Welcome back everyone! It’s an exciting time around these parts as a long offseason is behind us and real basketball is right around the corner. We’ll be delivering analysis for you every single hour of every single day on our blurb feed, with plenty of articles at daily and weekly intervals to help you cruise through your season. The first of the year is this one right here (we’re not counting the dozens and dozens we did in the Draft Guide). It’s time for The Week Ahead.

In this article, which will be posted near the end of the week — look for another edition on Thursday/Friday that deals with Week 2 of the Fantasy Basketball schedule — we’re going to touch on some notable topics around the league, give you schedule tips so you can maximize your games played and set your lineups properly, and maybe even mention a few names worth adding off the waiver wire (in case Pickups of the Night, which gets posted every single night, doesn’t get you your fix).

It’s time to start the music, it’s time to light the lights. It’s time to get things started in the NBA tomorrow night! Muppets forever. Let’s go.

Injured Stars

Injuries to some big names are already dominating the fantasy landscape. The big one is Kawhi Leonard, who is now out indefinitely. That could mean just about anything — Leonard could be gone until January or show up next week, ready to hoop. There’s not much anyone can do about it but sit around and hope. In the interim, the Clippers will be leaning heavily on James Harden, and while guys like Terance Mann and Amir Coffey tend to rise to the top of the heap when a star is missing, the Clippers don’t have as much star power to spread around this year. Look for Norman Powell to take on a key offensive role, with Kevin Porter Jr. also getting some early looks with his skills more in-demand than Kris Dunn’s given the situation. We’ll see if the Clippers ask Derrick Jones Jr. to veer outside his lane, too.

The virtual ink has been mostly dedicated to Joel Embiid in Philadelphia, which is a little funny in that he isn’t dealing with a new injury, or any specific injury at all. He won’t play back-to-backs, but is that news? Really? It’s pushed Andre Drummond to add status if nothing else. As far as actual injuries go, Tyrese Maxey got banged up in the preseason but seems fine, while Paul George got banged up in the preseason and appears to be in danger of missing some time. Knee sprains are no joke and it would be silly of the Sixers to push PG given how they’re handling Embiid with the long-term in mind. Kelly Oubre should have plenty of opportunity to get shots up, and Eric Gordon, Kyle Lowry and maybe Jared McCain will be more involved as well.

Luka Doncic got kicked in the calf during a late-September workout and has been brought along slowly since, though he is expected to suit up.

Isaiah Hartenstein isn’t a star in reality but he is in fantasy. His fractured hand will cost him 5-to-6 weeks, which gives the Thunder some time to try out the rotation with Chet Holmgren at center full-time. That’s going to benefit Alex Caruso and Lu Dort, and will give Cason Wallace enough action to get by in deeper leagues.

Of course, that assumes that Jalen Williams will be ready to go after suffering a preseason ankle sprain. That doesn’t feel like a big injury but it’s not the start you want.

Khris Middleton is expected to miss the start of the season. He was limited in training camp after getting surgery on both ankles over the offseason, so this can’t be a surprise even if the Bucks were trying to downplay it over the summer.

Jaren Jackson Jr. is working on a hamstring strain but expected to be ready for opening night. Santi Aldama will remain under the heat lamp just in case. GG Jackson is out for a couple months and Vince Williams will miss at least the first week of the season, which gives Scotty Pippen Jr. and John Konchar some more space to work with.

Trey Murphy is on the wrong side of questionable with his left hamstring strain; that might give Brandon Ingram a little extra runway to get off to a good start as he tries to prove himself worthy of a max contract.

Shaedon Sharpe will miss a couple weeks at minimum, which once again as eased the Portland backcourt rotation logjam before it could even become a problem. The team seems to like Sharpe as a starter when he’s available though, so keep an eye on his recovery.

The Pistons haven’t said anything about Ausar Thompson, who missed the end of last season with blood clot issues. Back then, they said he’d be ready for training camp, but the other day JB Bickerstaff said there was no update and Thompson was inactive for the entire preseason. Hopefully that clears up soon.

Now, onto a lighter subject.

Schedule Breakdown

Remember to check out our Schedule Grid so you can get a full look at what each week holds.

Full disclosure, the first week is not necessarily the time to get super into playing around the schedule. We’re still in the data collection period of the season and most managers are hesitant to make a rash of adds and drops to win on volume right away. If you’re happy to stream like a demon, go right ahead! But most managers are going to give it a little time for the team to settle in.

First and foremost, let’s check in on our big overview for everyone playing in leagues with a weekly lineup lock.

Weekly Info

Three-game teams: 22 teams have three games this week. Among them, Cleveland has a favorable schedule (on paper — we don’t know exactly which teams will surprise or disappoint yet, but we have a good idea) facing the Raptors, Pistons, and Wizards. The Rockets and Warriors also have promising matchups, while the Raptors and Pistons face tougher competition.

Two-game teams: Eight teams play only two games. The Jazz have the easiest schedule, while the Knicks and Wizards face tough matchups, including games against the Celtics and Cavaliers.

Home advantage: Both the Trail Blazers and Lakers play all three games at home.

Daily Info

If you’re playing in leagues with daily lineups, then you can pay a little more attention to the nitty gritty. Although, if you’re in a weekly lineup league, you may realize that one of your low-priority bench players won’t be able to slot into your lineup at all by virtue of only playing on Wednesday and Friday/Saturday; in that case you might want to swap that guy for someone else that you could theoretically tuck into a spot for two of Tuesday, Thursday and Sunday.

Low traffic days: Tuesday has 2 games, Thursday 4. Sunday has 5 if you want to stretch the definition a little.

High traffic days: Naturally, that means Wednesday has 10 games, Friday has another 10 and Saturday 10 more for good measure. Whoever made the schedule is a sadist.

Tuesday & Thursday games: Only the Celtics and Timberwolves play on both days, making them ideal for streaming options. Consider players like Luke Kornet, Neemias Queta, Sam Hauser, Payton Pritchard, Naz Reid (Likely rostered everywhere), Donte DiVincenzo (should be rostered everywhere!) and Jaden McDaniels.

Late-week streamers: The Thunder play three games in four days (Thursday, Saturday, and Sunday). Two dates on low-traffic days? Sounds good here.

Back-to-back games: There are 12 back-to-backs this week, with most coming on Friday-Saturday. Teams with back-to-backs include the Hornets, Bulls, Cavaliers, Pistons, Rockets, Lakers, Grizzlies, Magic, Suns, and Raptors. For the weekend (Saturday-Sunday), the Clippers and Thunder finish the week strong.

If you’re still not exactly sure how to set your lineup this week, take a look at our Start/Sit tool!

Relax

The rush of draft day will carry most players through the first couple of weeks of the season, so it’s time to offer some broad thoughts rather than deep dive on a topic.

I can’t tell you that these early results mean less than matchups later in the season — it all counts the same in the standings — but you might benefit from a cautious approach these first couple of weeks. A lot of established players are not up to full speed yet and it will take time for teams to settle into new rotation patterns and build chemistry. What you see early on is not necessarily what you will get for most of the season.

You don’t want to be so anchored to your original evaluations that you make no moves at all and sink in the standings, but you also don’t want to wheel and deal like a madman and turn over a huge chunk of your roster before you get to see who those guys actually are. For every player who starts hot and stays hot all year, becoming a game-changing pickup, there are three times as many who fizzle out after a few strong games or a couple weeks. You can certainly ride those hot hands all year long, but be careful not to drop anyone who has legitimate long-term appeal.

More or less, trust the work you’ve done throughout draft season. A couple rough games or a slow start shouldn’t make you throw all that homework into the trash. Try to relax, appreciate that basketball is back, and enjoy the ride. We’re here to help you all season; let us do a lot of the dirty work and remember that fantasy basketball is supposed to be fun.

Catch you back here in a few days!