Fantasy Basketball brings us Week 10, and it is the last one before the Christmas Day games. That special day means the fantasy regular season is reaching the halfway point. So it is time to buckle down and dominate your head-to-head matchups.

Weekly lock leagues

Tips for the week: A massive 19 teams play four times this week. The Denver Nuggets have just two games and the remaining ten squads have three contests. It would be difficult to start any Nugget except for Nikola Jokic this week. Find someone playing four games and throw them into your starting lineup.

Here is a look at four games players who are worth putting into your starting lineup.

Top 10 additions playing four games: (All percentages are based on Yahoo leagues and under 50 percent rostered was the line for available on the waiver wire)

1. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander- LA Clippers (48%)- The rookie is producing 1.0 steal and 0.7 blocks per game in 27.1 minutes a night on the season. His playing time should only improve which gives him some unique fantasy upside from the guard position.
2. Wesley Matthews- Dallas Mavericks (49%)- Matthews is the 139th ranked player on the season according to Basketball Monster. His 14.8 points with 2.3 3-pointers made, 2.5 rebounds, 2.3 assists, and 0.8 steals make him a fantastic stream in all leagues.
3. P.J. Tucker- Houston Rockets (30%)- Tucker is averaging 6.1 rebounds, 1.1 steals, and 1.9 3-pointers per game on the season.
4. J.J. Barea- Dallas Mavericks (16%)- Barea’s 5.4 assists per game are likely unmatched on the waiver wire, and he should kick in 40 points and ten rebounds for the week if healthy.
5. Kevon Looney- Golden State Warriors (5%)- Add him for rebounds, assists, and blocks with a high field goal percentage (on limited attempts) until DeMarcus Cousins makes his season debut.
6. JaMychal Green- Memphis Grizzlies (32%)- Green is shooting well and producing 11.2 points, 6.8 rebounds, 1.0 steal, and 0.6 blocks so far this season. The defensive stats likely do not stick but ride the hot hand.
7. Cedi Osman- Cleveland Cavaliers (22%)- Osman is playing over 32 minutes per game in the month of December, but the poor shooting and lack of defensive stats hurt his value. He is scoring double-digit points with 5.0 rebounds and 2.5 assists per game on the season, though.
8. Cory Joseph- Indiana Pacers (11%)- Joseph is averaging 3.6 rebounds, 3.9 assists, and 1.3 steals per game on the season. He is a sneaky pickup to boost those categories.
9. Mikal Bridges- Phoenix Suns (10%)- Bridges is playing 32.0 minutes per game in December. He is also averaging 1.4 steals and 0.6 blocks per game in that time with 1.9 3-pointers made. Add him for help in those three categories.
10. De’Anthony Melton- Phoenix Suns (20%)- Steals and assists add that has upside for more minutes.

Daily roster changes

First, a word on the schedule itself: The slate eliminates three days for streaming right off the bat. There are 12 games on Wednesday, ten on Friday, and 11 on Sunday. That forces managers to work around those days to maximize their games.

Note: The Dallas Mavericks and the Houston Rockets have the top schedules of the week by playing four games with three on light days.

Back-to-backs

Monday-Tuesday

No teams scheduled.

Tuesday-Thursday pseudo

Dallas Mavericks

Wesley Matthews (49%)- Matthews provides 14.8 points with 2.3 3-pointers made, 2.5 rebounds, 2.3 assists, and 0.8 steals on the season.

J.J. Barea (16%)- Barea’s likely the best assists streamer on the waiver wire when healthy.

Dorian Finney-Smith (5%)- DFS is a steals add (1.2 per game) who is producing 4.5 rebounds and 0.6 blocks per game on the year.

Dirk Nowitzki (31%)- The legend is still working his way back from ankle surgery and is not playing enough minutes to stream. There is no guarantee Dirk plays more than 20 per game all season, so do not be afraid to cut Dirk and look for a more steady option.

Thursday-Saturday pseudo

Miami Heat

Bam Adebayo (42%)- A rebounds, blocks, and steals streamer even in limited minutes.

Justise Winslow (37%)- Rebounds and assists streamer who provides nearly one steal per game.

Houston Rockets

P.J. Tucker (30%)- An addition for rebounds, steals, and 3-pointers made.

Gerald Green (2%)- Deeper league 3-pointers made streamer.

LA Clippers

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (48%)- Steals and blocks add with the potential to play more minutes as the season goes on. SGA should be a top-100 player by season’s end.

Patrick Beverley (14%)- Steals and blocks guard, but his minutes need to improve to reach his full potential.

Dallas Mavericks

Listed under Tuesday-Thursday pseudo.

Looking ahead to Week 11

It is important to win your matchup this week, but winning two in a row is ideal. A fantastic way to gain an advantage is using a pickup in Week 10 that helps managers in Week 11. That gets a bit messy this week because Sunday has 11 games and no teams play on Monday (which is Christmas Eve). We will look at the team’s that play Saturday and Tuesday, though.

Saturday and Tuesday of Week 11 pseudo

Philadelphia 76ers

T.J. McConnell (5%)- Deeper league add for assists and steals on fantastic percentages (limited attempts).

Golden State Warriors

Kevon Looney (5%)- Looney is averaging 5.6 rebounds, 3.0 assists, and 1.0 block in the month of December over 24.9 minutes per game.

Milwaukee Bucks

Ersan Ilyasova (6%)- 5.5 rebounds per game puts Ilyasova in the deeper league streaming class.

Oklahoma City Thunder

Nerlens Noel (12%)- Noel is averaging 1.0 steal and 1.4 blocks per game on the season with 5.0 rebounds in just 14.1 minutes of action.

Utah Jazz

Jae Crowder (42%)- Crowder is providing 11.9 points, 4.6 rebounds, and 2.0 3-pointers made on the season.

Kyle Korver (5%)- Deeper league 3-pointers made streamer.

Houston Rockets

Listed under Thursday-Saturday pseudo.

Final thoughts

That concludes the look at the week’s schedule for head-to-head fantasy basketball leagues.  Be sure to check out the Watching the Boxes Podcast for all your fantasy basketball needs throughout the week, including trade targets, waiver wire adds, and a look at the players performing unexpectedly.