Week 1 Fantasy Primer

In fantasy leagues with weekly changes one of the best ways to rack up stats is to squeeze extra games out of your roster. While superstars should be started every week, scheduling will factor in when deciding whom to round out your roster with. This is an in-depth look at the schedule for each week, identifying teams with extra games and favorable matchups to help you take advantage.

Two Games: Golden State, Indiana, Milwaukee, Utah
Three Games: Atlanta, Cleveland, Charlotte, Chicago, Dallas, Denver, Detroit, Houston, Los Angeles Lakers, Memphis, Miami, Minnesota, New Jersey, New Orleans, New York, Oklahoma City, Orlando, Philadelphia, Phoenix, Sacramento, San Antonio, Toronto, Washington
Four Games: Boston, Cleveland, Los Angeles Clippers, Portland

There’s not much to be gained from scheduling this week, as 22 of the league’s 30 teams have 3 games each. Let’s start by taking a look at teams playing 2 or 4 games, though:

Two Games

Golden State Warriors: Though they play only two games during the opening week, they’re both against teams that figure to push the tempo this season: Phoenix and Houston. This plays into Golden State’s freewheeling offensive style, and despite only playing two games their entire starting lineup (PG Stephen Curry, SG Monta Ellis, SF Stephen Jackson, PF Corey Maggette, and C Andris Biedrins) is worth of fantasy consideration this week. Biedrins makes for a nice 2nd center, and Curry could really rack up the assists with all the other scorers on this team. Much was made of Monta Ellis saying at the start of the preseason that he and Curry couldn’t play together, but it seems they’ll start off doing just that. The two Anthony’s off the bench (SG Anthony Morrow and PF Anthony Randolph) also could be worthy of starting spots; Morrow if you’re short on three point shooting, and Randolph if you’re a risk taker. I, like nearly everyone else, am high on Randolph and think he will contribute in most categories.

Indiana Pacers: SF Danny Granger is a must start every week, but beyond that it gets murky. PG TJ Ford now has the starting point guard spot to himself with Jarrett Jack in Toronto, and could be started in most leagues as well, especially if you’re light on steals and assists. C Troy Murphy has value too, but I wouldn’t look at anyone else in a short week until they establish themselves.

Milwaukee Bucks: Volume scorer SG Michael Redd and floppy-haired C Andrew Bogut are the only two Bucks that should find themselves in fantasy lineups this week as a few roles are still up in the air, and neither of them figure to be especially strong plays at that. If you happen to find yourself watching the Bucks, there are a couple spots to keep an eye on: if either PG Brandon Jennings or PG Luke Ridnour can distinguish himself from the other they’ll have some value, as will the winner of the minutes at the forward spots. Whether that’s SF Joe Alexander, SF Hakim Warrick, or SF Luc Richard Mbah a Moute is anyone’s guess, and each would bring something slightly different. Unless you’re in deep league or faced with a tough injury, it’s not of much consequence.


Utah Jazz: With only two games, only PG Deron Williams is a must-start, with C Mehmet Okur, PF Paul Millsap, and PF Carlos Boozer ranking as very good options as well. If you’re short on blocks SF Andrei Kirilenko makes for a good play, and SG Ronnie Brewer could be used if you’re short on steals as well.



Four Games

Boston Celtics: They’ll start with a tough matchup against the Cavs on opening night, but then things ease up (almost by default) against the Bobcats, Bulls, and Hornets respectively. Boston’s Big 3 has turned into a Big 4 (or perhaps the Big Oligarchy, at this point), and all 4 are must-starts every week: PG Rajon Rondo, SG Ray Allen, SF Paul Pierce, and PF Kevin Garnett. C Kendrick Perkins makes for a good play if you need defensive stats, and PF Rasheed Wallace could also be used in deeper leagues as he’ll see plenty of minutes. Lastly, SG Eddie House could be a viable option in some leagues, but keep in mind that all four of Boston’s opponent play below league-average speed, and this will effect the guards more than the big men.

Cleveland Cavaliers: Clearly SF LeBron James will be locked into a starting spot, as PG Mo Williams should be. C Shaquille O’Neal and C Zydrunas Ilgauskas each make for passable options as a second center this week, but really shouldn’t be looked at every week. Only in very deep leagues should SF Jamario Moon or SG Anthony Parker be considered. SG Delonte West will hopefully merit consideration at some point, but at the time this was being written it was being reported that he had another “incident” at an airport.


Los Angeles Clippers: If the Clippers play an up and down style, going against everything Mike Dunleavy has ever stood for, they’ll be a fantasy treasure trove. More than likely, however, only the usual suspects and 1st overall pick SF Blake Griffin are start worthy. PG Baron Davis looks to return to fantasy prominence, and he has given every impression that this year he’ll do just that. If Griffin’s balky ankle allows him to play on opening night, he definitely deserves a starting spot as well, even if Dunleavy makes the Dunleavy-esque decision to bring him off the bench as he has indicated. Many like SG Eric Gordon to have a big sophomore campaign, but it seems to me that he made the most of his opportunity last year and should see his numbers decline slightly, if only for a lack of opportunity. He’s still a decent option in this week, though. Centers Marcus Camby and Chris Kaman will rack up the blocks too, giving you a big advantage there in head to head leagues if you can start one of these guys as a second center.

Portland Trail Blazers: SG Brandon Roy, PF LaMarcus Aldridge (he of the new 5 year, 70 million dollar contract extension), and PG Andre Miller make good plays most weeks, and excellent plays this week. Roy will contribute across the board, as can Aldridge, while Miller will provide good ratios and assists in bunches. Centers Joel Pryzbilla and Greg Oden could be worthwhile as well, though I’d think you could do better than Pryzbilla. Oden has lost some weight, which should help him defend better in the post and limit his fouls. His foul rate was through the roof last year and limited his minutes even when healthy. Truth be told, he hasn’t been that bad on a per-minute basis and is as much of a sleeper as a recent 1st overall pick can be.

Favorable Schedules

Miami Heat (NYK, @IND, CHI)—Not only does Miami play two very up-tempo teams in New York and Indiana, they play a running Chicago team that’ll be playing it’s 3rd game in four nights. SG Dwayne Wade, PG Mario Chalmers, PF Michael Beasley, and C Jermaine O’Neal are all very good plays this week, especially as none of the Heat’s opponents feature dominant big men.

Philadelphia 76ers (@Orl, MIL, @NYK)—Philadelphia features a few guys that move from middling status to solid plays based on their schedule—PG Lou Williams finished last year strong and figures to acquit himself well in a more prominent role with PG Andre Miller having moved onto Portland. PF Elton Brand will start the season healthy and fits well into new coach Eddie Jordan’s Princeton-style system. Sleeper SF Thaddeus Young makes for a good start as well, as does C Samuel Dalembert if you’re in need of blocks and someone that won’t kill you in any category (an underrated aspect of second centers). And of course SF Andre Igoudala is a must-start, but that should go without saying.

Phoenix Suns (GSW, LAC, MIN)—With Steve Nash at PG and new coach Alvin Gentry calling the shots, nearly every week will be a favorable week for Phoenix in the fantasy realm. Not only are they going against up-tempo teams, they figure to return to the “7 seconds or less” offensive strategy of the D’Antoni era. PG Steve Nash, SG Jason Richardson, and PF Amar’e Stoudemire are all good starts, and if C Channing Frye keeps hitting threes and getting minutes like he was in the preseason he’ll be a very good sleeper himself.  He won't contribute in typical "center" categories, but that doesn't hurt his value, necessarily.  SF Grant Hill makes for a decent play if you’re looking for a last utility guy in deeper leagues, and PG Leandro Barbosa should provide points, steals, and assists in bunches in these fast-paced games.

Unfavorable Schedules

Oklahoma City Thunder (SAC, @DET, POR)—While many like the Thunder as sleepers this year in the Western Conference, their fantasy numbers may suffer going against teams that like to play slower than molasses in Week 1. Sacramento, while bad, doesn’t like to get up and down, and Portland was the most deliberate team in the league last year. Detroit isn’t known as an up and down team either, but they might get up and down more with the additions of SG Ben Gordon and F Charlie Villanueva. Regardless, it looks like only SG Kevin Durant, PF Jeff Green and PG Russell Westbrook are viable plays this week in most leagues. If you’re looking for a trade target after the first week SG James Harden may be as good a target as any, as he figures to feature more prominently as he gets his feet wet. Don’t look for him to make a splash against these three plodding teams.

Chicago Bulls (SAS, @BOS, MIA)—Chicago faces two teams that play championship-level defense before getting a break against Miami, and they’re no slouches themselves. I’d stay away from starting anyone other than PG Derrick Rose this week, but if you’re out of options I’d consider C Joakim Noah, PF Tyrus Thomas, and SG John Salmons (in that order). I especially like Noah to develop into a #1 fantasy center sooner rather than later, as he spent the offseason working more robustly than in years past, getting into better shape overall and improving his previously dreadful offensive game. If Noah can just be offensively decent he figures to not only increase his points, but his assists as defenses have to actually play him and open up passing angles they previously could sag into. At Florida, Noah was known for his passing but simply hasn’t demanded the defensive attention necessary to show it in the NBA.