One week ago I said this disc golf game on the phone was going to be a flavor of the week. Well, I just played it for two straight hours procrastinating writing this because I’m an adult and this is really what being an adult is all about. Anyone that says they get everything done ahead of time is a psychopath or has superhuman work ethic. For posterity, my relative skill level at this phone game is probably about the same as my relative skill at actual disc golf. Basically I’m terrible.

I’m also going to shamelessly plug my favorite video game. I’m not a gamer by any means but I do dabble on occasion. My friends and I have been a fan of the franchise Super Mega Baseball from Metalhead Software for years (Check them out!) and I was recently validated that our silly idea to create a bunch of fake teams and fake punily-named players, hold drafts and compete in a simulated league was a cute and creative idea. After hiding this from the world for months I want to present myself as that guy with a fake cartoon baseball league made up of punny players like Chew Morgum and Corky Lumbar with at least seven associated spreadsheets with stats. If you ever feel embarrassed, remember I exist.

I was recently informed that Jae Crowder tweets in all caps and I’m so angry about it that I probably need to drop him in a league that I definitely can’t afford to do that. This is just an insurmountable hurdle for me and Jae who I’ve always supported as a man who went to a great school. Don’t act on my emotions and heed that advice. Heed some of the advice below instead.

Week 10 Stream Table

In the stream table, home games are in orange because basketballs are orange. Road games are in blue because blue is not orange. As always, check back for cancellations. I already pulled out a postponed Spurs-Pacers game but there seem to be more on the way.

Back to Backs

Brought to you by Drake*

*not actually

Sun/Mon (of Week 9): OKC
Mon/Tues: DAL, POR, WAS
Tues/Weds: ATL, BOS, CLE, DET, GSW, MIN, TOR
Weds/Thurs: NOP
Thurs/Fri: LAC, MEM, SAC
Fri/Sat: IND, OKC, UTA
Sat/Sun: MIN, NYK, WAS
Sun/Mon (of Week 11):  CHA, CHI, HOU

Working The Wire

After a couple snoozy weeks, we’re right back to one of the more exciting groups we’ve had. Thanks COVID.

Point Guards

Theo Maledon: It seems like young Theo is going to be the primary point guard for an Oklahoma City team that’s going to end up sending more time scouting for the 2025 NBA draft in 2021 than trying to win games. George Hill is still on the roster and might split some time, but this should be the rookie’s job most of the way.

Brad Wanamaker: Mychal Mulder got the start for the Warriors with Stephen Curry on the shelf with an undisclosed illness but only played 16 minutes. If Curry is forced to miss time and especially if this is a COVID-19 issue (which the Warriors said it’s not), Wanamaker probably gets more important minutes. There will be shots to go around and hopefully we’ll know more by the time this piece is making the rounds on the world wide web.

On the Radar
Facundo Campazzo: Minutes are king. I’m a little surprised it took so long for Campazzo to make an appearance. Getting to top-100 value over the last two weeks on the back of 1.6 steals per game.

Shooting Guards

Garrett Temple: New week, new Bull. Billy Donovan is playing chicken with this group of guards and wings trying to figure out the best combos. Temple has maintained a reliable minute share and is a top-120 player over the last two weeks averaging 31 minutes per game. He’s a definite play in all deeper formats and is worth streaming at this stage.

Tomas Satoransky: Bulls corner continues and I think Sato is just going to become a regular here because the minutes are there. He’s solid if unspectacular, which was also my nickname in high school. Boring wins leagues sometimes.

On the Radar
Damion Lee: Keep an eye on these minutes if Steph Curry misses time. He didn’t really get much extra run compared to previous games and Mychal Mulder started in front of him, so this is a strict monitor.

Small Forwards

Derrick Jones Jr.: DJJ has always had a weird stat set for fantasy and this season it seems like that’s at a totally different level. He’s not a shooter, he’s rebounding at clip he hasn’t really come close to before and he’s… blocking a shot a game and almost two a game the last two weeks? The minute share we’re seeing is here to stay and definitely guaranteed with CJ McCollum out.

 Jeff Green: Just stopping by to say that Jeff Green definitely shouldn’t be getting dropped even though there have been a couple stinkers of late. The minutes were there even with Kevin Durant in the picture so there’s no reason that won’t continue to be the case. The stat set leaves something to be desired but on sheer volume Green is a late-round play.

On the Radar
James Ennis: Top-75 guy over the last two weeks (just four games). In 27 minutes per game he can be a streamer 3-and-D energy guy.

Power Forwards

Dorian Finney Smith: Who knew that Dorian Finney-Smith has been a top-50 player over the last two weeks? It comes with the territory of making two-thirds of your shots, I guess. He’s also secretly been a borderline top-100 player on the year as a 9-cat 3-and-D type.

Maxi Kleber: I reserve individual positions for certain teams so this is now Mavericks station. Reminder that Maxi Kleber is underappreciated and is casually top-150 in 9-category leagues in just 25.6 minutes per game. He’s a hot shooting stretch from being a top-100 type asset because he blocks shots and makes triples. The problem is I’ve never actually seen him make a 3-pointer in real life so I don’t believe that he’s actually making close to two per game.

On the Radar
Chuma Okeke: It’s a weird statline for Okeke because it doesn’t seem like 6.0-4.3-2.3 in the popcorn stats shooting a paltry 36.8% should get him to number 145 in per-game value over the last six, but three cash counters and less than a turnover give him some sneaky streaming value with potential for an expanded role deeper into the season.

Center

Tristan Thompson: Barf. The Celtics were without Daniel Theis for a couple games and Thompson started getting enough time to be a boring double-double threat who never misses shots unless they’re free at the line. This won’t be sustainable but if we’re targeting rebounds in a deep league he’s a safe source. Also here’s some free advice on this free article: Robert Williams is definitely way better but Brad Stevens won’t commit.

 Guillermo Hernangomez: Free Willy! If you need basically what Steven Adams does, Hernangomez is filling in admirably with no defensive stats, good percentages and a boatload of rebounds. Adams is questionable for Sunday’s showcase against Boston so we’ll know more about whether we’ll get more Willy.

On the Radar
Marc Gasol: Marc Gasol is quietly turning back the clock and blocking a bunch of shots for a Lakers team that doesn’t have much big man depth.

The Stream Team

PG: Jordan McLaughlin – Not a bad deep league dive as the backup to the backup who is filling in for D’Angelo Russell. Going to see 18-24 minutes or so and he’s a decent passer also averaging 2.5 steals per game over the last four.

SG: Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot – Consistently getting 20+ minutes off the bench with Kevin Durant out. It’s not a great stat set usually but if he’s going to get a couple steals a night it’s valuable.

SF: Kent Bazemore – Has been a per-minute steals specialist in the past and the Warriors rotation is in flux right now.

PF: Jaden McDaniels – Blocking a crazy two shots in just 23.7 minutes over the last seven games and is a top-150 guy in that stretch. KAT is still figuring out his game coming back from a long absence and McDaniels is a better sight than Naz Reid and definitely Ed Davis right now.

C: Frank Kaminsky – The center position is… not great and Kaminsky is starting so just think about it in your 20-teamers.

 Miscellaneous Musings

I can’t begin to describe how relieved I am that we don’t have to do the DeMarcus Cousins hype show anymore for now. His style just doesn’t translate to this current league climate. It’s not so different from the reason Andre Drummond is worth pennies at this point. We have to go through all this posturing as if Boogie has something big left in the tank but it just feels like we’re reaching way too far. Sure, he probably ends up on the Lakers or Nets to chase a ring so good for him, I guess.

I don’t envy anyone who is playing fantasy basketball this year especially in the DFS realm because things like Steph Curry’s late illness scratch are going to leave us with a lot of questions about his status, how long he’ll be out, whether it’s from a viral infection you may have heard of before or if he’s just sniffly with a headache. The Warriors said it’s not a COVID issue but I’m not committing unless we know for sure. How many daily slates did that affect? Even if you’re locked right in every lineup leading up to the games it’s still hard to overcome. I’ve written more words about Brad Wanamaker today than I expected to and tomorrow we’re going to find out Steph is cool, he just had an extra booger. Also, the fact that I make a schedule grid every week but can’t say with any confidence that the games will definitely be played adds a whole different wrinkle. I feel like this isn’t the year for me to get hard into the DFS scene.

In my personal non-basketball endeavors, I stayed up until 4:30 last night watching a very one-sided tennis match and I’m learning I’m just not as young as I once was. The end of this piece is fading away and I’m still in a drowsy daze even though it’s solidly after noon now on Sunday. Partially it’s good because it gives us more time to see whether Steven Adams the mysterious mountain will ruin the Hernangomez stream, but it also has me in a space where the morning doesn’t end until 2:00 PM and no amount of coffee will change that because caffeine means nothing to me. If you want to talk tennis, cartoon baseball, why mornings suck, or why coffee is not the lifeblood that fuels the dreams of champions (or basketball I guess), hit me up on Twitter here. Happy streaming and stay safe!