, PTS, FT%
Hamidou Diallo, SG/SF, DET, (43% Rostered) - Strong Cats: STL, PTS, a bit of everything
Moses Brown, C, OKC, (66% Rostered) - Strong Cats: REB, BLK/STL, FG%
Aleksej Pokusevski, SF, OKC, (31% Rostered) - Strong Cats: 3PM, PTS, REB, BLK/STL
Theo Maledon, PG, OKC, (26% Rostered) - Strong Cats: 3PM, PTS, AST, STL
Isaiah Roby, PF/C, OKC, (25% Rostered) - Strong Cats: REB, STL/BLK
Jae Crowder, SF/PF, PHO, (38% Rostered) - Strong Cats: 3PM, REB, STL
Bojan Bogdanovic, SF/PF, UTA, (68% Rostered) - Strong Cats: 3PM, PTS, FT%
Jordan Clarkson, PG/SG, UTA, (75% Rostered) - Strong Cats: 3PM, PTS, FT%
Joe Ingles, SG/SF, UTA, (57% Rostered) - Strong Cats: 3PM, AST, a little bit of everything
Royce O'Neale, SF/PF, UTA, (26% Rostered) - Strong Cats: 3PM, REB, a bit of everything
Hassan Whiteside, PF/C, SAC, (49% Rostered) - Strong Cats: REB, BLK, FG% - buyer beware: is currently injured but should return soon
Delon Wright, PG/SG/SF, SAC, (47% Rostered) - Strong Cats: AST, PTS, STL - buyer beware: is playing fewer minutes with the Kings than with the Pistons before he was traded
Gary Trent Jr., SG/SF, TOR, (56% Rostered) - Strong Cats: 3PM, PTS, STL
Shallower League Add
Moses Brown, C, OKC, (66% Rostered)
Strong Cats: REB, BLK/STL, FG%
With all the hype going around Brown, I doubt he is still available in most competitive leagues, but Yahoo says he is still available in 1/3 of the leagues so I am writing this for those of us lucky enough to be able to grab him. Moses is a fantasy monster. You could compare him to guys like Rudy Gobert or Clint Capela and you wouldn't be too generous as he is averaging 11.8 PTS on 55.9 FG% and 58.3 FT%, 13.6 REB, 0.0 AST, 0.9 STL, 1.1 BLK and 1.3 TO in 29 minutes a game over the past two weeks. This is good enough for spot 75 in Yahoo rankings.
Brown double-doubled in six of his previous 10 games and failed to get at least one steal or block just two times during the same stretch. He didn't get a single assist though, which is pretty incredible!
With the Thunder opting for a rebuild and shutting Al Horford down for the season, Moses should get plenty of playing time down the stretch and could be a good add for the rest of the season, not just for streaming in Week 15.
If you need a big man that does typical big-man things and does it well, Brown can be your guy! Of course, if don't mind him putting a dent in your FT% and contributing no assists whatsoever (I still can't wrap my head around this...).
Deeper League Add
Aleksej Pokusevski, SF, OKC, (31% Rostered)
Strong Cats: 3PM, PTS, REB, BLK/STL
Poku is my man from Serbia and I am very excited that he is doing this well this soon! It was a great thing for him to land in the youth movement that is the Oklahoma City Thunder, and with them going all-in into the rebuild, Poku has been given a big chance, and he has been using it quite nicely so far.
Over the past 14 days, Aleksej is averaging 13.1 points with 2.1 threes on 39.3% from the field and 73.3% from the charity stripe, 5.1 boards, 3.4 dimes, 0.7 steals, 1.0 blocks and 2.7 turnovers in almost 32 minutes a game. Poor efficiency has prevented his counting stats from catapulting him into the top-100 so he currently sits at #167 on Yahoo charts. Not bad for a guy that was playing in the G league just last month, is it?
Now if the low percentages and high turnovers are not your thing, Poku perhaps isn't the guy for you. But if you need help across the board and your team can absorb some inefficiency from the rookie, he could be a long-term pickup with an unusual set of skills that involve both three-point shooting and blocking.
Insanely Deep League Add
Kenrich Williams, SF/PF, OKC, (4% Rostered)
Strong Cats: 3PM, REB, STL
I just couldn't resist going for triple OKC here, as their young players haven't yet been picked up in the majority of fantasy leagues, but that is rapidly changing.
Now Kenrich doesn't completely fit into Oklahoma's new timeline, as he is five years older than Moses Brown and seven years older than Aleksej Pokusevski. Furthermore, when Luguentz Dort and Darius Bazley return Kenrich is bound to see a dip in playing time. But we don't need him to be good long-term, do we?
We just need him for next week. And all signs point towards him being quite helpful in this time with Kenrich averaging 11.0 PTS with 1.4 3PM on 58.7 FG% and 100.0 FT%, 4.4 REB, 2.8 AST, 0.4 STL 0.6 BLK and 1.1 TO in 23 minutes a night. This is enough for #122.
He has been shooting the ball well all year hitting 57% of his field goals including 44.9% of his three-point attempts. This doesn't translate well to free throws however as he is just 57.5% on the year - but with 0.8 attempts per game, it's not too impactful. But his across-the-board contribution is really something to admire, and perhaps take advantage of if he is still left on your deep league's waiver wire.
Other Deep League Options for the Week
Rostered in less than 25% of Yahoo leagues
Killian Hayes, PG/SG, DET, (18% Rostered) - Strong Cats: AST - buyer beware: just returned from a long injury
Josh Jackson, SG/SF, DET, (17% Rostered) - Strong Cats: REB, PTS, STL/BLK
Isaiah Stewart, C, DET, (11% Rostered) - Strong Cats: REB, FG%, STL/BLK
Cory Joseph, PG, DET, (9% Rostered) - Strong Cats: 3PM, AST, FT%, STL
Saben Lee, PG, DET, (4% Rostered) - Strong Cats: AST, STL
Dennis Smith Jr., PG, DET, (4% Rostered) - Strong Cats: 3PM, AST, STL
Wayne Ellington, SG/SF, DET, (3% Rostered) - Strong Cats: 3PM, PTS
Frank Jackson, PG, DET, (1% Rostered) - Strong Cats: 3PM, FT%
Svi Mykhailiuk, SF, OKC, (7% Rostered) - Strong Cats: 3PM, PTS, STL
Ty Jerome, PG/SG, OKC, (4% Rostered) - Strong Cats: 3PM, STL, AST
Kenrich Williams, SF/PF, OKC, (4% Rostered) - Strong Cats: 3PM, REB, STL
Tony Bradley, C, OKC, (2% Rostered) - Strong Cats: REB, FG%, BLK
Cameron Johnson, SF/PF, PHO, (9% Rostered) - Strong Cats: 3PM, FT%
Dario Saric, PF/C, PHO, (13% Rostered) - Strong Cats: 3PM, PTS, REB, FT%
Cameron Payne, PG/SG, PHO, (3% Rostered) - Strong Cats: 3PM, AST, STL
Torrey Craig, SG/SF, PHO, (0% Rostered) - Strong Cats: REB, STL
Derrick Favors, PF/C, UTA, (8% Rostered) - Strong Cats: REB, BLK/STL, FG%
Georges Niang, SF/PF, UTA, (0% Rostered) - Strong Cats: REB, 3PM
Moe Harkless, SF/PF, SAC, (1% Rostered) - Strong Cats: not much really
Terence Davis, SG/SF, SAC, (1% Rostered) - Strong Cats: 3PM, FT%, STL
Aron Baynes, C, TOR, (4% Rostered) - Strong Cats: REB, BLK/STL, FG%
Malachi Flynn, PG, TOR, (1% Rostered) - Strong Cats: 3PM, AST, STL - only has streaming value in deep leagues while Kyle Lowry is out
Stanley Johnson, SG/SF/PF, TOR, (0% Rostered) - Strong Cats: REB, STL
DeAndre' Bembry, SF/PF, TOR, (0% Rostered) - Strong Cats: small contribution in most categories
Here are a few steps for fantasy NBA success:
1. Make the playoffs
2. Win the playoffs
3. Gloat in front of your league-mates
It's easier said than done, I know, but try it - it just might work! Good luck!
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