We have a shortened week upcoming with no games on Friday ahead of a five-game Christmas day slate. And, of course, there are a bevy of players who are either in the league's health and safety protocols or injured.
Joe Dellera and Dan Titus break down their top injury pivots, players who are rising or falling and note how to benefit on worthwhile player prop angles fantasy trends and scheduling quirks for Week 10.
Read below to see where they are finding small edges this week.
Fantasy Basketball Schedule — Week 10
Schedule Notes
- Four games: OKC
- Three Games: 24 teams
- Two games: BKN, CHA, CLE, MIN, POR
Fantasy Friendly Teams in Week 10
- OKC (@MEM, DEN, @PHX, NOR)
- NOR (POR, @ORL, @OKC)
- DEN (@OKC, CHA, @LAC)
Waiver Adds
- Guards: Kemba Walker, Patty Mills, Garrison Mathews, Eric Gordon, Patrick Beverley, Facu Campazzo, Devin Vassell, Malik Beasley
- Forwards: Luke Kennard, Royce O’Neale, Isaac Okoro, Herb Jones, Carmelo Anthony, Kevin Love, Chuma Okeke, Nic Batum
- Centers: Chris Boucher, Chimezie Metu, Isaiah Hartenstein, Alperen Sengun, JaVale McGee, Robin Lopez, Tristan Thompson
Players to Watch
Injuries/Absences
COVID has ripped through the NBA and teams are down to their roster minimums and at the time of this writing a few games are already postponed for this week, including Monday’s game between the Magic and the Raptors, the Wizards-Nets Game on Tuesday (Monday’s game between the Celtics and the Sixers is in jeopardy is well).
Before last Tuesday, the single-day high for NBA players entering H&S protocols: five.
But there have now been double-digit additions for 4 straight days — and 5 of the last 6 days overall.
As of this writing, 64 players and a coach have entered protocols in the past 6 days.
— Baxter Holmes (@Baxter) December 19, 2021
With the sheer volume of players being ruled out, there has been significant opportunity for a variety of role players, but it’s often difficult to predict for fantasy purposes if the game will even happen at this point.
With that in mind, a few players that have capitalized on an increased role and have long term value.
Franz Wagner, Orlando Magic | Tyrese Haliburton, Sacramento Kings | Jrue Holiday, Milwaukee Bucks
Wagner has now thrived as an initial option with the Magic missing Cole Anthony, Wendell Carter, Jr., Mo Bamba, and Terrence Ross. He has taken double-digit field goal attempts in six consecutive contests, and the last time he scored fewer than 10 points was on Nov. 22.
Tyrese Haliburton just logged a dominant performance on Sunday’s win against the Spurs with 27 points and 11 assists. His usage rate has spiked to 23.7% over his last two games and with De’Aaron Fox still in quarantine he should continue to see extended run as the team’s primary facilitator.
Haliburton is an advanced metrics’ darling, but without Fox, he should see his counting stats improve as well. In eight games without De’Aaron Fox in his career, Haliburton has averaged 18.4 points, 8.6 assists, and 3.4 rebounds while shooting 40.4% from 3 point range. Look to take advantage of his props.
Jrue Holiday is already a stud, but without Giannis Antetokounmpo and Khris Middleton his usage skyrockets. He just dropped a career high 40 points on Friday, and he has held usage rates of 43.9% and 40.8% over his last two games.
Over the last two seasons, Holiday has averaged 22 points, 7.8 assists, and 4.8 rebounds in 13 games without Antetokounmpo. If he’s on your team, enjoy the run. If you’re betting on props, consider him the primary scoring option on the Bucks so long as Giannis is out and Middleton is nursing a knee injury.
Risers
Alperen Sengun, Houston Rockets
Sengun looks like he is finally going to get some more minutes as Daniel Theis has been relegated to the bench. Sengun is an exciting rookie, and over his last five games he has seen more run. He’s played 22.5 minutes per game while averaging 11 points, 6.0 rebounds, 4.0 assists, and 2.0 blocks.
This Rockets team should be heavily incentivized to play Sengun alongside Christian Wood considering they are trying to develop their young talent and Sengun has a +8.3 point differential on the season, which is significantly more inspiring than Theis’ -23.2.
Isaiah Hartenstein, Los Angeles Clippers
Although Hartenstein was just ruled out for Monday’s game against the Spurs due to an ankle injury, he is someone to monitor in deeper leagues. He has passed Serge Ibaka on the Clipper’s depth chart and is next in line behind Ivica Zubac at the center position.
Over his last four games, He has averaged 21.7 minutes per game and posted numbers of 10.3 points, 5.0 rebounds, 3.8 assists, and 1.5 blocks on 72% shooting. While he will not provide 3s he is absolutely on the rise for the Clippers and with the way COVID has ripped its way through the league having a rising talent at the Center position is invaluable.
Fantasy Impact: Hartenstein is a per 36 minute monster. This season he would average 16.8 points, 10.3 rebounds, 4.1 assists, 1.8 steals, and 2.8 blocks. Those are absolutely dominant numbers and if he ever has the opportunity to touch those minutes he would be a beast.
Check out our free NBA odds page, which automatically surfaces the best line for every game.
Fallers
Mitchell Robinson, New York Knicks
The Knicks frontcourt is a disaster right now between Robinson, Nerlens Noel, and Taj Gibson. While Robinson and Noel offer upside, their inconsistency is damning.
Robinson has played more than 20 minutes in just three of his last seven games since he has been moved to the bench rotation, and one of those was a thirty minute performance against the struggling Rockets. After that matchup he predictably saw his minutes slashed down to 22 against the Celtics.
Robinson is a tantalizing talent, with excellent rim running and shot blocking ability, but his conditioning has held him back throughout the season.
Fantasy Impact: While reduced minutes may help the on-court product that Mitchell is presenting, a reduced role is not what fantasy managers want to see.
