My emotional availability has come to an end. This is the best Illinois team I’ve seen in 15 years and we lost to Sister Jean who had a book on us the whole time. This is why I said last week that I shouldn’t overcommit to these teams that I have no control over and just care about fantasy because I’m Charles in Charge there. I broke from my norm and had expectations and that was my biggest mistake. I am dooming.

The Bucks are the only team I have right now with my NFL team in a cap crisis, my baseball team in a mediocrity crisis and my hockey team in an actual crisis. I’m a realist and this is my constant sports state, so the Bucks will lose in the conference finals again and all I have to say is: anyone who supports a team that wins a title, don’t act like the people that feel like they deserve it. Misery loves company and I am dead inside. Let’s find some basketball players.

 Week 13 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.

Back to Backs

Brought to you by Drake*

*not actually

Sun/Mon (of Week 12): BOS, CHI, CLE, HOU, IND, OKC, TOR
Mon/Tues: none
Tues/Weds: BKN, DEN, ORL, PHX
Weds/Thurs: LAC, SAC, SAS
Thurs/Fri: GSW, LAL, MIA, POR
Fri/Sat: BOS, CLE, DAL, DET, HOU, MEM, MIL, MIN, NOP, UTA
Sat/Sun: none
Sun/Mon (of Week 14): TOR

Working The Wire

There’s only so many times De’Anthony Melton can appear on this weekly article before he’s makes more appearances here than he does in this weird Grizzlies rotation. He’s still obviously a pickup, but fortunately there are more options as we head to the trade deadline.

Point Guards

T.J. McConnell: If people moved off of McConnell, it’s time to unmove yourself on and get back on the train. Before this huge game he was sitting outside the top-200 in the five games between these two double-doubles so it’s understandable as we approach the fantasy postseason and teams are jostling for positioning. What’s done is done, there’s a lot of steal and assist opportunities for T.J. and the Pacers need him to steady the ship for the second unit.

Ty Jerome: The Thunder are going to be a very interesting source of fantasy value the rest of the way because they’re one of the main teams who can move off of veterans to let marginal youngsters play heavy minutes and experience losing by 20 at the NBA level. Ty Jerome has been deceptively good with this new lease on his career in OKC. We’re looking at a points and threes gunner off the bench.

On the Radar
Kira Lewis Jr.: This will be an interesting monitor if the Pelicans move on from Eric Bledsoe or Lonzo Ball (or both).

Shooting Guards

Reggie Bullock: Bullock is raining threes over the last few weeks, averaging 3.3 per game in 31.3 minutes during the month of March. The last four games have been especially productive with 16.3 points and 4.5 hits from distance. The hot streak is worth a stream in all formats until the full Knicks rotation is back in the picture and Bullock falls back down to 25 minutes. Even then, it wouldn’t be that surprising if he was a streaming option.

Jordan Poole: Poole is kind of an empty scoring streamer who just happens to be on a heater that coincides with a butt injury for Steph Curry. This is a very cautious add to me, because he’s just not giving us much if he’s not shooting an unrealistic percentage like this from the floor. The 10-of-15 and three triples won’t happen every night.

On the Radar
Jaylen Nowell: He’s kept up his high usage scoring output in the minutes he does get. It’s probably worth a stream until DLo comes back, which doesn’t seem too far off.

Kentavious Caldwell-Pope: KCP is bouncing back as a top-120 player over the last two weeks after a stretch of being… pretty terrible. He doesn’t stand out, he’s just not missing a ton of shots.

Small Forwards

Saddiq Bey: Bey vibe check as I find out he’s still owned in just 36% of leagues on Yahoo!. That should definitely be trending up after five games averaging 16.4 points and 3.0 3-pointers. The Pistons aren’t going anywhere fast and it’ll be interesting to see if they clear out Jerami Grant, giving Bey all the looks he can handle. He’s not the top-20 player we saw over the last week, but settling in around the top-125 seems reasonable.

Alec Burks: Burks is hanging out on the outskirts of a definite add. There are things to not like: He didn’t build off of a promising start to the season, he got injured and never really looked the same, he hasn’t done that much with boundless opportunities when he is healthy and on the floor. There also begs the question what happens when Derrick Rose comes back? I suspect Reggie Bullock will lose run before Burks, but both are doing well enough to be a consideration right now.

On the Radar
Talen Horton-Tucker: Before all the Lakers fans get super excited, the conversation is “THT could be a decent streamer” not “THT is the next breakout star”. He’s been serviceable lately and he might have to do extra given the injury to LeBron as this is being drafted.

Power Forwards

Maxi Kleber: Mad Maxi is becoming the Justin Holiday of 2021 where it seems like no one wants him on their team because he’s not exciting. He’s a top-120 player and isn’t even blocking shots at his career pace. We’ve gotten 1.1 blocks per game in each of the last two seasons and this season we’re only getting 0.7 points. There’s no reason he can’t be a top-100 option if he trends closer to that one block mark.

Doug McDermott: Despite taking a lot of shots from distance, McDermott has always been an efficient offensive player. Also, his usage is high when he does play and he’ll pop off for a nice allotment of points. Dougie McBuckets has bucketed at least 12 points in each of his last seven games. This is strictly a points and 3-pointers play.

On the Radar
Markieff Morris: Markieff Morris sticks around on my radar this week with LeBron James going down with a nasty looking ankle injury. He’s out indefinitely.

Center

Moses Brown: The very obvious hotness over the last week and I’m just happy to be able to fill a slot on this list with a big time add and not miss the boat with this time-sensitive weekly piece. Brown flexed his upside in the 20-16-5 line against the Bulls and then fell back to reality with Al Horford back in the picture. He’s definitely an add and monitor as we approach the trade deadline and the home stretch where Al Horford, even if he doesn’t get traded, will mysteriously get tired walking downstairs from his bedroom to the coffee machine.

Nicolas Claxton: I don’t know that he ever gets the minutes to really break out this season, but it’s an interesting skillset nevertheless that needs to be on the radar. Even in just 20 minutes, he’s been up in the streaming conversation just by blocking 1.6 shots per game over the past five contests. I’m not rushing to add in a standard league but I’m keeping an eye.

On the Radar
Khem Birch: I dropped Mo Bamba as a watch-list player because of the potential Vucevic move, but it may actually be Khem Birch who gets the bulk of minutes vacated by a move, especially if the Magic choose to move Aaron Gordon instead. Birch is a high-energy rebounder who might become a streamer in starter’s minutes.

The Stream Team

PG: D.J. Augustin – He’s going to get more minutes in Houston than he was getting in Milwaukee, so there’s some streaming potential as a veteran on a bad team.

SG: Damion Lee – Lee will be a good DFS play and maybe a deep league streamer with Steph banged up. He’s competing directly with Jordan Poole for relevant minutes.

SF: Furkan Korkmaz – Korkmaz has played very well of late and is finding himself on the floor in crunch time lately. Not a bad source of triples in a very deep league.

PF: Drew Eubanks – Deep-league watch list as a top-200 player over six games. Probably doesn’t get much of a role when Aldridge is moved, but stranger things have happened.

C: JaVale McGee – McGee keeps getting picked up and dropped in one of my deeper leagues. 15-20 minutes is basically enough to be borderline.

Miscellaneous Musings

As promised, the musings this week are very much not miscellaneous, as it’ll end up being a quick team-by-team snippy preview of the trade deadline and maybe a recap of where the squad is at this pivotal juncture.

Atlanta Hawks: Man, this team really should have been better than this from the start, so this recent run is maybe just correcting to the mediocrity we expected. John Collins has been in rumors all season. I don’t think he gets moved.

Brooklyn Nets: The Nets might sign me off the scrap heap (I am available and a big fan, Steve. I emulate you in the driveway.). I don’t expect any major trade acquisition because they already did their move early on to get James Harden and then the smaller, less consequential than people think move in getting Blake Griffin just because he and DJ are friends and it makes it look like the Nets are .

Boston Celtics: Oh the Celtics are mediocre again and they definitely need to make a trade to take the next step? I don’t think they’ll go get Nikola Vucevic but I do think a trade will happen here for a wing or a big. Thaddeus Young seems realistic. If the Celtics don’t use their trade exception, Danny Ainge gets the can.

Charlotte Hornets: Cody Zeller has been the eyesore spot on this roster for a hot minute and that’s the most obvious space for an upgrade. There’s been the Andre Drummond rumblings, which is an okay move on paper. Al Horford fits better on any team when he’s not too sleepy to play.

Chicago Bulls: This is a weird team. Do they want to be ninth? Do they want to add and be sixth? They have pieces they don’t seem to want like Lauri Markkanen. They have pieces that other people want like Thad Young and maybe Otto Porter. I think Thad is as good as gone and Lauri will stick around and there will be contract drama.

Cleveland Cavaliers: My prediction is that the Cavs don’t actually find a taker for Andre Drummond because his 20 points and 20 rebounds at the cost of wins isn’t actually worth the hassle in the fast-paced NBA. If they do figure it out, it’s probably a 2^nd round pick and a visit to another small market who “might as well”.

Dallas Mavericks: No trade here and definitely not one with Kristaps Porzingis. I don’t think teams will give up the high lottery pick the Mavs want and I also think they’re pretty realistic that they’re not a true contender yet.

Denver Nuggets: If the Nuggets don’t make a move, I would consider it a total failure. They need a shooter but they also need defense and I think they can really only get one. Harrison Barnes fits, Evan Fournier fits, Buddy kind of fits if he can make a single shot. They could really use Jerami Grant.

Detroit Pistons: All eyes are on Jerami Grant here who is almost worth 20+ million because he was almost an All-Star. The Pistons probably pass on moving a younger body, Wayne Ellington should have already packed.

Golden State Warriors: The Timberwolves first rounder is very valuable even if it falls out of the top-3. This isn’t that highly discussed behind the Porzingis hype, but what about Lauri Markkanen?

Houston Rockets: This really hit the fan very quickly in Houston. Maybe they’ll dump Victor Oladipo off on anyone who will take him because otherwise they definitely wasted that whole scenario. Should have just kept LeVert, frankly.

Indiana Pacers: It’s hard to fault this team all the way for being where they are. Not having Caris LeVert until very recently and still missing T.J. Warren makes it hard to stay afloat and find 40 missing points every game.

Los Angeles Clippers: I continue to be unimpressed by this team from top to bottom. Kawhi is great, Paul George is great enough and then there’s just a bunch of dudes running. They don’t have a lot of wiggle room here so maybe they’ll look at the buyout market.

Los Angeles Lakers: Maybe a buyout location for some veteran. I’m both impressed with how the Lakers stay good with 2.5 good players and also how embarrassingly bad their roster actually is. If I have to hear that Talen-Horton Tucker is so great one more time.

Memphis Grizzlies: The Grizz have one spot to build on with Gorgui Dieng’s expiring contract. Outside of that, we’re just waiting on the nonexistent news on Jaren Jackson Jr. This team is still a couple years away if JJJ ever plays in the NBA again.

Miami Heat: A pretty seamless fit for a guy like LaMarcus Aldridge and I’m a little surprised that hasn’t happened yet. I don’t mind Kelly O as a player, but LMA is just a better version of that and Olynyk is fine off the bench.

Milwaukee Bucks: P.J. Tucker was a good bit of business for my Bucks, although it did end up seeming like a weird package. Neither of the D.J.s really moved the needle in Milwaukee so that’s fine to give up, it’s just interesting to see the Bucks just reacquire their first for next year and move it back a year. It would be nice to see another impact piece head to Milwaukee, but I think it’ll be corner triples and hard-nosed defense from the vet in the vein of the Marvin Williams signing last season.

Minnesota Timberwolves: The Wolves are in the market for a distressed asset who needs a change of scenery. Aaron Gordon would be cheapish, John Collins shouldn’t be. People are making it seem like getting Gordon is decommitting from a tank. They must think Aaron Gordon is way better than I do. It’s a decent move in terms of a change of scenery for him and for their own distressed assets in Jarrett Culver and maybe Josh Okogie.

New Orleans Pelicans: Kira Lewis Jr. is the most interesting guy to me here if the Pels move on from their entire backcourt. Bledsoe should be gone and if Lonzo follows, we’re going to theoretically see Kira and NAW run it the rest of the way.

New York Knicks: The Knicks are in a weird place where they’re not embarrassing for the first time in a long time but also they’re not really that good. Taj Gibson is still playing way more than he should. They have plenty of cap space and could turn some borderline players into an upgrade to the Alec Burks/Reggie Bullock scenario.

Oklahoma City Thunder: Will Al Horford go? What about George Hill? Horford is going to help a contending team at least in the locker room, but are they willing to pay a herculean amount of money to get a hype speech in the pregame locker room? This could be a scenario where Horford sticks around and gets flipped next year when they don’t have as much money committed.

Orlando Magic: Everyone must go. I think Evan Fournier is definitely gone. Nikola Vucevic is the prize, but I would be unsurprised if the Magic keep him around as the bridge to the next good Magic team. It sucks for Mo Bamba though.

Philadelphia 76ers: The Sixers will almost surely add a depth shooter because, as impressed before, their point guard is completely aloof about learning how to take a jump shot. Spacing is king.

Phoenix Suns: Will the Suns be able to upgrade on Jae Crowder or is this (good) team what they’ll roll with? They don’t NEED an upgrade, but it’s hard to see them actually winning a title with this group.

Portland Trail Blazers: The Blazers and Dame Lillard are incredibly resilient and impressive given how many man games they’ve already lost and seem to lose every year. This is a sneaky team that could make a deal at the deadline to upgrade the other forward sport next to Lord Covington.

Sacramento Kings: In some ways the Kings hold the keys to this trading deadline with a couple wings that are going to draw heavy interest. Buddy Hield and Harrison Barnes are both touted and the Kings have this weird delusion that they’re fine and everything is going well. Either they can drive up some prices here or they can continue to drive this team into the ground. 

San Antonio Spurs: I’m a little surprised that LaMarcus Aldridge is done in San Antonio. He’s such a prototypical Spur and this team is at least competitive for a playoff berth. Any team that gets him will be getting a good one.

Toronto Raptors: Kyle Lowry thinks he’s as good as gone and Bill Simmons has touted a move to Denver as a perfect fit. He should net a good return if he does move on. I’m not sold.

 Utah Jazz: Status quo for the Jazzercisers. They don’t have a lot of moving pieces at this point and it’s time to send it with this core because it probably won’t get better without disrupting chemistry and team dynamic.

 Washington Wizards: Bradley Beal being traded would be the most surprising thing to happen this deadline. I stand by that.

Who do you think is getting moved and why is it your favorite player? Let me know on Twitter here.