With Chris Paul out for an extended period of time, Cameron Payne has taken over the point guard duties for the Suns.
It’s time to get ready for another week of fantasy hoops. We are already heading into Week 21.
I believe that head-to-head playoffs should begin this week to minimize the luck factor with players resting and teams tanking.
Each and every week, we’ll look at players that you should consider picking up who are rostered in four different rostership tiers:
- 50-60%
- 30-49%
- 15-29%
- 0-14%
What’s more, we’ll give you a breakdown of how many games each team has for the upcoming week so that you can maximize the minutes of your streamers. We’ll be keeping playoffs in mind with this week’s crop of players.
Without further delay, let’s get to it, starting with the schedule and offensive pace ratings, thanks to our friends at Razzball.
View optimal lineups, waiver and trade suggestions, and league analysis >>
Four games:
ATL, DAL, DEN, DET, GSW, HOU, LAC, LAL, MIA, MIN, NOR, NYK, ORL, PHX, SAS, UTA
Three games:
BKN, BOS, CHA, CHI, CLE, IND, MEM, MIL, OKC, PHI, POR, SAC, TOR, WAS
Rostered in 50-60% of leagues:
Cameron Payne (PG/SG – PHX): 52%
The Suns have two Cams that aren’t only must-roster players, but must-start players. The first is Johnson, who is over the threshold for this article. The second is Payne, who played a full workload after being brought back slowly in his return.
Payne dropped 17 points and 16 assists Friday night against the Knicks. While you can’t expect 16 dimes every game, you can expect a great assist total moving forward with Chris Paul (PG – PHX) out.
Payne is a must-start option in every single league of every single size.
Jae Crowder (SF/PF – PHX): 51%
I’m not a Crowder fan in real life or for fantasy. He’s typically too boring even for me, and his floor isn’t high enough for me to want to roster him.
But since the All-Star break, he’s the No. 28 player in fantasy and has scored in double figures in five straight games.
He’s benefitting from no Chris Paul, and with Devin Booker (SG – PHX) missing some time, he has short-term appeal with four games on the schedule this week.
Rostered in 30-49% of leagues:
Victor Oladipo (SG/SF – MIA): 34%
I have zero interest in Oladipo in 12-team leagues. Zero.
Frankly, I’m surprised his rostership number is this high, given that he’s barely played over the last few years. But he still has name value, which is driving the spike in rostership.
He’s making his season debut Monday, and there’s deep-league appeal here in the hopes that he can work his way up to around 20 minutes per game by the end of the season. Outside of deep leagues, though, I’m out on him. He should be closer to 20 percent rostered.
Isaiah Jackson (PF – IND) has the higher upside and league-winning ability, but he can’t stay out of foul trouble.
Enter Smith, who the Suns really, really messed up with. Smith has a double-double in three of his last four games, and he’s seeing minutes in the mid-to-upper-20s during that stretch.
Jackson has the higher upside, but Smith is the safer bet with high upside in his own right as a must-roster player.
Rostered in 15-29% of leagues:
Aleksej Pokusevski (SF/PF – OKC): 25%
The playing time and the production continue to be inconsistent for Poku, but he’s played 26 minutes or more in three straight games and has offered across-the-board production of late.
Before his recent three-game stretch, Poku scored in double-digits in his previous three games – making it four of his last six total.
The Thunder should continue to turn him loose down the stretch, and his skill-set is super fantasy-friendly.
The second-year guard has filled in admirably for Fred VanVleet (PG/SG – TOR) as of late. With FVV on the shelf with a knee injury, Flynn has not only been playing big minutes for the Raptors but he’s scored in double-digits in four straight games.
What’s more, Flynn has two eight-assist games in his last four contests, and he’s putting up top-50 numbers over the last week.
He’s worth grabbing for the stretch if FVV continues to be hampered by his knee.
Rostered in 0-14% of leagues:
Donte DiVincenzo (PG/SG – SAC): 13%
DiVincenzo has carved out a nice role in Sacramento. He’s a deeper league option for fantasy, but he has posted top-70 numbers over the last week.
During that stretch, DD is averaging 10.5 points, six boards, 3.5 assists, two steals, and 2.5 threes per game.
His defense will keep him on the court, and that should help him volume his way to fantasy production.
