Hello loyal readers and welcome to the Week Ahead, where we take you through what to look out for in this week’s schedule.

But first a Happy Martin Luther King Jr. Day! This day has become an important one in the NBA and just on a personal level, I think that’s one of the coolest things the NBA has done in recent years. Embracing MLK Day as a day full of basketball, using prime matchups similar to Christmas Day and creating a tradition that includes a game in Memphis every year to honor Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. is a great way to celebrate this holiday. No other sports league in the world has embraced and praised the importance of civil rights like the NBA has and today serves as a great reminder of that.

Enjoy today’s full 11-game slate and if you can honor Dr. King’s legacy in some small way, you can do so with one simple thing – never stop dreaming.

Games Played Breakdown

Four Games: Grizzlies, Heat, Jazz, Knicks, Lakers, Nets, Pacers, Pistons, Raptors, Spurs

Three Games: Blazers, Bucks, Bulls, Cavs, Celtics, Clippers, Hawks, Hornets, Kings, Magic, Nuggets, Pelicans, Rockets, Sixers, Thunder, Warriors, Wizards, Wolves

Two Games: Mavericks, Suns

The Mavericks and Suns don’t exactly roll out lineups full of fantasy studs in the first place so their two-game schedules for the week hinder their worth even more. As the only two teams playing less than three this week, they can just about be ignored for your matchups this week from a weekly lineup perspective and in streaming.

On the flipside, there’s 10 teams with four-game schedules, ready to maximize your matchups for the week.

These four-game schedules are not created equal however as a few teams stand out from the rest. The Utah Jazz are a great example as they sport perhaps the best schedule of the week. Utah has been a different animal offensively when they play at home so it helps matters that three of their four come in Salt Lake this week. Their three home games all come against teams in the bottom half of the league in defensive efficiency – today against the Pacers, Friday versus the Knicks and Saturday, taking on the Clippers. Utah’s lone road game of the week comes against the Kings, a team surrendering 105.5 points per game at home, 10^th worst in the league. The Jazz is a team full of contributors thanks to not having any real stars at the moment. Scour your waiver wire for Jazz players as this is the week to plug them in.

In terms of streaming, despite both of these teams only having three-game schedules for the week, the Celtics and Magic have perfect schedules for streaming. There are three days this week that have four-game slates, no other day has less than seven games on the docket. Tuesday, Thursday and Sunday are our light nights in the league and the Celtics and Magic are featured on all three. Boston’s depth means there’s bound to be some Celtic contributors on your waiver wire and if there were ever a week to target guys from the Magic, this is it. Boston and Orlando give you your best chance to maximize opportunities this week but if you’re not finding any standouts from those teams, the Blazers, Pacers and Wolves are in action on two of those three nights and would also give you a nice advantage over your opponent.

Wire Watch

De’Aaron Fox, PG, Kings

This year’s rookie class has been flat out unfair with breakouts seemingly coming on a nightly basis. It’s come to the point that guys having average rookie seasons actually look bad because of how many first-year players are playing out of their minds. Fox is one of those guys. Entering the season, he was among the most hyped rookies in the league and because he hasn’t broken out to the extent of Kyle Kuzma, Donovan Mitchell or Lauri Markkanen, some have been disappointed. Patience pays off and those that stuck with Fox are starting to reap the rewards as he’s gone on a nice six-game run after returning from injury. In the last six, Fox is averaging 14.3 points, 6.7 assists, 1.8 steals and one 3-pointer. He’s scored 15 or more four times in that span and has also dished out 10 assists twice. There’s not much to be excited about with the Kings but Fox could be well on his way to something special.

Kyle Anderson, SF, Spurs

If you need somebody to do a little bit of everything, Anderson should be a prime candidate. In 9-cat, Anderson has been a sneaky play and has actually produced top-100 value. Despite this, Anderson is available in at least 85 percent of leagues on ESPN and Yahoo. He’s not a glamour stat guy but he’s solid all-around and you’re looking at a perfect week to make a move and grab him. Rudy Gay has been sitting out with a heel injury and Kawhi Leonard is still likely to get some nights off with his list of injuries while the Spurs have one of the best schedules of the week. At the Hawks, Nets and Raptors and finishing with a home game against the Pacers, the Spurs have one of the most fantasy friendly schedules and Anderson has found plenty of ways to contribute as of late. Anderson has grabbed at least five boards in the last 11 games and is averaging 7.2 points, 6.3 rebounds, 2.2 assists and 1.6 steals to go with 52 percent shooting and 88 percent from the line in that time.

Bismack Biyombo, C, Magic

As I mentioned, the Magic have a prime schedule for streaming this week but Biz could very well be better than just “stream worthy.” Since Nikola Vucevic’s injury, Biyombo has been excellent and has become a must-add. In the nine games since Vuc’s injury, Bismack has gone for 10.1 points, 10.9 rebounds and 1.9 blocks while shooting 57 percent from the floor and 88 percent from the charity stripe. Don’t wait on Biyombo.

Injury Report

James Harden (hamstring) could return this week according to coach Mike D’Antoni. Watch out for his return as early as Thursday against the Wolves or possibly Saturday in a showdown against the Warriors.

Kyle Lowry (back) says he plans to play today against the Sixers after missing the last three games.

Rudy Gobert (knee) will miss at least another week.

Jayson Tatum (knee) didn’t practice Saturday and his status should be watched ahead of the Celtics’ game with the Pelicans on Tuesday. The same can be said for Al Horford (calf).

Rudy Gay (heel) will miss the Spurs’ game against the Hawks today but could return by week’s end. Consider him day-to-day.

DeAndre Jordan (ankle) is questionable for tonight’s game against the Rockets after missing the first game of his career due to injury on Saturday night.

Elsewhere for the Clippers, Austin Rivers (heel) will be re-evaluated this week and could be looking at a return, pending the evaluation.

Myles Turner (elbow) is out for Monday night’s game against the Jazz and it hasn’t been guaranteed that Turner will return to the Pacers during their current road trip which goes all the way through the end of the week. Keep an eye on this as he should be considered day-to-day until ruled out.

Brandon Ingram (ankle) and Lonzo Ball (knee) are both questionable for today’s game against the Grizzlies.

T.J. Warren (back) didn’t play last night for the Suns and should be considered questionable for their meeting with the Blazers on Tuesday, as should Marquese Chriss (hip).

D’Angelo Russell (knee) will not play today when the Nets play the Knicks but he could return at any point later this week.