We get our first two-game week of the season, but everybody else gets three or four games. Some interesting trends emerged across the league during its first full week, and after Week 2, we should have a better idea of which ones are for real. I feel like now is a good time to get a bit more aggressive in dropping underperforming players and trying to take advantage of fringe fantasy players with more appealing schedules. With that in mind, let’s take a look at the week ahead for all 30 NBA teams.
Atlanta Hawks (@PHI, HOU, @CLE): Atlanta has always played Cleveland tough in the regular season, and I have a feeling that will continue even though this Atlanta team is a shell of its former self. Marco Belinelli is up to 29.3 minutes per game over the last week, and he should remain fantasy relevant for as long as his playing time stays up.
Boston Celtics (SA, SAC, @OKC, ORL): The Celtics get four games with no back-to-backs, but the real story here is the likely return of Marcus Morris against Sacramento. Jayson Tatum has thrived in his rookie year stepping in for Gordon Hayward, but his 17.8 percent usage rate will almost certainly come down with Marcus Smart and Marcus Morris back in the fold. Brad Stevens’s rotation bears watching this week, and it might not be a bad idea to try to sell high on Tatum before Wednesday.
Brooklyn Nets (PHO, LAL): Fantasy players in weekly leagues could have some awfully difficult decisions regarding the Nets. Brooklyn is the only team in the NBA with fewer than three games this week, but that is where the bad news ends. Both games are at home, and the Nets are the only team in the NBA playing at a faster pace than the Suns and Lakers this season.Both of these games figure to be high scoring; it is just a shame there are only two of them.
Charlotte Hornets (@MEM, MIL, @SA, @MIN): This week will be a real test of whether Frank Kaminsky and Dwight Howard can be useful for fantasy, but I don’t think I am going to wait around to find out. With Cody Zeller returning Sunday, both Kaminsky and Howard could see a decrease in minutes and touches. Even if Zeller remained out, I’m not sure I would want to use any Hornets against Memphis or San Antonio, except for Kemba Walker. It is best to take a wait-and-see approach with this team, at least until they travel to Minnesota.
Chicago Bulls (@MIA, @ORL, NO): The problem with really bad teams for fantasy is you often get a bunch of young guys who aren’t very good who all split minutes. Thanks to Bobby Portis’s anger issues and Kris Dunn’s finger, the Bulls have featured five players who aren’t very good (and Lauri Markkanen) who were all playing 26.3 minutes per game or more.
Cleveland Cavaliers (IND, @WAS, ATL): This would have been a very tough schedule six months ago, but much has changed since then. The Pacers are seventh in the NBA in pace and only Minnesota has a worse defensive rating. Atlanta is surrendering 32.8 three point attempts per game, which it has always done, but they no longer have the savvy veterans and mobile bigs to challenge those shots as they once did. For their part, the Wizards are allowing 110.4 points per game. Derrick Rose and Dwyane Wade could be worth starting, assuming they are healthy and Jeff Green could continue his early-season trend of putting up impressive numbers against terrible defenses.
Dallas Mavericks (@UTA, @LAC, NO, @MIN): The lineup of Harrison Barnes, Wesley Matthews, Nerlens Noel, Dirk Nowitzki and Dennis Smith Jr. has played together for 24 minutes with a net rating of 22.3. The Mavs have an overall net rating of -10.3. That lineup should match up relatively well against Dallas’s four opponents this week, and if you own any of them, they should probably be in your lineup. If that lineup doesn’t get more run this week, it may be time to cut bait with Dirk and possibly even Wesley Matthews.
Denver Nuggets (@NY, TOR, MIA, GS): Only the Rockets and Warriors scored more points at home than the Nuggets last season, so getting four games and three at home is pretty much a best-case scenario for Denver. The Nuggets have started out slowly literally (they have the sixth-slowest pace in the league after they were seventh-fastest last season) and figuratively (They are 22nd in offensive rating). If things don’t get better after this week, It may be time to cut guys like Wilson Chandler.
Detroit Pistons (@LAL, MIN, SAC): The Kings and Timberwolves are allowing more than 107.0 points per 100 possessions, while the Lakers are playing at the fourth-highest pace in the NBA. In total, this is a pretty favorable schedule even though they have just three games, including a home back-to-back.
Golden State Warriors (@LAC, @SA, @DEN): These teams rank first, sixth and 10th in fewest points allowed this season, but it is unclear if that matters against Golden State, who still leads the league in points per game. It will be interesting to see if Warriors-Clippers has the same juice with Chris Paul in Houston, or if San Antonio can slow Golden State down if Kawhi Leonard remains out.
Houston Rockets (PHI, @NY, @ATL, UTA): The Mavericks, Knicks and Hawks are all in the top nine in three point attempts allowed. No team has attempted more threes than the Rockets this season, and only the Warriors have made more. Houston is 5-1 despite owning the fifth-lowest three-point percentage in the NBA. It is scary to think about how good they will be if they start knocking down shots, which could be as soon as this week.
Indiana Pacers (SAC, @CLE, @PHI, @NY): Even when he is out, this team revolves around Myles Turner. Turner has not played since suffering a concussion in the season opener, and Victor Oladipo and Domantas Sabonis have thrived as a result. Oladipo is 12th in the NBA in usage while Sabonis is 14th in rebound rate, and both of those numbers should go down with Turner on the court. For this week, Oladipo, Sabonis, Darren Collison, Thaddeus Young and Cory Joseph should all remain useful. Indiana faces four teams who are all in the bottom half of the league in defensive rating.
Los Angeles Clippers (GS, DAL, MEM, MIA): I tend to believe this Clippers team will be legit for as long as Blake Griffin, Patrick Beverley and Danilo Gallinari can stay healthy, but it would certainly help if can finally see them pull out a win against the Warriors. The still they don’t appear to match up well with the Warriors, but they have much more favorable matchups the rest of the week. The game against the Heat could get really ugly if Miami still hasn’t gotten Hassan Whiteside back by then.
Los Angeles Lakers (DET, @POR, BKN, MEM): The Lakers are extremely frustrating for fantasy, unless you are starting their opponents. Brook Lopez, Larry Nance Jr. and Julius Randle would all be great for fantasy if they could play 27+minutes per game. If one ever gets traded or injured, the others would be instant fantasy adds. At the same time, Kyle Kuzma, Brandon Ingram and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope are all playing 27+ minutes per game with very little to show for it. This would be a good team to target if they get a really good schedule, but one home matchup against the Nets isn’t enough to get me excited about owning any Laker outside of Lonzo Ball
Memphis Grizzlies (CHA, ORL, @LAC, @LAL): This could be the week we find out if Memphis’s strong start is legit, as they face two of the other surprise teams from Week 1: Orlando and the Clippers. This team seems unlikely to sustain any fantasy starters outside of Marc Gasol and Mike Conley, but it would be interesting to see who would step up if Memphis rests either of its veterans during its back-to-back in L.A.
Miami Heat (MIN, CHI, @DEN, @LAC): It would surprise me to see multiple Heat players get added following the Bulls game and dropped before the final buzzer against the Clippers. Kelly Olynyk and Josh Richardson have played well of late, but that could change once Hassan Whiteside returns and Miami starts playing better teams.
Milwaukee Bucks (OKC, @CHA, @DET): This is what a bad schedule in Week 2 looks like. Milwaukee plays three of the nine NBA teams allowing fewer than 100 points per game. Malcolm Brogdon is probably still startable this week, along with Giannis Antetokounmpo and Khris Middleton, but you can’t feel great about it.
Minnesota Timberwolves (@MIA, @NO, DAL, CHA): Minnesota’s net rating is -1.2 when Jimmy Butler is on the court and -15.3 when he is off. If Butler were to suffer a long term injury, the result could be disastrous. Shabazz Muhammad inherited most of Butler’s minutes but did very little with them.
New Orleans Pelicans (ORL, MIN, @DAL, @CHI):The Mavericks and Timberwolves own the worst defensive ratings in the NBA, with the Bulls not far behind. As a result, Jameer Nelson’s career renaissance may last for another week. E’Twaun Moore should be useful this week as well, though he is often unreliable from game to game.
New York Knicks (DEN, HOU, PHO, IND): The Knicks have a pretty great schedule, but it is fair to wonder if they can take advantage of it. They get four games, all at home, with a day off in between. The Suns and Pacers have allowed the second and third-most points in the NBA this season. It is fair to wonder if the Knicks are good enough to take advantage. The only players on this team playing 30+ minutes are Kristaps Porzingis, Tim Hardaway Jr. and Courtney Lee. Porzingis and Enes Kanter are the only guys who are actually playing well. Hardaway Jr. and Frank Ntilikina could be worth adding, but if they don’t start producing this week, it probably isn’t going to happen anytime soon.
Oklahoma City Thunder (@MIL, BOS, @POR): The Thunder are one of a handful of NBA teams that are relatively matchup proof. You are starting Russell Westbrook and Paul George no matter what, and the same probably goes for Steven Adams and Carmelo Anthony. The only Thunder player who has a legit shot at joining that group barring injury is Patrick Patterson, but he still hasn’t played more than 19 minutes in any game after missing the entire preseason following arthroscopic surgery on his left knee.
Orlando Magic (@NO, @MEM, CHI, BOS): Life happens fast in the NBA. The quicker you come to that realization, the better off you will be. Only Golden State has a better offensive rating than Orlando, and only the Clippers have a better net rating. That seems unlikely to continue, but maybe it just took a year for head coach Frank Vogel to leave his mark on this team.
Philadelphia 76ers (@HOU, ATL, IND): Houston is allowing fewer points than last season, but none of these matchups is exactly scary. T.J. McConnell had 15 points, four rebounds and eight assists with J.J. Redick out Saturday, and that situation is worth monitoring going forward.
Phoenix Suns (@BKN, @WAS, @NY, @SA): Phoenix has a 99.3 defensive rating since firing Earl Watson last week, but only four teams have played at a higher pace over that span. The Nets and Wizards are two of those four teams, so we can expect some high-scoring games early in the week.
Portland Trailblazers (TOR, @UTA, LAL, OKC): The Trailblazers have allowed the second-fewest made three-pointers this season. Only the Celtics have allowed fewer, with the Raptors, Jazz and Thunder all close behind. Portland ranks eighth in made threes this season, but that could go down after this week. You may want to leave Al-FarouqAminu on your bench.
San Antonio Spurs (@BOS, GS, CHA, PHO): This week, San Antonio faces three of the best-coached teams in the NBA, and the Suns. Danny Green remains inconsistent from game to game, but his minutes and production have been solid overall with Kawhi Leonard out. Once Leonard returns, he and LaMarcus Aldridge will likely be the only Spurs worth considering most nights.
Sacramento Kings (@IND, @BOS, @DET): No Kings are averaging more than 28.6 minutes per game this season. They probably don’t need to be owned, especially in a week when they play three road games. The only good news is Sacramento has already begun resting its veterans, which should lead to more opportunities for De’Aaron Fox, SkalLabissiere et al.
Toronto Raptors (@POR, @DEN, @UTA, WAS): The only good fantasy matchup for Toronto this week is home against Washington. This may be a good week to sit Serge Ibaka, especially if you need some rebounds.
Utah Jazz (DAL, POR, TOR, @HOU): This schedule, much like the Jazz themselves, is a mixed bag. Houston, Portland and Toronto are all allowing 101.2 points per game or fewer, while Dallas allows 107.4 ppg. Utah gets three home games, and they are scoring 9.3 ppg more at home than on the road. You are probably starting all the Jazz players you own, but there is no reason to expect a significant improvement in play this week.
Washington Wizards (PHO, CLE, @TOR): Washington has been much better at home in recent seasons, but it is fair to wonder if they will overlook Phoenix with the Cavaliers looming on Friday night. All five of Washington’s starters are averaging at least 33 minutes per game this season, and they should probably remain in your lineup regardless of the schedule.