This article is part of our In-Season Strategy series.
After the Suns' five-game Week 5 created significant imbalance, we're back to a relatively normal schedule. Keep your eyes out for players on the Nuggets, Rockets and Suns when making decisions in Week 6, as they play only two games. Here is the full breakdown:
Teams with four games: ATL, BOS, BKN, CHA, DET, GS, IND, LAC, LAL, MEM, MIA, MIL, OKC, ORL, PHI, SAN, TOR, UTA, WAS
Teams with three games: CHI, CLE, DAL, MIN, NO, NY, POR, SAC
Teams with two games: DEN, HOU, PHO
Let's dive into some specific players:
Point Guard
Consider starting: Patrick Beverley, LAC
Opponents: @DAL, @MEM, @SA, WAS
Beverley continues to be a quality option to start on a four-game week, where his low usage doesn't carry as much risk. Over the past two weeks, he's averaging 8.8 points on 38.2 percent shooting, 8.5 rebounds, 2.5 assists, 1.8 steals and 1.8 threes across 31.4 minutes. That's been good for a rank of 114 during that time period. Even if he doesn't increase his field-goal percentage much, he should rack up plenty of box score stats, and he's especially valuable in head-to-head leagues as someone with a high upside for steals.
Consider sitting: Ricky Rubio, PHO
Opponents: WAS, DAL
Even if we assume Rubio gets healthy by his first game next week, back issues can be nagging, and he would need to do a lot to be very valuable on a two-game week. He was less than 100 percent when he attempted
After the Suns' five-game Week 5 created significant imbalance, we're back to a relatively normal schedule. Keep your eyes out for players on the Nuggets, Rockets and Suns when making decisions in Week 6, as they play only two games. Here is the full breakdown:
Teams with four games: ATL, BOS, BKN, CHA, DET, GS, IND, LAC, LAL, MEM, MIA, MIL, OKC, ORL, PHI, SAN, TOR, UTA, WAS
Teams with three games: CHI, CLE, DAL, MIN, NO, NY, POR, SAC
Teams with two games: DEN, HOU, PHO
Let's dive into some specific players:
Point Guard
Consider starting: Patrick Beverley, LAC
Opponents: @DAL, @MEM, @SA, WAS
Beverley continues to be a quality option to start on a four-game week, where his low usage doesn't carry as much risk. Over the past two weeks, he's averaging 8.8 points on 38.2 percent shooting, 8.5 rebounds, 2.5 assists, 1.8 steals and 1.8 threes across 31.4 minutes. That's been good for a rank of 114 during that time period. Even if he doesn't increase his field-goal percentage much, he should rack up plenty of box score stats, and he's especially valuable in head-to-head leagues as someone with a high upside for steals.
Consider sitting: Ricky Rubio, PHO
Opponents: WAS, DAL
Even if we assume Rubio gets healthy by his first game next week, back issues can be nagging, and he would need to do a lot to be very valuable on a two-game week. He was less than 100 percent when he attempted to play against the Kings, and it resulted in a terrible 0-for-7 performance from the field in the first half. He didn't play the rest of the game. As a result, it seems unlikely the Suns would push Rubio to play again if he's experiencing back spasms still. Even if he makes a couple of appearances, it's possible that his workload will be reduced in an effort to put less stress on him.
Shooting Guard
Consider starting: Evan Fournier and/or Terrence Ross, ORL
Opponents: @Det, @Cle, Tor, GS
With Nikola Vucevic out for at least a week and Aaron Gordon's timetable for a return unclear, the Magic are in desperate need of offense. Fournier and Ross could be the most reliable options left on the team. Fournier has been the most productive recently, scoring 21.0 points per game across the past two weeks, ranking 27th across that time period. He's an absolute lock in almost every fantasy format. Ross has only racked 93rd during the same timeframe, but that's good enough to warrant a start given the amount of games and the injury situation Orlando is faced with.
Consider sitting: JJ Redick, NOP
Opponents: LAL, @OKC, OKC
Redick has been one of the rare members of the Pelicans that's been healthy lately. He's taken advantage of his increased role by posting 19.4 points per game across the past two weeks. However, he's doing so by shooting an unsustainable 50.8 percent from beyond the arc. Plus, Lonzo Ball and Brandon Ingram are back, and it appears Josh Hart will be healthy sooner than later. With New Orleans looking to be back to nearly full strength this week, it might be a decent time to fade Redick in shallower leagues. His workload could be reduced to what we saw earlier in the season where he averaged just 23.0 minutes across the first eight games.
Small Forward
Consider starting: Jae Crowder, MEM
Opponents: @IND, LAC, UTA, @MIN
Crowder has been a consistently productive member of the Grizzlies, and his development as a passer has helped fuel his fantasy value. He's racked up 3.0 assists per game this season, which is close to a full assist more than his previous career high. He's maintained his solid three-point shooting and rebounding as well. Over the past two weeks, Crowder has ranked 78th on the back of 10.1 points, 6.7 rebounds, 3.3 assists, 2.4 threes and 1.0 steal in 29.8 minutes. Despite the rebuilding nature of the Grizzlies, it appears Crowder's role is secure.
Consider sitting: Will Barton, DEN
Opponents: WAS, @SAC
Barton has cooled down a bit after starting the season on a heater, and he's ranked 80th overall. He should continue being a source of buckets and a surprising amount of rebounds for the Nuggets, but it's tough to start him in fantasy with only two games on the docket. Denver should also easily take care of Washington, which could result in an early hook for Barton.
Power Forward
Consider starting: Daniel Theis, BOS
Opponents: SAC, BKN, @BKN, @NY
Despite the presence of Enes Kanter and Robert Williams, Theis has established himself as coach Brad Stevens' No. 1 center option. While his 24.6 minutes per game across the past two weeks isn't ideal, he's managed to rank 90th over this stretch, averaging 8.0 points, 8.8 rebounds, 2.0 assists and 1.2 steals. With the Celtics on a four-game week, you can fire up Theis with confidence in most 12-team formats.
Consider sitting: Paul Millsap, DEN
Opponents: WAS, @SAC
Millsap has played well lately, surprisingly ranking 33rd over the past two weeks. He's seen 29.2 minutes per game. However, I'm worried about hard regression on a two-game week. Millsap is taking only 10.5 shots per game (hitting them at 52.4 percent) during this period and has averaged 2.5 steals/blocks. If any combination of his minutes, efficiency or defense decrease, that could spell trouble. Fantasy owners in 12- or 14-team leagues can reasonably take the gamble, but it's plenty of risk to start him in any shallower format.
Center
Consider starting: Nerlens Noel, OKC
Opponents: @GS, @POR, NO, @NO
With Steven Adams dealing with a knee injury that's limiting his playing time, Noel has an opportunity to step up into increased minutes. He's needed only 20.0 minutes per game across the past two weeks to rank as the 75th-best fantasy player on the back of 7.7 points, 4.7 rebounds, 2.2 assists and a combined 3.2 blocks/steals. Noel is at least worth a pickup in deep leagues due to the situation, and OKC being on a four-game week makes him a definite starting option in 12-team formats, especially ones that require two centers.
Consider sitting: Cody Zeller, CHA
Opponents: @MIA, DET, @DET, @MIL
Zeller has seen his workload reduced recently, garnering fewer than 20 minutes in each of the past two contests. He's also been less productive in general, ranking outside of the top-150 across the past two weeks. Even on a four-game week, it's difficult to trust that Zeller will rack up enough stats to be worth a start in 12-team formats. He's probably a hold, for now. But it's possible fantasy owners may have to drop Zeller if this continues.
