This article is part of our In-Season Strategy series.
The Rockets, Pacers and Clippers all play just two games in Week 4, while 13 teams go four times. Sitting players who only go twice has its advantages, but fantasy managers still have to make smart decisions when figuring out who to start and who to sit, regardless of games played.
Four Games: BOS, CHI, CLE, DAL, LAL, MIL, NYK, OKC, ORL, PHI, POR, SAC, TOR
Three Games: ATL, BKN, CHA, DEN, DET, GSW, MEM, MIA, MIN, NOR, PHX, SAS, UTA, WAS
Two Games: HOU, IND, LAC
Here are five potential starts and five potential sits entering the second week of the NBA season. Just keep in mind that this is based on games played for the week. If you play in a rotisserie league, the number of games played each week may not matter in your format.
Guards
Consider starting: Coby White, CHI, (60% rostered, 10% start)
Opponents: @MIL, ORL, ORL, MIA
White is having a bit of an up-and-down season, but he came through with 16 points, seven assists, two steals and three three-pointers on Sunday against the Pistons and has scored in double figures in all six of his November games. For the month, he's averaging 13.6 points, 3.2 rebounds, 4.8 assists, 1.2 steals, 0.6 blocks and 1.8 three-pointers per game. His shooting could be better, but his 43.5 FG% in November won't kill you, and he's sitting at 88% free throw shooting on the season. With four games, he looks like a must-start player in
The Rockets, Pacers and Clippers all play just two games in Week 4, while 13 teams go four times. Sitting players who only go twice has its advantages, but fantasy managers still have to make smart decisions when figuring out who to start and who to sit, regardless of games played.
Four Games: BOS, CHI, CLE, DAL, LAL, MIL, NYK, OKC, ORL, PHI, POR, SAC, TOR
Three Games: ATL, BKN, CHA, DEN, DET, GSW, MEM, MIA, MIN, NOR, PHX, SAS, UTA, WAS
Two Games: HOU, IND, LAC
Here are five potential starts and five potential sits entering the second week of the NBA season. Just keep in mind that this is based on games played for the week. If you play in a rotisserie league, the number of games played each week may not matter in your format.
Guards
Consider starting: Coby White, CHI, (60% rostered, 10% start)
Opponents: @MIL, ORL, ORL, MIA
White is having a bit of an up-and-down season, but he came through with 16 points, seven assists, two steals and three three-pointers on Sunday against the Pistons and has scored in double figures in all six of his November games. For the month, he's averaging 13.6 points, 3.2 rebounds, 4.8 assists, 1.2 steals, 0.6 blocks and 1.8 three-pointers per game. His shooting could be better, but his 43.5 FG% in November won't kill you, and he's sitting at 88% free throw shooting on the season. With four games, he looks like a must-start player in Week 4
Consider sitting: Bennedict Mathurin, IND (89% rostered, 42% start)
Opponents: @PHI, ORL
Mathurin had a couple big games last week before cooling off on Sunday with just nine points and five rebounds in a game that saw the Pacers score 126 points. He had a three-game stretch of single-digit scoring games to start the month of November, and if he goes into a funk with two games this week, fantasy managers won't want him in their lineup. However, we probably wouldn't drop him for a four-game player in most leagues, so just put him on your bench.
Consider starting: Skylar Mays, POR (15% rostered, 9% start)
Opponents: @UTA, CLE, LAL, OKC
Mays has been filling in point guard minutes for Portland while Scoot Henderson, Malcolm Brogdon and Anfernee Simons are all sidelined. He recently had his two-way deal converted into a standard contract, and he's coming off two games where he combined for 33 points, 23 assists, six rebounds and two steals with just four turnovers in 70 minutes. What his role looks like when everyone is healthy is unclear and probably won't be fantasy relevant, but Mays is looking like one of the best streamers for the upcoming week with four games.
Consider sitting: Jalen Green, HOU (96% rostered, 61% start)
Opponents: @LAC, @LAL
Green hit just 1-of-13 shots for nine points in a win over the Nuggets on Sunday but did have eight rebounds, five assists and a steal. The Rockets are spreading the ball around and getting a lot of players involved in the offense, and Green has suffered at times as a result. While it's entirely possible he plays well this week in L.A., the two-game week makes him a very risky fantasy play. Teammate Dillon Brooks also probably belongs on fantasy benches this week.
Forwards
Consider starting: Toumani Camara, POR (4% rostered, 1% start)
Opponents: @UTA, CLE, LAL, OKC
Camara is a deep-league special who is suddenly playing fairly heavy minutes for the Blazers. In his four November games entering Sunday night's game against the Lakers, Camara was averaging 5.5 points, 5.0 rebounds, 1.0 assists and 1.8 steals in 27 minutes a night. As long as he keeps getting that kind of run, the stats should follow. Again, you have to be in a pretty deep league to be looking at Camara for four games this week, but he'll only need to have one or two solid games to make the move worthwhile.
Consider sitting: Jabari Smith, HOU (rostered 96%, 59% start)
Opponents: @LAC, @LAL
Smith has scored a grand total of just 14 points over his last two games and hasn't played more than 26 minutes in his last four. In six November games, he's averaging just 13.8 points, 6.8 rebounds, 1.2 assists, 0.2 steals, 0.6 blocks and 2.4 three-pointers in 27 minutes a night. Oddly enough, the plan is working for the Rockets, who have now won all six of their November games after starting out the season 0-3 in October. But the two-game week is a buzzkill, and if Smith plays like he has in his last two games, fantasy managers won't miss him at all.
Consider starting: Nicolas Batum, PHI (3% rostered, 1% start)
Opponents: IND, BOS, @ATL, @BKN
Kelly Oubre was hit by a car and suffered some serious injuries on Saturday night, and Batum got the start on Sunday. He had nine points, seven rebounds, a steal, three blocks and three three-pointers in 33 minutes in the win over the Pacers. While he's not an ideal fantasy weapon at 34 years old, it looks like he's going to start all four games this week, and those steals, blocks and triples from Sunday were fantasy gold.
Consider sitting: Paul George, LAC (100% rostered, 89% start)
Opponents: @DEN, HOU
Trying to decide what to do with guys like George, Kawhi Leonard and James Harden with a two-game week is going to be a tough call for all fantasy managers in Week 4. While I wouldn't blindly recommend benching any of them, if managers have options, they have to at least consider it. Benching a stud that only plays two games can be tricky, but if you can get a solid player who goes four times, they can make a difference and make you look like a genius. George had 26 points, seven rebounds, seven assists, two steals and three three-pointers in Sunday's loss to Memphis but also had seven turnovers. Meanwhile, Harden and Leonard were pretty disappointing in that game. Weigh your options carefully, and consider getting these guys on your bench if the number of games played matter in your Week 4 matchup.
Centers
Consider starting: Goga Bitadze, ORL (18% rostered, 7% start)
Opponents: @BKN, @CHI, @CHI, @IND
Bitadze was quiet on Saturday against the Bucks but has scored in double digits in two of his last four games. He's starting for injured Wendell Carter Jr., and in his four November games, the big man is averaging 7.8 points, 7.5 rebounds, 1.0 steals and 2.0 blocks in 22.5 minutes per game. He's probably worth a flier simply for the steals and blocks alone, while Moe Wagner is also coming on for the Magic. Wagner has scored in double figures in five straight games and is averaging 14.8 points, 5.0 rebounds and 1.2 three-pointers in 21 minutes a night. Neither player is a must-start, but both are worth a look in a four-game week.
Consider sitting: Ivica Zubac, LAC (68% rostered, 34% start)
Opponents: @DEN, HOU
Zubac had just six points and six rebounds in 23 minutes against the Grizzlies on Sunday and is averaging only 9.3 points, 8.5 rebounds and 1.8 blocks in his five November games. With just two games this week against formidable centers Nikola Jokic and Alperen Sengun, Zubac looks like a guy who belongs on fantasy benches. Would I start Bitadze or Wagner over Zubac this week? Yes. Yes I would.
