Fantasy Basketball Sunday Streaming: Top Waiver Wire Targets for Rockets, Suns, and Magic
Streaming players from three NBA teams with good matchups on Sunday.
Basketball gets lost during an NFL playoff weekend. With two games yesterday and three today (plus one on Monday), there are days worth of football to take our attention.
Fantasy basketball never stops, though, and those owners who take even a little time to care for their lineups have a leg up on those who don't have time for multiple sports activities.
Let's look at streaming players from three NBA teams with good matchups on Sunday. We will focus on the guys who get on the court and are widely available in fantasy leagues. Most stats are from NBA.com.
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Houston Rockets @ Sacramento Kings
Sacramento ranks in the middle of the league in pace, but they are very close to the top 10. When considering that the Kings have the third-worst defensive rating, it's easy to overlook being slightly outside the fastest teams.
The Rockets are among the contenders in the West, part of a big group of teams chasing the Thunder. Houston ranks in the top five in both offensive and defensive rating, a sign of a strong championship contender.
Guard
Sheppard is owned in a little over half of leagues, making him a fringe streamer. He has enough availability to check for him on your free agent market, though, particularly since Tari Eason is out and Alperen Sengun is questionable; everyone will shift up a position, leaving plenty of available minutes. Okogie will also benefit, but he is a low-level fantasy player, off the radar.
Forward
The absence of Eason and possibly Sengun more directly affects the guys in the front court. Smith is already a starter, and the team will count on him even more for big minutes. Finney-Smith is a backup, but his role will expand with other guys out of the lineup; he's just a deep-league streamer.
Center
If Sengun plays, then Adams will be just a deep-league streamer, and Capela will be completely off the fantasy radar. If Sengun is out, Adams will play starter minutes and is a strong fantasy streamer, and Capela turns into a deep-league option with a low floor. Keep an eye on the starting big man's status.
Phoenix Suns vs. Washington Wizards
The Wizards are a prime fantasy target, making the Suns maybe our premiere streaming team today. Washington plays at the fifth-fastest pace and has the second-worst defensive rating.
Phoenix surprisingly looks like a playoff team after shedding big names in the offseason; getting rid of bloated contracts created some addition by subtraction. The Suns have won four of five in January, only losing to the Rockets by three points in Houston.
Guard
Gillespie is owned in close to half of fantasy leagues, and he is a good contributor, averaging 13.4 points, 4.9 assists, and 1.4 steals per game. Allen was out for a few weeks late in December, but he is back now; on the season he is averaging 15.4 points and three three-pointers per game (a number Gillespie is also near). Goodwin is just a low-level statistical player.
Forward
If you like threes, you'll love Phoenix. Brooks makes 2.5 three-pointers per game, and O'Neale is at 2.9, good numbers. Brooks scores over 20 points per game, and while he is owned in about half of leagues, he is another guy available enough to make it worth checking. O'Neale averages over 10 points, but he doesn't add much else, limiting his fantasy value.
Dunn doesn't do enough to be on the fantasy radar unless there are injuries in front of him.
Center
Ighodaro is just a backup player who doesn't put up many stats, keeping him off the fantasy radar.
Orlando Magic vs. New Orleans Pelicans
New Orleans plays at the eighth-fastest pace and has the fourth-worst defensive rating. On top of having the second-worst record in the Western Conference, the Pelicans won't even get the benefit of a high pick, as their first rounder belongs to Atlanta unprotected; it's going to be a rough few years.
The Magic have a better outlook, but they are slowly sinking in the East standings with injuries persisting. Things could start looking brighter within the next week, though that's far from a guarantee.
Guard
Jalen Suggs is out, giving more value to all these guys, especially Black. Black scored 21 points in 37 minutes in Orlando's most recent game. Richardson and Jones are handling most of the backup minutes right now; neither does enough to merit fantasy consideration unless you're in a super-deep league.
Forward
On top of Franz Wagner still being out, da Silva is questionable for this game after missing the most recent game with back spasms. da Silva is a lower-level fantasy player, and Penda isn't much better, but the minutes are set to be there (Penda played 30 minutes on Friday).
Center
Carter is one of my favorite embodiments of a streamer, a guy who puts up some stats (12.4 points, 7.7 rebounds per game) but never even sniffs 50% fantasy ownership. He has a strong outlook in this one. Bitadze is just a backup who won't really have fantasy value unless Carter gets hurt.
