RADIO
Fantasy NBA playoffs are getting closer by the minute and for those of us in the hunt for playoff berth or better seeding, every matchup counts. Streaming is that ace up our sleeve to help us when the going gets tough, and it gets tough a lot.
There are plenty of decisions to make when streaming. Who do I cut? Which categories will I need help with and who do I pick up for that?
It's not easy to find the right players with the right schedules and skills to maximize the potential for streaming on any given week. Fantasy owners have their work cut out for them, but to help out a little, I've done some analysis of the week to come and here are my thoughts on the fantasy basketball streamers for Week 13.
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 13
Here's the low-down:
Teams with 4 games:
Boston Celtics
Chicago Bulls
Cleveland Cavaliers
Indiana Pacers
Minnesota Timberwolves
Oklahoma City Thunder
Orlando Magic
Philadelphia 76ers
Portland Trail Blazers
Teams with 3 games:
Atlanta Hawks
Brooklyn Nets
Dallas Mavericks
Denver Nuggets
Detroit Pistons
Golden State Warriors
Houston Rockets
Los Angeles Clippers
Los Angeles Lakers
Miami Heat
Milwaukee Bucks
New Orleans Pelicans
New York Knicks
Phoenix Suns
Sacramento Kings
San Antonio Spurs
Toronto Raptors
Utah Jazz
Teams with 2 games:
Charlotte Hornets
Memphis Grizzlies
Washington Wizards
Number of teams playing each day:
Monday: 14
Tuesday: 12
Wednesday: 20
Thursday: 10
Friday: 14
Saturday: 22
Sunday: 4
Back-to-Backs (beware of older or banged-up players who might rest):
Monday/Tuesday: CLE
Tuesday/Wednesday: BKN, DAL, HOU
Wednesday/Thursday: BOS, DEN, ORL
Thursday/Friday: -
Friday/Saturday: ATL, CHI, CLE, MIN, OKC, PHI, POR, TOR
Saturday/Sunday: -
Sunday/Monday the following: DEN, IND, MIA, SAS
Days with six or fewer games
Tuesday: 6 games
Thursday: 5 games
Sunday: 2 games
Teams playing on Sunday:
Indiana Pacers (4 games - Mon, Wed, Fri, Sun)
Denver Nuggets (3 games - Wed, Thurs, Sun)
Miami Heat (3 games - Wed, Fri, Sun)
San Antonio Spurs (3 games - Wed, Fri, Sun)
Teams playing on both Tuesday and Thursday:
Golden State Warriors (3 games - Tue, Thurs, Sat)
Los Angeles Clippers (3 games - Tue, Thurs, Sat)
Milwaukee Bucks (3 games - Tue, Thurs, Sat)
New York Knicks (3 games - Tue, Thurs, Sat)
Phoenix Suns (3 games - Tue, Thurs, Sat)
Utah Jazz (3 games - Tue, Thurs, Sat)
Teams with a GOOD START to the week (three games from Monday to Thursday)
Boston Celtics (4 games - Mon, Wed, Thurs, Sat)
Orlando Magic (4 games - Mon, Wed, Thurs, Sat)
Teams with a GOOD END to the week (three games from Thursday to Sunday)
-
Teams with a POOR START to the week (one or no games from Monday to Thursday)
Memphis Grizzlies (2 games - Tue, Fri)
Atlanta Hawks (3 games - Tue, Fri, Sat)
Miami Heat (3 games - Wed, Fri, Sun)
Teams with a POOR END to the week (one or no games from Thursday to Sunday)
Memphis Grizzlies (2 games - Tue, Fri)
Charlotte Hornets (2 games - Mon, Wed)
Washington Wizards (2 games - Wed, Fri)
Detroit Pistons (3 games - Mon, Wed, Sat)
Los Angeles Lakers (3 games - Mon, Wed, Sat)
Sacramento Kings (3 games - Mon, Wed, Sat)
Brooklyn Nets (3 games - Mon, Tue, Sat)
Dallas Mavericks (3 games - Mon, Tue, Fri)
Houston Rockets (3 games - Mon, Tue, Sat)
Baller Streaming Strategy for Week 13
Okay, so, only two games on Sunday. Indiana goes to Denver and Miami visits San Antonio. Players from these teams will be worth gold come the end of the week. Be careful though, only the Pacers have four games next week and they are the only team to play a game before Wednesday.
Six teams play both on Tuesday with six games and Thursday with five. These teams are the Warriors, the Clippers, the Bucks, the Knicks, the Suns, and the Jazz. It's quite interesting that all of these teams play just three games next week and all of them play on exactly the same days - Tuesday, Thursday and Sunday.
As no teams provide the perfect coverage for next week (apart from maybe Indiana if their schedule works well for you), I see potential for the following strategy (mind you, this is based on the presumption that we already have full rosters for Wednesday and Saturday, but need help on all other days):
- Pick up a player who plays on Monday
- Swap him on Tuesday for someone who plays on both Tuesday and Thursday
- Drop him on Friday for someone who plays on both Friday and Sunday
This can give you five games on all days that don't have 10 or more games from one streaming spot if you have three acquisitions for the week (or two but you manage to snag the Monday guy during Week 12). Of course, if you have fewer than three transactions or more than one streaming spot, you should definitely devise a different tactic.
Streaming Options for Week 13
Shallower League Streaming Adds for the Week:
Jeremy Lamb, SG/SF, IND, (73% Owned) - Strong Cats: 3PM, PTS, FT%, REB
Will Barton, SG/SF, DEN, (78% Owned) - Strong Cats: 3PM, a bit of everything
Paul Millsap, PF/C, DEN, (62% Owned) - Strong Cats: REB, STL/BLK, FG%, FT% - buyer beware: battling an injury so check his status before adding
Gary Harris, PG/SG, DEN, (59% Owned) - Strong Cats: 3PM, STL
Duncan Robinson, SG/SF/PF, MIA, (40% Owned) - Strong Cats: 3PM, PTS, FT%
Tyler Herro, SG/SF, MIA, (58% Owned) - Strong Cats: 3PM, PTS, FT%, REB
Goran Dragic, PG/SG, MIA, (65% Owned) - Strong Cats: 3PM, PTS, AST
Kendrick Nunn, PG/SG, MIA, (64% Owned) - Strong Cats: 3PM, PTS, AST, STL
Derrick White, PG/SG, SAS, (36% Owned) - Strong Cats: Jack of all trades
Rudy Gay, SF/PF, SAS, (50% Owned) - Strong Cats: Gay, too, is a Jack of all trades
Dejounte Murray, PG, SAS, (79% Owned) - Strong Cats: STL, AST, REB
Damion Lee, SG, GSW, (43% Owned) - Strong Cats: 3PM, PTS, FT%
Alec Burks, PG/SG, GSW, (64% Owned) - Strong Cats: 3PM, PTS, REB, STL, FT%
Willie Cauley-Stein, PF/C, GSW, (49% Owned) -Strong Cats: REB, FG%, STL/BLK
Patrick Beverley, PG/SG, LAC, (56% Owned) - Strong Cats: 3PM, STL, AST, a bit of everything - buyer beware: low FG%
Marcus Morris Sr., SF/PF, NYK, (76% Owned) - Strong Cats: 3PM, PTS, REB, FT% - buyer beware: battling a neck injury
RJ Barrett, SF/PF, NYK, (72% Owned) - Strong Cats: 3PM, PTS, REB, STL
Aron Baynes, PF/C, PHO, (32% Owned) - Strong Cats: FG%, REB, BLK
Mikal Bridges, SG/SF, PHO, (38% Owned) - Strong Cats: STL/BLK - buyer beware: in poor form
Shallower League Add
Damion Lee, SG, GSW - 43% Owned
Strong Cats: 3PM, PTS, FT%
We talked about Lee back in Week 10 Streamers, but he was our "Insanely Deep League Add" back then when he was owned in just 2% of Yahoo leagues. With the way he has been playing, he deserves to be featured again. About a month ago, Lee was on a two-way contract and wasn't even a regular part of the Warriors' rotation. Fast forward 30 days - Lee earned himself a guaranteed contract and is playing over 30 minutes a night.
His averages of 14.6 PTS with 1.7 3PM on 41.8 FG% and 89.6 FT%, 6.6 REB, 2.9 AST, 1.1 STL, 0.1 BLK, and 1.4 TO in 14 games during this period tell the whole tale. Lee is ranked around the top-80 during this stretch. Furthermore, Damion is a quite consistent scorer, despite his FG% varying from game to game. In these 14 games, he failed to reach double-digit points in just two. And he doesn't show signs of stopping.
With this kind of form and a pretty good schedule, Damion isn't a bad shout for those who need some threes and points with a steal here and there on Tuesday and Thursday of next week.
Deeper League Add
Aaron Holiday, PG, IND - 26% Owned
Strong Cats: PTS, 3PM, AST, STL
The youngest of the Holiday brothers is doing quite well in the absence of Indiana's starting PG Malcolm Brogdon. He is averaging 12.6 PTS with 1.4 3PM on 39.7 FG% and FT%, 2.3 REB, 6.1 AST, 0.6 STL, 0.6 BLK, and 1.9 TO in 29 minutes a night over the past two weeks. This has him inside the top-150, and he is easily inside the top-100 for those who are punting FG% and TO.
Now, I would love it if I could tell you that Aaron is going to keep up this tempo in the long run. Heck, I would even settle for a short term. But alas, I cannot. Brogdon is nearing a return, and that will surely put a dent into Holiday's playing time and, consequentially, his fantasy output.
Even though Holiday won't be scoring 12 points and getting six dimes night after night, he could stick around his season averages of 10.6 points and 3.7 assists with a sprinkle of threes (1.6 on the season) and steals (0.8 on the season) with some great free-throw shooting (career average of 84.3%). This is not too bad for a deep league add in my book.
Furthermore, Brogdon still hasn't played a game, and even though it was reported that he is over his back injury, he has now caught a bug and missed a game due to that as well. With him playing the last full game back on Dec 22, and without clear information on when he will be back, Holiday might still get near 30 minutes a game next week. And with four games including a matchup against the Nuggets on two-game Sunday, Holiday is worth a shot - especially for those who don't care about his poor FG% and TO.
Insanely Deep League Add
Omari Spellman, PF, GSW - 9% Owned
Strong Cats: 3PM, STL, REB, PTS
Spellman is starting to look a lot like Damion Lee lately. He too wasn't heavily involved in the Warriors rotation but in the New Year all that changed quickly. He scored in double digits in all five of his 2020 games, and with averages of 16.0 points with 2.8 three-pointers on 56.8% from the field and 84.6% from the line, 5.3 boards, 1.8 dimes, 2.3 steals, 0.5 blocked shots, and 1.3 turnovers in 22 minutes per game, he is ranked at #28 in the past seven days. He even took over the starting center job from Willie Cauley-Stein, so his coach seems to trust him.
Of course, it's not realistic to expect him to be this good constantly, but if he just gets half of all these counting stats from last week, most owners that streamed him for his games on Tuesday and Thursday will be cool with it. Low-risk, high-award move here with Omari. Just like Damion Lee a few weeks back.
Other Deep League Options for the Week
Doug McDermott, SF, IND, (3% Owned) - Strong Cats: PTS, 3PM, FT%
Aaron Holiday, PG, IND, (26% Owned) - Strong Cats: PTS, 3PM, AST, STL
Justin Holiday, SG/SF, IND, (5% Owned) - Strong Cats: 3PM, PTS, FT%
T.J. McConnell, PG, IND, (3% Owned) - Strong Cats: AST, FG%
Jerami Grant, SF/PF, DEN, (18% Owned) - Strong Cats: 3PM, FG%, STL/BLK
Mason Plumlee, PF/C, DEN, (6% Owned) - Strong Cats: REB, FG%, STL/BLK
Derrick Jones Jr., SF/PF, MIA, (15% Owned) - Strong Cats: STL, a bit of everything
Meyers Leonard, PF/C, MIA, (5% Owned) - Strong Cats: REB, 3PM
Bryn Forbes, PG/SG, SAS, (7% Owned) - Strong Cats: 3PM, PTS, FT%
Patty Mills, PG/SG, SAS, (6% Owned) - Strong Cats: 3PM, FT%
Jakob Poeltl, C, SAS, (10% Owned) - Strong Cats: BLK, FG%, REB
Trey Lyles, PF, SAS, (1% Owned) - Strong Cats: 3PM, REB
Lonnie Walker IV, SG, SAS, (2% Owned) - Strong Cats: a little bit of everything
Glenn Robinson III, SG/SF, GSW, (29% Owned) - Strong Cats: PTS, 3PM, REB, STL
Omari Spellman, PF, GSW, (9% Owned) - Strong Cats: 3PM, STL, REB, PTS
Eric Paschall, SF/PF, GSW, (26% Owned) - Strong Cats: PTS, REB, FG%, rookie factor
JaMychal Green, PF/C, LAC, (4% Owned) - Strong Cats: 3PM, REB, a bit of everything
Maurice Harkless, SF, LAC, (5% Owned) - Strong Cats: REB, BLK/STL, FG%
Landry Shamet, PG, LAC, (10% Owned) - Strong Cats: PTS, 3PM, FT%
Ivica Zubac, C, LAC, (22% Owned) - Strong Cats: REB, FG%, FT%, BLK
Donte Divincenzo, SG, MIL, (18% Owned) - Strong Cats: 3PM, STL
George Hill, PG/SG, MIL, (11% Owned) - Strong Cats: 3PM, AST, STL
Kevin Knox, SF/PF, NYK, (4% Owned) - Strong Cats: REB, 3PM
Bobby Portis, PF/C, NYK, (20% Owned) - Strong Cats: 3PM, REB, STL
Frank Ntilikina, PG/SG, NYK, (3% Owned) - Strong Cats: AST, 3PM, STL
Elfrid Payton, PG, NYK, (26% Owned) - Strong Cats: REB, AST, STL - buyer beware: poor FT%
Reggie Bullock, SG/SF, NYK, (2% Owned) - Strong Cats: 3PM, STL
Taj Gibson, PF/C, NYK, (1% Owned) - Strong Cats: FG%, REB, STL/BLK
Royce O'Neale, SF, UTA, (7% Owned) - Strong Cats: FT%, 3PM, REB, STL and plays almost 30 minutes a game
Jordan Clarkson, PG/SG, UTA, (28% Owned) - Strong Cats: PTS, 3PM
Emmanuel Mudiay, PG, UTA, (1% Owned) - Strong Cats: AST, a (very) little bit of everything - could provide some value while Mike Conley is out
I hope you guys enjoyed the article and I hope that this will help you win your matchups next week and bragging rights for the week after.
