Early-Week Fantasy Basketball Category Streamers for Week 6

Thunder Dan Palyo looks at some early-week waiver wire options for fantasy basketball leagues. These players may be free agents to target on waivers in Week 6.

Optimizing our streamers this week is a little tricky in that the league doesn't play on Thursday for Thanksgiving. That means most teams either play today (Monday) or Tuesday and then again on Wednesday and Friday. There are only a handful of games on Saturday and then more than usual on Sunday. I will get into the Thursday-Sunday schedule later this week in the companion piece to this one. For now, let's just look at Monday through Wednesday since we don't have to worry about Thursday at all this week.

Most leagues limit how many adds you can make each week in daily leagues. If your league only allows three moves per week, you need to be very efficient with your moves and grab players who will help you maximize your games played and help you win an extra category or two of counting stats.

The goal of this article each Monday morning will be to help you plan out your roster moves for the first half of the week. Planning ahead is important and I always include which teams play on optimal days for streaming in the very first section so you can look for additional players that I don't mention as well. All the rostered percentages used in this article are from Yahoo! Let's see who can help us start the week strong!

Weekly Schedule: Monday to Thursday

Teams that play only one game (AVOID): Houston (plays zero games), Charlotte, L.A. Lakers, Memphis, N.Y. Knicks, Orlando, Phoenix, San Antonio, Washington, Toronto

Teams that play three games (TARGET): NONE

Teams that play TUES/THURS (TARGET): NONE, NO GAMES THURSDAY

Shallow League Streaming Options

Marvin Bagley III - PF/C (33%)

Bagley's rostership remains a bit subdued as some people who rushed to grab him have likely dropped him after seeing his minutes hang out in the low 20s. He battled foul trouble yesterday after drawing the start, and still managed 15 points and six boards in 21 minutes. Those numbers are usable in streaming formats, especially if you want someone to boost your points and rebounds while also helping your FG and FT percentages. With games on Tuesday and Wednesday to start the week and Detroit needing offense with Cade Cunningham out, I think Bagley is worth a look (Isaiah Stewart remains out, too, so Jalen Duren is the only real competition for minutes at center).

Reggie Jackson - PG/SG (41%)

The return of Kawhi Leonard to the Clippers hasn't hurt Reggie yet at all. In fact, he has 20+ points in two straight games and hit seven three-pointers over the weekend. He should be on rosters in standard leagues, he has a role on this team. Even if you don't want to commit to him long-term, the Clippers' schedule is solid to start the week with matchups against Utah and Golden State.

Shake Milton - PG/SG (37%)

With the news that Tyrese Maxey is out for at least multiple weeks, Shake should be on more teams. Harden is still working his way back from an injury, too, giving Shake a window of a week or two where he could put up massive numbers. He had 27 points on Saturday and is going to continue to get a ton of run in the short term. Check your wire right now and make sure Shake Milton isn't on it - go!

Torrey Craig - SF/PF (26%)

Craig has found his way into being relevant in the past, usually when teams have no other choice than to play him big minutes. And that's pretty much the case here with Craig in Phoenix as he's taken over Cam Johnson's role as the hybrid SF/PF. He's playing anywhere from 25-35 minutes nightly and has a string of four straight games with double-digit points. He can knock down open threes (eight in his last three games) and contribute in boards, steals, and blocks. Phoenix plays just once this week (tomorrow) but it's a juicy matchup with the Lakers.

Deep Leagues Streaming Options

Jalen Duren - C (22%)

I mentioned Duren earlier in the Bagley blurb. He's the other half of this platoon and is playing solid minutes off the bench. He's a great target for points, boards, FG%, and blocks just don't expect much else.

Alec Burks - PG/SG/SF (20%)

I keep telling people who ask me in Discord or on Twitter not to dump anyone good for Alex Burks because he is the definition of a hollow fantasy player. But if you want to stream him right now, go for it! He's been very productive so far for Detroit off the bench as a scorer and you simply don't find 15 PPM on the wire that often. In the short term, Detroit is going to need his ball-handling and scoring.

Jalen Williams - SG/SF (26%)

Here we are again, getting sucked into the Williams vortex. After a rather disappointing stretch to start the month, Williams has looked really good in the last five games (11-4-5 with over a three per game). The Thunder play four games this week and have some nice matchups against the Knicks, Rockets, and Bulls. I'm in on Williams and if he continues to play well he could end up a guy you hold on to for longer.

Deni Avdija - SF/PF (11%)

I know the Wizards play just once (Wednesday) but I have to spend a minute giving a shout-out to my guy Deni. This dude has been in the league a few years now and has been grinding his way to minutes, finally earning a starting role for Washington at SF. Over his last six games, he's put up some really solid numbers (12-6-2 and 1.5 stocks) and it's like no one is noticing! This is more of a "grab and stash" recommendation than a streamer. This kid is good and it seems like the Wizards are finally willing to give him a shot at meaningful minutes in their rotation.

Specialist Streaming Options

THREES

Sam Hauser - SF/PF (2%)

I have yet to talk about Hauser in this space yet this season! But this dude is a gunner who can get hot with the long ball and he's securing almost 17 minutes a game off the bench for the Celtics. He's averaging 2.2 made threes per contest and is available in pretty much every league. With two games to start the week, he's worth an add in my opinion.

STEALS

Dennis Smith Jr. - PG (35%)

After missing four games for the Hornets, Smith returned last night and promptly added two steals (and two blocks) in 25 minutes off the bench. With LaMelo Ball hurt again, Smith Jr. is going to get run and he's been an elite producer of steals this season at 1.9 per contest.

BLOCKS

Isaiah Hartenstein - C (47%)

I am seeing Big Hart dropped in a lot of leagues as his minutes have been trending down due to the emergence of Jericho Sims. If he's available in your league, snag him! He averages over a block per game in only 24 minutes played and he has one of the more diverse skill sets you'll see from a backup big man in the league.

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