Typically, the competition in Week 18 is split into two parts: Part one is before All-star Break and Part II is directly after. Part one of week 18 takes us from a wild trade deadline up until the All-Star break, which marks the time where players start to gear down (or shut down) leading up to the All-Star festivities. During this window, our goal is to sneak in productivity wherever possible. Due to the nature of the scheduling, a weaker team can gain an advantage and upset a stronger team. To avoid an upset, monitor your star players to see if they are playing or sitting out for rest as many teams will rest their players to give them an extended period of time before the final stretch of the NBA season. Expect your players to go “Day-to-Day” and look for oppurtunites to stream back-up players in higher usage roles.
Let’s dive in.
NBA Schedule Preview
The weekly breakdown of games is as follows:
- February 14, Monday: 9 games
- February 15, Tuesday: 7 games
- February 16, Wednesday: 11 games
- February 17, Thursday: 5 games
- February 18, Friday: 0 games
- February 19, Saturday: 0 games
- February 20, Sunday: 0 games
Teams with 3 games this week (6)
WAS, BKN, MIL, LAC, NOR, HOU
Teams with 2 games this week (22)
UTA, PHO, SAS, NYK, MEM, CHI, MIN, ORL, TOR, SAC, POR, OKC, ATL, IND, MIA, BOS, DEN, PHI, GSW, CHA, DAL, DET
Teams with 1 game this week (2)
CLE, LAL
Streaming Options: Team Edition
Identifying streaming value might be a little tricky this week given the potential volatility. The below teams have the best schedule to add games, playing both low nights: Tuesday and Thursday. The Brooklyn Nets were added since they will be without Kyrie Irving (should play Wednesday only), Kevin Durant, and Ben Simmons until after the break. The Nets should be a treasure trove of backup players getting big minutes.
- MILWAUKEE BUCKS (MONDAY, TUESDAY, THURSDAY)
- LOS ANGELES CLIPPERS (MONDAY, TUESDAY, THURSDAY)
- NEW ORLEANS PELICANS (MONDAY, TUESDAY THURSDAY)
- MIAMI HEAT (TUESDAY, THURSDAY)
- PHILADELPHIA 76ERS (TUESDAY, THURSDAY)
- CHARLOTTE HORNETS (TUESDAY, THURSDAY)
- DALLAS MAVERICKS (TUESDAY, THURSDAY)
- BROOKLYN NETS (MONDAY, WEDNESDAY, THURSDAY)
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