The 2 Defensive Disasters You Must Exploit for Monday's Fantasy Basketball Slate
Streaming players from two NBA teams with good matchups on Monday.
Every NBA team has played around 60 games, leaving close to 25% of the season remaining. There is still plenty to be decided before we hit the postseason, but things have mostly taken shape as far as teams separating into tiers in each conference.
Detroit, Oklahoma City, and San Antonio are in the fight for best record in the league and their respective conference; lowly teams like Indiana, Brooklyn, and Sacramento are at the bottom and fighting for the worst record (among others). Then, a lot of teams are somewhere in the middle, either fighting for a playoff spot or postseason position. We will have a much clearer picture when we are doing this same thing at the beginning of April.
The schedule is a little short today, but let's look at streaming players from two NBA teams with good matchups on Monday. 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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Denver Nuggets @ Utah Jazz
The Jazz play at the second-fastest pace and have the worst defensive rating in the league. Utah has lost five straight, seven of nine, and 13 of 16 stretching back to January 22. More than half their remaining games are against likely playoff or play-in teams, so things are probably going to get worse before they get better in Utah.
The Nuggets could finish anywhere between third and seventh (unless something crazy happens and they tank hard lower into the play-in), and their postseason upside could hinge on where they finish and how many series they get home-court advantage in. Health will also be a major factor for a team that has been missing star players all season.
Guard
Brown had maybe his best month in February, averaging 8.9 points and 3.5 rebounds per game. He doesn't do enough to be in fantasy lineups outside the deepest leagues, though, especially now that the team's guards are a little healthier.
Strawther was by far his best in February, scoring 12.7 points per game and reaching double figures in eight of 11 games. He scored two points and didn't add any other stats in 17 minutes yesterday against Minnesota, but he should have a better chance today again Utah.
Forward
Johnson left yesterday's game with an ankle injury after 23 minutes (and no points). He is questionable today and carries a little risk if he does play, though he is the best streaming option on Denver.
Hardaway has scored at least 13 points per game in each of the past three months, taking advantage of missing players around him to find some consistency. He doesn't add much outside of scoring, but he does average nearly three 3-pointers per game. Hardaway is an interesting streamer, particularly if Johnson is out.
Center
Valanciunas is just a backup who doesn't get enough minutes to make a real impact when Nikola Jokic is playing. He's an OK streamer any time Jokic is out.
Houston Rockets @ Washington Wizards
Washington plays at the sixth-fastest pace and has the second-worst defensive rating, neck-and-neck with Sacramento and ahead of only the Jazz. The Wizards have lost four in a row and seven of their last nine, only winning two games against the worst-in-the-East Pacers in that span. Like Utah, most of Washington's remaining schedule is against teams fighting for the playoffs.
The Rockets are in that same range as the Nuggets in that they are likely to finish between third and seventh, where every team is within four games. Houston ranks in the top seven in both offensive and defensive rating, a sign that they can be true contenders in the playoffs. (Denver is first in offense but 21st in defense; they will have to seriously improve that latter mark when the games start to really matter.)
Guard
Houston's streaming value comes from the backcourt today, where both these guys are owned in around 50% of leagues and might not be available, but if you can grab one of them, it would be a coup (and might give you a guy to hold onto).
Eason can slot in at both guard and forward in most leagues, giving him a little boost. He saw essentially every box stat drop in February after a strong January, but Eason still has some low-to-mid-level streaming value. Sheppard went the opposite way, putting up his best stats in February since near the beginning of the season. He averaged 14.7 points and 3.3 3-pointers last month while reaching double figures in 10 of 12 games.
Forward
Finney-Smith is a better real-life player than fantasy player, not putting up many stats but able to defend several positions and help Houston mix and match certain lineups. Don't consider him for your roster at any point.
Center
Capela is in a reserve role that only offers him around 12 minutes per game; that's by far his lowest since a 12-game rookie season with Houston in 2014-15. Alperen Sengun has made the past two All-Star games and keeps Capela glued to the bench often.
