Week 22: | March 23rd – March 29th |
---|---|
Four Games: | BKN, BOS, CHR, GSW, MEM, MIA, MIN, NYK, OKC, PHI, POR, SAS, UTA, WAS, IND, LAL, HOU |
Three Games: | ATL, CLE, DAL, DEN, DET, MIL, NOP, SAC, TOR, LAC, PHO, CHI |
Two Games: | ORL |
The first round of the fantasy playoffs saw several key players miss games (Anthony Davis, DeMarcus Cousins, and Ricky Rubio to name a few) which likely led to some first round upsets in your league. If your fantasy team was lucky enough to navigate successfully through the first round, then you'll surely have some tough decisions about who to play in the second round.
To help you with those decisions, here are rankings for Week 22. These rankings are based on each player's projected stats (which you can find here), as well as the number of games they play in Week 22.
Here are a few things to keep in mind:
- The table above shows the number of games each team plays in Week 22. One team, Orlando, plays only two games, 12 teams play three games, and 17 teams play four games.
- RotoWire's recommended strategy for head-to-head leagues (which we covered in detail in the preseason) is to focus on being as dominate as you can in the six positive counting categories (points, rebounds, three-pointers, assists, steals, and blocks), even if that means you aren't competitive in the other three categories (field goal percentage, free throw percentage, and turnovers).
This strategy is even more effective in the fantasy playoffs, because all that matters now is advancing to the next round. As a result, these rankings take into account only the six positive counting categories. If you're using a different punting strategy you can find custom rankings here.
Point Guard
Several top point guards have only two or three games this week: Chris Paul, Eric Bledsoe, Kyle Lowry, Kyrie Irving, Michael Carter-Williams, Ty Lawson, Jeff Teague, and Mr. Triple Double himself Elfrid Payton (whose Magic only play two games this week).
Just because these guys were drafted early, or have been elite lately, doesn't mean you should automatically play them over wavier wire players with four games like Patrick Beverley, Isaiah Canaan, Marcus Smart, Ish Smith, and D.J. Augustin who all rank inside the top 65 this week and are available in over 80 percent of ESPN leagues. Smith is the best bet of this group to help you in the assists category.
POS | Player | Team | Rank | Auction | ESPN % |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
PG1 | Russell Westbrook | OKC | 1 | $81 | 100% |
PG2 | Stephen Curry | GSW | 3 | $70 | 100% |
PG3 | John Wall | WAS | 4 | $59 | 100% |
PG4 | Ricky Rubio | MIN | 5 | $59 | 72% |
PG5 | Damian Lillard | POR | 7 | $46 | 100% |
PG6 | Mike Conley | MEM | 20 | $34 | 87% |
PG7 | Deron Williams | BKN | 22 | $31 | 72% |
PG8 | George Hill | IND | 26 | $30 | 57% |
PG9 | Kemba Walker | CHA | 30 | $27 | 84% |
PG10 | Goran Dragic | MIA | 34 | $26 | 92% |
PG11 | Patrick Beverley | HOU | 38 | $24 | 19% |
PG12 | Tony Parker | SAS | 39 | $24 | 83% |
PG13 | Chris Paul | LAC | 42 | $22 | 100% |
PG14 | Isaiah Canaan | PHI | 45 | $21 | 13% |
PG15 | Marcus Smart | BOS | 55 | $18 | 7% |
PG16 | Jordan Clarkson | LAL | 60 | $17 | 17% |
PG17 | Ish Smith | PHI | 62 | $16 | 6% |
PG18 | D.J. Augustin | OKC | 64 | $16 | 12% |
PG19 | Jarrett Jack | BKN | 68 | $13 | 32% |
PG20 | Mo Williams | CHA | 69 | $13 | 63% |
PG21 | Eric Bledsoe | PHO | 70 | $12 | 96% |
PG22 | Jeremy Lin | LAL | 73 | $12 | 28% |
PG23 | Mario Chalmers | MIA | 76 | $11 | 14% |
PG24 | Kyle Lowry | TOR | 77 | $11 | 98% |
PG25 | Trey Burke | UTA | 81 | $10 | 29% |
PG26 | Kyrie Irving | CLE | 82 | $9 | 100% |
PG27 | Michael Carter-Williams | MIL | 110 | $3 | 83% |
PG28 | C.J. Watson | IND | 111 | $3 | 2% |
PG29 | Shaun Livingston | GSW | 123 | $1 | 4% |
PG30 | Isaiah Thomas | BOS | 124 | $1 | 64% |
PG31 | Zach LaVine | MIN | 126 | $1 | 3% |
PG32 | Jeff Teague | ATL | 130 | $1 | 90% |
PG33 | Ty Lawson | DEN | 131 | $1 | 95% |
PG34 | C.J. McCollum | POR | 135 | $1 | 0% |
PG35 | Aaron Brooks | CHI | 143 | $1 | 21% |
PG36 | Ramon Sessions | WAS | 145 | $1 | 0% |
PG37 | Phil Pressey | BOS | 148 | $1 | 0% |
PG38 | Reggie Jackson | DET | 149 | $1 | 72% |
PG39 | Shane Larkin | NYK | 153 | $1 | 0% |
PG40 | Rajon Rondo | DAL | 162 | $- | 80% |
PG41 | Greivis Vasquez | TOR | 166 | $- | 3% |
PG42 | Pablo Prigioni | HOU | 173 | $- | 0% |
PG43 | Louis Williams | TOR | 177 | $- | 40% |
PG44 | Dennis Schroder | ATL | 179 | $- | 12% |
PG45 | Devin Harris | DAL | 194 | $- | 3% |
PG46 | Andre Miller | SAC | 197 | $- | 1% |
Shooting Guard
Tony Allen played 35 minutes on Saturday with Courtney Lee (wrist) out and had six steals. He could be a great option this week if you are targeting steals. Allen is available in over 90 percent of ESPN leagues.
Dante Exum ranks 72nd in our rankings. I point this out to let you know not to trust this ranking. He is playing big minutes, 26.8 in his past 10 games, but the rookie hasn't scored a single point in three straight games. This ranking is inflated by an optimistic preseason projection - you would be better served looking elsewhere.
POS | Player | Team | Rank | Auction | ESPN % |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
SG1 | James Harden | HOU | 2 | $79 | 100% |
SG2 | Dwyane Wade | MIA | 14 | $38 | 96% |
SG3 | Gordon Hayward | UTA | 18 | $35 | 95% |
SG4 | Andrew Wiggins | MIN | 23 | $31 | 80% |
SG5 | Bradley Beal | WAS | 27 | $28 | 72% |
SG6 | Danny Green | SAS | 29 | $27 | 58% |
SG7 | Kevin Martin | MIN | 31 | $27 | 75% |
SG8 | Joe Johnson | BKN | 33 | $26 | 78% |
SG9 | Alexey Shved | NYK | 35 | $25 | 38% |
SG10 | Tony Allen | MEM | 37 | $25 | 9% |
SG11 | Evan Turner | BOS | 46 | $21 | 18% |
SG12 | Rodney Stuckey | IND | 54 | $18 | 43% |
SG13 | Avery Bradley | BOS | 56 | $17 | 35% |
SG14 | Dion Waiters | OKC | 58 | $17 | 6% |
SG15 | Wayne Ellington | LAL | 61 | $16 | 6% |
SG16 | Langston Galloway | NYK | 65 | $14 | 14% |
SG17 | Dante Exum | UTA | 72 | $12 | 1% |
SG18 | Anthony Morrow | OKC | 92 | $7 | 6% |
SG19 | Arron Afflalo | POR | 96 | $7 | 46% |
SG20 | Rodney Hood | UTA | 99 | $7 | 9% |
SG21 | Marco Belinelli | SAS | 101 | $5 | 1% |
SG22 | Henry Walker | MIA | 104 | $5 | 1% |
SG23 | Courtney Lee | MEM | 109 | $3 | 7% |
SG24 | Monta Ellis | DAL | 115 | $2 | 97% |
SG25 | Jason Richardson | PHI | 117 | $2 | 1% |
SG26 | Gerald Henderson | CHA | 120 | $2 | 18% |
SG27 | J.J. Redick | LAC | 122 | $2 | 62% |
SG28 | Justin Holiday | GSW | 125 | $1 | 1% |
SG29 | Markel Brown | BKN | 128 | $1 | 0% |
SG30 | DeMar DeRozan | TOR | 129 | $1 | 94% |
SG31 | Eric Gordon | NOP | 133 | $1 | 53% |
SG32 | J.R. Smith | CLE | 154 | $1 | 47% |
SG33 | P.J. Tucker | PHO | 156 | $1 | 19% |
SG34 | Elijah Millsap | UTA | 160 | $- | 0% |
SG35 | Leandro Barbosa | GSW | 169 | $- | 0% |
SG36 | Nick Calathes | MEM | 171 | $- | 0% |
SG37 | Bojan Bogdanovic | BKN | 174 | $- | 1% |
SG38 | Kentavious Caldwell-Pope | DET | 175 | $- | 10% |
SG39 | Will Barton | DEN | 176 | $- | 6% |
SG40 | Terrence Ross | TOR | 182 | $- | 10% |
SG41 | Iman Shumpert | CLE | 183 | $- | 4% |
SG42 | Randy Foye | DEN | 187 | $- | 8% |
SG43 | Ben McLemore | SAC | 190 | $- | 7% |
SG44 | Jodie Meeks | DET | 196 | $- | 4% |
SG45 | Lance Stephenson | CHA | 198 | $- | 21% |
Small Forward
Jae Crowder has a great chance to accumulate 6+ threes and steals this week with four games on the schedule. He also provides solid production in rebounds and blocks, which makes him a solid add. Crowder is available in over 90 percent of ESPN leagues and is higher in the rankings than Giannis Antetokounmpo, Rudy Gay, and Chandler Parsons, who all play only three games this week.
POS | Player | Team | Rank | Auction | ESPN % |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
SF1 | Kawhi Leonard | SAS | 8 | $45 | 98% |
SF2 | Draymond Green | GSW | 10 | $42 | 81% |
SF3 | Trevor Ariza | HOU | 15 | $37 | 76% |
SF4 | Josh Smith | HOU | 16 | $36 | 71% |
SF5 | Nicolas Batum | POR | 21 | $32 | 82% |
SF6 | Thaddeus Young | BKN | 36 | $25 | 78% |
SF7 | Jeff Green | MEM | 43 | $22 | 68% |
SF8 | Wesley Johnson | LAL | 44 | $22 | 4% |
SF9 | Corey Brewer | HOU | 48 | $20 | 18% |
SF10 | LeBron James | CLE | 49 | $20 | 100% |
SF11 | Michael Kidd-Gilchrist | CHA | 50 | $20 | 30% |
SF12 | Luol Deng | MIA | 51 | $20 | 67% |
SF13 | Paul Pierce | WAS | 63 | $16 | 41% |
SF14 | C.J. Miles | IND | 66 | $14 | 6% |
SF15 | Jerami Grant | PHI | 74 | $11 | 1% |
SF16 | Luc Richard Mbah a Moute | PHI | 78 | $10 | 4% |
SF17 | Andre Iguodala | GSW | 83 | $9 | 17% |
SF18 | Jae Crowder | BOS | 86 | $8 | 6% |
SF19 | Harrison Barnes | GSW | 90 | $8 | 22% |
SF20 | Solomon Hill | IND | 91 | $8 | 2% |
SF21 | Rudy Gay | SAC | 107 | $4 | 98% |
SF22 | Khris Middleton | MIL | 112 | $3 | 58% |
SF23 | Tyreke Evans | NOP | 113 | $3 | 86% |
SF24 | Hollis Thompson | PHI | 118 | $2 | 1% |
SF25 | Marvin Williams | CHA | 121 | $2 | 1% |
SF26 | Danilo Gallinari | DEN | 132 | $1 | 45% |
SF27 | Kyle Singler | OKC | 136 | $1 | 0% |
SF28 | Chandler Parsons | DAL | 137 | $1 | 88% |
SF29 | Michael Beasley | MIA | 142 | $1 | 1% |
SF30 | Wilson Chandler | DEN | 144 | $1 | 50% |
SF31 | Giannis Antetokounmpo | MIL | 157 | $- | 71% |
SF32 | DeMarre Carroll | ATL | 158 | $- | 33% |
SF33 | Chase Budinger | MIN | 159 | $- | 1% |
SF34 | Jonas Jerebko | BOS | 164 | $- | 0% |
SF35 | Matt Barnes | LAC | 172 | $- | 8% |
SF36 | Lance Thomas | NYK | 178 | $- | 0% |
SF37 | Andre Roberson | OKC | 180 | $- | 0% |
Power Forward
Mitch McGary's ranking is based on a projection of 25 minutes per game, which seems reasonable since Serge Ibaka and Nick Collison are both out, and Enes Kanter (ankle, forearem) is dealing with injuries. If you are looking for a hail mary on the waiver wire you will have a hard time finding a player with more upside, but McGary's floor is also pretty low because the minutes are not certain.
POS | Player | Team | Rank | Auction | ESPN % |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
PF1 | Hassan Whiteside | MIA | 11 | $42 | 80% |
PF2 | LaMarcus Aldridge | POR | 12 | $41 | 100% |
PF3 | Derrick Favors | UTA | 17 | $36 | 91% |
PF4 | Tim Duncan | SAS | 25 | $30 | 94% |
PF5 | Donatas Motiejunas | HOU | 40 | $23 | 28% |
PF6 | Zach Randolph | MEM | 41 | $23 | 93% |
PF7 | Robert Covington | PHI | 52 | $20 | 27% |
PF8 | David West | IND | 53 | $19 | 60% |
PF9 | Mitch McGary | OKC | 59 | $17 | 2% |
PF10 | Tiago Splitter | SAS | 71 | $12 | 2% |
PF11 | Jordan Hill | LAL | 75 | $11 | 47% |
PF12 | Andrea Bargnani | NYK | 79 | $10 | 33% |
PF13 | Cody Zeller | CHA | 80 | $10 | 2% |
PF14 | Nene Hilario | WAS | 84 | $9 | 17% |
PF15 | Luis Scola | IND | 85 | $8 | 4% |
PF16 | Anthony Davis | NOP | 87 | $8 | 100% |
PF17 | Carlos Boozer | LAL | 88 | $8 | 30% |
PF18 | Paul Millsap | ATL | 89 | $8 | 97% |
PF19 | Blake Griffin | LAC | 94 | $7 | 99% |
PF20 | Kevin Love | CLE | 95 | $7 | 100% |
PF21 | Thomas Robinson | PHI | 100 | $6 | 2% |
PF22 | Ed Davis | LAL | 106 | $4 | 17% |
PF23 | Brandon Bass | BOS | 108 | $4 | 16% |
PF24 | Joe Ingles | UTA | 114 | $3 | 0% |
PF25 | Boris Diaw | SAS | 119 | $2 | 3% |
PF26 | Trevor Booker | UTA | 127 | $1 | 1% |
PF27 | Markieff Morris | PHO | 134 | $1 | 73% |
PF28 | Kenneth Faried | DEN | 138 | $1 | 84% |
PF29 | Adreian Payne | MIN | 140 | $1 | 1% |
PF30 | Pau Gasol | CHI | 141 | $1 | 97% |
PF31 | Marcus Morris | PHO | 147 | $1 | 6% |
PF32 | Drew Gooden | WAS | 150 | $1 | 0% |
PF33 | Mason Plumlee | BKN | 151 | $1 | 14% |
PF34 | Dirk Nowitzki | DAL | 155 | $1 | 97% |
PF35 | Brandan Wright | PHO | 165 | $- | 11% |
PF36 | Patrick Patterson | TOR | 167 | $- | 4% |
PF37 | Ersan Ilyasova | MIL | 168 | $- | 12% |
PF38 | Amir Johnson | TOR | 181 | $- | 14% |
PF39 | Louis Amundson | NYK | 184 | $- | 0% |
PF40 | Jason Smith | NYK | 188 | $- | 1% |
PF41 | Tarik Black | LAL | 189 | $- | 1% |
PF42 | Nikola Mirotic | CHI | 191 | $- | 53% |
PF43 | Derrick Williams | SAC | 192 | $- | 0% |
PF44 | Jakarr Sampson | PHI | 195 | $- | 0% |
Center
Steven Adams ranks in the top 50 this week because of the opportunity to produce given the rash of injuries in OKC, and while his ceiling isn't quite as high as McGary's, Adams' floor is much higher, which makes him something close to a must-add this week.
POS | Player | Team | Rank | Auction | ESPN % |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
C1 | Rudy Gobert | UTA | 6 | $50 | 65% |
C2 | Nerlens Noel | PHI | 9 | $44 | 67% |
C3 | Gorgui Dieng | MIN | 13 | $40 | 53% |
C4 | Marc Gasol | MEM | 19 | $35 | 99% |
C5 | Brook Lopez | BKN | 24 | $31 | 82% |
C6 | Marcin Gortat | WAS | 28 | $28 | 82% |
C7 | Al Jefferson | CHA | 32 | $27 | 97% |
C8 | Steven Adams | OKC | 47 | $21 | 16% |
C9 | Andrew Bogut | GSW | 57 | $17 | 25% |
C10 | DeMarcus Cousins | SAC | 67 | $13 | 100% |
C11 | Cole Aldrich | NYK | 93 | $7 | 4% |
C12 | Robin Lopez | POR | 97 | $7 | 35% |
C13 | DeAndre Jordan | LAC | 98 | $7 | 97% |
C14 | Kelly Olynyk | BOS | 102 | $5 | 8% |
C15 | Roy Hibbert | IND | 103 | $5 | 53% |
C16 | Ian Mahinmi | IND | 105 | $5 | 0% |
C17 | Andre Drummond | DET | 116 | $2 | 97% |
C18 | Al Horford | ATL | 139 | $1 | 96% |
C19 | Joakim Noah | CHI | 146 | $1 | 90% |
C20 | Tyson Chandler | DAL | 152 | $1 | 78% |
C21 | Jusuf Nurkic | DEN | 161 | $- | 5% |
C22 | Tyler Zeller | BOS | 163 | $- | 8% |
C23 | Justin Hamilton | MIN | 170 | $- | 4% |
C24 | Chris Andersen | MIA | 185 | $- | 1% |
C25 | Meyers Leonard | POR | 186 | $- | 0% |
C26 | Timofey Mozgov | CLE | 193 | $- | 32% |
C27 | Dwight Howard | HOU | 199 | $- | 70% |
C28 | Zaza Pachulia | MIL | 200 | $- | 7% |
More Rankings (Just-for-Fun Section)
Because basketball is fun and rankings are also fun, I've ranked my top-10 favorite NBA highlights of the week. Most of these came from the NBA Reddit, while a few came from Twitter or various sports blogs.
10. This is the first time I've ever seen a player give a T a ref.
9. What do we call plays like these from Whiteside, a Hassan Hammer? An H-Bomb?
https://i.imgur.com/saQkkFz.gifv
8. Look at that handle J.R.
7. LeBron is strong.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1wilE8oNdnM&feature=youtu.be
6. OLADIPO!!!
https://vine.co/v/OVAKgHIO7ap
5. Check out the behind the back pass in transition from the 20-year-old 7-footer. Unreal.
4. I don't know what's more impressive the outlet pass or the shot. (It loses points since it came against the equivalent of a D-League roster.)
3. This might be Derrick Williams' first and last relevant NBA moment, but boy was it a good one.
https://vine.co/v/OYi5wtQ3gEi
2. John Wall, ladies and gentlemen.
https://vine.co/v/OYi6K7tXEDO
1b. Anthony Davis with the game on the line.
1a. I have no words for what this is.
Anthony Davis is just 22 years old and made both of those plays in the same game. The NBA should be very afraid.