Fantasy Basketball: In-Season Draft Guide

For many of you, the fantasy basketball season may already be a lost cause. If that’s the case, it’s never too late to rally your mates together for a mid-season draft. Fantrax gives you the option to start a new league at any point during the season. Take what you have learned over the first few months and use that knowledge to dominate in a new league.

For others, the playoffs are just around the corner and strategy could be essential. Injuries and injury management are going to factor heavily down the stretch. Staying one step ahead of your opponents is crucial to your chances of winning it all.

Our in-season draft guide caters to all the managers out there, no matter the situation. All your bases are covered, including the player rankings for the rest of the season. Based on eight-category leagues, I have projected who I think will shine over the final weeks of the regular season as well as the playoffs. I breakdown each team, detailing a few late-season sleepers and stream options, based on your categorical requirements. Finally, I touch on a couple of strategies to help you move forward and hopefully emerge victorious come April. Combined with our regular two-week player rankings, trade targets, and waiver wire pieces, you are all set to make a push or dominate in your new fantasy basketball league.

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Projected Player Rankings

Team Analysis

For the purpose of the in-season draft guide, players are categorized using two methods. Sleepers are those who could have sustainable value at some point moving forward. This value is viewed as a natural progression as opposed to injuries to other players. Streamers are those who are unlikely to move into a more sizeable role but can help in specific categories.

Atlanta Hawks

Sleepers

Cam Reddish

Damian Jones

De’Andre Hunter

Streamers

Jeff Teague (assists)

DeAndre Bembry (steals)

Boston Celtics

Streamers

Enes Kanter (rebounds, FG%)

Robert Williams (blocks)

Brooklyn Nets

Sleepers 

Nicolas Claxton

Streamers

DeAndre Jordan (rebounds, FG%)

Garrett Temple (steals, threes)

Caris LeVert (steals)

Charlotte Hornets

Sleepers

Malik Monk

Streamers

Willy Hernangomez (rebounds, FG%)

Dwayne Bacon (points)

Chicago Bulls

Sleepers

Coby White

Streamers

Daniel Gafford (blocks)

Cleveland Cavaliers

Sleepers

Larry Nance (should be rostered)

Kevin Porter Jr. (should be rostered)

Darius Garland

Streamers

John Henson (blocks)

Dallas Mavericks

Sleepers

Delon Wright

Streamers

J.J. Barea (assists)

Jalen Brunson (assists)

Seth Curry (points, threes)

Tim Hardaway Jr. (points, threes)

Denver Nuggets

Sleepers

Jerami Grant (should be rostered)

Streamers

Monte Morris (assists)

Mason Plumlee (rebounds, assists)

Detroit Pistons

Sleepers 

Christian Wood

Bruce Brown

Luke Kennard

Streamers

Svi Mykhailiuk (threes)

Langston Galloway (threes)

Golden State Warriors

Sleepers

Kevon Looney

Marquese Chriss (should be rostered)

Streamers

Eric Paschall (points, rebounds)

Houston Rockets

Sleepers

Danuel House (should be rostered)

Isaiah Hartenstein

Streamers

P.J. Tuckers (steals, rebounds)

Ben McLemore (threes)

Eric Gordon (points, threes)

Indiana Pacers

Streamers

T.J. McConnell (assists)

Aaron Holiday (points, assists)

Doug McDermott (threes)

Goga Bitadze (blocks)

Justin Holiday (threes, steals)

Los Angeles Clippers

Streamers

Landry Shamet (threes)

JaMychal Green (rebounds, threes)

Ivica Zubac (rebounds, blocks, FG%)

Los Angeles Lakers

Streamers

Rajon Rondo (assists)

Kentavious Caldwell-Pope (points, threes)

Danny Green (steals, threes)

Kyle Kuzma (points, threes)

JaVale McGee (rebounds, blocks, FG%)

Dwight Howard (rebounds, FG%)

Memphis Grizzlies

Sleepers

De’Anthony Melton (should be rostered)

Brandon Clarke (should be rostered)

Streamers 

Tyus Jones (assists, steals)

Miami Heat

Streamers

Tyler Herro (points, threes)

Derrick Jones Jr. (steals)

Kelly Olynyk (rebounds, threes)

Milwaukee Bucks

Sleepers 

Donte DiVincenzo (should be rostered)

Streamers

George Hill (assists, FG%)

Ersan Ilyasova (rebounds, threes)

Robin Lopez (rebounds, blocks, FG%)

Minnesota Timberwolves

Sleepers

Shabazz Napier (should be rostered)

Jarrett Culver

Streamers 

Josh Okogie (steals)

New Orleans Pelicans

Sleepers

Jaxson Hayes

Streamers

J.J. Redick (points, threes)

Josh Hart (rebounds, steals)

E’Twaun Moore (points, threes)

Frank Jackson (points)

New York Knicks

Streamers

Damyean Dotson (points, threes)

Wayne Ellington (threes)

Frank Ntilikina (steals, assists)

R.J. Barrett (points)

Oklahoma City Thunder

Orlando Magic

Streamers

D.J. Augustin (points, assists)

Mo Bamba (blocks)

Michael Carter-Williams (assists, steals)

Philadelphia 76ers

Streamers

Shake Milton (points, threes)

Matisse Thybulle (steals, blocks)

Raul Neto (assists)

Phoenix Suns

Sleepers 

Mikal Bridges (should be rostered)

Streamers

Jevon Carter (steals, assists)

Aron Baynes (rebounds, threes)

Cameron Johnson (threes)

Cheick Diallo (rebounds, blocks)

Portland Trail Blazers

Streamers

Anfernee Simons (points, threes)

Gary Trent Jr. (points, threes)

Trevor Ariza (steals, threes)

Skal Labissiere (rebounds, blocks)

Sacramento Kings

Sleepers

Harry Giles

Streamers

Kent Bazemore (steals)

Harrison Barnes (points)

Cory Joseph (steals, assists)

Dewayne Dedmon (rebound, blocks)

San Antonio Spurs

Sleepers 

Jakob Poeltl

Derrick White (should be rostered)

Streamers

Patty Mills (points, threes)

Trey Lyles (rebounds)

Toronto Raptors

Streamers

Terence Davis (points, threes)

O.G. Anunoby (steals)

Chris Boucher (rebounds, blocks)

Utah Jazz

Streamers 

Jordan Clarkson (points, threes)

Joe Ingles (assists, threes)

Washington Wizards

Sleepers 

Mo Wagner

Troy Brown Jr.

Rui Hachimura

Streamers

Isaiah Thomas (points, assists)

Ish Smith (points, assists)

Jordan McRae (points

In-Season Strategies

Managers everywhere are either sitting atop their standings or languishing at the bottom. However, many of you are somewhere in the middle, fighting to scrape into your league’s playoffs. If this is you, there might be a couple of strategies you could enact moving forward.

Punting

The first is to consider punting, even if it is something you have tried to avoid thus far. Take a look at your standings to see where you rank in each category. Chances are you are well placed in a few while struggling in others. The aim is to try and build on your strengths, even if that means trading away a favorite player of yours. For instance, perhaps you are stronger in guard-heavy categories such as threes, assists, steals, and free-throw percentage. You may also have Rudy Gobert on your roster, a player who negatively impacts basically all of those areas. Gobert has been playing well over the past month and you can probably trade him away for a top-20 player such as Devin Booker. This move could certainly help as you look to establish a solid base for the last few weeks.

In addition to trading to bolster your strong categories, simply targeting certain players on the waiver wire can help. If you have a set of statistics you are chasing, try to find those when scouring the wire. Don’t be afraid to pick up a player who only helps in one or two categories. If you are strong in steals but could do with a small boost, consider someone like Matisse Thybulle. He will not help you in anything other than steals and blocks but that could be enough to get you over the hump.

Streaming

The second strategy is to look at streaming a couple of roster spots to maximize games played. This is, of course, dependant on your leagues’ settings. If you are able to stream as much as you like in any given week, the method is simple. check the waivers every day and pick up players based on matchup and categorical need. If your league has a limit per week, there is a little more planning required. You will need to be aware of how many games each team plays during the week. In addition, knowing which teams are playing on the low-volume days can be crucial. Our schedule grid is an easy way to plan for the week ahead, taking the leg-work out and making life a whole lot easier.

Using either of these methods could help as you push to make a late charge towards the championship.

Is Adam on the money with his in-season draft guide? Let him know in the comments below! Also, check out our waiver wire and all of our other fantasy basketball content.

Adam is your go-to man for anything fantasy basketball related. Follow him on twitter @adamking91 or hit us up @fantrax or @fantraxnba

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