If you’re reading this, chances are you made your league’s fantasy playoffs! It’s a strange Week 21 in fantasy hoops. There are 17 teams with four games this week, but only a handful of them have schedules you’ll want to actively target for streaming. Check out which teams are going to help you advance this week!

 

Best Of The Best

 

Dallas Mavericks

If there is one team this week worth their weight in fantasy value this week, it’s the Dallas Mavericks. Their four-game schedule is better than any other team in the league this week and that’s with all four of them being on the road. They play the Raptors, Wizards, 76ers and Nets with no back-to-back sets. With the Wizards playing at a pace of over 101 since the beginning of March, this should be a fine week for the Mavs in the standings and in fantasy.

 

San Antonio Spurs

The Spurs are going through it right now with the heart issue with LaMarcus Aldridge and the concussion to Kawhi Leonard. However, if Leonard is ok to play on Monday, he should be in your weekly lock format lineups. Overall though the injury to Aldridge opens up David Lee as a fine streaming option this week and could impact Leonard too if he is ready to go. His usage will be sky high without Aldridge in the lineup and look for Pau Gasol to pick up his play too. Other than a trip to Memphis this week, the Spurs have a great outlook.  

 

Los Angeles Lakers

The Lakers have generally been an auto-fade team, but they are intriguing on almost all levels this week. If you haven’t yet, go run to your waiver wire and pick up Ivica Zubac because it sounds like he is about to be unleashed. On top of him, the Lakers should have plenty of streaming options this week against the Nuggets, Rockets, Bucks and Cavs. Don’t hesitate to unleash the Lakers here in Week 21.

 

Brooklyn Nets

The Nets have been playing tough all season and while they get the label as the worst team in basketball, they come out every night and try their best. Sometimes that’s not good enough to keep from getting blown out, but their schedule this week is quite notable. They play the Knicks again this week after dropping 120 points on them on Sunday. Plus, they play the Thunder, Celtics and Mavericks at home, so they will not travel all week. That should bode well for them as streaming options this week and it will definitely help a guy like Jeremy Lin.

 

New Orleans Pelicans

The Pelicans do play an early-week back to back against the Blazers and Heat. While that second game against Miami is going to be tough in South Beach, their final two games against the Rockets and Wolves are back at home, which makes the Pelicans another team in the best of the best category. While they are slightly devoid of good streaming options this week, if you own one of their big three guys you should be quite happy this week.

 

Minnesota Timberwolves

The Wolves open at home against the tired Wizards after heading on the road for three straight. However, even though they also have a tough game in Miami this week, they don’t have any back to backs and they have started to play really well over the last month. Since February 8 the Wolves are 7-5 and they are averaging 115.5 points per game during that stretch. Look for them to be a fine option in your fantasy playoffs in Week 21.

 

Milwaukee Bucks

The Bucks do have a tough first half of their schedule to start the week against the Grizzlies and Clippers on the road. However, the get to stay in LA for a few more days to play the Lakers, before traveling to Golden State to close the week. We can stomach the first two, especially with the Grizzlies playing so poorly recently, so your Bucks are interesting targets this week. If a guy like John Henson could get some playing time he is a fine pickup this week and there might be other pickups from the Bucks depending on how shallow your league is.  

 

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Other Four-Game Weeks

 

Washington Wizards

The Wizards are one of the best stories in basketball this season and they have won their last two games in stunning and dramatic fashion in overtime. They are closing out this road trip on Monday against the Wolves and then they travel back home to face the Mavs and Bulls before heading back on the road to play the Hornets. It’s not a bad schedule, but other than their core five starters, there isn’t much fantasy value in the Wizards right now.

 

Los Angeles Clippers

Don’t look now but the Clippers want to play spoiler in the Western Conference. Doc Rivers and crew stood pat at the trade deadline and all of a sudden they have won four of their last five heading into this week. They had some quality wins during that stretch too against the Grizzlies and Celtics, so don’t sleep on the Clippers this week. If some of their other guards are on waivers, they might be a good streaming option this week, especially in points leagues. After playing the Jazz, they play the Bucks, Nuggets and Cavaliers, which should be nice games to target.

 

Memphis Grizzlies

The Grizzlies are really struggling right now. It’s tough for their fantasy owners but we have to hope they figure this late-season slump out this week. It might be tough to do that though. They play three teams that rank in the top 12 in defensive rating and their other opponent, the Bucks, have been playing excellent defense lately. You can stream the Grizzlies this week, but they might not have much value other than some one-night options.

 

Detroit Pistons

The good news for the Pistons is they have three home games this week. The bad news is one of those games is against the Jazz and their loan road game is against the Cavaliers. However, they could have some late-week value as their last two games are against the Raptors and Suns. If you need a few options on Friday and Sunday, look towards the Pistons, especially in shallower leagues. One of the reasons I am in the playoffs in Justin Fensterman’s experts league is streaming Ish Smith a week ago!

 

Toronto Raptors

The Raptors don’t have a bad week ahead, but it’s not great either. They have three home games, which is good, but they play three games in four nights to close their week against the Thunder, Pistons and Pacers. That’s not going to be easy for a team that is down their best player and floor general. Altogether the Raptors have some value this week, but they are going to get harder to trust as the week goes on.

 

Cleveland Cavaliers

The Cavaliers lost again on Sunday in a tough game against the Rockets and their Week 21 is not going to start out easy. They play Pistons and Jazz at home to start the week, two of the better defensive teams in the NBA, followed by a trip to face the Clippers and Lakers at Staples Center on Saturday and Sunday. If you’re looking to stream Cavaliers, it might be wise to target those two LA games instead of the first two.

 

Utah Jazz

Even with four games this week the Jazz may be tough to target. However, they are higher on the list because without Derrick Favors for the next few weeks, the Jazz will hold some extra value. Gordon Hayward, George Hill, Rudy Gobert and Rodney Hood should pick up some usage, while Boris Diaw could be a sneaky pickup for the week, even with the tough schedule.

 

Chicago Bulls

The Bulls might be an auto-fade this week despite their four game schedule. They play the Hornets, Wizards, Grizzlies and Jazz. They should be underdogs in all four of those games, which means low implied totals and lower scores. They have averaged just 90.2 points per game during their five game losing streak, so besides their two star guards, the other Bulls are waive fodder this week.

 

Sacramento Kings

It’s officially tanking season in Sacramento, as they have lost eight straight games and while they haven’t been blown out in most of them, it’s still tough to figure out this team right now in fantasy. With the return of Garrett Temple, it throws their backcourt into a loop, but the looming Ty Lawson trial could help them with that next week unfortunately. However, it’s tough to trust many Kings this week other than random streaming games. They do play the Suns and Thunder in the middle of the week, but that may be all their value.

 

Portland Trail Blazers

The Blazers have a tough week. They have four games, two back to backs and all four of their games are on the road and against teams that rank in the top eight in defensive rating. Against the Pelicans, Spurs, Hawks and Heat, other than their top two guard and Jusuf Nurkic, it might be wise to bench the other members of the Blazers.

 

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Notable Three-Game Weeks

 

Orlando Magic

There are several teams with very nice three game weeks, so if you have plenty of transactions for your playoffs this week, you can definitely target them and a few more teams in two-game stretches this week. For instance, the Magic play the Kings on Monday, but then they have a few days off before playing a back to back on Thursday and Friday against the Warriors and Suns. I plan on targeting a guy like Terrence Ross on Thursday and Friday and there might be other Magic players you can do that with this week as well.

 

Oklahoma City Thunder

The Thunder don’t have any back to backs this week, but they do have three games against three questionable teams. They play the Nets, Raptors and Kings and unless your waiver period is like four days, you might be able to stream some Thunder players on Tuesday, drop them and then either claim or pick them back up by Saturday for their game against the Kings.

 

Houston Rockets

Even though the James Harden owners of the world only get three games from him this week, they are three quality games against the Lakers, Pelicans and Nuggets. Plus, they also have a back-to-back set this week, setting up a great streaming opportunity on Friday and Saturday against New Orleans and Denver. A guy like Nene or Clint Capela could be an excellent waiver wire target on those two games in shallower leagues.

 

Boston Celtics

The Celtics don’t have any back to backs this week but they do have a fine three-game schedule against the Wolves, Nets and Sixers. Where they lack in quantity, they make up for in quality this week, so strategic streaming of the Celtics could pay off this week. Plus, Avery Bradley had his minutes limit lifted, so feel free to deploy him as usual in an excellent week.

 

Miami Heat

If you haven’t seen Goran Dragic’s eye, it may be too late to pick up a guy like Wayne Ellington or Josh Richardson. However, if Dragic isn’t out for more time, the Heat should still be in for a solid week. They play all three of their games at home against the Pelicans, Wolves and Blazers, so they should have some nice games. If Dragic is out, it should also help them become a nice streaming option.

 

Denver Nuggets

Denver is another team with three juicy matchups this week and all of them are at home. While all of them are great, they are also spaced out pretty far from one another. That could set up some good streaming if your waiver limits will allow it, especially at the beginning and end of the week. For instance, you could grab a guy like Will Barton for Monday against the Lakers, drop him and then pick him back up for Saturday against the Rockets.

 

Golden State Warriors

The Warriors have lost three in a row for the first time in years and they are losers in five of their last seven games. Their losing streak will almost certainly come to an end against the Sixers on Tuesday and with all three of their games at home this week, they should be solid in fantasy as well. While they don’t have a ton of good streaming options, they should still be great and not rested at all in their week with no back to backs.

 

Philadelphia 76ers

Even with three games there are some guys on the Sixers that might have some nice games. They get the Warriors on Tuesday and then you may be able to target their two-game set over the weekend against the Mavs and Celtics. Dallas isn’t the greatest opponent, but that still leaves them open for streaming on Tuesday and Sunday.

 

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The Rest

 

Indiana Pacers

The Pacers open up against the Knicks, but they have to play against the Hornets the very next night and then travel to Toronto for an early-evening game against the Raptors. The game against the Knicks is nice, but I wouldn’t target any more fringe Pacers unless you don’t have better options. Maybe on that Tuesday/Wednesday back to back set, but that’s it.

 

Charlotte Hornets

The Hornets don’t have a bad week for getting wins this week, but the fantasy value they have may be limited. Nicolas Batum is also questionable on Monday, which could help their cause if he is out because of the streaming options it uncovers. However, we’ll have to wait and see before that riddle unravels tonight.

 

Phoenix Suns

The Suns are another team with a nice game to start against the Kings. They play the Magic next before heading on the road to Detroit. They could be a good target on Wednesday and Friday, but I would lay off them if you can on Sunday, Detroit has become a tough place to play this season in fantasy.

 

Atlanta Hawks

The Haws are trying to turn things around and they have won three straight games coming into Week 21. They don’t have the best start to the week against the Spurs and Grizzlies, but they round out their week with a much better matchup against the Blazers. Target them later in the week if you can afford it.

 

New York Knicks

The one team that might be the only true outright fade this week is the Knicks. They are the only team with just two games, so those of you who own fringe Knicks might be better off to drop them now and pick up some guys you can get three or four games out of. It could mean the difference between winning and losing your playoff matchup.