As we enter week 20 in the 2023-24 NBA season, here’s a fantasy basketball guide and analysis.
Fantasy Basketball 2023-24: Week 20 Guide and Analysis
NBA Schedule
Teams with a high of four games this week are the Boston Celtics, Charlotte Hornets, Chicago Bulls, Dallas Mavericks, Denver Nuggets, Detroit Pistons, Los Angeles Clippers, Phoenix Suns, Portland Trail Blazers, San Antonio Spurs, Toronto Raptors, and Washington Wizards.
The Atlanta Hawks, Brooklyn Nets, Cleveland Cavaliers, Golden State Warriors, Houston Rockets, Indiana Pacers, Memphis Grizzlies, Miami Heat, Milwaukee Bucks, New Orleans Pelicans, New York Knicks, Oklahoma City Thunder, Orlando Magic, Philadelphia 76ers, Sacramento Kings, and Utah Jazz play three games.
Teams with a low of two games are the Los Angeles Lakers and Minnesota Timberwolves.
Waiver Wire Adds/Streams
De’Andre Hunter – With Saddiq Bey out for the season, Hunter will likely absorb a chunk of his minutes. His production over the past few games was underwhelming, but he is in a good position to get those numbers up.
Nick Richards/Vasilije Micic/Davis Bertans/Grant Williams– Richards is the best add of this Hornets group, thanks to his long-term value. Micic is a solid streamer with Tre Mann out and Cody Martin sidelined for at least another week. Bertans emerged as a surprising fantasy asset, providing stats in points, threes, and rebounds. Finally, Williams has provided some production in multiple categories, but his issue is consistency.
Ayo Dosunmu/Alex Caruso – Dosunmu is thriving in Zach LaVine’s absence, offering some numbers across several categories with great rest-of-season value. Likewise, Caruso is also benefiting from extra usage. His numbers aren’t eye-popping, but he can fill the stat sheet and give defensive numbers.
Caris LeVert/Isaac Okoro/Georges Niang – As the Cavaliers deal with injuries to multiple key players, the trio of LeVert, Okoro, and Niang have risen to the occasion. The best add of the bunch is LeVert, but they’ve all had solid fantasy output.
Kentavious Caldwell-Pope – Pope is rostered in many leagues, but his fantasy value has increased substantially over the past few weeks and is a good add if available.
Jaden Ivey/Ausar Thompson – Ivey’s production over the past few games has improved, although he’ll have some down games here and there. Thompson also took a leap since re-entering the starting lineup. However, make sure to monitor his availability before adding, as he’s currently dealing with an asthma issue. When he’s sidelined, Simone Fontecchio is a good streamer.
Amen Thompson/Cam Whitmore/Jock Landale – Following Alperen Sengun’s injury, some Rockets stand to gain more usage. However, the value of Thompson, Whitmore, and Landale depends on how the minutes and lineup shake out. Monitor these names, as they are speculative adds at the moment.
Aaron Nesmith/T.J. McConnell – With Bennedict Mathurin out for the season, Nesmith is seeing a greater workload. It took some time for him to ramp up from injury, but he played well in his first game without Mathurin. McConnell is a solid streaming option, especially when he’s on a streak like now.
Norman Powell – The Clippers are missing Russell Westbrook, but Powell helped fill his void. He mainly provides value in points, threes, and rebounds with some steals.
Jake LaRavia/Santi Aldama – Vince Williams Jr. is already rostered in most fantasy leagues, but LaRavia and Aldama have produced solid lines lately and are good streams. Just make sure to take a look at the injury report before adding any Grizzlies.
Jaime Jaquez Jr./Duncan Robinson/Caleb Martin – As the Heat continue to deal with injuries, Jaquez, Robinson, and Martin have provided excellent fantasy value. Stream them until players return.
Naz Reid/Kyle Anderson – The loss of Karl-Anthony Towns inserted Anderson into the starting lineup. He offers decent stats in the main categories, but Reid is the preferred pickup, though he is harder to find on the waivers.
Paul Reed/Kelly Oubre Jr. – Reed’s minutes and production are sometimes frustrating, but lately, he’s posted much better value. Ultimately, his long-term role is good as Joel Embiid is sidelined for a while, but expect some dud performances. Oubre is also making his presence felt for the 76ers and fantasy managers.
Scoot Henderson – Henderson posted a decent line in his first game back from injury last Saturday. He’s played significantly better in the latter half of the year and can have a big role in “silly season.”
Jeremy Sochan – Sochan’s numbers aren’t eye-popping, but he offers decent value in the main categories. He is sometimes streaky but put together a nice string of games over the past week.
Kelly Olynyk/Gary Trent Jr. – As the Raptors deal with a plethora of injuries, Olynyk is a must-add. Trent Jr. is another solid option, as he is playing better than earlier in the season. A deeper Toronto streamer is Gradey Dick.
Keyonte George/Brice Sensabaugh – George is still playing well in his starting role, which is a spot he’ll have for the rest of the season. Also, Sensabaugh is making the most of his increased minutes, providing decent value as he replaces the injured Taylor Hendricks.
Drops
Saddiq Bey – Out with a torn ACL for the rest of the season.
Andre Drummond – Drummond’s roster percentage is higher than it should be. The big man offers good streaming value when starting but doesn’t have to be held onto.
Daniel Gafford/Dereck Lively/Tim Hardaway Jr. – The center minutes battle between Gafford and Lively has significantly hurt their fantasy value. They’re worth streaming when the other is out but are droppable when sharing the court. Hardaway’s production has also been minimal since the trade deadline.
Dillon Brooks – While Brooks receives heavy workloads, his low production doesn’t reflect that.
Bennedict Mathurin – Undergoing season-ending surgery.
Russell Westbrook – A fractured hand is expected to keep Westbrook sidelined until around the start of the NBA playoffs.
Spencer Dinwiddie – Dinwiddie’s minimal role off the bench for the Lakers warrants a drop.
Bojan Bogdanovic/Miles McBride – Since being traded to the Knicks, Bogdanovic hasn’t looked the same. It also doesn’t help his value that OG Anunoby is returning. With Jalen Brunson also healthy, McBride is a drop.
Markelle Fultz – Injuries have significantly held Fultz back this season. Especially with playoffs, managers need someone more reliable than him.
De’Anthony Melton – Another back injury for Melton puts in question his ability to have fantasy relevance if he returns to the court.
Royce O’Neale. – The return of Devin Booker pushed O’Neale back into a bench role, where he doesn’t have much fantasy upside.
Kevin Huerter/Harrison Barnes – Both Huerter and Barnes are streaky players; they are adds when hot and droppable when cold, like now.
Zach Collins – Collins is only worth a stream when Victor Wembanyama is out since he typically resides in a bench role with a limited impact.
Notable Injuries/Suspensions
Jalen Johnson – Day-to-day with an ankle injury.
Trae Young – Undergoing finger surgery. Re-evaluation in a few weeks.
Cameron Johnson – Dealing with an ankle injury.
Ben Simmons – Out for the season.
LaMelo Ball – No clear timeline.
Mark Williams – Still out with a back injury.
Lonzo Ball – Out for the season.
Zach LaVine – Out for the season.
Donovan Mitchell – Out for a few games with a knee injury.
Evan Mobley – Re-evaulation in about two weeks with an ankle injury.
Alperen Sengun – Diagnosed with a severe ankle sprain and a knee bone bruise.
Steven Adams – Out for the season.
Russell Westbrook – Out until early April.
Desmond Bane – Diagnosed with an ankle sprain and will miss multiple weeks.
Ja Morant – Out for the season.
Marcus Smart – Suffered a severe finger injury and is out for multiple weeks.
Tyler Herro – Sidelined with a knee injury.
Khris Middleton – Could return soon from an ankle injury.
Karl-Anthony Towns – Undergoing surgery for a meniscus tear. Re-evaluation in one month.
OG Anunoby – Nearing a return from an elbow injury.
Julius Randle – Dislocated his shoulder and could return in a couple of weeks.
Mitchell Robinson – Could return from an ankle injury late in the regular season.
Joel Embiid – Out indefinitely.
De’Anthony Melton – Dealing with back issues again and is out for at least two weeks.
Malcolm Brogdon – Out for a few more games with elbow tendinitis.
Robert Williams – Out for the season.
Scottie Barnes – Out until at least early April with a fractured hand.
Jakob Poeltl – Underwent surgery to repair a torn ligament in his finger.
Lauri Markkanen – Missing some time due to a quadricep injury.
