NBA Category Strategy: It's Almost Playoff Time

Thirteen teams play four times, 16 teams play three games and the Celtics play twice this week.

If making the fantasy postseason in a head-to-head league is your chief concern, know the schedule. The Timberwolves, Magic and Spurs are the only teams playing on Monday and Tuesday. Use that to your advantage if you're in a daily moves league. Add Shabazz Muhammad for the start of the week, then move off him for someone on the Suns like P.J. Tucker who plays Wednesday and Thursday. Once you've registered four combined games from Muhammad and Tucker in the first four days, add a player with two games over the final three days who'll help secure a tight category. It would also behoove you to drop any extemporaneous Mavericks after Wednesday's game because they only play one game over the final four days of the week. All this, of course, only matters if you're desperate.

If you've already clinched a playoff bid and are concerned with next week, focus on the Raptors. They're the only team to play five games in Week 21, a distinct advantage in all formats. You can also begin targeting the Bulls. They play a league-high 13 games during the standard fantasy playoffs, including five games in Week 23. Cory Joseph, Bismack Biyombo, Patrick Patterson and Terrence Ross will all be recommended in next week's article. You can beat the rush by harboring them this week.

If you've earned a bye in Week 21, begin arranging your team for Weeks 22 and 23 in standard Yahoo! head-to-head playoffs.

POINTS
Dennis Schroder (PG)
All the attainable scorers are either unavailable or limited to three games this week. Players like Gary Harris, Bojan Bogdanovic and Mirza Teletovic have all encountered inflated ownership levels. Shabazz Muhammad is limited to three games this week, two of which occur prior to Wednesday. I'd happily suggest them in this space, but I'm a realist.

Schroder is owned in fewer Yahoo! leagues than Harris, Bogdanovic and Teletovic. His ownership percentages have dropped five percent in Yahoo! and 2.6 percent in ESPN leagues. Though he's played fewer than 20 minutes in five of the past six games, he's reached 16 points in four of those outings. In the pursuit of volume, Atlanta's four-game week and Schroder's team-high 28.3 percent usage rate fit the bill.

REBOUNDS
Ed Davis (PF/C)
Davis is an extremely reliable rebounder limited by his abhorrent free-throw percentage and coach Terry Stotts' fluid rotations. Grabbing at least five rebounds in 14 straight games, Davis is averaging 8.1 rebounds in 21 minutes per game over that span. Only Omer Asik and David Lee have played fewer minutes and still grabbed eight boards per game since the start of February. Against this week's opponents, Davis has averaged 7.0 rebounds per game this season. If you prefer to swing for the fences, give Thomas Robinson or Chris Andersen a shot.

ASSISTS
Norris Cole (PG)
Sometimes it's not what you know, but who you know. And in this case, Cole and coach Alvin Gentry are bosom buddies. In the eight games since the All-Star break, Cole has averaged 5.3 assists in 28 minutes per game. Two-thirds of his assists in that timeframe are courtesy to Ryan Anderson, Anthony Davis and Eric Gordon (finger). With options like that, it's a surprise he's not handing out more. Now that it appears Gordon could miss significant time after fracturing his finger Saturday, playing time won't be a problem for Cole. However, the inclusion of Jrue Holiday in the starting lineup stagnates Cole's assist opportunities.

STEALS
Mario Chalmers (PG/SG)
Assuming Gary Harris wasn't already snatched up, settle for Chalmers. The Grizzlies play four times this week and Chalmers accumulated 13 steals in the previous four contests. If you can get Chalmers on your roster before Sunday's game, you'll benefit from the Grizzlies playing five games in seven nights. The most stable minutes belong to Mike Conley and Zach Randolph. Everyone else, from Chalmers to Lance Stephenson, will see their playing time fluctuate based on matchup, and the eventual return of Tony Allen (knee) will further dilute the backcourt rotation. Don't be afraid to aim lower with Wesley Johnson, who snapped his streak of 12 straight games with at least one steal Saturday night. Both Chalmers and Johnson play four games in Week 20.

BLOCKS
Taj Gibson (PF/C)
Gibson gets the nod over Ian Mahinmi in Week 20 because of the Bulls' fantasy head-to-head schedule - league-high 13 games in Weeks 21-23 - and all three games this week happen before Saturday. If you need additional blocks after Friday, drop Gibson for Mahinmi because the Pacers play two of their three games on the weekend. You can scrounge five games out of two players this week, but you'd also drop someone, Gibson, whose team possesses a solid outlook the following three weeks. If both Gibson and Mahinmi are accounted for and you want to beat the crowd heading into Week 21, add Bismack Biyombo.

THREE-POINTERS
D.J. Augustin (PG)
The Nuggets play three times this week, and two of those come against the Knicks and Suns. Augustin's averaging a team-high 2.0 three-pointers in 23 minutes per game as the Nuggets' backup point guard. Over 60 percent of his made threes have been assisted, and he's second on the team in fourth-quarter minutes. Danilo Gallinari's absence opened up offensive opportunity, and Augustin has taken advantage.

As mentioned above, Terrence Ross makes sense if you're expected to make the head-to-head fantasy playoffs. Garrett Temple will see a boost in minutes without Bradley Beal (pelvis). He averaged 1.6 threes in 31.3 minutes per game without Beal in the lineup this season.