Welcome to your midweek guidance for Week 16! In this post, I look for widely available streaming options who can help you increase the odds of winning your head-to-head matchup. Undoubtedly, there are several of you who are locked in battles for playoff seeds and/or bye weeks as most fantasy leagues reach their terminal phase. I will do my best to find you players who meet your categorical needs!
Before I get into the recommendations, a word on the fluid Pacer big man situation: Myles Turner is not likely to return within the next two weeks, and Domantas Sabonis is likely two or more games away as he works through COVID-19 protocols. We’ve witnessed a revolving door of stream-worthy backup bigs that initially featured Goga Bitadze. He quickly suffered a foot injury that opened up opportunities for Isaiah Jackson, who left Wednesday’s game after 22 seconds due to an ankle sprain. Enter Terry Taylor, who stepped up to score 24 points and grab 16 rebounds in 37 minutes. All that to say, it’s difficult to tell who will be in the mix in the Pacers frontcourt from game to game, so watch the Indiana injury report leading up to Friday night.
The Hawks, Bulls, and Pistons play the maximum three games to close out the week, while the Warriors, Knicks, and Wizards play only one more contest. Here are the players I’m watching and adding to close out the week.
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Three Category Contributors
- Otto Porter Jr. (Threes, Rebounds, Steals): His ownership levels dipped after he missed the first two games of the week, and he’s questionable for tonight as of this writing. However, in the 10 games he’s played since Draymond Green departed the pattern, Porter is registering as a top 50 player on the back of 1.6 threes, 6.1 rebounds, and 1.4 steals per outing. If you can afford to ride out the paltry end-of-week schedule and any additional load management, he’s a strong pickup (Plays Thurs).
- Amir Coffey (Points, Threes, FT%): Last week’s leading man had his ups and downs as the Clippers continue to shuffle an inordinate amount of wings through their rotation. Despite this congestion, Coffey managed 27 points, 5 threes, 5 rebounds, 4 assists, 1 steal, and 1 block on Monday against the Pacers (Plays Thurs, Sun).
- Javonte Green (Steals, Blocks, FG%): A slew of injuries propelled Green to useful playing time over the past five games, and he rewarded managers with averages 1.2 steals and 0.8 blocks in 24 minutes. The Bulls play a fantasy-friendly schedule to close out the week, so more stocks are on the menu (Plays Thurs, Fri, Sun).
Two Category Contributors
- Mason Plumlee (Rebounds, Assists): Proceed with caution if FT% could be a decisive factor in your matchup (34% on 2.2 attempts this season). Aside from that, Plumlee is rounding into rebounding and passing form over his past seven games with averages of 10.6 boards and 3.6 assists (Plays Fri, Sat).
- Maxi Kleber (Threes, Blocks): Kleber is a smart add when Kristaps Porzingis gets hurt due to the rare combination of threes and blocks that he provides. His low-usage style lends itself to some underwhelming nights, but he’s typically good for two treys and a block regardless of the circumstances (Plays Fri, Sun).
- Kevon Looney (Rebounds, Blocks): He’s on a rebounding tear of late, averaging 13.7 boards in his last three contests. Expect him to continue hoovering them up as long as Draymond is out (Plays Thurs).
- Kevin Huerter (Threes, Assists): Monday’s 26-point outburst was an outlier helped by Trae Young’s absence. Even so, if Young plays both games in the Hawk’s upcoming back-to-back set, Huerter is still a serviceable streamer on the strength of his season averages of 1.8 threes and 2.8 dimes (Plays Thurs, Fri, Sun).
- Tre Mann (Threes, Steals): Prior to Wednesday’s 29 point performance, Mann started two games in place of the injured Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, hitting a total of five threes and collecting five steals in those outings. The starting job appears to be his to lose for now, so he’s at least one to watch if you’re not convinced by his big game against the Mavs (Plays Fri, Sat).
- PJ Tucker (Threes, Steals): We discussed PJ’s 46.8% mark from three in Son’s latest pod. He’s as reliable as they come for three and D (Plays Thurs, Sat).
- Kentavious Caldwell-Pope (Threes, Steals): Bradley Beal is likely to miss a few games with a wrist injury, opening up increased shot attempts for KCP (Plays Sat).
One Category Contributors
- Garrison Mathews (Threes): Consistency is the biggest concern when adding Mathews. He seems to have hit his stride over the past seven games though, as evidenced by the 3.1 threes per game over that span (Plays Fri, Sun).
- Reggie Bullock (Threes): Tim Hardaway Jr.’s injury opened up rotation minutes for Bullock to return value akin to what he produced in last year’s campaign with the Knicks (Plays Fri, Sun).
- Trendon Watford (Blocks) / CJ Elleby (Steals): This pair of Blazers should receive more playing time in the wake of long-term injuries to Nassir Little and Cody Zeller. The early returns indicate that both can at least be a source of defensive stats for deep league managers (Play Fri, Sat).
Hit me up in the comments with any questions or feedback. Best of luck!
