Welcome to your midweek guidance for week four! My focus is on giving you the best streaming suggestions as we approach winning time in H2H matchups. Fantasy hoops matchups are won on the margins. Unless you drafted flawlessly, you’re going to have to outmaneuver your opponent via waiver wire adds in competitive leagues. Fortunately for you, I’m here to take on some of the research burden. I trawl through the NBA schedule on a weekly basis and identify the teams and players who give you the best chance of success in various categories. Let’s get into it!
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If you’re limited on roster additions, avoid streaming players from the teams with only one game remaining this week: Mavericks, Knicks, Magic, Kings, Wizards.
The Clippers are the only squad with three remaining games. They’re solidly represented in this post as a result.
The following teams have games on both low-volume game days (Thurs, Sat): Pacers, Clippers, Heat, Sixers, Raptors, Jazz.
Here are my streaming recommendations as we head toward the end of weekly matchups:
Four Category Contributor
- Thaddeus Young (Rebounds, Assists, Steals, FG%): Our first four category contributor this season! I’d left Thad for dead when he didn’t crack the rotation at the start of the campaign, but the Jakob Poeltl absence is giving Young his first real opportunity with the Spurs. He’s been a top 50 player over the past week. Poeltl may return on Sunday, so we may only see one more solid workload for Thad this week (Plays Fri, Sun).
Three Category Contributor
- Royce O’Neale (Threes, Rebounds, Steals): Steady as they come. He gets overlooked due to the lack of scoring, but he put up top 80 numbers over the past two weeks on the strength of 1.4 threes, 5 rebounds, and 1.9 steals per game. For the third consecutive week, the Jazz play a very stream-friendly schedule to close out the matchup (Plays Thurs, Sat).
- Drew Eubanks (Rebounds, Blocks, FG%): Another beneficiary of Poeltl’s quarantine, Eubanks fits the big man stat mold (18 points and 6 rebounds on Wednesday). He’s good to go another 24+ minutes on Friday but might be a drop for Sunday depending on Poeltl’s status (Plays Fri, Sun).
Two Category Contributors
- Terance Mann (Rebounds, Steals): Mann had a string of double-digit scoring performances before crashing on Tuesday. When it comes to Mann, however, the offense is simply a side dish. He has a very Josh Hart-esque fantasy profile, so expect the boards and steals with some production in threes and assists (Plays Thurs, Sat, Sun).
- Eric Bledsoe (Assists, Steals): There was a time when we were drafting this guy in the third round. Oh, the ravages of time and injuries! I won’t despair too much, because it looks like the steals are back for now (1.9/game). He’s a great streaming option for the Clippers’ three games on low-volume game days (Plays Thurs, Sat, Sun).
- Shake Milton (Points, Assists): Danny Green is back, and as of this writing, Tobias Harris and Seth Curry are questionable for Thursday. That being said, we are approaching the end of the line for holding Shake, Furkan, and Niang in 12-team leagues. If Milton garners another 30+ minutes, he’ll help fill the offensive vacuum left by the smoking hole that was the Sixers’ starting lineup (Plays Thurs, Sat).
- Josh Richardson (Threes, Steals): In the two Celtics games since Jaylen Brown went down with a hammy, RichardSON played 31 and 33 minutes. He even turned back the clock with a block in each game (Plays Fri, Sat).
- Nemanja Bjelica (Threes, Rebounds): Draymond Green exited last night’s game early and is questionable for Friday. When Bjelica received 27 MPG with the Kings in 2019-20, he averaged 11.5 points, 1.8 threes, 6.4 rebounds, and 2.8 assists. With that in mind, keep an eye on Dray’s status heading into the weekend (Plays Fri, Sun).
One Category Contributors
- Patrick Beverley (Assists): He’s in the starting lineup for now, giving him 12-team value. Shot blocking is the most underrated aspect of his game (Plays Fri, Sat).
- Furkan Korkmaz (Threes): Aside from letting it fly from deep, Korkmaz is capable of contributing those hard-to-find assists (2.9/game). The dimes are hard to rely upon, however. Seth Curry’s status is the biggest variable impacting Furkan at this stage, as he may drop below 20 MPG when the Sixers’ backcourt rotation is full up (Plays Thurs, Sat).
- Georges Niang (Threes): Tobias Harris is the guy to watch heading into Thursday night. If he’s out again, Niang is an option. He presents a similar fantasy profile to Korkmaz with fewer assist opportunities (Plays Thurs, Sat).
- Luke Kennard (Threes): I apparently cursed Kennard by speculating that he may sustain top 100 value this season. He averaged under ten points in the three games since then. The silver lining is that he also averaged three 3s in that span, so he’s a sniper with a fantasy-friendly schedule (Plays Thurs, Sat, Sun).
- Gary Payton II (Steals): Glove Jr. is a chip off the ol’ block on the defensive end, averaging 2.4 steals per game over his last five contests. Steals specialists can be difficult to rely on, especially for players who don’t play significant minutes. At the very least, he’s a great option for deeper leagues (Plays Fri, Sun).
- Devin Vassell (Steals): Vassell is quietly hanging in the top 100 this season for nine-category formats. The 1.3 steals per game are the highlight, but he adds 11.6 points and 1.8 threes as well (Plays Fri, Sun).
- Darius Bazley (Rebounds): He’s hit his stride, though it’s a fairly underwhelming stride. Still, he provides some blocks and threes to go along with 6.8 rebounds per game. If you’re in a tight battle for shooting percentages, I’d look elsewhere (Plays Fri, Sun).
Hit me up below with any comments or questions. Best of luck!
