It’s a big week for playoff fantasy hoops no matter what round you’re currently in and with half the league dealing with only three game weeks, it’s important to note the best schedules to target for both your current players and potential streaming targets during the week.
 

Best Of The Best

Los Angeles Clippers

It’s probable been frustrating to own some of the Clippers’ stars this season, but if you are still alive in your fantasy playoffs with one of them on your roster, you may end up forgiving what’s in the past. Los Angeles is the only team with five games this week. While they have two back to backs and two different stints of three games in four nights, eve if we just get four games from them this week, their opponents should all yield very high-implied totals from LA. They play the Knicks, Lakers and Mavericks to start the week, followed by another back to back against the Jazz and Kings. They might just rest against the Jazz, but even then that could be a win for their fantasy owners if they go and blowout the Kings the following night.

Portland Trail Blazers

The hottest team in the Western Conference or even the league might just be the Portland Trail Blazers. They have won eight of their last 10 games and Damian Lillard is swimming in lava. Lillard dropped 49 points on Sunday against the Miami Heat and now he and the Blazers have a cushy schedule against the Bucks, Knicks, Wolves and Lakers this week. Lillard has an effective field goal percentage of 63% over his last six games and if that can continue, he may be able to carry you to a championship if you are lucky enough to own him and still be in the playoffs. The Blazers’ Wolves-Lakers games come on consecutive nights, but that is the only down side to them this week. Stream Portland at will this week.

Washington Wizards

The Wizards come into this week losers of three of their last four and they too are in a big week both in fantasy appeal and importance for playoff standings. They close their week against the defending champions, but they get to play Brooklyn the night before. Considering the Wizards are still in the hunt when it comes to a home court advantage early in the playoffs, I doubt they think they have the luxury to rest guys for that Brooklyn game. Their first two games of the week come against Boston and Atlanta, which should both be strong fantasy value games for the core five or six Wizards.

Milwaukee Bucks

The Bucks wrap up a West Coast road swing this week with two games back to back against the Blazers and Kings on Tuesday Wednesday. However, the Bucks have been rolling lately winning eight of their last 10 games and skyrocketing up to 7th in the East. During that stretch they are averaging just 101.9 points per game, but Giannis Antetokounmpo and Khris Middleton have been superb. Those two are in for huge weeks this week with the latter two games coming against the Bulls and Hawks. Also look for a guy like Malcolm Brogdon to be a fantastic pickup this week after playing 41 minutes against the Warriors on Saturday.

Boston Celtics

This week marks a really important time for the Celtics. They have four home games this week and three of them are against potential Eastern Conference playoff teams. However, none of the defenses are that great, especially on the road and as long as Isaiah Thomas is healthy and not forced to miss more than the two games he sat out over the weekend, the Celtics have one of the top five fantasy weeks of any team this week.

Indiana Pacers

If you can ignore a home game against the Jazz to start the week, the Pacers have one of the best weeks ahead of them when their fantasy owners need it most. If they can pull out a good game for their core players against Utah, the rest of their week is rosy with games against Boston, Denver and Philadelphia. Those three teams all give up over 108 points per 100 possessions, which should be liquid gold for guys like Paul George and Jeff Teague.

Brooklyn Nets

You heard it here first at Fantasy Alarm, the Brooklyn Nets might be the key to your season-long NBA fantasy glory. Jeremy Lin sprained his ankle on Sunday and did not return to the game and with other injuries to Joe Harris and Sean Kilpatrick, streaming Isaiah Whitehead this week is almost surely going to be clutch. The Nets have four games this week and if you can ignore the game against the Pistons to open the week, their next three games are against Phoenix, Washington and Atlanta. Brooklyn has proven they play tough regardless of their win-loss record and with a banged up backcourt, they could be fantasy gold this week if Lin, Harris and Kilpatrick miss games.

Denver Nuggets

The Denver Nuggets are doing everything they can to hold off the Blazers in order to keep their 8th seed in the playoffs, as they have won seven of their last 10 games. While we will have to wait for the all-important Blazers-Nuggets game until next week, the Nuggets also join the Blazers as one of the best teams to target in fantasy hoops in Week 22. They play the Rockets, Cavaliers, Pacers and Pelicans this week and while three of those games are big pace-down games, the Nuggets should still have some strong streaming value and large implied totals with all four of those teams. Double check the statuses of Danilo Gallinari and Wilson Chandler too before making a roster decision on a guy like Will Barton.

Charlotte Hornets

The Hornets schedule is shaping up nicely both in favorable matchups and logistically. They play three of their four games at home where they are 19-15 and average nearly 106 points per game and they are also playing two tanking teams, a struggling playoff team and the defending champion Cavaliers. The playoffs may be too far out of reach unless Charlotte can put together a string of wins, but they will need to perform well in Week 22 if they want a shot at the postseason. Odds are they know this too, making them great fantasy targets this week.

Other Four-Game Weeks

Golden State Warriors

It takes a lot to keep the Warriors out of the best of the best subsection, but three of their four games this week are against tough defensive teams and the first two come against the Thunder and Mavs on the road. The people of OKC are going to show the Warriors no mercy even though Kevin Durant is out and Dallas has not been an easy place to play this season. They do get a game against the Kings, but that may be over at halftime, which limits the Warriors’ fantasy appeal this week even more. Plus, they get a crappy dessert game on Sunday at home against the Grizzlies, who they are 1-2 against this season.  

Atlanta Hawks

The Hawks could have easily been in the best of the best subsection if they had this schedule about a month ago, but trips to Charlotte and Milwaukee are tough and so is their game in Washington, so the loan game against Brooklyn at home on Sunday might be too little too late. Atlanta is struggling right now too. They have lost three in a row and six of their last nine and it just looks like their offense might suffer even more this week. Outside of picking up Ersan Ilyasova for the first two games this week, the Hawks have tempered appeal this week outside of their core fantasy assets.

Philadelphia 76ers

While they don’t have any back to backs, the Sixers are on the road all week, they are going to likely be substantial underdogs all week and one has to question whether you want to bench a guy like Robert Covington because of field goal percentage implications. Dario Saric is a go for me and if Jahlil Okafor is out for any period of time, Richaun Holmes is a great option, but I’m steering clear of the other Sixers this week in weekly lock formats, including big Bob Covington.  

Chicago Bulls

As soon as people start to count out the Bulls they pull out a win against a team they aren’t supposed to beat. This time it came against the Jazz. Without Dwyane Wade they have some appeal, but their week could be better. They face the Raptors and Pistons to begin the week, followed by one against Philly and a trip to the Bucks. Milwaukee and Detroit always play the Bulls tough, as they are 1-4 against them this season, so while they have appeal, temper your expectations for results from some of the younger Bulls you may be streaming this week.

Phoenix Suns

Based solely off their opponents the Suns don’t have a bad schedule this week, but logistically it’s a nightmare. They do have some added streaming appeal with Eric Bledsoe being ruled out for the year, but Tyler Ulis is likely not on waivers anymore by this point, so it really comes down to guys you may have already grabbed off waivers. Either way they play three games in four nights against the Heat, Nets and Celtics to start the week and then they close against Charlotte on Sunday. In deep leagues I say go there, but it’s hard for me to trust the Suns in shallower or weekly lock formats at this point in the fantasy playoffs.

New York Knicks

If we gave an award in this column for crappiest four-game week, it would surely go to the Knicks this week. New York has three of their four games against stifling defenses and they are also on the road all week, with trips to see the Clippers, Jazz, Blazers and Spurs. Assuming Kristaps Porzingis is healthy for all four games, he, Carmelo Anthony and Derrick Rose are the only Knicks I’m touching this week.

Notable Three-Game Weeks

Oklahoma City Thunder

The Thunder easily have the best three-game week of any team. They open against the Warriors and then welcome in the Sixers before traveling to Houston on Sunday. They get three days of in between their Sixers and Rockets games, but while the quantity is not there this week, there are a lot of quality fantasy matchups. However, they are a tough team to stream with their games so spread out and on bigger days.

Houston Rockets

The Rockets are another team with a large gap between their first and second games this week, but either way that does give them some nice rest in a time when they probably need it. Plus, their opponents this week include the Nuggets, Pelicans and Thunder, three teams they will certainly be favored against at home. However, with the big gap in streaming, it gives you the ability to stream them all three of their games, or just the final two if your league doesn’t allow that many transactions in a playoff week.

Memphis Grizzlies

Memphis has an important three game week with all of their games on the road, but there should still be some fantasy implications and appeal around the boys from Beale Street. They play the Spurs on Thursday, but that game is sandwiched in between games against the Pelicans and Warriors. Both of those games could have some great streaming appeal, so adding a Grizzly for Tuesday, dropping him and then picking him back up for Sunday may be in the cards this week for your fantasy playoffs.

Los Angeles Lakers

The Lakers may be tanking but that doesn’t mean they wont have any more fantasy appeal going forward. It just means you have to know where to look. For instance, all three of their games are at home this week, inlcluding one against the Clippers. They also play a Friday and Sunday set against the Blazers and Wolves, making for some potential streaming action. The Lakers have a place this week, but it might be tough in weekly roster lock formats to trust them other than their two young stars.

Detroit Pistons

The only real reason the Pistons have a notable three-game week is because of their streaming potential for those in daily lock formats. They play a Tuesday-Wednesday back to back against the Nets and Bulls, two teams they have had some success against this season. I talked about successfully streaming Ish Smith before and it might be another week to do that to get you some extra exposure against the Nets this week.

Minnesota Timberwolves

The Wolves are another team grouped into what I’m calling the Stream Team in Week 22. Along with the Pistons and a few of the teams below, streaming Minnesota this week at a certain time in the week could be crucial into winning your playoff matchup. For instance, the Wolves play the Spurs on Tuesday, which is not a great matchup, but they have a Friday and Saturday back to back against the Lakers and Blazers. Streaming a guy like Shabazz Muhammad could be huge for you on those two days assuming he keeps getting playing time. Don’t sleep on the importance of exploiting these schedule trends this week.

Miami Heat

Miami is also on team stream this week but only because they play their first two games on Tuesday and Thursday, two lighter days of NBA games. You will surely have an open roster spot to accommodate some Heat guards and with Dion Waiters look like he’ll be missing some time, guys like Wayne Ellington and Josh Richardson should be great pickups this week against the Suns and Raptors at home on those two days.

New Orleans Pelicans

The Pelicans are the final stream team this week with three games and much like the Wolves, you need to look at them later in the week if you need guys on Friday and Sunday. They open against the Grizzlies, but they close against the Rockets and Denver, two opponents ripe with fantasy appeal in a playoff week. Even if you are in a league where playoff matchups are two weeks long, stealing big games from role players in prime matchups is just as important as the matchups for your stars.

Utah Jazz

Utah’s games are spread out enough to make it tough on streaming them this week, but their opponents all look juicy. They open against the Pacers, followed by games against the Knicks and Clippers, which should all three hold value. Even with some of their injury concerns, that just gives some of their fringe guys more value. If for example Rodney Hood is still out for more time this week, it could give more value to George Hill and Gordon Hayward, or even make Joe Johnson and Joe Ingles worth picking up for a game or two.

Sacramento Kings

The Kings have been one of the teams putting on a tanking clinic since the All Star break and they are probably in for three more losses this week against the Bucks, Warriors and Clippers. While they don’t have a ton of fantasy value, if they continue to sit out some of their backcourt members, it will open up things for a guy like Buddy Hield, who may be the only guy worth owning from the Kings at this point in the season. He is worth a shot at times this week in shallower leagues in need of streaming options at guard.

Orlando Magic

Orlando has somewhere between none and very little fantasy appeal this week, but the fact that they have three home games and no back to backs was enough to squeeze them into the notable section. They also get to play the Sixers on Monday, followed by games against the Hornets and Pistons. While their schedule trends tougher as the week goes on, Orlando could still have some viable streaming options if needed on Monday and Wednesday.

The Rest

Toronto Raptors

The Raptors got a couple of much-needed wins over the weekend but here we are in Week 22 and their three-game week is rough. They play the Bulls, Heat and Mavericks; three teams that rank in the top half of the league defensively. For me it’s a DeMar DeRozan week for sure, but in weekly lock formats you’ll have to think long and hard about guys like Jonas Valanciunas and Serge Ibaka. I could see you benching both in shallower weekly lock formats this week.

Cleveland Cavaliers

The defending champions are probably only going to play their stars in two games this week. They are holding no punches when it comes to being tapered and healthy going into the playoffs, so with a back to back looming on Friday and Saturday, with the Friday leg being on the road and the Saturday game back at home, I am almost positive the Cavs will sit guys on Friday. Use that information/speculation at your will.

Dallas Mavericks

Dallas’ only problem this week is their opponents are tough defensibly. They play the Warriors, Clippers and Raptors at home, so while there is some nice Tuesday through Thursday streaming appeal, they are both tough matchups. Plus, the Mavs don’t have a ton of guys on waivers that you can put a lot of faith in here in playoffs season, so it might be best to leave them out of your streaming plans.

San Antonio Spurs

Much like the Cavs, the Spurs scare me this week. However, while they don’t have a back to back, they do have a game against the Knicks over the weekend before a big stretch next week. Or they might choose to keep some guys in San Antonio on Tuesday when they travel to Minnesota. Either way, unless you own Kawhi Leonard or LaMarcus Aldridge in weekly lock formats, I’d bench the other veterans to be safe.