Hello, the Week 11 slate in the NBA is here, and it provides a balanced schedule with plenty of streaming opportunities.  The week kicks off with the traditional five-game Christmas Day slate and ends on New Year’s Eve with an eight-game day.  There will be plenty of holiday activities on your schedule this week, so let us get to the fantasy basketball business you desire.

Do not forget to check out the fantastic Advanced Schedule Grid on Hashtag Basketball.  Without further ado, let us jump right into it.

Weekly lock leagues

Tip of the week:  15 teams or exactly half the league play four games this week.  Your lineup should feature mostly four game players.  Only the Portland Trail Blazers play two games this week.  Damian Lillard is probably in your starting five, but I would likely bench any other option for a player going double the number of games.

Note: 14 teams play three games this week, so do not be surprised to see a few of them in your starting grid.  It is always difficult to bench a top 50 option with three games, but be sure to check your waiver wire.

Top 10 potential pickups playing four games:  (All ownership percentages based on ESPN leagues and under 40 percent owned was the cut-off for available on the waiver wire)

1. Courtney Lee- New York Knicks (39.0%)
2. Wesley Matthews- Dallas Mavericks (34.5%)
3. Markieff Morris- Washington Wizards (27.3%)- Four games this week, but still rounding into form. A worthy addition for his season-long value, though.
4. Justin Holiday- Chicago Bulls (39.7%)
5. Caris LeVert- Brooklyn Nets (27.0%)
6. Michael Beasley- New York Knicks (27.7%)- Increased scoring opportunities with Tim Hardaway Jr. sidelined and Beasley is taking advantage. Ride a hot hand before the bottom drops out.
7. Bojan Bogdanovic- Indiana Pacers (28.9%)
8. Buddy Hield- Sacramento Kings (22.8%)- Should see a boost in minutes with De’Aaron Fox out for the next two weeks.
9. Bobby Portis-Chicago Bulls (28.0%)
10. Denzel Valentine- Chicago Bulls (10.1%)

Daily roster changes

First, a word on the schedule itself: There is just one day with double-digit games this week.  Wednesday features ten games.  I find that ten game slates are often borderline in a standard league of streaming or not, but I will eliminate Wednesday for our purposes today.

NOTE: The top two schedules this week regarding quality games are the Houston Rockets and the Philadelphia 76ers.  If I am picking up only one player this week, those are the first two places I would search.

Back-to-backs

Monday-Tuesday

No teams scheduled.

Tuesday-Thursday pseudo

Detroit Pistons

Ish Smith (3.0%)- produces a steady four assists nightly.

Stanley Johnson (1.6%)- hot lately, but most just a steals streamer with upside for double-digit points on a solid FG%.

Reggie Bullock (1.1%)- taking advantage of the Avery Bradley injury (expected back around Jan. 1).  Been a safe steal per game with 10 points during his absence.

Anthony Tolliver (0.6%)- 3-pointers made streamer this week with Bradley out.

Milwaukee Bucks

John Henson (20.3%)- blocks and rebounds add.

Matthew Dellavedova (0.1%)- deeper league assists stream.

Orlando Magic

*Nikola Vucevic, Aaron Gordon, and Evan Fournier are all currently out.  Vucevic is out 6-8 weeks, but the other two could return this week.

Mario Hezonja (3.2%)- Over the last seven games, Hezonja is averaging 28.3 minutes, 4.7 rebounds, 1.4 assists, 0.7 blocks, 1.4 steals, 2.1 3-pointers made and 13.6 points per contest.

Bismack Biyombo (1.2%)- Could be in for a significant run with Vuc out.  Always a good rebounds and blocks stream when given the minutes.

San Antonio Spurs

Tony Parker (5.8%)- assists streamer

Patty Mills (5.2%)- deeper league points and threes add.

Thursday-Friday

Houston Rockets

Ryan Anderson (28.0%)- 3-pointers made streamer.

P.J. Tucker (4.1%)- Rebounds and steals add.

Milwaukee Bucks

Listed under Tuesday-Thursday pseudo.

Friday-Saturday

Atlanta Hawks

Taurean Prince (35.8%)- ADD HIM!

Ersan Ilyasova (12.4%)- A streaky player who is running hot right now.

Marco Belinelli (6.2%)- Threes stream that is good for a steal per game and double-digit points.

Miami Heat

Josh Richardson (34.7%)- ADD HIM!

Kelly Olynyk (20.5%)- Solid across the board line given his 22.4 minutes per game.

Tyler Johnson (17.7%)- If you need blocks from a guard, Johnson and Richardson are your men.  Johnson always provides a little extra too.

Wayne Ellington (2.8%)- Averaging 2.8 3-pointers made per game.

Bam Adebayo (2.2%)- Playing well with Whiteside out, should produce at least ten rebounds and 15 points across the back-to-back.

New Orleans Pelicans

E’Twaun Moore (24.5%)- Nothing flashy, but 1.8 threes with two assists, a steal, and 13 points per game is solid production.

Darius Miller (0.6%)- 1.9 threes in just 20.8 minutes a night.

Golden State Warriors

Andre Iguodala (9.8%)- No guarantee he plays both games, but he is averaging 4.0 rebounds and 3.2 assists per game.

Jordan Bell (4.9%)- Playing fantastic in Draymond Green’s absence, Bell should be a rebound, steals, and blocks add.  Monitor Green’s status, though.

David West (1.6%)- blocks stream (1.2 per game).

Saturday-Sunday

Memphis Grizzlies

Andrew Harrison (1.1%)- A hot run of games with Conley out.  Safe for a steal, two plus assists per game.

Philadelphia 76ers

Trevor Booker/Richaun Holmes/Amir Johnson- If Embiid remains out, all three players are worth a look, but I suspect Joel is back on Christmas Day.

T.J. McConnell (5.5%)- assists and steals add.

Looking ahead to Week 12

Perhaps, you have an extra pickup heading into Sunday’s games and would like to take advantage of both that and the beginning of next week.  Here is the place for you:

Sunday-Monday of Week 12

Brooklyn Nets

Caris LeVert (27.0%)- Solid across the board line for the season in just 26.5 minutes per night.  Creeping into must-own territory.

Allen Crabbe (9.0%)- Points and threes stream.

Chicago Bulls

Justin Holiday (39.7%)- Counting stats add up owning Holiday, but the FG% hurts.

Bobby Portis (28.0%)- per minute points and rebounds accumulator.

Denzel Valentine (10.1%)- two 3-pointers made, 5.2 rebounds, and 3.0 assists per game on the season.

David Nwaba (3.9%)- Deeper league rebounds, steals, and block add.

Jerian Grant (4.4%)- assists stream in a deeper league.

Los Angeles Lakers

Larry Nance Jr. (22.8%)- rebounds and steals addition.

Minnesota Timberwolves

Jamal Crawford (5.2%)- points and threes stream.

Final thoughts

Hopefully, the Schedule Primer is becoming a must in your weekly schedule.  Please check back with us next week for another edition.  Be sure to check out the Watching the Boxes Podcast for all the fantasy basketball information you desire in a podcast.