Fantasy Forecaster: Feb. 10-23
By Neil Tardy | Special to ESPN.com
Are you ready to play two?
With NBA All-Star Weekend a week away, ESPN.com head-to-head leagues move to a special schedule over the next two weeks. The weeks of Feb. 10 (with games Monday through Thursday) and Feb. 17 (games Tuesday through Sunday) are combined into a single scoring period. This edition of the NBA Fantasy Forecaster covers this two-week period (Week 16-17). The next Forecaster column will be published Feb. 21.
[h=3]Week 16-17 at a Glance[/h]
This extended stretch is one of relative parity as far as the schedule goes. Twenty NBA teams have five games, while seven others -- the Atlanta Hawks, Charlotte Bobcats, Cleveland Cavaliers, Denver Nuggets, Detroit Pistons, Toronto Raptors and Washington Wizards -- play six times. A quick breakdown of these seven teams follows.
Meanwhile, three teams -- the Los Angeles Clippers, Oklahoma City Thunder and Philadelphia 76ers -- have just four games. Do the math though and you'll see that it's not worth getting overly hung up on the number of games. By proportion, having four games in this two-week window, when most teams play five, is less of a disadvantage compared to a typical seven-day week, when a handful of teams play only twice while the rest have three or four games. Needless to say, owners of Kevin Durant, Blake Griffin and the soon-to-return Chris Paul will happily start their studs.
Of the teams playing five games, the Los Angeles Lakers offer substantial intrigue for Week 16-17. Not only is Steve Blake the most-added player in ESPN.com leagues, two of his teammates -- Steve Nash and Jordan Farmar -- are also on this list. Frankly, I think folks are going a bit overboard on Blake based on his triple-double against the Cleveland Cavaliers on Feb. 5. That game being the second of a back-to-back, Nash didn't take the court in Cleveland. And as I'll explain in a bit, the Cavs are one sweet matchup right now.
Don't get me wrong. As fantasy free agents go, Blake is worth grabbing in most formats. But I'd prefer Nash, even knowing he won't play every night. And note that the Lakers' schedule in Week 16-17 -- all home games against the Utah Jazz, Thunder, Houston Rockets, Boston Celtics and Brooklyn Nets -- is free of back-to-backs.
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By Neil Tardy | Special to ESPN.com
Are you ready to play two?
With NBA All-Star Weekend a week away, ESPN.com head-to-head leagues move to a special schedule over the next two weeks. The weeks of Feb. 10 (with games Monday through Thursday) and Feb. 17 (games Tuesday through Sunday) are combined into a single scoring period. This edition of the NBA Fantasy Forecaster covers this two-week period (Week 16-17). The next Forecaster column will be published Feb. 21.
[h=3]Week 16-17 at a Glance[/h]
This extended stretch is one of relative parity as far as the schedule goes. Twenty NBA teams have five games, while seven others -- the Atlanta Hawks, Charlotte Bobcats, Cleveland Cavaliers, Denver Nuggets, Detroit Pistons, Toronto Raptors and Washington Wizards -- play six times. A quick breakdown of these seven teams follows.
Meanwhile, three teams -- the Los Angeles Clippers, Oklahoma City Thunder and Philadelphia 76ers -- have just four games. Do the math though and you'll see that it's not worth getting overly hung up on the number of games. By proportion, having four games in this two-week window, when most teams play five, is less of a disadvantage compared to a typical seven-day week, when a handful of teams play only twice while the rest have three or four games. Needless to say, owners of Kevin Durant, Blake Griffin and the soon-to-return Chris Paul will happily start their studs.
Of the teams playing five games, the Los Angeles Lakers offer substantial intrigue for Week 16-17. Not only is Steve Blake the most-added player in ESPN.com leagues, two of his teammates -- Steve Nash and Jordan Farmar -- are also on this list. Frankly, I think folks are going a bit overboard on Blake based on his triple-double against the Cleveland Cavaliers on Feb. 5. That game being the second of a back-to-back, Nash didn't take the court in Cleveland. And as I'll explain in a bit, the Cavs are one sweet matchup right now.
Don't get me wrong. As fantasy free agents go, Blake is worth grabbing in most formats. But I'd prefer Nash, even knowing he won't play every night. And note that the Lakers' schedule in Week 16-17 -- all home games against the Utah Jazz, Thunder, Houston Rockets, Boston Celtics and Brooklyn Nets -- is free of back-to-backs.
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<CENTER></CENTER> | <CENTER>Mon 2/10</CENTER> | <CENTER>Tue 2/11</CENTER> | <CENTER>Wed 2/12</CENTER> | <CENTER>Thu 2/13</CENTER> | <CENTER>Fri 2/14</CENTER> | <CENTER>Sat 2/15</CENTER> | <CENTER>Sun 2/16</CENTER> | <CENTER></CENTER> | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
<CENTER></CENTER> | Team | <CENTER>Mon 2/17</CENTER> | <CENTER>Tue 2/18</CENTER> | <CENTER>Wed 2/19</CENTER> | <CENTER>Thu 2/20</CENTER> | <CENTER>Fri 2/21</CENTER> | <CENTER>Sat 2/22</CENTER> | <CENTER>Sun 2/23</CENTER> | <CENTER></CENTER> |
| Atlanta HAWKS | OFF | @CHI R: 5 | @TOR R: 5 | OFF | OFF | OFF | OFF | G: 6 H: 2 R: 8 |
OFF | @IND R: 3 | WSH R: 6 | OFF | @DET R: 7 | NY R: 6 | OFF |