If you look at the NBA in the same fashion as the NFL then there are 25 weeks of NBA action. By breaking down each week and analyzing team schedules you can load your roster with players playing more games and sit those who are playing fewer games.
If all this sounds like a lot of work then you need not worry; because we have done the legwork for you. We are posting a weekly NBA start em’ and sit em’ fantasy guide to assist you in maximizing your fantasy roster potential.
Week 12 in the NBA runs officially from January 15th through to January 21st. This week sees a few scheduling anomalies that can certainly be worked to ones advantage. First off we see that the Atlanta Hawks play a measly two games this week and although there aren’t any outstanding fantasy options for the Hawks; any you do have need to be sat down for the week.
The majority of the rest of the association all play three or in most cases four games; this is a particularly busy week in the league for all. Given that it is such a busy week many of the top fantasy options like Stephen Curry, James Harden, Blake Griffin. Kevin Love, Kevin Durant, Anthony Davis and John Wall are all in play.
Aside from this group of fantasy-studs there are some even better options out there for you. The Portland Trailblazers and the Miami Heat both play an uber busy five game work week. Given that these two teams have fantasy studs of their own; let’s focus on the busier few.
We shall start in Miami as the Heat embark on their five game schedule that sees them play four road games in a row followed by a lone home game. The roadie has stops in Washington, Philadelphia, Charlotte and Atlanta and the home game is against the Boston Celtics.
Not that the point need to be belaboured at all, but it goes without saying that LeBron James is a top producing fantasy option each and every week of the season. This week in particular marks a time when “King James” is an absolute must start given the condensed work week for the Heat. Five games of Lebron stats can be worth six or seven games of any second-tier player out there.
From Miami let’s go all the way west and take a look at the Portland Trailblazers. The Blazers are loaded with solid fantasy options and this week is a great time to slot them into your roster. The road ahead for the Blazers this week is anything but easy as they play a single home game against Cleveland followed by a tough four game road swing that sees stops in San Antonio, Dallas, Houston and Oklahoma City.
The easiest choice amongst the bunch is none other than LaMarcus Aldridge. The seven-year pro and now potential MVP candidate is having a monster season. He has been consistent all season long with his averages of 24 ppg and 11 rpg. Five games worth of Aldridge stats will outperform four games of Davis’, Durant’s and even Kevin Love’s numbers.
A complementary piece to Aldridge is his frontcourt mate Robin Lopez. As teams have been cheating to double team Aldridge, the ball has been moved to Lopez who is contributing nicely in his own right. For the month of January Lopez is averaging 13.6 ppg and 9.4 rpg. Look for Lopez to go hard over this five game stretch and give you some nice fantasy numbers.
By no means is he a third-option, but Damian Lillard would be a beautiful addition this week. The second-year guard is experiencing few growing pains and any sophomore slump talk is well behind this dynamic player.
Lillard is fresh of a ridiculous 41 point, 7 rebound and 4 assist performance at the hands of the Sacramento Kings and he will be looking to carry the momentum forward. The opposition this week for the Blazers is quite frontcourt dependant and Lillard will be called upon to shoot the ball from the outside in order to keep defenses honest against Aldridge and Lopez.
I’m loving the Portland trio this week as between them the fantasy output will be chart-topping. If you are able to throw Lebron into that mix and add in a scrub to balance the roster then you will certainly distance yourself from your fellow general managers.