For those involved in Yahoo! default leagues, Week 21 signifies the beginning of the playoffs. All 30 teams are scheduled to play at least three games. Two teams are even scheduled for five games.
Friday and Sunday are the light game days. Six games are scheduled on Friday, and five on Sunday.
Teams Playing Four Games in Week 21
These teams have four games scheduled: ATL, BKN, BOS, DEN, GSW, HOU, LAC, LAL, MEM, MIN, NOR, ORL, POR, SAS.
Teams with only three games scheduled are: CHA, CHI, CLE, DAL, DET, IND, MIA, MIL, NYK, OKC, PHI, SAC, TOR, UTA.
Looking at specific schedule blocks:
- Sunday (Week 20)-Monday: DAL, GSW, POR
- Monday-Tuesday: ORL, PHX, SAS, WAS
- Tuesday-Wednesday: DEN, IND, MIN, OKC
- Wednesday-Thursday: CHI, LAC, LAL, NOR, UTA
- Friday-Saturday: ATL, GSW, HOU, MEM
- Sunday-Monday (Week 22): BKN, POR, TOR
Suns and Wizards as Streaming Targets
Phoenix and Washington are teams to target for streaming options. Both teams play five games during Week 21, with two back-to-backs within the week. This makes some of the low-rostered players on these teams more attractive in leagues without a games-played cap.
While Grayson Allen has been a question mark for back-to-backs, that has not been the case for Collin Gillespie or Royce O’Neale. Oso Ighodaro has a higher ceiling filling in for Mark Williams at center, but he has not been a lock to play starters’ minutes.
As for the Wizards, their handling of playing time and availability has been a bit tricky since the All-Star break, but there’s still value to be found. Tristan Vukčević may have added value in spots where Alex Sarr does not. Bilal Coulibaly played well to finish Week 20, but he’s another player whose availability for back-to-backs has not been guaranteed. Justin Champagnie, Tre Johnson and Will Riley have silly season standout potential, but we’ll see how much they’ll play in Week 21.
Bulls and Pistons Schedules to Avoid
Chicago and Detroit have three-game weeks. Their Week 21 schedules are brutal.
The Bulls play their final game of the week on Thursday, while the Pistons will be done on Friday. Those games are part of back-to-backs. Chicago’s back-to-back on Wednesday and Thursday could be problematic for multiple players, including Josh Giddey and Jalen Smith, although the former played both games of Chicago’s most recent back-to-back.
As for the Pistons’ back-to-back on Thursday and Friday, Isaiah Stewart’s recent calf strain is worth watching. The clear priority will be to ensure that everyone is healthy for the postseason, so key contributors like Stewart, Ausar Thompson and Cade Cunningham could be in line for a day off at the end of Week 21. Both teams miss out on the light game day in Week 21, which falls on Sunday.
Adebayo’s Big Game
Bam Adebayo dropped 83 points on the Wizards on Tuesday night. How does his performance stack up among the best individual fantasy performances?
Like Phoenix and Washington, the Trail Blazers…