One of the skills I feel is very important for every aspect of life is the ability to apply knowledge or skills from one aspect of life to another. That is one of the reasons I so often discuss dating or poker or my job search in my fantasy articles. There is always a lesson to be learned that can make us better fantasy players.

I try to do the opposite, as well. Playing fantasy basketball has taught me a lot about crunching numbers, negotiating with people and the importance of positive thinking following a slow start.

One of the things I have learned over the years in fantasy is you cannot keep doing the same thing week after week and expect the same results. Eventually the rest of the league will catch up to you. The first few weeks of the season I tried to use this column to identify the worst teams in the league and steer you in the direction of players who can take advantage of those teams. There is certainly nothing wrong with that, but it is a bit shortsighted. After all, there is more value to be had. This week I have tried to mix in some recommendations of players who have a favorable schedule in one particular area. After all, one player who faces a string of poor rebounding teams or teams who turn the ball over can be enough to swing a fantasy basketball season, especially in head-to-head leagues. The players below are my recommendations for the next week, from November 24 to December 1.

Aaron Brooks, Chicago Bulls (Road vs. Jazz, Road vs. Nuggets, Road vs. Celtics, Road vs. Nets) This is a bit dependent on Derrick Rose’s health, and I will have more on his status in my injury article Saturday. Brooks could be worth a pickup whether Rose plays or not, because this schedule is very good. All four opponents are among the bottom ten in the NBA in defensive efficiency. The Celtics and Nuggets are also tied for third in pace. Brooks and his teammates should get up a lot of quality shots this week.

DeMarre Carroll, Atlanta Hawks (Road vs. Wizards, Home vs. Raptors, Home vs. Pelicans, Home vs. Hornets) Carroll is ninth among small forwards in rebounds per game, and his Hawks have four consecutive games against teams in the bottom half of the league in rebound rate. It also does not hurt that three of those four games are at home.

Miles Plumlee, Phoenix Suns (Road vs. Raptors, Home vs. Nuggets, Road vs. Nuggets, Home vs. Magic) My feelings about the Nuggets are well documented, and the Raptors and Magic are just average fantasy matchups. Alex Len is a nice alternative if Plumlee is owned in your league. Both players provide rebounds and blocks.

Devin Harris, Dallas Mavericks (Home vs. Pacers, Home vs. Knicks, Road vs. Raptors, Road vs. 76ers) Dallas’s point guard situation will become even more muddied when Raymond Felton returns from his suspension against the Pacers, but Harris could be useful even with Felton back. The Pacers, Knicks and 76ers are all in the bottom half of the league in turnover ratio, and Harris leads the Mavericks with 1.3 steals per game.

Patrick Patterson, Toronto Raptors (Home vs. Phoenix, Road vs. Hawks, Home vs. Mavericks, Road vs. Lakers) Patterson may be worth a pickup anyway based upon the injury to James Johnson—more on that in Saturday’s injury article—but if you are on the fence, his upcoming schedule should put you over it. We know the Lakers do not play defense, but the Hawks are actually one of the worst teams in the league against opposing power forwards. How else do you explain Carlos Boozer’s 20 and 10 performance against them Tuesday?

As we go forward I will try to continue to identify favorable overall matchups as well as favorable schedules for one or two categories. As always your feedback is welcome. Please let me know in the comments below or on Twitter what you want to get out of the schedule article each week. Another thing I have learned over the years: give the people what they want. Maybe if I was better at it I would not be single.