Exploit These 3 League-Worst Defenses for Fantasy Basketball Gold on Tuesday
Streaming players from three NBA teams with good matchups on Tuesday.
Now that the Winter Olympics are over, some focus has shifted toward the U.S. Men's Olympic Basketball team. A big part of that is ESPN trying to piggyback off the popularity of USA hockey after their gold-medal wins over Canada (ESPN needs plenty of help being relevant), but there's a problem expecting similar excitement.
The easiest explanation is that America dominates basketball on the world scale in a way that we never have in hockey. USA Hockey is regularly successful, but USA Basketball must win or it's a major disappointment; it's impossible to find any inkling of underdog tones.
Sure, we'll still watch and root for the national team, but you will never see the Olympic basketball team, men's or women's, come anywhere close to what we just saw from the Olympic hockey teams in causing fervor and excitement from one game.
Moving to fantasy basketball, let's look at streaming players from three NBA teams with good matchups on Tuesday. We'll focus on the guys who get on the court and are widely available in fantasy leagues. Most stats are from NBA.com.
Use FantasySP's defensive rankings to find the players and teams with the best matchups each day!
Atlanta Hawks vs. Washington Wizards
Washington plays at the sixth-fastest pace and has the third-worst defensive rating in the league. The Wizards are 2-4 since after the trade deadline, which is a better rate than their season winning percentage, but both victories came against the Pacers, who have the worst record in the Eastern Conference.
The Hawks have a new identity and a good shot at making the play-in tournament, though they are likely to get knocked out in the first round in four or five games even if they do advance. The real win for Atlanta heading into the offseason is that they moved on from Trae Young and can build their team with a clearer vision moving forward.
Guard
All five of Atlanta's starters are owned in most fantasy leagues, so we're looking to the bench for our streamers. That limits the ceiling and floor of each guy listed here. Neither Vincent nor Kispert has played much since joining the Hawks. Kispert had a few good games before the All-Star break, but he has combined for just 20 points, eight rebounds, and four assists in three games since the break.
Forward
The top overall pick in 2024, Risacher hasn't yet become much of a fantasy performer. His 10.3 points per game is the only number that stands out, but that scoring is inconsistent, leaving Risacher as a guy to skip until he shows a little more.
Kuminga has played just three games since December 6 and hasn't yet made his debut for Atlanta. He's questionable here and might not play, and even when he does finally reach the court, it's probably best to see him perform before trusting him in your fantasy lineup.
Center
Landale is another guy who was acquired near the deadline, and he has filled in well as the backup center. He will only get reserve minutes, limiting his upside, but Landale has averaged 10 points and 6.3 rebounds per game since returning from the break. Gueye is far deeper on the bench and not a guy to trust in fantasy.
Charlotte Hornets @ Chicago Bulls
Chicago plays at the fifth-fastest pace and has the sixth-worst defensive rating. The Bulls have now lost nine straight beginning on February 1, but they have three winnable games in a row against Charlotte, Portland, and Milwaukee; the first two games are their final chances to win this month.
The Hornets are an improving team. It's easy to miss, as they are 10th in the East and four games below .500, but several recent high draft picks are performing well, and Charlotte is likely to battle the Hawks and Bucks for the final two play-in spots over the rest of the season.
Guard
There's not much streaming value here because Charlotte's top three guards (LaMelo Ball, Kon Knueppel, and Coby White) are all heavily owned in fantasy leagues and use up a lot of touches and shots. Green topped 10 points in each of the past two games, but that was without White, who should return here. Skip these three.
Forward
There's more value in the frontcourt for the Hornets, where a few guys who play big minutes are widely available. Williams missed the first several months, not debuting until January 10. He started off not playing much (probably working into shape), but he has now reached 25 minutes in four straight games, and he will likely put up enough stats to be an OK low-to-mid-level streamer. Salaun is just a reserve guy who doesn't do enough for fantasy consideration.
Center
Kalkbrenner played just 15 minutes on Sunday, leaving with an ankle injury, but he's probable to play here. He played more minutes with Diabate suspended the past four games but only put up modest stats and isn't much of a fantasy player. Diabate has been better statistically and returns for this one. In January, he averaged 9.8 points, 9.3 rebounds, and 1.4 blocks per game.
Golden State Warriors @ New Orleans Pelicans
New Orleans plays at the 12th-fastest pace and has the fourth-worst defensive rating. The Pelicans had slowed down to a slightly below-average pace in the middle of the year, but they have sped back up, something that often happens with bad teams that have bad defenses (because they have to move fast to try to catch up while losing).
The Warriors are essentially a lock to make the play-in, but it will be tough to climb as high as sixth; Golden State is 4.5 games behind the Timberwolves for the final guaranteed playoff spot with Phoenix also above the Warriors. At least Stephen Curry might make the play-in tournament worth watching for a bit.
Guard
With Curry out until March, there are a lot of extra touches and shots to go around for everyone else. Melton is questionable with a knee injury, but if he's in the lineup, he is a strong streamer and the guy to grab here.
Podziemski is a decent second option, averaging 12.1 points, 4.8 rebounds, 3.7 assists, and 1.1 steals per game. He adds a little more of everything else than Melton does. Spencer had a few good games at the beginning of the month but hasn't done anything after the All-Star break; Richard is getting more time and touches without Curry, combining for 28 points in his past two, but he has a lower ceiling than Melton and Podziemski.
Forward
Moody adds plenty of scoring and shooting (11.7 points, 2.4 3-pointers per game), but he doesn't generally do much else. He has scored in double figures in 16 of his past 17 games and made multiple 3-pointers in 15 of those. Santos has come a bit out of nowhere, not playing much early in the season but reaching at least 20 minutes in his past 11 games and scoring at least 10 points in all but one of those games (when he had nine points).
Center
Draymond Green and Horford are both questionable for this one. If Green plays, that will limit the other guys, but if Green is out and Horford plays, then Horford would move into the starting lineup, and Post would be his backup. Neither guy listed here is much of a statistical player right now, so they'd leave a lower floor and ceiling. If both Green and Horford are out, Post would have a little low-level intrigue.
