October 29 Fantasy Basketball Streamers: Jordan Hawkins, Christian Braun, Daniel Theis and More
NBA players with good matchups on Tuesday who are widely available in fantasy leagues.
We are close to having enough information to make educated assessments of how teams might operate over the first portion of the season. Specifically for fantasy basketball streamers, I’m looking for teams that play at fast paces and have poor defensive ratings.
As of Monday morning, six teams rank in the top 10 in pace and the bottom 10 in defensive rating:
- Atlanta Hawks
- Memphis Grizzlies
- Milwaukee Bucks
- Sacramento Kings (the Kings actually moved just out of the bottom 10 in defensive rating, but it’s close enough)
- Utah Jazz
- Washington Wizards
Those rankings will change daily, and fantasy targets will shift accordingly, but that’s a good base of teams to go after right now. Just two of those teams are in action on Tuesday; they play against each other.
Let’s look at the two teams with great matchups today and the players on those teams who are widely available in fantasy leagues. I’ll then quickly look at the three other games on Tuesday and give you some middling streamers who don’t have as good of matchups but are worth considering on a light day.
Team and individual stats are from NBA.com.
Sacramento Kings @ Utah Jazz
This is the game for streamers on Tuesday. Sacramento is the 10th-fastest team and dropped just out of the bottom 10 in defensive rating after Monday’s game. The Jazz are playing at the eighth-fastest pace and have the fourth-worst defense.
Utah was a fast pace/bad defense team last season as well, so this isn’t a fluke. The Kings were right in the middle in both pace and defensive rating. It’s not a surprise to see either as a team to target.
The Kings were most vulnerable to shooting guards, small forwards, and power forwards last season. Shooting guards and power forwards are scoring a lot again this year. Utah was able to be targeted with all positions last year; shooting guards and centers have done the most damage this season.
Sacramento’s Streaming Players
Guard
Forward
Center
- None
Utah’s Streaming Players
Guard
Forward
- John Collins – A note for all the forwards here: Taylor Hendricks suffered a gnarly leg injury last night and will be out indefinitely, probably expanding the role of each of these guys.
- Cody Williams
- Brice Sensabaugh
Center
- None
Denver Nuggets @ Brooklyn Nets
The Nuggets are a horrible matchup: They are in the bottom five in pace and top five in defensive rating. Brooklyn has played slow but has been a below-average defense; the few Nuggets who aren’t already owned in fantasy leagues are middling streamers.
Denver’s Streaming Players
Guard
- Christian Braun – Braun is averaging over 34 minutes per game and is third in points and fourth in rebounds on the team.
- Russell Westbrook
Forward
Center
- None
Dallas Mavericks @ Minnesota Timberwolves
The Mavericks are seventh in pace and the Timberwolves 23rd; this one might average out in the middle. Dallas is right at average in defensive rating, and Minnesota has the best defense in the league. Stay away from Mavs’ players today, but T’Wolves’ guys can be considered as decent streamers.
Minnesota’s Streaming Players
Guard
Forward
Center
- None
New Orleans Pelicans @ Golden State Warriors
The Pelicans are right in the middle in pace and have a top-10 defense. Stay away from Warriors’ streamers on Tuesday. Golden State is just outside the top 10 in pace and has an average defense, making them a middling matchup. New Orleans streaming guys are an OK bet.
New Orleans’ Streaming Players
Guard
- Jordan Hawkins – Hawkins is playing the fourth-most minutes per game and scoring the third-most points per game on the team. Dejounte Murray’s injury opened a major role for Hawkins.
- Jose Alvarado
