For anyone who is in their early 30s (or older), this song would be familiar. Sadly, I’m giving away my age. Slim is totally not gonna be drafting me if I was a professional NBA player.
In any case, it’s the 1st week of the playoffs and where it’s either you make it to the next round, or it’s sayonara until next season. Going into the weekend, it could be do or die… as is the case for most of my teams in Razzball leagues where I hobbled into the playoff spot without Kevin Durant. So if you’re finding yourself in the similar situation of trying to get through via the band aid solution, these ideas below might help.
Let’s take it by day and some potential pick ups:
Friday
BOS @ BKN – 2nd day of b2b for BKN. If the percentages aren’t a worry for your team, Marcus Smart could be a stream candidate for stls, 3s and ot of position rebs. Those stats could be on steroids too should this end up being a blowout. If you’re in need of blks, Amir Johnson is also potential pickup. BOS also faces DAL on Sunday. Trevor Booker can be a sneaky add (his ownership is down to 57% in Yahoo) against a BOS team that gives up a lot of rebs.
MIL @ LAL – Malcolm Brogdon, Tony Snell and even John Henson are all targets. The guards for stls and 3s (and assists in the case of Brogdon, go ACC!!) and Henson for blks. On the LAL side, Larry Nance Jr. and Ivica Zubac if he’s still somehow available in your league.
HOU @ NOR – Jordan Crawford for scoring and 3s and E’Twaun Moore if you’re desperate for a lower end version of the same cats.
TOR @ DET – DeMarre Carroll has been dropped in a lot of leagues, looking for 3s and stls? He could be a cheap option.
Saturday
There are only 3 teams that play Saturday and Sunday. SAC, POR and SAS. SAS is likely the only team with a high probability of resting guys due to the b2b. The problem is, does Pop decide to rest guys on Saturday @ MEM or Sunday vs SAC or maybe 1-2 on each game. That’s the dilemma there if you’re looking to speculate on a decent pickup.
SAC @ OKC – Buddy Hield and any other SG that’s available I suppose if Tyreke Evans is still a DNP. I don’t watch nor follow enough SAC games to frankly care.
HOU @ DEN – Jamal Murray for some stls and maybe scoring/3s as well.
MIL @ GSW – 2nd night of b2b for MIL. Same MIL targets above minus Henson. Andre Iguodala possibly for some defensive cats against the MIL wings.
UTA @ CHI – Rodney Hood left yesterday’s game due to right knee soreness and if he misses the rest of the week, I like Joe Ingles for some all around contribution.
Sunday
CLE @ LAL – J.R. Smith and Channing Frye are decent targets for scoring and 3s against a team that is looking to not decrease its chances of keeping the protected top 3 draft pick.
BOS @ PHI – Same BOS players mentioned above. Will add Jaylen Brown to the mix if looking for a sprinkle of 3s and rebs due to the blowout potential. If Richaun Holmes is still available, I like him vs the Celts.
PHO @ DET – If assists is a battle, Ish Smith and/or Tyler Ulis are worth the gamble. Heck if it’s potentially your last moves for the season, you gotta go for it.
DAL @ BKN – J.J Barea is back. Similar to above, if looking for assists, he’s a target. So is Yogi Ferrell. I’ll side with the former for assists assuming he’s playing. Yogi if looking for 3s.
SAC @ SAS – Depending on who may (or may not) be rested, those SAS bigs that typically come off the bench, David Lee and/or Dewayne Dedmon are targets depending on the big men cats you’re team is looking for.
That wraps it up for the 1st week of the fantasy playoffs. Good luck to everyone!
