Happy Thanksgiving to all the Fantasy Managers out there! While the week 7 fantasy schedule is a step back to NBA’s normal with games each day of the week, the schedule’s low nights are Tuesday and Thursday with 3 and 1 games. For that reason, streaming is an effective strategy. Another reason streaming will be effective this week is that the NBA is suffering from too many missed games. At the point of writing this, 26% of the top 100 ranked players are currently OUT or QUESTIONABLE for their next game.
This type of volatility is hard to plan for and barely manageable for some teams. See the breakdown below:
- 11 of the top 100 are currently labeled as OUT.
- 15 of the top 100 are currently labeled as Questionable.
For many managers dealing with injuries, your options are limited. Streaming and trades tend to be the best ways to mitigate production loss without sending your injured talent to the waiver wire. Let’s look at a few targets for this week and get into the weekly schedule breakdown.
Fantasy Basketball Schedule Preview
Trade Targets:
Buy Low:
- Jrue Holiday
- Christian Wood
- Terry Rozier
- Josh Giddey
Sell High:
- Kyle Lowry
- Aaron Gordon
- Jerami Grant
- Russell Westbrook
While you work the trade market, don’t forget to optimize your lineups for this week. Here is the schedule and streaming options for week 3:
This week’s schedule:
- Monday (11/28): 10 games
- Tuesday (11/29): 3 games
- Wednesday (11/30): 13 games
- Thursday (12/1): 1 game
- Friday (12/2): 11 games
- Saturday (12/3): 7 games
- Sunday (12/4): 8 games
Teams with 4 games this week:
PHO, NOR, WAS, DEN, POR, IND, UTA, HOU, LAL, BKN, CLE, BOS, TOR, ORL, SAC, CHI, NYK
Teams with 3 games this week:
DAL, OKC, MIL, MIN, MEM, DET, LAC, GSW, PHI, ATL, SAS, CHA
Teams with 2 games this week:
MIA
Streaming Options: Optimize your Streaming:
Only two teams play both Tuesday and Thursday this week, but each offer some value that could help your team. Depending on your league the players available will vary, but the players below should be available in most 12 or 14 team formats.
DALLAS MAVERICKS (TUE/THU/SAT)
- Dorian Finney-Smith (SF/PF): DFS has been surging lately and should be a streaming priority. The bonus is that he might stick as a fixture in your lineup.
- Maxi Kleber (PF): Kleber’s modest but do-it-all stat line makes for an effective streamer given his schedule this week. Kleber will contribute in threes, rebounds, and assists, with a few blocks on great percentages.
- Tim Hardaway Jr. (SG/SF): Hardaway Jr. has had a brutal 3 game stretch that is in no way worth a roster spot. However, if you think he can get hot this week, his schedule will make for a points and threes streamer. You might want to look elsewhere, though.
DETROIT PISTONS (TUE/THU/SUN)
- Alex Burks (SG): Cade Cunningham is injured, and minutes are available in Detroit. Burks should soak up a portion of these minutes and offer points, threes, and steals.
- Jalen Duren (Center): The minutes are low, but Duren still offers the typical big man stats like rebounds, FG%, blocks, and steals.
- Killian Hayes (PG): Hayes is getting big minutes and excelling in assists and steals while adding rebounds and points inconsistently. It is unclear whether Hayes takes advantage of this opportunity, but he certainly looks capable. Add him if you can and see if he stick sin your lineup long term.