• Welcome to Playoff season! This time of year we pivot from trying to find rest-of-season upside, to seeking out short term teams that can power you through your weekly matchups in route to that chip! So while we do have a few guys on this list who are worth considering for the long haul, the majority of them are viewed through that streamer lense. See below for the best guys to target from Sunday;s games for this week and perhaps the weeks ahead: 

    Cole Anthony – Rostered in 37% of Yahoo leagues

    MIN FG% FT% 3PM PTS REB AST STL BLK TO
    34 .357 (5/14) 1.000 (5/5) 1 16 4 9 1 2 4

    Anthony is back to holding down the starting point guard job with Michael Carter-Willams (sprained left ankle) and he’s looking good enough in the role to hold it down the rest of the way even when (if?) MCW returns. Anthony was aggressive late in the game, hitting clutch baskets and playing solid defense in crunch time, which should give Steve Clifford more than enough confidence to continue rolling him out there in what should be a purely developmental season at this point. The efficiency will be an issue, but Anthony has a ton of usage ahead of him, and is worth considering in all formats for the rest of the season. Especially if you are in need of assists.

    Bruce Brown – Rostered in 9% of Yahoo leagues

    MIN FG% FT% 3PM PTS REB AST STL BLK TO
    30 .571 (4/7) .000 (0/2) 0 8 11 2 2 1 1

    Bruce Brown has been a top-70 option in 9-cat leagues since James Harden’s hamstring injury at the beginning of the month, consistently providing high rebounding numbers out of the guard spot with an array of defensive stats and solid efficiency to boost. He’s proven multiple times this season to be the best Brooklyn Net to target whenever any of the big three are ruled out, and with Kevin Durant (thigh) potentially looking at a few missed games here, he should have no issue continuing to produce in these areas. With four games this week starting on Tuesday, Brown makes sense as an add in all formats.

    Landry Shamet – Rostered in 8% of Yahoo Leagues

    MIN FG% FT% 3PM PTS REB AST STL BLK TO
    38 .667 (10/15) .750 (3/4) 7 30 2 3 0 0 1

    Shamet has been unleashed over the last month, stepping in for James Harden (hamstring) and now Kevin Durant (thigh) as a reliable floor spacer with an unquestioned green light to chuck it at the moment. Sunday’s performance is obviously the high-end of what you’d be able to expect from him with those two out, but on the month he’s averaging 17 points and four triples per-game on 50% shooting from the floor. He’s worth a look for help in those two categories even if Durant is able to return soon, but is obviously a much more appealing option if Durant remains out.

    Nicholas Claxton – Rostered in 6% of Yahoo leagues 

    MIN FG% FT% 3PM PTS REB AST STL BLK TO
    24 .667 (2/3) 0 4 6 1 2 1 0

    Claxton had a short relapse of renewed interest after LaMarcus Aldridge unfortunately announced his retirement earlier this week, but as we have seen since then, it appears that he’s still going to be mostly relegated to a mid-20 minute role at best. That being said, if Kevin Durant has to miss any time this week, that would open the door for Claxton to play a bit more giving him value as a defensive stats specialist with upside to go big across the board if you catch him on the right night. I’d prefer rolling with Brown and Shamet first, but he also can help you out if you need a helpful streamer with upside this week.

    Dorian Finney-Smith – Rostered in 27% of Yahoo leagues

    MIN FG% FT% 3PM PTS REB AST STL BLK TO
    35 .727 (8/11) 6 22 4 1 0 1 1

    DFS continues to be one of the more reliable backend bench players in standard leagues, with Sunday’s impressive line serving as a high-water mark for the type of production he’s capable of providing for you. He’s been a worthy add for triples and boards for a while now, and you could certainly do worse in finding a reliable player with a very favorable playoff schedule the rest of the way.

    Trevor Ariza – Rostered in 15% of Yahoo Leagues

    MIN FG% FT% 3PM PTS REB AST STL BLK TO
    35 .556 (5/9) 1.000 (2/2) 3 15 9 1 0 0 1

    Ariza looks like he has settled into a groove as the Heat’s starting PF, posting top-80 value over his last six games through a combination of high 3-point numbers, and decent steals and percentages. He got a boost in playing time in this game with Andre Iguodala (sore left hip) out of the lineup, but he’s generally seeing enough minutes now to be considered a decent streamer for those categories. With four games this week, you could do worse than Ariza if you have a particularly thin wire. 

    Mo Bamba  – Rostered in 20% of Yahoo leagues

    MIN FG% FT% 3PM PTS REB AST STL BLK TO
    16 .556 (5/9) 1 11 9 2 0 1 1

    Bamba returned from a two-game absence with a hip injury, and resumed producing standard league value in impossibly low minutes. If he ramps himself up to 20 minutes nightly, you’re talking about guaranteed returns in rebounds, blocks and triples. You can add him now to see where this goes, but it is worth noting that  the Magic’s schedule isn’t all that stellar this week for the fantasy playoffs. If you can grab him towards the end of the week, however, he may pay dividends for you in the rounds ahead with how the schedule opens up for Orlando. Perhaps he starts seeing those higher minute totals around that point as well.

    Marcus Morris – Rostered in 33% of Yahoo leagues

    MIN FG% FT% 3PM PTS REB AST STL BLK TO
    26 .583 (7/12) 5 19 6 0 1 0 0

    Morris has really settled into a consistent groove as a scorer in the starting lineup, and would be higher on this list if the Clippers’ playoff schedule wasn’t so bleak the rest of the way, Still though, if you are in need of points, threes and rebounds, and want to take advantage of his games falling on low volume days this week, feel free to give Morris a look.

    Cody Martin – Rostered in 0% of Yahoo Leagues

    MIN FG% FT% 3PM PTS REB AST STL BLK TO
    38 .400 (2/5) 1 5 7 7 1 0 1

    Cody Martin has essentially taken on starting point guard duties with Devonte’ Graham (left quad contusion) out of the lineup, and if he continues to miss time, Martin could feasibly become an assists streamer with some upside in rebounds and steals if he’s playing 28 minutes a night. Charlotte has a great schedule for streaming this week with four games that mostly fall on low volume days, so that alone gives him a little more of a bump as a potential pickup. There are risks though with how volatile Charlotte’s rotation has been recently, and if Graham comes back that saps Martin of any potential value. Tread carefully on this one.

0
Would love your thoughts, please comment.x
()
x