Let’s cover some streaming options for week 8 of the fantasy basketball season, December 3rd-9th. Remember that the ultimate goal of streaming is to maximize the number of games played by players who can help you win closely contested categories. For an overview of streaming strategy, please visit the Fantasy Basketball Streaming Strategy: Overview. For daily streaming recommendations, follow me on Twitter @BasketBlogBoy. Let me know if there’s anything you’d like me to cover in next week’s post.
Top 20 Streamers:
| Rank | Name | Team | Pos | Games | Q. Games | Y! Own |
| 1 | Reggie Bullock | DET | G/F | 4 | 1 | 11% |
| 2 | Noah Vonleh | NYK | F | 4 | 2 | 43% |
| 3 | Tim Frazier | NOR | G | 4 | 1 | 16% |
| 4 | Juan Hernangomez | DEN | F | 4 | 0 | 26% |
| 5 | Monte Morris | DEN | G | 4 | 0 | 10% |
| 6 | Allen Crabbe | BKN | G/F | 4 | 0 | 40% |
| 7 | George Hill | CLE | G | 4 | 0 | 10% |
| 8 | Rodney Hood | CLE | G/F | 4 | 0 | 26% |
| 9 | Damyean Dotson | NYK | G | 4 | 2 | 6% |
| 10 | Fred VanVleet | TOR | G | 4 | 1 | 47% |
| 11 | Al-Farouq Aminu | POR | F | 3 | 2 | 36% |
| 12 | Mitchell Robinson | NYK | C | 4 | 2 | 19% |
| 13 | Marvin Williams | CHA | F | 3 | 1 | 42% |
| 14 | Wesley Matthews | DAL | G/F | 3 | 1 | 47% |
| 15 | Terrence Ross | ORL | G/F | 3 | 1 | 47% |
| 16 | Jordan Clarkson | CLE | G | 4 | 0 | 43% |
| 17 | Stanley Johnson | DET | G/F | 4 | 1 | 8% |
| 18 | Jeremy Lin | ATL | G | 3 | 0 | 18% |
| 19 | Bryn Forbes | SAS | G | 4 | 2 | 21% |
| 20 | P.J. Tucker | HOU | F | 3 | 1 | 35% |
Context and a tip:
- These rankings are based on 9-cat formats and all players are available in over 50% of Yahoo! leagues.
- “Q. Games” stands for quality games. That means games played on a day with a light schedule, typically 5 NBA games or less.
- Follow injury news closely throughout the week and stream players who get unexpected opportunities. Injuries and rotation changes can significantly alter the streaming landscape.
Top 20 Monday-Saturday Streamers:
| Rank | Name | Team | Pos | Games | Q. Games | Y! Own |
| 1 | Juan Hernangomez | DEN | F | 4 | 0 | 26% |
| 2 | Monte Morris | DEN | G | 4 | 0 | 10% |
| 3 | Allen Crabbe | BKN | G/F | 4 | 0 | 40% |
| 4 | George Hill | CLE | G | 4 | 0 | 10% |
| 5 | Rodney Hood | CLE | G/F | 4 | 0 | 26% |
| 6 | Al-Farouq Aminu | POR | F | 3 | 2 | 36% |
| 7 | Wesley Matthews | DAL | G/F | 3 | 1 | 47% |
| 8 | Jordan Clarkson | CLE | G | 4 | 0 | 43% |
| 9 | Terrence Ross | ORL | G/F | 3 | 1 | 47% |
| 10 | Jeremy Lin | ATL | G | 3 | 0 | 18% |
| 11 | P.J. Tucker | HOU | F | 3 | 1 | 35% |
| 12 | Cedi Osman | CLE | F | 4 | 0 | 31% |
| 13 | Mason Plumlee | DEN | F/C | 4 | 0 | 10% |
| 14 | Tomas Satoransky | WAS | G | 3 | 0 | 4% |
| 15 | Tim Frazier | NOR | G | 3 | 0 | 16% |
| 16 | Bam Adebayo | MIA | F/C | 3 | 1 | 42% |
| 17 | Garrett Temple | MEM | G/F | 3 | 0 | 15% |
| 18 | Noah Vonleh | NYK | F | 3 | 1 | 43% |
| 19 | D.J. Augustin | ORL | G | 3 | 1 | 45% |
| 20 | Reggie Bullock | DET | G/F | 3 | 0 | 11% |
More context and tips:
- Why Monday-Saturday streamers? To maximize the number of games played by “weekly” streamers while also affording you roster flexibility for additional moves on Sunday, depending on what categories are close. Or, if you’re easily winning your matchup, you can proactively acquire players for next week’s matchup, both conserving roster moves and giving you first dibs on streamers.
- Hold the following streamers if they’re on your roster: Tim Frazier, Wesley Matthews, Jeremy Lin, Cedi Osman, and Bam Adebayo. Frazier should be a great source of assists until Elfrid Payton returns, Matthews was dropped in many leagues during his injury, Lin was rounding into form in Atlanta before his ankle injury — and has provided solid fantasy value in 25 minutes before — and Osman is receiving significant playing time in Cleveland. The player here with the highest upside is Adebayo, who has been steadily eating into Hassan Whiteside’s playing time. The other players are churnable.
- Consider a consolidation trade if your streamers get too good to drop and inhibit your streaming. Sometimes you’ll be too deep to roster every serviceable player and will have to cut bait. It happens. But when you can, attempt to get some value back by trading more players for fewer players, so long as you’re clearly getting the best player(s) in return. Someone recently tweeted me about a THJ + Lou Williams for Marc Gasol deal (they got Gasol). That is a great example of a consolidation trade.
- Stash quality injured players if you have an IR spot. Injuries make fantasy managers nervous, often leading them to drop players they shouldn’t. If you have the small luxury of an IR spot, stash any player who could become fantasy-relevant at some point this season. Bogdan Bogdanovic was an injury stash to start the year, and now he looks like a top-80 player at worst. Others to monitor:
- Caris LeVert is approaching 50% ownership. Check his availability in your league.
- Same goes for Elfrid Payton and Bobby Portis. Why not take a flier?
Possible Week 8 injuries and DNPs with streaming implications:
- Kyle Lowry (stream Fred VanVleet)
- Devin Booker (stream Elie Okobo)
- Victor Oladipo (stream Cory Joseph)
- Marc Gasol (stream JaMychal Green)
- T.J. Warren (stream Josh Jackson)
Other helpful streaming resources:
- The Week Ahead by Jonas Nader at Rotoworld
- NBA Weekly Streamers by Milos Zvekic at RotoBaller
- Weekly Schedule Primer by Tyler Watts at Hashtag Basketball
- Fantasy Basketball Reddit typically has a weekly thread on streaming
- Weekly Schedule Grid for planning out moves (remember to manually select the correct week)
Please share your feedback with me on Twitter @BasketBlogBoy. Rather have this article on Saturday than Sunday? Want ranks by position or specific categories or something different altogether? Let me know.
