Week 7 Matchup Rankings

This weekly ranking is based on opponents’ points given up per possession based on pace.

4 Games	3 Games	2 Games
Minnesota Chicago Utah New York Washington San Antonio Boston Portland Miami LA Clippers Milwaukee Toronto Philadelphia Detroit Phoenix LA Lakers Oklahoma City Memphis Charlotte	Houston Brooklyn Orlando Dallas New Orleans Golden State Atlanta Indiana	Cleveland Denver Sacramento

What we learned last week

I’m not even mad going against Steph Curry

Not even mad.

Tyreke’s return immediately dropped Ish Smith out of standard fantasy leagues

This was always going to happen for Smith eventually. Coach Gentry is now playing around with rotations and lineups. Could be a bumpy road for Gordon, Holiday, and Evans, especially when Holiday starts playing 30+ minutes a night.

Bazemore’s value is slipping in Atlanta in favor of the veteran Sefolosha

I think his reduced minutes are more a symptom of their rotation needs than his right ankle issues. Even coming off the bench he is capable of providing standard league value, just don’t expect to see consistent production without consistent minutes.

Plumlee and Aminu’s slumps allowed guys like Allen Crabbe and Ed Davis to play a larger role in the rotation

I’m not ready ride any of these guys out, but Meyers Leonard’s specific skillset, and Ed Davis’s 9-category ability are both intriguing enough for flyers if your roster will allow it. Be prepared to swing and miss with both of them, though.

Shane Larkin had an interesting week for Brooklyn

Which goes to show what a mess the Nets are. I’m going to need to see more consistent minutes from Larkin before getting interested, but he’s now at least someone you will need to pay attention to over the next week or two.

After calling Goran Dragic out, he actually decided to play some competent basketball

He has the ability to be a standard league value, but I’m still suggestion to sell him. Make someone think they are getting a buy low candidate, Dragic won’t return to the value of his previous years.

What to Watch This Week

Monday

San Antonio vs Philadelphia
Tony Wroten is playing his way back into shape after the injury that has kept him sidelined for the start of the year. Wroten is a hot pick by a lot of owners in the past few weeks with Wroten’s return imminent, but it might be a while before he is able to provide anything close to standard league value.

This week we will see if those pickups were put to good use, especially with Canaan and McConnell playing well enough with good minutes. Things are going to get strange with this rotation. Noel continues to struggle, and Jerami Grant is filling up the box score. Grant is probably a fluke, but worth watching.

Tuesday

Golden State vs Indiana
I’m watching Curry play every single night he plays. Barnes being out increases the difficulty level against an Indiana team that is adjusting to small-ball better than most of the league.

Mostly on the back of Paul George, the Pacers have enough three-point threats to return with their own run of threes when Curry and crew decide to go off. But you aren’t going to beat Golden State at their own game, with no real big men Indiana will most likely become another victim of the streak.

Wednesday

Clippers vs Bucks
The Chris Paul injury has given Blake ample opportunity to show off his inner triple-double point-forward dominance, and results have been mixed. I want to see if Griffin can show pure fantasy dominance against a lengthy Buck team. With Redick out as well, extra playing time has been given to Crawford, Lance, Wes Johnson, and Austin Rivers. Nothing here to look at other than streaming potential from Crawford.

The Bucks continue to mess with playing-time and lineups with solid fantasy guys not seeing 30 minutes a game. Will a real rotation emerge? How good is Jabari Parker? Worth a flyer?

Thursday

Knicks vs Kings
Where have Melo and Boogie been? Both not playing up to their usual high standards over the last week, they need to show some sparks in this game. Darren Collison is starting to sneak back in the guard conversation in Sacramento, and the guard conversation in New York is non-existent. Seriously, why is Hose Calderon playing?

Friday

Minnesota vs Denver
Gorgui Dieng had been relegated to lower bench status over the first month of the season, rarely breaking 22 minutes in a game. Over the last two weeks, Dieng has seen 26.5 minutes per game, and has even played alongside rookie Karl-Anthony Towns.

Dieng does enough across each of the nine categories to be very fantasy relevant, even though with just 7-8 less minutes he completely falls off the board. No one is sure why Towns’ minutes are dropping and Dieng’s are increasing. Maybe Minnesota is trying new things, or maybe they are looking to showcase Dieng to increase his value for a trade. Either way, he now should be owned in most leagues.

Denver is one of those few teams that have few fantasy relevant players. After Danilo, the drop-off is hard and fast. Will Barton got over 30 minutes a game, and showed that he can fill up stat lines when given the chances. Will his playing time continue to increase, even with Gary Harris likely coming back after his concussion? Should we be concerned that Harris has missed 5 games with a concussion?

Weekend

Golden State vs Bucks
Seriously, do not miss any games involving Steph Curry.

If you have any fantasy basketball questions or comments follow me on twitter at @WatchTheBoxes.