Most fantasy NBA leagues are in the midst of the playoffs. Players' schedules have never been more important as every game played can mean the difference between greatness and shame.
This is the time when even players with decent fantasy value become expendable if their teams have poor schedules, and that is why streaming is at it's finest during this time of the year with everything on the line
If you're looking for some options to help you get that W next week you're in the right place! Here are our fantasy basketball streamers for Week 23.
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NBA Schedule Guide - Week 23
Another pretty evened out week, just like the previous one, with no days having fewer than six, nor more than nine games played.
The absolute all-stars next week will be the Warriors with five games. Their players will be our primary focus, with a few other options from teams playing four games in total, but two on days with six games - Tuesday and Thursday.
Here's the low-down:
Teams with 5 games:
Golden State Warriors
Teams with 4 games:
Boston Celtics
Charlotte Hornets
Cleveland Cavaliers
Dallas Mavericks
Denver Nuggets
Detroit Pistons
Houston Rockets
Indiana Pacers
Miami Heat
Milwaukee Bucks
New York Knicks
Sacramento Kings
San Antonio Spurs
Toronto Raptors
Utah Jazz
Washington Wizards
Teams with 3 games:
Atlanta Hawks
Chicago Bulls
Los Angeles Clippers
Los Angeles Lakers
Memphis Grizzlies
Minnesota Timberwolves
New Orleans Pelicans
Oklahoma City Thunder
Philadelphia 76ers
Phoenix Suns
Portland Trail Blazers
Teams with 2 games:
Brooklyn Nets
Orlando Magic
Number of teams playing each day:
Monday: 18
Tuesday: 12
Wednesday: 18
Thursday: 12
Friday: 14
Saturday: 16
Sunday: 16
Back-to-Backs (beware of older or banged up players who might rest):
Monday/Tuesday: GSW, IND
Tuesday/Wednesday: HOU, MIL, PHI
Wednesday/Thursday: DAL, UTA, WAS
Thursday/Friday: DEN
Friday/Saturday: MEM, MIA
Saturday/Sunday: BOS, CHA, DET, GSW, SAC
Sunday/Monday the following: -
Days with six or fewer games
Tuesday: 6 games
Thursday: 6 games
Teams playing on Tue/Thurs:
Golden State Warriors (5 games - Mon, Tues, Thurs, Sat, Sun)
Charlotte Hornets (4 games - Tues, Thurs, Sat, Sun)
Indiana Pacers (4 games - Mon, Tue, Thurs, Sun)
Sacramento Kings (4 games - Tue, Thurs, Sat, Sun)
Atlanta Hawks (3 games - Tue, Thurs, Sat)
Minnesota Timberwolves (3 games - Tue, Thurs, Sat)
Teams playing three games over the start of the week (from Monday to Thursday)
Golden State Warriors
Indiana Pacers
Teams playing three games over the weekend (from Thursday to Sunday)
Golden State Warriors
Charlotte Hornets
Denver Nuggets (4 games - Mon, Thurs, Fri, Sun)
Detroit Pistons (4 games - Mon, Thurs, Sat, Sun)
Sacramento Kings
Baller Streaming Strategy for Week 23
If there are any players from Golden State that get any playing time still left on your waiver wire - pick them up! NOW!
The Warriors have a five-game week including games on both Tuesday and Thursday, the two scarcest of days with six games apiece. Along with them, Charlotte, Indiana, and Sacramento all have four games next week and play on both these days, so their players are decent options as well. Atlanta and Minnesota also play on both Tuesday and Thursday, but only have one other game next week. We will take a glance at their guys as well.
Streaming Options for the Week
Shallower League Streaming Adds for the Week:
Jeremy Lamb, SG/SF, CHA, (75% Owned) - Strong Cats: PTS, 3PM, FT%, REB, STL
Marvin Williams, SF/PF, CHA, (52% Owned) - Strong Cats: 3PM, REB, STL/BLK
Nicolas Batum, SG/SF, CHA, (77% Owned) - Strong Cats: 3PM, FT%, REB, a bit of everything
Bojan Bogdanovic, SG/SF, IND, (79% Owned) - Strong Cats: 3PM, PTS, FT%
Darren Collison, PG, IND, (85% Owned) - Strong Cats: AST, STL, FT%, a bit of everything
Thaddeus Young, SF/PF, IND, (82% Owned) - Strong Cats: STL, REB, FG%
Domantas Sabonis, PF, IND, (80% Owned) - Strong Cats: STL, REB, FG%, PTS
Wesley Matthews, SF/PF, IND, (34% Owned) - Strong Cats: 3PM, PTS, STL
Bogdan Bogdanovic, SG/SF, SAC, (73% Owned) - Strong Cats: 3PM, FT%, PTS, STL, a bit of everything
Nemanja Bjelica, PF, SAC, (25% Owned) - Strong Cats: 3PM, REB, STL/BLK
Marvin Bagley III, PF, SAC, (72% Owned)-Strong Cats: FG%, REB, STL/BLK, PTS
Dario Saric, PF/C, MIN, (51% Owned) - Strong Cats: REB, 3PM, FT%, PTS
Taj Gibson, PF/C, MIN, (41% Owned)- Strong Cats: REB, FG%, STL/BLK
Alex Len, PF/C, ATL, (29% Owned) - Strong Cats: FG%, REB, BLK
Taurean Prince, SG/SF, ATL, (66% Owned) - Strong Cats: 3PM, FT%, STL, a bit of everything
Kevin Huerter, SG, ATL, (27% Owned) - Strong Cats: 3PM, STL, PTS
Dewayne Dedmon, PF/C, ATL, (67% Owned) - Strong Cats: FG%, REB, STL/BLK, 3PM
Kent Bazemore, PF, ATL, (40% Owned) - Strong Cats: 3PM, PTS, STL
Shallower League Add
Marvin Bagley III, PF, SAC, (72% Owned)-Strong Cats: FG%, REB, STL/BLK, PTS
The #2 overall pick from the previous draft is back from his injury and has played very well, scoring 14+ points in both games despite not eclipsing the 20-minute mark.
Bagley has really picked it up before his injury and is ranked just outside the top-50 in the previous month with averages of 18.3 PTS with 0.5 3PM on 48.7 FG% and 77.5 FT%, 8.7 REB, 1.2 AST, 0.8 STL, 0.8 BLK and 1.0 TO in 27 minutes per game. If he gets his playing time back up to around 30 minutes there is little doubt he will be the destroyer of fantasy dreams for his owners' rivals.
In the off chance he is still left on your waiver wire, I would suggest you go pick him up before your opponent does.
Deeper League Add
Frank Kaminsky, PF/C, CHA (8% Owned) - Strong Cats: 3PM, FT%, PTS, REB
Frank the Tank has came out of nowhere recently and is putting up some decent numbers in the last 14 days with averages 12.6 PTS with 1.9 3PM on 50.0 FG% and 82.4 FT%, with 4.4 REB, 1.3 AST, 0.0 STL, 0.1 BLK and 1.4 TO in 20 minutes per game.
He is not going to help you with blocks or steals, but his efficient shooting of late and those threes, points and boards can decide your next week's matchup.
With Cody Zeller also having some injury woes, Frank could pick up even more minutes and is worth a look in very deep leagues for his nice schedule next week.
Insanely Deep League Add
Andre Iguodala, SG/SF, GSW, (7% Owned) - Strong Cats: REB, AST, STL/BLK
Iggy is the pick purely because of the Warriors having a five-game week, and the fact that Kevin Durant is currently battling an injury, which would open even more space for him.
Igoudala fills every stat column and can be very useful for most fantasy teams. His season averages are 5.9 PTS with 0.8 3PM on 50.0 FT% and 59.4 FT%, 3.8 REB, 3.2 AST, 0.9 STL, 0.8 BLK and 0.7 TO in 24 minutes per outing. Such lines are what you can expect from him next week as well. Multiply that with five and that is a decent contribution to any fantasy team.
Just beware for a possible rest day on those back to backs. Andre is 35 years old, you know.
When Kevin Love, Tristan Thompson, and Larry Nance Jr. are all healthy, there isn't much room for Zizic.
But Tristan has been out for some time now, and with the Cavs officially out of playoff contention he certainly will not be rushed back. Larry has picked up a chest injury and did not return to Clevelands previous game. His status is still unclear but he could end up missing time. And Love has a long injury history as well so he might see his minutes reduced and an occasional rest day the rest of the way.
All this is wonderful news for Ante's minutes. With Marquese Chriss as his only other competition, he is in with a pretty good chance of getting an increased opportunity in this situation.
If you need some big-man stats at the beginning of the week, Zizic could prove quite helpful for all deep league teams.
Other Deep League Options for the Week
Andre Iguodala, SG/SF, GSW, (7% Owned) - Strong Cats: REB, AST, STL/BLK
Kevon Looney, PF/C, GSW, (4% Owned) - Strong Cats: BLK, REB, FG%
Shaun Livingston, PG/SG, GSW, (1% Owned) - Strong Cats: AST, STL
Dwayne Bacon, SG, CHA (0% Owned) - Strong Cats: 3PM, FT%, PTS
Miles Bridges, SG, CHA (4% Owned) - Strong Cats: REB, STL/BLK
Frank Kaminsky, PF/C, CHA (8% Owned) - Strong Cats: 3PM, FT%, PTS, REB
Tony Parker, PG, CHA, (2% Owned) - Strong Cats: AST, PTS
Cody Zeller, PF/C, CHA, (21% Owned) - Strong Cats: REB, BLK, FG% - buyer beware: missed his last game due to injury, it's not clear how much time he will miss
Bismack Biyombo, PF/C, CHA, (1% Owned) - Strong Cats: REB, BLK, FG% - buyer beware: only has value if Cody Zeller misses time with his injury
Willy Hernangomez, C, CHA, (2% Owned) - Strong Cats: REB - buyer beware: only has value if Cody Zeller misses time with his injury
Doug McDermott, SF, IND, (1% Owned) - Strong Cats: 3PM, FT%
Cory Joseph, PG, IND, (8% Owned) - Strong Cats: STL, AST, 3PM
Harry Giles, PF/C, SAC, (9% Owned) - Strong Cats: REB, FG%
Corey Brewer, SF, SAC, (0% Owned) -Strong Cats: STL, a tiny bit of everything
DeAndre' Bembry, SF, ATL, (4% Owned) - Strong Cats: STL, REB
Omari Spellman, PF, ATL, (1% Owned) - Strong Cats: 3PM, REB, STL/BLK
Tyus Jones, PG, MIN, (15% Owned) - Strong Cats: FT%, AST, STL
Josh Okogie, SG, MIN, (2% Owned) - Strong Cats: STL/BLK
Anthony Tolliver, SF/PF, MIN, (1% Owned) - Strong Cats: 3PM, REB
Keita Bates-Diop, SF, MIN, (1% Owned) - Strong Cats: REB, BLK/STL, PTS
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.