RADIO
Fantasy basketball season is in full swing. Most of us are either fighting for playoff berth/seeding, or are already in the playoffs and are in full win-now mode.
These circumstances give streaming even more importance, as many players become expendable if they're not going to give us enough games next week. Their place can be used much more efficiently on players who are available and fit our needs or schedules better.
Here are my thoughts on the fantasy basketball streamers for Week 20.
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NBA Schedule Guide - Week 20
Here's the low-down:
Teams with 4 games:
Boston Celtics
Brooklyn Nets
Chicago Bulls
Cleveland Cavaliers
Dallas Mavericks
Houston Rockets
Indiana Pacers
Memphis Grizzlies
Miami Heat
Milwaukee Bucks
Minnesota Timberwolves
New Orleans Pelicans
New York Knicks
Oklahoma City Thunder
Orlando Magic
Portland Trail Blazers
Sacramento Kings
San Antonio Spurs
Utah Jazz
Washington Wizards
Teams with 3 games:
Atlanta Hawks
Charlotte Hornets
Denver Nuggets
Detroit Pistons
Golden State Warriors
Los Angeles Clippers
Los Angeles Lakers
Philadelphia 76ers
Phoenix Suns
Toronto Raptors
Teams with 2 games:
-
Number of teams playing each day:
Monday: 14
Tuesday: 16
Wednesday: 18
Thursday: 8
Friday: 20
Saturday: 12
Sunday: 22
Back-to-Backs (beware of older or banged-up players who might rest):
Monday/Tuesday: SAS
Tuesday/Wednesday: BOS, BKN, MIN, NOP, OKC, WAS
Wednesday/Thursday: -
Thursday/Friday: -
Friday/Saturday: ATL, MEM, POR, UTA
Saturday/Sunday: CLE, DET, HOU, SAC
Sunday/Monday the following: MIL, TOR
Days with SIX or fewer games
Thursday: 4 games
Saturday: 6 games
Teams playing on Thursday and Saturday:
Houston Rockets (4 games - Mon, Thurs, Sat, Sun)
Sacramento Kings (4 games - Tue, Thurs, Sat, Sun)
Charlotte Hornets (3 games - Tue, Thurs, Sat)
Denver Nuggets (3 games - Tue, Thurs, Sat)
Golden State Warriors (3 games - Tue, Thurs, Sat)
Philadelphia 76ers (3 games - Tue, Thurs, Sat)
Teams playing on Thursday but not on Saturday:
Los Angeles Clippers (3 games - Tue, Thurs, Sun)
Toronto Raptors (3 games - Tue, Thurs, Sun)
Teams with a GOOD START to the week (three games from Monday to Thursday)
-
Teams with a GOOD END to the week (three games from Thursday to Sunday)
Houston Rockets (4 games - Mon, Thurs, Sat, Sun)
Sacramento Kings (4 games - Tue, Thurs, Sat, Sun)
Teams with a POOR START to the week (one or no games from Monday to Thursday)
Atlanta Hawks (3 games - Mon Fri, Sat)
Detroit Pistons (3 games - Wed, Sat, Sun)
Los Angeles Lakers (3 games - Tue Fri, Sun)
Phoenix Suns (3 games - Tue Fri, Sun)
Teams with a POOR END to the week (one or no games from Thursday to Sunday)
-
Baller Streaming Strategy for Week 20
The four-game Thursday is sure to leave some empty starting spots on most fantasy teams. Saturday is the next in line with six games. Luckily, out of the eight teams that play on Thursday, six of them play on Saturday as well, so their players are good options for Week 20. However, not one of these teams play more than once from Monday to Wednesday. This leaves something to be desired when it comes to maximizing games at the start of the week.
Depending on which days you need help on, how many roster spaces you're looking to use for streaming and how many weekly acquisitions your league allows, there are several different options you can look to.
Houston and Sacramento players look to be a strong finish to the week, with three games in the last four days, two of them coming on Thursday and Saturday. We are definitely interested in them. But, is it enough for us just to bring them on at the beginning of the week and be satisfied with their four-game week with a decent schedule?
If you want more, you could take a risk and get a player who plays twice from Monday until Wednesday (or go through two players and get a game on all three days), and then swap to someone from the Rockets or the Kings on Thursday. This is a risky play as these players will be hot commodity next week, so they might already be picked up by then. But if you think your league opponents will sleep on them, this strategy would provide you with one or two extra games on the week per roster spot you use this for.
In addition to Houston and Sacramento, four other teams play on both Thursday and Saturday. These teams are Charlotte, Denver, Golden State and Philadelphia and their players could come in handy as well if you need help on these two low-game days, so we will take a look at them as well.
Streaming Options for Week 20
Shallower League Streaming Adds for the Week:
P.J. Tucker, SF/PF, HOU, (61% Owned) - Strong Cats: 3PM, STL, REB
Eric Gordon, SG/SF, HOU, (57% Owned) - Strong Cats: 3PM, PTS, FT% - buyer beware: dealing with some injury issues
Harrison Barnes, SF/PF, SAC, (68% Owned) - Strong Cats: 3PM, PTS, FT%
Nemanja Bjelica, SF/PF, SAC, (64% Owned) - Strong Cats: 3PM, REB, a bit of everything
Bogdan Bogdanovic, SG/SF, SAC, (66% Owned) - Strong Cats: 3PM, AST, STL, PTS, a bit of everything
Kent Bazemore, SG/SF, SAC, (39% Owned) - Strong Cats: 3PM, REB, STL/BLK
Harry Giles III, PF/C, SAC, (28% Owned) - Strong Cats: FG%, REB, BLK/STL, additional value while Richaun Holmes and Marvin Bagley are out
PJ Washington, SF/PF, CHA, (64% Owned) - Strong Cats: PTS, REB, STL/BLK - buyer beware: poor FT%
Will Barton, SG/SF, DEN, (77% Owned) - Strong Cats: 3PM, a bit of everything
Gary Harris, PG/SG, DEN, (40% Owned) - Strong Cats: 3PM, STL - buyer beware: just returned from injury
Jerami Grant, SF/PF, DEN, (34% Owned) - Strong Cats: 3PM, FG%, STL/BLK
Michael Porter Jr., SF, DEN, (31% Owned) - Strong Cats: 3PM, REB, STL/BLK
Paul Millsap, PF/C, DEN, (63% Owned) - Strong Cats: FG%, STL/BLK, REB
Marquese Chriss, PF/C, GSW, (55% Owned) - Strong Cats: STL/BLK, REB
Eric Paschall, SF/PF, GSW, (32% Owned) - Strong Cats: REB, PTS, a bit of everything
Damion Lee, SG, GSW (29% Owned) - Strong Cats: 3PM, PTS, FT% a bit of everything
Alec Burks, PG/SG, PHI, (28% Owned) - Strong Cats: 3PM, PTS, REB, STL, FT% - has value again with Ben Simmons out
Shallower League Add
Harry Giles III, PF/C, SAC - 28% Owned
Strong Cats: FG%, REB, BLK/STL
We are used to players who are owned in more than half the leagues in the shallower league add part of this article, but I really think that Harry deserves a shot in almost all leagues, and I would like to encourage all of you to pick him up if he checks the columns you need help in.
Giles has really exploded since the All-Star break and is averaging 13.0 PTS with no 3PM on 57.4 FG% and 64.7 FT%, 7.4 REB, 2.4 AST, 0.4 STL, 0.8 BLK and 1.0 TO in 27 minutes per game during this five-game stretch. This has him just outside the top-100. He was the 20th pick in the 2017 draft, and the reason he slipped that low was his ongoing health issue. He seems over it now and his potential is quite apparent.
Richaun Holmes and Marwin Bagley are still ways away from a return from their injuries, and with Jabari Parker seemingly out of the rotation, there isn't much standing in Harry's way to provide decent value for his owners for the foreseeable future.
If you need some big man stats and don't care about the lack of threes and a bit lower FT%, Giles is even more valuable to your team. And with such a good schedule ahead, he should definitely be on your radar, even in more shallow leagues.
Deeper League Add
Shake Milton, PG/SG, PHI - 24% Owned
Strong Cats: 3PM, PTS, AST
Shake had a nice stretch about a month ago when Josh Richardson was sidelined with an injury. Now the same has happened to Ben Simmons and Shake is, once again, coming through for the 76ers. Simmons has been out for five games (I'm counting the 5-minutes he played against Milwaukee as a missed game as well), and in that time Milton has been incredible with 13.6 PTS with 3.0 3PM on 58.5 FG% and 1.000 FT%, 2.6 REB, 3.4 AST, 0.4 STL, 0.8 BLK and 1.0 TO in 26 minutes per game. This is good enough for top-50 during the last two weeks.
This form shows no signs of stopping with him scoring 20 and 19 points with a combined nine three-pointers in his last two games, averaging over 34 minutes per game.
Now, it isn't realistic for Shake to keep this up for too long. But as long as he is performing this well he should be owned in most leagues, and should definitely be considered as a streaming option for those in need of threes, points, assists and open roster spots on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday.
Insanely Deep League Add
Monte Morris, PG, DEN - 9% Owned
Strong Cats: 3PM, PTS, AST, FT%, STL
I am shocked that Monte is owned in under 10% of the leagues. He has been returning top-100 value for the past month and has been increasingly good lately with 9.3 points with 0.7 three-pointers on 56.5% from the field and no attempts from the line, 2.7 boards, 4.7 dimes, 2.3 steals, 0.3 blocks and 0.7 turnovers in 26 minutes per outing in the three games played during the previous seven days. He is just out of the top-50 on Yahoo rankings with this form.
Morris is not too flashy, he is a reserve coming off the bench and doesn't do too much in addition to what he does well. Saying this out loud helps me digest the fact he is available in over 90% of the leagues. But he is just the kind of guy you want at the bottom of your roster if you're punting big stats for example. Especially with his recent defensive form with those juicy 2.3 steals per game.
If your team fits the above description, or Monte fits what your team needs next week, he is a good option to fill a roster spot on those scarce days and contribute with some points, assists and steals, with a three-pointer here and there and decent shooting from the charity stripe - if he gets fouled that is.
Other Deep League Options for the Week
Danuel House, SG/SF, HOU, (22% Owned) - Strong Cats: 3PM, a bit of everything
Ben McLemore, SG, HOU, (11% Owned) - Strong Cats: 3PM, a bit of STL/BLK
Austin Rivers, PG/SG, HOU, (4% Owned) - Strong Cats: 3PM, STL
Jeff Green, SG/SF, HOU, (2% Owned) - Strong Cats: 3PM, FT%
Cory Joseph, PG, SAC, (1% Owned) - Strong Cats: AST, STL, a little bit of everything
Alex Len, PF/C, SAC, (22% Owned) - Strong Cats: FG%, REB, BLK/STL, additional value while Richaun Holmes and Marvin Bagley are out
Bismack Biyombo, PF/C, CHA, (3% Owned) - Strong Cats: FG%, REB, BLK/STL
Jalen McDaniels, PF, CHA, (3% Owned) - Strong Cats: 3PM, REB, STL
Cody Martin, SF, CHA, (1% Owned) - Strong Cats: a little bit of everything but poor %s
Monte Morris, PG, DEN, (9% Owned) - Strong Cats: 3PM, PTS, AST, FT%, STL
Miles Plumlee, PF/C, DEN, (4% Owned) - Strong Cats: FG%, REB, BLK/STL
Jordan Poole, SG, GSW (4% Owned) - Strong Cats: 3PM, PTS, FT%
Juan Toscano-Anderson, SG/SF, GSW, (5% Owned) - Strong Cats: REB, STL, 3PM
Furkan Korkmaz, SG, PHI, (10% Owned) - Strong Cats: 3PM, PTS
Matisse Thybulle, SG/SF, PHI, (6% Owned) - Strong Cats: STL/BLK expert for deep leagues
Shake Milton, PG/SG, PHI, (24% Owned) - Strong Cats: 3PM, PTS, AST - has value again with Ben Simmons 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.
