The NBA is fantastic and there are so many things to talk about each and every week. Whether you are a Fantasy Basketball fanatic or just a fan here are ten things about the NBA that I want you to know about as we head into week six of the NBA season!
Best Games to Watch this Week
Monday: Washington Wizards at the Milwaukee Bucks: The Wizards backcourt duo of John Wall and Bradley Beale travel to Milwaukee to take on Giannis Antetokounmpo aka “The Greek Freak.”
Tuesday: Chicago Bulls at the Los Angeles Lakers: It’s the only game on the slate so why not?
Wednesday: Golden State Warriors at the Oklahoma City Thunder: Warriors star Kevin Durant returns to the building that made him famous to face his former team. Durant haters will be out in full force in Loud City Wednesday.
Thursday: Happy Thanksgiving!! Watch some football and enjoy the day with family and friends.
Friday: Orlando Magic at the Boston Celtics: This one could be a sneak preview of a possible first round playoff series between these Eastern Conference clubs.
Saturday: Portland Trail Blazers at the Wizards: two of the NBA’s best backcourts collide in what should be a highly entertaining game on Saturday.
Sunday: Brooklyn Nets at the Memphis Grizzlies: Brooklyn plays at one of the fastest paces in the NBA. The Grizzlies are one of the slowest. The contrast should make for a great Sunday evening game.
Waiver Wire Pickup of the Week
My waiver wire pickup for week six of the Fantasy Basketball season is Minnesota Timberwolves power forward Taj Gibson. Gibson has four games this week (@Charlotte, Orlando, Miami and Phoenix) and over the past five games Gibson is averaging 32 minutes a night with 12.6 points and 9.4 rebounds while shooting 50 percent from the floor and 78 percent from the charity stripe. Gibson will also get the occasional steal and block and has knocked down a couple of triples in his last five games. Gibson is widely available across the season long industry and is usually a great DFS value play at sites like FanDuel ($4900) and Draft Kings ($5300).
You are a Happy Fantasy Basketball Owner If:
You have players on your roster from the Atlanta Hawks, Boston Celtics, Charlotte Hornets, Chicago Bulls, Memphis Grizzlies, Minnesota Timberwolves, New Orleans Pelicans, New York Knicks, Oklahoma City Thunder, Orlando Magic and the Portland Trail Blazers as each of those teams have four games this week.
Worst Team Defense Against the Triple
If you are a DFS NBA player then you are always trying to focus on bad defenses. Below are the bottom five defense against the three pointer. Be sure and load up on shooters against these bad defenses.
The New York Knicks are the worst (38.5) followed by the Sacramento Kings (38.4), Cleveland Cavaliers (37.4), New Orleans Pelicans (35) and the Denver Nuggets (34.7).
You are a Unhappy Fantasy Basketball Owner If:
You have players on your roster from the Detroit Pistons and Los Angeles Lakers. Those two teams have just two games on the roster this week. Every other NBA team has three games on the week six Fantasy Basketball schedule.
Tweet of the Week
Goes to my friend and radio partner Kevin Lipe…….and a fitting pre-game preparation!
I have consumed enough lemongrass beef stir fry and vermicelli to induce a meat coma ideal for watching Grizzlies/Rockets. Shoutout Phuong Long.
— Kevin Lipe (@FlyerGrizBlog) November 12, 2017
Dunk of the Week
There were plenty of dunks worthy of this high honor but the Warriors Andre Iguodala noses out the rest of the field with this posterizing smash over the Celtics Marcus Smart!
Steals Leaders under 50 Percent Owned
For those of you playing season long head to head leagues here are the top five steals leaders with less than 50 percent ownership.
Frank Ntilikina of the New York Knicks is tied for second in the NBA averaging 2.0 steals per game. Ntilikina is currently in a time share with Jarrett Jack but is currently averaging roughly 20 minutes a night. He won’t stuff the stat sheet but he is averaging 4.3 assists and 2.2 rebounds per contest.
Austin Rivers of the Los Angeles Clippers is currently seventh in the League averaging 1.92 steals per game. Rivers will also contribute in points (13.3) and while his shooting percentages of 39 percent from the floor and 60 percent from the line aren’t all that great they won’t hurt you too badly. Rivers is also knocking down between two and three triples a night in 32.6 minutes of action.
Taurean Prince of the Atlanta Hawks is currently number 16 in the NBA averaging 1.67 steals per game. Prince is also averaging 13 points a game with 5.1 rebounds and 2.7 assists. Prince knocks down nearly two triples a night while shooting 42 percent from the floor and 73 percent from the line playing 31.5 minutes per night.
Marcus Smart of the Boston Celtics is currently sitting at number 19 on the list averaging 1.57 steals per game. Smart also averages nine points per game with 4.6 rebounds, 5.4 assists and one triple per game on 30 minutes per game. Smart shoots a measly 26 percent from the field and a much better 75 percent from the line and I think the plusses far outweigh that awful field goal percentage.
Joe Ingles of the Utah Jazz is currently number 24 in the League averaging 1.54 steals per game. Ingles is averaging 10.1 points, 4.5 rebounds and 3.5 assists per game playing 29 minutes a night. He’s knocking down 2.3 triples a night and shooting 43 percent from the field and is perfect from the line this season.
Trusting the Process
I’m not a big fan of tanking so it shouldn’t come as any surprise that I was not a fan of the Philadelphia 76ers essentially tanking for FOUR seasons and gaining enough assets to make a gold-digger jealous. That being said it’s also hard to ignore that this “process” 76ers fans and their front office kept going on and on about actually worked.
I love watching 76ers center Joel “The Process” Embiid do his thing; now that he has been cleared to play without a minutes restriction we may be seeing more nights like the one he had this past week against the Lakers. Here are the highlights from his amazing night!!
Memphis Grizzlies PG Mike Conley out Indefinitely
Fantasy basketball owners have been disappointed with Conley this season. His scoring is down and now we know why; he has a sore Achilles tendon and will miss at least the next two weeks. Below are three possible replacements for you Conley owners to consider. Each of these options has four games this week.
Grizzlies backup PG Mario Chalmers will be running the show for the foreseeable future and while he is no Conley he is averaging 23 minutes a night over his past five games (and 30 in Conley’s first game out) so picking him up and his 8 points, 3.5 assists, 2.7 rebounds and a steal per ballgame might be ideal in deeper leagues of 14 teams or more.
New Orleans Pelicans PG Rajon Rondo is back from injury and we know what to expect from him; we see assists, rebounds, steals and maybe around eight to ten points a night. You can pick him up in any League and he will help you this week.
We have already mentioned New York Knicks PG Frank Ntilikina (see above) and I think he will be able to help owners of deeper league teams of 14 teams or more.
Have fun with the NBA this week!!
