This article is part of our In-Season Strategy series.
The Nuggets, Thunder and Kings are the three teams with a two-game week this time around. If you have players from those teams, it's important to take a look at what their production may be like with limited opportunities and weighing that against players who are on a four-game week.
Top-tier players like Russell Westbrook and Paul George should probably stay in your lineup. But the likes of Jamal Murray, Paul Millsap, Buddy Hield and Willie Cauley-Stein, who are featured below, may not have high enough of a ceiling to be worth starting.
Teams with four games: CHA, CHI, CLE, HOU, IND, LAL, NOR, PHO, SAS, UTA
Teams with three games: ATL, BKN, BOS, DAL, DET, GS, LAC, MEM, MIA, MIL, MIN, NY, ORL, PHI, POR, TOR, WAS
Teams with two games: DEN, OKC, SAC
Guard
Consider Sitting: Jamal Murray, DEN (98% owned, 76% start)
Opponents: LAL, POR
Though Murray hasn't shot the 3 well this season (31.5 percent), he's still managing to average a career high in scoring (17.2), not to mention assists (4.3) and rebounds (4.1). Still, his poor shooting has affected his Fantasy value lately. Over the past two weeks, he's the 82nd ranked Fantasy player. In a three-game week or four-game week, that's more than enough to warrant starting. But with just two games, there's plenty of risk involved. Assuming he plays up to his average this week, we should expect about 34 points, eight assists and eight rebounds out of Murray. We should be able to find those numbers somewhere else with less risk.
Consider Starting: Collin Sexton, CLE (84% owned, 43% start)
Opponents: MIN, OKC, BOS, TOR
Critics of Sexton can still point to his subpar playmaking ability (3.0 assists per game over the past 14 days), but the rookie has looked more comfortable lately and is finding ways to succeed in other areas of his game. He's scoring 18.0 points per game over the past two weeks on a solid 45.5 percent from the field and has averaged only 1.8 turnovers. And while Sexton hasn't been a volume free-throw or 3-point shooter over this stretch (a combined 5.4 attempts per game), he's shooting 85.7 percent from the stripe and 61.5 percent from distance. He'll be facing some tough opponents this week, but four games should be able to offset some potential issues.
Consider Sitting: Buddy Hield, SAC (98% owned, 60% start)
Opponents: LAC, IND
I'm recommending sitting Hield this week, but his 60 percent start rate is far too low. The name recognition for Hield might not quite be there yet, but he's been the 56th ranked Fantasy player this season. That number has dipped to 89th over the past two weeks. However, that's largely due to a 3-for-17 performance against the Lakers that tanked his field-goal percentage. Put him on your bench while he has just two games this week. Start him next week when the Kings play three times.
Consider Starting: Trey Burke, NY (52% owned, 22% start)
Opponents: DET, PHI, MIL
Burke has played 87 minutes and fired off 55 shots over the past three games. Even if he didn't make 54.5 percent of them, I'd still be recommending him for this week. There's always some inherent danger in deploying a Knicks player considering how back-and-forth coach David Fizdale has been with his rotations. But the past two games have gone well, relatively speaking, for New York, only losing by four to the Trail Blazers on Tuesday and then beating the Celtics by eight the next day. My assumption is that, for now, coach Fizdale will keep leaning on Burke, who has been the 38th ranked Fantasy player over the past two weeks.
Forward
Consider Sitting: Paul Millsap, DEN (99% owned, 78% start)
Opponents: LAL, POR
Millsap is coming off one of his best games of the year Wednesday, posting 25 points, five rebounds, five steals and one block against the Timberwolves in just 28 minutes. It's tempting to start him this week in hopes that can continue. While it was a great performance, it's still part of Millsap's wildly inconsistent play not just lately, but all season. Highlighting November, Millsap has three single-digit scoring outings and three games with three or fewer rebounds. His assist, steal, block and 3-point numbers are similarly up-and-down, and it's worth looking at his game logs to see for yourself. Despite all that, Millsap has been a solid top-80 Fantasy player, but I can't see myself wanting to take the risk on a two-game week.
Consider Starting: Bojan Bogdanovic, IND (65% owned, 39% start)
Opponents: UTA, PHO, LAL, SAC
Bogdanovic's Fantasy stock has been climbing all season. He's ranked 90th for the year, 79th over the past 30 days and 23rd over the past two weeks. Bogdanovic has been especially hot over the past 14 days, hitting 61.5 percent of his looks from the field and averaging 19.2 points, 3.8 boards, 3.0 3s, 2.0 assists and 1.3 steals in 32.0 minutes. Some of that is a result of Victor Oladipo (knee) missing some time, though we saw last year how deadly Bogdanovic could be at times, as he racked up 15 performances with at least 20 points. On a four-game week, he's worth deploying.
Consider Sitting: Harrison Barnes, DAL (96% owned, 58% start)
Opponents: HOU, LAL, LAC
Barnes' start rate is fair, as he remains a subpar Fantasy asset, though one worth owning. He's been the 114th ranked player over the past 14 days while averaging 19.0 points on 45.7 percent shooting. The larger issue with Barnes' production over that stretch is the 4.0 rebounds, 0.8 assists, 0.8 steals and no blocks. Those numbers are below what we've come to expect, but really not too far off. He's worth a start in a four-game week, but I'd look to explore other options before automatically deploying him in a three-game situation.
Consider Starting: Jeff Green, WAS (14% owned, 6% start)
Opponents: HOU, NO, PHI, BKN
Green has been a more valuable Fantasy asset than Harrison Barnes this season by about 20 spots. Green's inconsistency is presumably scaring people off, but we're more than a month into the season. There's no reason Green should only be 14 percent owned. He's seen at least 20 minutes in all but two games this year and is averaging just over 25 minutes across the past two weeks. During that time, he's been the 50th ranked Fantasy player, averaging 13.1 points, 6.1 rebounds, 1.4 assists and 1.0 steals. He gets a significant bump from his efficiency, as he's shooting 50.4 percent from the field on the year and a startling 97.3 percent from the charity stripe on 2.2 attempts per game. I recommend starting him on this four-game week, but at least pick him up and keep him on your bench.
Center
Consider Sitting: Willie Cauley-Stein, SAC (98% owned, 62% start)
Opponents: LAC, IND
Cauley-Stein has been just the 170th ranked player over the past two weeks, though his numbers were dragged down significantly by a game against the Rockets where he played 18 minutes and went 1 for 9 from the field. His season rank of 128 seems to be indicative of what we can expect from Cauley-Stein moving forward. He's worth having on your roster, but probably not worth starting on a two-game week.
Consider Starting: Cody Zeller, CHA (27% owned, 12% start)
Opponents: MIL, ATL, UTA, NO
Like the previously noted Green/Barnes comparison, Zeller (ranked 117 on the year) has actually been a more valuable Fantasy asset than Cauley-Stein this season despite being only 27 percent owned. He's picked up his play recently, averaging 11.5 points, 5.3 rebounds, 2.0 assists and 1.2 steals over the past 14 days. That's resulted in him being the 92nd ranked Fantasy player over that period. In a four-game week, Zeller is worth picking up and deploying in your lineup, especially if you're in a format with two centers slots where production from the position can be difficult to come by.
