Fantasy Basketball Week 4 Start/Sit: Bench These Struggling Veterans

A new week in fantasy basketball is upon us, and injuries continue to dominate the agenda. Chet Holmgren, Kevin Durant, Ja Morant, Zion Williamson and others are out for the foreseeable future, so there will be lots of shuffling for most fantasy rosters. Here's a breakdown of how the schedule looks for all teams in the coming seven-day period:

4 Games: BKN, CHI, CLE, DAL, DET, HOU, LAC, MIN, NOR, NYK, OKC, PHO, SAC, SAS, UTA, WAS

3 Games: ATL, BOS, CHA, IND, LAL, MEM, MIA, MIL, ORL, PHI, POR, TOR

2 Games: DEN, GSW

Here are four potential starts and four potential sits for the upcoming week in the 2024-25 NBA season. However, you must remember that this list is based on games played for the upcoming week -- Monday, November 11th to Sunday, November 17th. If you play in a rotisserie league, the number of games played each week may not matter in your format.

Guards

Consider starting: Brandon Boston, Pelicans

Boston has embraced the theory of being the "next man up" for the injury-depleted Pelicans, and he's making the most of the opportunity while playing alongside Jose Alvarado in the backcourt. Boston has started in the Pelicans' last three games and is averaging 20.0 points, 3.7 rebounds, 4.0 assists and 1.3 steals per game while logging an extremely high 37.7 minutes per contest. The Pelicans will get Trey Murphy back Monday, but Zion Williamson, Dejounte Murray, CJ McCollum, Herbert Jones and Jordan Hawkins remain sidelined, so Boston should remain a solid fantasy contributor for the upcoming slate even amid New Orleans' struggles.

Consider starting: Scotty Pippen, Grizzlies

There's no clarity on when Morant will be able to return to the hardwood, so Pippen will handle the reins of the Grizzlies' offense for the foreseeable future. It's been only two games, and some regression is to be expected, particularly when teams adapt and adjust the scouting report on him, but Pippen's numbers have been impressive. Since being promoted to the first unit, he's averaging 14.0 points, 7.0 rebounds, 6.5 assists and 0.5 steals per game. The Grizzlies have only three games in this week's slate, but Pippen should be able to continue putting up strong numbers as long as he remains in a starting role.

Consider sitting: Kevin Huerter, Kings

Huerter is entrenched as the starting shooting guard for the Kings, but he's not producing like a starter, and it'd be fair to consider him as the fifth option on offense when the team is at full strength. Even though Huerter scored a season-high 17 points in the overtime win over the Suns on Sunday, he's averaging just 11.3 points per game while shooting 37.5 percent from three-point range, which is also slightly below average for his career. Huerter and the Kings are playing four games in this week's slate, but there should be better options available elsewhere.

Forwards

Consider starting: Royce O'Neale, Suns

In what was the latest superstar to be sidelined with an injury, the news that Durant is going to miss a minimum of two weeks with a calf strain means O'Neale is primed to experience an uptick in his minutes. Rookie Ryan Dunn started the first game without Durant, but O'Neale should benefit from the extra minutes to improve his numbers. He's scored in double digits four times off the bench this season, and that might be a regular occurrence if he's promoted to the first unit at some point. 

Consider sitting: Jabari Smith, Rockets

Smith has had a few decent games from time to time this season, but it's not a secret that he's been trending in the wrong direction of late. He posted just six points and seven rebounds in the 101-99 win over the Pistons on Sunday, and he's scored in single digits in three of his last four appearances. Given that he's averaging a career-worst 11.0 points per game this season, fantasy managers would be wise to look at other options for this week's slate. 

Consider sitting: Harrison Barnes, Spurs

Barnes will remain in the Spurs' starting lineup for the foreseeable future due to all the things he brings to the table as an established veteran on a young team. However, that doesn't mean he should remain in your lineups for this upcoming slate, especially since San Antonio is one of several teams with four games over the next seven days. Barnes has reached the 10-point mark in his last two games, but he's averaging a meager 8.2 points, 3.2 rebounds and 2.2 assists across 29.0 minutes per game since the beginning of November. There should be better options out there to fill a forward spot in this week's slate.

Center:

Consider starting: Ousmane Dieng, Thunder

Few teams in the league have had the number of issues the Thunder have faced in terms of injuries, and they're extremely thin in terms of their frontcourt depth following the news of Chet Holmgren being sidelined for the next 8-to-10 weeks (at a minimum) due to a hip injury. OKC doesn't have a lot of centers available, and even though starting Jalen Williams at the five might be an option, moving Dieng to the starting lineup is a possibility, too. There's not a lot of data to see what Dieng might bring to the table in Oklahoma City, but he's averaging 4.4 points and 3.2 rebounds per game in just 12.2 minutes. He could be a double-double threat on a game-to-game basis if given enough minutes out there.

Consider sitting: Andre Drummond, 76ers

Drummond has been a solid fantasy alternative in the first three weeks of the regular season, but his relevancy is set to come to an end. Joel Embiid is set to make his long-awaited season debut Tuesday, which means Drummond will head back to the bench and experience a drastic reduction in his numbers. Sure, he might remain productive as a utility option in category-based leagues, but he shouldn't remain a starter in most formats now that Embiid is back in the mix.