NBA Fantasy Playoffs - Crunch Time by Noah Rubin
Are you grabbing Miles McBride?
Whether you’re looking to advance to the next round or make a final push for a playoff spot, we’re entering crunch time of the fantasy season. This is where legends are made. I have three leagues where I’m looking to make it to the championship, and with silly season starting earlier than usual this season, that isn’t going to happen without streaming.
There are a few teams to target and a few teams to avoid over the final half of this week. The Nets, Lakers, Bucks and Magic all play three games, making them enticing options if you have a limited number of moves. The Lakers, Magic and Kings play back-to-backs on Thursday and Friday, while the Bucks, Nets and Thunder each have a back-to-back on Saturday and Sunday. That means you could get four games if you were to stream a player from the Lakers, Magic or Kings for two days and then someone from the Bucks, Nets or Thunder over the weekend.
The Knicks and Trail Blazers only play once over the final four days of this week. Miles McBride has been a coveted streaming option since Jalen Brunson went down, but it may be best to stream a player that plays three times during the same time frame.
Keon Johnson and Ziaire Williams are my favorite streaming options in Brooklyn. The center rotation has been too messy for me to feel good about Day’Ron Sharpe or Noah Clowney. Johnson has had some duds mixed in, which has been frustrating, but he also had an 18/3/3/1 line with three three-pointers against the Lakers earlier this week and has had at least one steal in every game since the All-Star break.
With LeBron James sidelined, Dalton Knecht and Gabe Vincent have taken on larger roles for the Lakers. The offense will run through Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves, but both of them have been able to create great shots for Knecht and Vincent. Knecht had 19 points, four rebounds, one assist and three 3-pointers in 41 minutes as a starter on Monday, while Vincent had 24 points, three assists and six 3-pointers in 34 minutes.
If you’re simply looking to maximize games, Gary Trent Jr., Kevin Porter Jr. and Taurean Prince are the best dart throws that are widely available in Milwaukee. None of them have produced value consistently, but they have all had big games at different points this season.
Like the Bucks, the Magic haven’t been a fantasy-friendly team outside of their stars. Wendell Carter Jr. is likely the only semi-reliable streaming option on the team, though he isn’t widely available. He has averaged 9.4 points, eight rebounds and 2.3 assists per game over the last two weeks.
If you’re looking to get four games by streaming the two back-to-backs, Keon Ellis will be the best option out of Sacramento. He played really well as a starter when Malik Monk was sidelined, but he has been the definition of hit-or-miss when coming off the bench. He only played 19 minutes during Monday’s blowout loss to the Knicks, but he had played least 27 minutes in his previous six appearances before that.
Oklahoma City has been a great location for random streaming options this season, but it is difficult to figure out who will be the best choice each game. Cason Wallace, Aaron Wiggins, Alex Caruso, Luguentz Dort and Isaiah Joe have all provided legit streaming value at different points of the season. Jalen Williams (hip) missed Wednesday’s game in Boston and is expected to remain in OKC for the rest of their road trip, which means that he won’t play on Saturday or Sunday. Things could change, but both Wallace and Wiggins started against the Celtics. Wiggins was a disappointment, but Wallace turned in a 14/4/3/2/1 line with one three-pointer. Of course, Dort is also a consistent starter, which makes him appealing in his own way.
Noah Rubin
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Robbin Marx
NBA Fantasy Analyst
Experience: NBC Sports - Rotoworld, HashTag Basketball, Bleav Network
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