This 'Sloppy' Matchup Is a Secret Goldmine for Fantasy Basketball Streamers Today
Streaming players from three NBA teams with good matchups on Thursday.
After a small downswing from Oklahoma City (relative to their otherwise fantastic work), the Thunder have won four in a row, seven of eight, and nine of 11. They are 3.5 games better than San Antonio in the West and two ahead of Detroit for the league's best record.
The defending champs are in position to lock in the top seed if they can keep up their high level of play, something that would give them the best chance to repeat. If they falter at all, though, the Spurs and Pistons could still grab home-court advantage throughout the playoffs.
Moving to fantasy basketball, let's look at streaming players from three NBA teams with good matchups on Thursday. We'll 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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Phoenix Suns vs. Chicago Bulls
Chicago plays at the fifth-fastest pace and has the sixth-worst defensive rating. The Bulls have lost 15 of their past 17, including 11 in a row in February. We can say one thing: at least they got out of the middle.
The Suns are almost guaranteed to make the postseason in some way, but they are in the play-in right now, two games outside of the top six. Phoenix would surely love to skip the play-in (and the matchup with the Thunder or Spurs for those who advance), and they are within four games of the four teams above them, well within distance to make that jump.
(I had the chance to go to this game, and as a fan of Chicago teams in every sport, it would seem like a great opportunity, but given how bad the Bulls are and how worthless regular season basketball has been made by the league, it wasn't even a real consideration.)
Guard
Gillespie and Allen are both good fantasy players who are worth grabbing if they are available to stream here. Allen puts more points on the board, averaging 17.5 points and 3.4 3-pointers per game, and he has reached at least 10 points in all but two of his 39 appearances. Gillespie scores a little less (13.6 points, 3.1 3-pointers) but adds a few more rebounds and assists, and both players average more than one steal per game.
Forward
O'Neale isn't much of a statistical player, averaging 10 points and 4.9 rebounds per game, but that's more than Dunn, who struggles to make a statistical impact. There's not much streaming value at forward in Phoenix.
Center
Ighodaro is inconsistent statistically, but he is coming off a game in which he had 14 points and 14 rebounds in 26 minutes against Sacramento. In the three games prior to that, he combined for 16 points and nine rebounds, so there's risk, but Ighodaro has a little low-level intrigue.
Utah Jazz @ Washington Wizards
These are our two favorite streaming targets, and since they are playing each other, this is a hotbed of possible fantasy production today. Both teams are near the bottom of their respective conferences and unlikely to make any real improvements before next season.
The Wizards play at the sixth-fastest pace and have the second-worst defensive rating. The Jazz are second in pace and have the worst defense. There's a good chance that this turns into a sloppy, up-and-down game, and that could lead to a lot of stats.
Utah Jazz
Guard
Collier scores the basketball, reaching double figures in each of his past 17 games and 20 of his last 22. He averaged 17.6 points, 9.5 assists, and 2.3 steals in February and is owned in close to 50% of leagues; Collier is a guy to pick up. Neither Williams nor Harkless does enough to be worthy of fantasy consideration.
Forward
The fifth overall pick in last year's draft, Bailey is another guy who had his best month in February, averaging 14.3 points, 6.4 rebounds, and close to one steal and one block per game. He is intriguing the rest of the way and will see the court plenty. Sensabaugh scored a lot in January (18.2 points, 2.1 3-pointers) and February (15.6, 2.5) but has combined for just 15 points in two March games. Konchar doesn't do enough to be anywhere near fantasy lineups.
Center
Filipowski is the only one from this group playing consistent minutes. He had his best month in February, averaging 12.6 points, 8 rebounds, and 1.7 steals per game, and he should keep getting plenty of minutes moving forward.
Tshiebwe and Bamba have played inconsistent minutes, Bamba just making his Jazz debut last night. It's tough to know what to expect from either guy right now, leaving them off the fantasy radar.
Washington Wizards
Guard
Trae Young will make his debut for the Wizards in this one, throwing the fantasy value of each of these guys into flux. It wouldn't be a surprise to see Young on a minutes limit (something like 25 per game), both to ease him in and to make sure that Washington doesn't accidentally win too many games the rest of the way.
Johnson has seen his production drop recently, and if he's not scoring, he doesn't add much else. Carrington follows that same pattern and is a risky streamer; both he and Johnson have OK ceilings but lower floors.
Cooper scored 21 and 16 points on Monday and Tuesday after a series of slow games, again, causing uncertainty on what to expect. Hardy joined the Wizards at the trade deadline, and he has reached double-digit points in all seven games with Washington. With minutes possibly in flux, I'm wary of trusting any guard on the Wiz until we see a few more games with Young.
Forward
Young's presence could affect everyone if he spends most of his time on the ball, leaving fewer shots to go around. Coulibaly averaged 11.2 points per game in February then had 23 in his first game of March before being held to just six points on Tuesday. He also averages over one block and one steal per game.
Riley had a big run of scoring in February, averaging 14.6 points per game, and he scored 19 on Tuesday. Champagnie reached double figures in nine of his past 10 games and grabs over 5.5 rebounds per game. There's some low-to-mid-level value throughout the guard and forward players in Washington, but Young's return complicates everything.
Center
Gill missed the past two games with an illness and is questionable for this one. He is a limited statistical player, probably not worth fantasy consideration in many leagues. Reese has played just two games with the team, not putting up many numbers in a backup role.
