Welcome to your midweek guidance for Week 18! If you’re reading this now, you’re contending for a championship. Congrats on making it this far. Now it’s time to get the chip!
In many leagues, the non-contending managers are likely asleep at the switch, which may subdue the usual waiver wire feeding frenzy at the end of each week. If that’s not the case, however, I’ve compiled a longer-than-usual list of streaming targets to tide you over until the next round.
The blurbs will be shorter this week. Though there may be some guys that you hang onto going into the next round, I’m focusing exclusively on streaming rather than mid-to-long-term holds due to where we are in the season. That being said, it pays to be ruthless at this stage. If you have a player like Collin Sexton, who is missing games with no definitive return date during your playoffs, it may be best to cut him loose and stream the spot if you’re in a tight one. The four games that you can pick up from that spot should make up for losing a top 80 guy if you play it right.
The following list is divided into players who can help you in four, three, or two categories. Everyone listed below is rostered in 50% or less of ESPN and/or Yahoo leagues.
Four Category Contributors
- Isaiah Roby (Rebounds, Steals, Blocks, FG%): The Thunder appear intent on developing him down the stretch, so he may be immune to the resting that’s going on across the rest of the roster (cue announcement that he’s sitting tonight). In addition to the stat categories I’ve highlighted, he’s shown the ability to hit a three and get a couple of dimes in recent games (Plays Thurs, Sat, & Sun).
- Facundo Campazzo (Threes, Assists, Steals, FT%): He’s settling into his starting role and starting to reward his managers with strong numbers. This should remain the case as long as both Will Barton and Monte Morris remain out (Plays Thurs & Sat).
Three Category Contributors
- Luguentz Dort (Points, Threes, Steals): Let this serve as your weekly reminder that the Thunder are tanking, so the three games left for OKC this week may turn into two for individual players (or one, who knows?). Hedge accordingly by checking the injury report and ensuring you have enough additional waiver wire adds remaining in case he sits one end of the back-to-back (Plays Thurs, Sat, & Sun).
- Darius Bazley (Points, Threes, Rebounds): He’s been scooped up in an increasing number of leagues, but Bazley appears to have finally figured out some of the efficiency issues that hurt him early on (Plays Thurs, Sat, & Sun).
- Cedi Osman (Threes, Assists, Steals): The recent streak of efficiency shouldn’t be trusted, but he’s filling in nicely for the injured Collin Sexton (concussion protocol) (Plays Fri & Sat).
- Saddiq Bey (Threes, Steals, FT%): Four Pistons rotation players are out tonight against the Mavs, which should open up additional looks for Bey (Plays Thurs & Sat).
- Dorian Finney-Smith (Threes, Rebounds, Steals): He keeps popping up with a questionable tag prior to games, but he’s played with the injury over the previous four games while averaging 13.5 points, 2.8 threes, 6.3 rebounds, and 1.8 steals (Plays Thurs, Sat, & Sun).
- Oshae Brisset (Threes, Rebounds, Blocks): It remains to be seen how much of his stellar play (13.7 points, 2.2 threes, 7.8 rebounds, 1.7 blocks over the previous six games) can be attributed to injuries in the Pacer frontcourt, but the wave is worth riding until other bigs return to game action (Plays Thurs & Sat).
- Khem Birch (Rebounds, Blocks, FG%): He’s starting and playing north of 30 minutes on a nightly basis. The weird regression in FG% that plagued him throughout the season appears to have finally reversed itself (Plays Thurs, Sat, & Sun).
- Isaiah Stewart (Rebounds, Blocks, FG%): No Mason Plumlee for Thursday night means Stewart is a high-quality stream target (Plays Thurs & Sat).
- Mo Bamba (Threes, Rebounds, Blocks): Is it happening? With Wendell Carter Jr. banged up and the Magic out of the playoff race, maybe we’ll see more of those 24 minute nights for Mo. He should be rostered everywhere if that happens (Plays Fri & Sat).
- Daniel Gafford (Rebounds, Blocks, FG%): The playing time is all over the place, but he is very consistent in his categorical strengths. Scotty Brooks, play the man! (Plays Fri & Sat)
- Bobby Portis (Points, Rebounds, FG%): Portis is more of a player to watch over the next four days, as we typically see a few Giannis rest days during this phase of the season. Keep an eye on him over the back-to-back (Plays Thurs, Fri, & Sun).
Two Category Contributors
- Killian Hayes (Assists, Steals): Killian should get an opportunity to shine as the starter on Thursday (Plays Thurs & Sat).
- Landry Shamet (Threes, FT%): The three-point production dipped over the last three games, but Shamet continues to start and get the looks (Plays Thurs, Fri, & Sun).
- Ty Jerome (Threes, Assists): The FG% suspiciously high in his current mini-run, but Jerome is cutting into Theo Maledon’s minutes and is less likely to rest games than other rotation players for the Thunder (Plays Thurs, Sat, & Sun).
- Theo Maledon (Threes, Assists): He is ceding minutes to Jerome in the rotation, so it’s difficult to gauge which player will be more valuable the rest of the week. The current trend suggests Jerome is the add, but Maledon remains an option (Plays Thurs, Sat, & Sun).
- Patty Mills (Points, Threes): Derrick White’s potentially season-ending ankle injury is the latest news to shake things up. The early returns weren’t great for Mills regarding minutes played, but watch to see if he turns things around on Friday. He could be a boon to your three-pointers on Sunday if you go down to the wire (Plays Fri & Sun).
- Gary Harris (Points, Steals): Two of our legacy fantasy favorites, Gary Harris and Otto Porter Jr., are on the same roster in Orlando. Unfortunately, Otto is a lost cause for the season, but Gary is showing signs of life over the previous two games (Plays Fri & Sat).
- Trey Burke (Points, Threes): There’s a slew of questionable tags before every Mavs outing, so monitor the status of their starting backcourt to determine if Burke is worth streaming (Plays Thurs, Sat, & Sun).
- Jalen Brunson (Points, Assists): See Trey Burke blurb^ (Plays Thurs, Sat, & Sun).
- Willy Hernangomez (Rebounds, FG%): Steven Adams is currently doubtful to play Thursday night, so Hernangomez could be unleashed to put up solid big man stats (Plays Thurs & Sat).
- Jeff Green (Points, FT%): Kevin Durant’s return hasn’t hindered Green’s ability to score. Points are a difficult category to find on most waiver wires, so getting Green for three games could be a difference-maker in many matchups (Plays Thurs, Fri, & Sun).
Hit me up in the comments if you have any questions or want feedback. Best of luck!
