Fantasy Basketball Mailbag: Best Playoff Setups, Wembanyama + Silly Season Heroes

Brandon Miller, Victor Wembanyama, Evan Mobley and Dalano Banton all made it into the Dr. A Mailbag column this week. Keep the questions coming at @docktora! Let's go. 

Is Brandon Miller worth keeping the rest of the week. Could get 3 games to 1 in semis of playoffs. - Reds22 (@jmirand1)

It all depends on who you're picking up for him, but for me, I'm dropping the guy with one game left to pick up two extra games and assure myself of punching my ticket to the next round this week. Then I'll deal with the loss of Miller next week. I really didn't want to drop Dereck Lively but he only had one game left, I was in an assist battle and I could get T.J. McConnell for three more games this week. It was a no brainer in my eyes. 

Hi Doc! Will Victor Wembanyama play back-to-backs for us at this crucial juncture? FTW! - Rafa Lam (@skyrocketmamba)

According to Rick Kamla and this podcast, Wemby is good to go the rest of the way this season. However, he doesn't have Wemby anywhere and I am still a little nervous, as I am relying on him to continue to play through back-to-backs on several teams that are capable of winning fantasy championships.

My hope and my guess is that he'll play on both Friday and Saturday, but I will not be shocked if he still continues to miss a game here or there. Wemby's the guy who got me here and we just have to keep rolling him out there until further notice. And if his days of missing games are truly over for the next 10 days or so, I fully expect to get a couple big wins because he's just that good. He will be taken No. 1 overall in almost every league next year. Or, at least he should be. 

Can we count on Evan Mobley coming back this week? - LooseLips67 (@Looselips671)

I'm not sure we can count on anything right now but the fact he ditched the walking boot on Monday is certainly a good sign. He was due to be re-evaluated mid-week, which is basically like, right now, so at the least, managers have to be hoping for a fresh news update on Thursday in regards to Mobley's potential return. He would have to play on Friday or Sunday to be back this week and I think there's about a 40-60 chance he might play on Sunday. The good news is that the Cavs go four times next week with no back-to-backs, which seems like a potentially more realistic expectation for when he will be back in action based on what we know right now. 

Who is the silly season hero: Dalano Banton or Scoot Henderson? - Daniel T Chuang (Scientist07)

I think Banton has already locked this one up if we're only looking at those two players as Banton has averaged 17.3 points, 5.2 rebounds, 3.2 assists, 0.9 steals, 0.8 blocks and 2.4 3-pointers in his 11 March games. He also had 12 points, three rebounds and six assists in 28 minutes on Wednesday night, so it doesn't look like he's going anywhere. All it will take for Scoot to shut it down is a hangnail or a tweaked anything. 

And in case you're wondering, Scoot was at 10.8 points, 3.7 rebounds, 4.8 assists, 1.0 steals, 0.2 blocks and 0.7 3-pointers through his six March games, and then added 18 points and five dimes on Wednesday night. So it's not even really close at this point, especially when you look at the number of games played, the blocks and the 3-pointers. 

With Kevin Huerter out, is Keon Ellis someone to add? - Illgobbo (@Illgobbo?)

Yes, I think so and we also discussed him on Wednesday's podcast. Ellis has been a steals monster of late, averaging 2.6 of them over his last five games and he's also racked up eight total blocks over that stretch, along with eight 3-pointers. He's not scoring much, handing out big assists or crashing the boards, but he does have his moments and is getting nearly 29 minutes a game over his last five. And the Kings go 4-4-4 in the weekly schedule department after wrapping up the current four-game week we are in the midst of. 

Do you have some ideas what I can do after a playoff loss after losing Trae Young, Khris Middleton and Scoot Henderson? Consolation round seems quite boring. - Illgobbo (@Illgobbo)

Sorry about your loss, Illgobbo. Unfortunately, there's nothing worse than the consolation round and I don't even set lineups once I'm out of the main bracket. And honestly, there's nothing more frustrating than playing for a championship and having people in the 'loser's bracket' picking up hot free agents for games that don't mean anything. Get with your league, agree that only the winner's bracket will continue to make moves and just agree to pack in your season once the dream is dead. It's the right way to do it. 

What is the optimal fantasy playoff setup?  My finals are this week and rest is pervasive. I was thinking unlimited adds during those weeks. It can't go any earlier. - Christopher Mosca (@cwmosca) 

How early to shut your league down is a never ending question with an impossible answer, but I do believe we've seen leagues push the end date up to Week 23 in many cases. One thing's for sure, and that's that you don't want to be trying to win a championship in the final week of the season (Week 25), when guys are literally sitting out for every team in the league. But regardless of how early you stop your league, missed games are still going to be an issue.

I like starting the playoffs in Week 21 or 22 and shutting it all down at the end of Week 23 or 24, but there's no right or wrong answer, unfortunately. One way to get around it is to ditch head-to-head play and just award the championship to the team who scores the most points, or has the best season in the league. But the head-to-head angle of fantasy hoops is pretty fun and a big part of how things are done in hoops.

There are enough customizable sites out there now that fantasy managers have the luxury of setting up their league however they see fit. So feel free to get creative and try something different next year if you think you can come up with a better plan. 

Nickeil Alexander-Walker? Thoughts? - (@DeeJaySeanG9)

The minutes have been there but the production has been all over the place for NAW. His scoring has gone 4, 13, 8, 28, 15, 4, 10, 13, 8 and 7 in his 10 March games, as he's had some good shooting nights and some bad ones. For the month, he's averaging 11.0 points, 2.8 rebounds, 2.5 assists, 0.9 steals, 0.5 blocks and 2.0 3-pointers on 48 percent shooting. If those numbers work for you, feel free to roll the dice on him. But Tuesday's dud of four points, two rebounds and three dimes on 2-of-7 shooting in 37 minutes was a tough pill to swallow if you were counting on him. 

Patrick Baldwin? Thoughts? - Matt Boyer (@MattBoyerCrime)

Baldwin got his first start for the Wizards on Sunday and hit 2-of-11 shots (two 3-pointers) for six points, seven rebounds, four assists, a steal and two blocks in 32 minutes in that one. He started again on Tuesday and was better with 12 points, seven rebounds, three assists, a steal and a 3-pointer in 21 minutes.

It will be interesting to see what happens going forward, as Kyle Kuzma is suddenly expected to play on Thursday so we'll have to see what his role is if Deni Avdija, Tyus Jones and Richaun Holmes continue to sit. But I do feel like the Wiz are ready to start shutting guys down and it would not be surprising to see Baldwin get hot at some point over the final three weeks of the season. He's worth stashing, or at least keeping a close eye on the rest of the way. 

Think Scottie Barnes and Trae Young come back this season? - Raam (Kdot4Prez)

While neither player has been ruled out for the remainder of the season, it's hard to envision either of them coming back after undergoing surgery. Young probably has a better shot since the Hawks are still looking like a play-in team for the postseason, while the Raptors have nothing left to play for. I don't think we'll see Trae until the real playoffs start, which would mean the Hawks would have to get through the play-in games for it to happen. But the fantasy playoffs should be long gone by the time either player is close to being ready for action again.