In-Season Strategy: Week 10 Schedule Considerations

Week 10 Schedule Considerations

For the second time in four weeks, the Denver Nuggets are playing only two games this upcoming week. Activity in the rest of the league will pick up, however, with 19 teams playing four games after only 14 teams had a four-game slate last week.

Four Games: BKN, CHI, CLE, DAL, DET, GSW, HOU, IND, LAC, MEM, MIL, MIN, OKC, PHO, POR, SAC, SAS, UTA, WAS

Three Games: ATL, BOS, CHA, LAL, MIA, NOR, NYK, ORL, PHI, TOR

Two Games: DEN

Let's take a closer look at that Nuggets schedule, as they are in the midst of an unusually light slate. They played just two games in Week 7, had a flurry of four games in Week 8, then started a stretch of four consecutive weeks with fewer than four games in Week 9. That all ends with a vengeance in Week 13, when they play five games. Bringing it back to Week 10, they get a home game Tuesday against the Mavericks, then hit the road for a Saturday game against the Clippers. On the bright side, there should be very little risk of Nikola Jokic needing rest for either game.

This all could work out very well for Denver, if not for us in the fantasy community. As we discussed last week, the Nuggets are dealing with a slew of injuries, and they might get lucky enough to get some reinforcements back by the time the schedule picks back up. In the interim, Jokic is probably the only Denver player to start this week, unless you're starting enough players to withstand the lack of games. Perhaps in a deeper league Jamal Murray or Juancho Hernangomez can break in as well, but the likes of Trey Lyles, Monte Morris and Torrey Craig should head to your bench or even the waiver wire, pending your roster needs.

Suns-Wizards trade: Give credit to the NBA for always keeping us on our toes, and to the Suns for always finding a way to screw things up. It started earlier in the week, when the city essentially rejected the franchise's latest attempt to extort them for an arena upgrade, and owner Robert Sarver threatening to move the team to Vegas if he didn't get his way. Fast forward to Friday, when it was reported that the Suns, Wizards and Grizzlies had completed a three-way trade. Some of those players were actually informed of that trade by team personnel after their respective trades, only to see the deal fall through. The reason? There was a dispute between the Suns (in the form of interim GM James Jones and Sarver) and the Grizzlies whether MarShon Brooks or Dillon Brooks was headed to Phoenix in the deal.

Finally, a deal got completed Saturday without the Grizzlies' involvement - Trevor Ariza is heading back to the Wizards, and Phoenix gets Kelly Oubre and Austin Rivers. If they all report on time, both teams have four games this week. Let's take a look at them individually.

Trevor Ariza, Wizards - Ariza isn't a big scorer and that's not going to change with the Wizards. At best he'll be a tertiary option behind John Wall and Bradley Beal, and pending the health of Otto Porter (knee), he might not even start. The Wizards begin their week on the road Tuesday in Atlanta, then face one of Ariza's former teams (Houston) before facing his most recent squad, the Suns, back in DC. I wouldn't be surprised if it takes a little time to work him into the rotation and give him the full 30-35 minutes that he'll eventually get.

Kelly Oubre, Suns - This is a big contract year for Oubre in his fourth year in the league, and he was coming off the bench for the Wizards, averaging only 26.0 minutes per game. It's not too hard to envision him getting more of a run in Phoenix, with less on the line and less in front of him. I get the feeling that there are more deck-chairs to shuffle before the trade deadline, and that could open up a starting role eventually. For now, he has to fight with Josh Jackson and Mikal Bridges for playing time and hope that Devin Booker either gets dealt or plays more at the point, so he can get more run either as a SG or SF. Typical of many players at his position, Oubre's value depends so much on whether he's getting and making his shots, especially those beyond the arc. He isn't going to provide much in the way of assists or blocks, and he doesn't frequently get to the free throw line.

Austin Rivers, Suns - Things weren't working out for Rivers in DC, but that was always going to be a bad fit for him. Stuck behind Wall at the point, it was hard for him to find the minutes that was getting previously with the Clippers. Making matters worse, he was going to be off the ball at any point that he was on at the same time as Wall. That could end up changing in Phoenix, though perhaps not right away. Much of what we said about Oubre also applies to Rivers - he needs more volume and to hit his 3's to have much in the way of value.

Here are a few other players that caught my eye this week outside of the trade considerations.

Spencer Dinwiddie, Nets - Dinwiddie just got paid, inking a three-year, $34 million extension to stay in Brooklyn. The fifth-year pro out of Colorado has taken a leap up in production last year, averaging 25.0 points, 5.4 assists and 1.8 threes in his last five games, contributing to him scoring nearly five more points per game. It always helps to improve one's FG% by nine points, as Dinwiddie has. He's still playing around 30 minutes per game and sharing the point with D'Angelo Russell, but they seem to co-exist with the ball at the point pretty well.

Dinwiddie is one of five players from Colorado in the NBA, a total higher than I expected when researching this article. It leads to this week's Sporcle Quiz: Can you name the schools with the most NBA players? The floor is seven players per school, spread across 14 schools.

Fred VanVleet, Raptors - Anytime Kyle Lowry gets some time off, VanVleet becomes an immediate option at the point. Lowry sat out Friday night and VanVleet put up a 21-4-8 line in 38 minutes, and earlier on the Raptors' West Coast trip VanVleet had a 14-assist game. Unfortunately for those of setting weekly lineups, the Raptors don't play until Wednesday after finishing up their road trip in Denver on Sunday. That Denver game might be our best indicator whether we can use Lowry or VanVleet. Meanwhile, the injury to teammate Jonas Valanciunas has helped Serge Ibaka's fantasy production, with Ibaka producing three big games in his last four.

Langston Galloway, Pistons - Galloway's playing time has perked up this year with the Pistons, his fourth franchise in five years in the Association. He's responded by scoring 13.6 points, hitting 2.2 threes and netting 1.2 steals over his last five games. The only problem is that even within that sample he posted a nearly perfect zero game on Monday, with just one point and one block over 23 minutes. On the other hand, playing time should be abundant the next couple of weeks with Ish Smith and Glenn Robinson out for multiple weeks. Just be aware that he's a wild card with no pedigree, so he's the opposite of a stable investment.

Bogdan Bogdanovic, Kings - Is it just me, or is it actually a good time to be a Kings fan again? Is this the first time that's been the case since the Webber and Divac days? They are coming off a thrilling yet losing effort against the Warriors, and prior to that they put up a 141-burger against the Timberwolves. Bogdanovic isn't the top option in the offense for the Kings, but he does a little bit of everything and has been over 30 minutes the last three games. The Kings have a pretty narrow tree and just lost Marvin Bagley, taking one more player out of the equation. Willie Cauley-Stein is the direct beneficiary from that injury, but Bogdanovic will keep getting plenty of minutes in a 2-3 role.

Kevin Knox, Knicks - Knox, the Knicks' first-round pick from Kentucky, has been getting a slew of minutes lately and turning that into good production. Over his last three games he averaged 21.7 points, 8.3 rebounds and 3.3 threes per game. That ability to get production from beyond the arc yet still get rebounds from the power forward slot is tantalizing. The only down side is that the Knicks have three games this upcoming week, the first of which is the second game of a back-to-back. But Knox should be a solid investment for the last four months of the season.

Dario Saric, Timberwolves - Saric's playing time has fluctuated since the trade to Minnesota, but he's now had three consecutive 30-minute games, only one of which can be attributed to Taj Gibson's absence due to a death in the family. Saric always seems to find a way to get his three-point attempts, but his chances of helping you in rebounds and assists really improve with the increased time.

Rudy Gobert, Jazz - We were singing the praises of the Jazz, coach Quinn Snyder and Gobert for their breathtaking second-half run after Gobert returned from injury last season. It hasn't really worked out as well for him and the Jazz this season. They currently sit 14-16, fourth in their division, and I've seen quite a few comments on NBA Twitter (not an official account - just a crude summary of the smart NBA types that I follow) discussing the decline of Gobert's defense. And it's true, his blocks are down and the Jazz haven't been as stifling. But most of his other averages are up this season - scoring, rebounds, assists and steals are all up a tick, even with him in a mini five-game slump scoring-wise. The Jazz have a huge four-game slate this week against top Western Conference teams, alternating away-and-home against Houston, Golden State, Portland and Oklahoma City. Only the OKC game is part of a back-to-back, so expect heavy minutes from Gobert this week.