Welcome to the Christmas playlist! That’s correct. Christmas for fantasy basketball is coming early, and I’ll let you know who and what’s playing in your lineup and when it’s music for the week ahead.
Before we get started, I wish everyone a happy and safe holiday! Now press play and browse the latest fantasy basketball news and my favorite Christmas songs.
🏀 Conclusion of week 8
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Victor Wembanyama became the sixth player in NBA history with a 30-point, 10-block performance Saturday night. He also scored over 70 fantasy points for the fifth time this season.
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Jayson Tatum had a 43/15/10 triple-double with nine 3s against the Bulls on Saturday. He became the fifth player in NBA history to record 40+ points, 15+ rebounds, 10+ assists, and 5+ 3s in a game.
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Kawhi Leonard has practiced in full, is traveling with the team and could return Friday against the Warriors.
🥇Best Players of Week 8
🎧 Who is part of my rotation: waiver of pickups
Players expected to be rostered in all leagues at less than 50%:
Gradey Dick, Bilal Coulibaly, Alex Sarr, Ayo Dosunmu, De’Andre Hunter, Yves Missi, Goga Bitadze.
Players to add this week under 40%:
Royce O’Neale – SF/PF, Phoenix Suns (23% on roster)
Devin Booker and Grayson Allen are injured, giving O’Neale more room to play. He has been an effective fantasy player whenever one of the Suns big three has been injured. He has started seven of his last eight games for Phoenix. O’Neale ranks 92nd in 9-cat leagues and, as a starter, is a solid 15-5-3 with nearly four triples per game. Add it for all four Suns weeks.
Jaden McDaniels – SG/SF, Minnesota Timberwolves (26%)
He’s up 3% from what I recommended last week, so get to work. I’ve already pointed out that I like the Wolves’ schedule, which plays four games including two on Wednesday and Sunday. Jaden McDaniels has been a top 60 player in 9-cat leagues over the past two weeks and provides fantasy managers with a mix of points, rebounds and action. If he’s not available, look for Nickeil-Alexander Walker (6%) to also have a run in Week 9.
Ben Simmons – PG/C, Brooklyn Nets (31% on roster)
The oft-injured Simmons is averaging 12.3 points, 5.0 rebounds, 8.3 assists and 1.3 steals in his last three games without Dennis Schröder in BK. There is always a risk with Benny, but currently he is playing well enough to be in points leagues and 12+ team leagues. He’s also playing 31 minutes per game during that span, and with the Nets in sell mode, this could be a nice opportunity for all parties involved to take advantage of Simmons being healthy and playing well enough to be drafted into Fantasy.
Larry Nance Jr. – C, Atlanta Hawks (12% on roster)
Nance has traditionally been a productive fantasy player when he has played at least 20 minutes and that has been the case over the last two games without Onyeka Okongwu (knee). The veteran center filled up the scoring late last week, averaging 14 points, 11.5 rebounds and 3.0 assists with three plays. Okongwu will likely miss at least two more games this week and the Hawks have a Saturday/Sunday back-to-back that could force him to miss at least one of those games. Nance is a guy who will be more valuable towards the end of the week.
Additional players to be broadcast on Wednesday
Players to stream this weekend
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Obi Toppin, Andrew Nembhard, TJ McConnell, Cason Wallace, Dru Smith, Tari Eason and Jake LaRavia. If Ja Morant gets stung again, add Scotty Pippen Jr.
🗓️ Calendar highlights
Starting the week with a 14-game slate on Monday is far from ideal. You will have to make start/sit decisions with 28 teams in play. There will be no game on Tuesday due to Christmas Eve. The best streaming opportunities will occur on Christmas Day (Wednesday) and Sunday.
Here is the list of the total number of matches played this week:
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Daily schedule: Monday (14), Tuesday (0), Wednesday (5), Thursday (9), Friday (8), Saturday (9) and Sunday (6)
Teams I would avoid streaming players from the Cavs, Clippers, Kings and Pelicans because they are all playing two games and they are not on the preferred broadcast days of Wednesday and Sunday. Plus, there aren’t a lot of streamable assets from the Cavs, Clippers, and Nuggets at the moment anyway.
Here is the rest of the number of matches played by the team:
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16 teams play four matches: Celtics, Grizzlies, Hawks, Heat, Knicks, Magic, Mavericks, Nets, Nuggets, Pacers, Rockets, Spurs, Suns, Thunder, Timberwolves and Warriors
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10 teams play three matches: 76ers, Blazers, Bulls, Bucks, Hornets, Jazz, Lakers, Pistons, Raptors and Wizards
Among the four-team lineups, the Celtics, Nets, Spurs and Timberwolves play Wednesday and Sunday, with two additional games in the week. The consecutive schedule is available below:
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Thursday/Friday: Grizzlies, Magic, Nets, Pacers, Pelicans and Rockets
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Friday/Saturday: Knicks, Mavericks, Nuggets, Suns and Warriors
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Saturday/Sunday: Hawks, Heat and Thunder
🚑 Injury News
Notable injuries from Week 8 include:
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Magic C Mo Wagner (knee) is out for the season
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Grizzlies G Ja Morant missed Saturday’s contest with back injury
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Suns G Devin Booker to miss at least two games with groin injury
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Mavs G Luka Dončić has missed the last two games with a heel contusion, but is questionable heading into Monday’s game against Portland.
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Damian Lillard missed the last two games with a calf injury
Latest injury report for all NBA teams
NBA Injury Report – Monday, December 23
🧑🏿🎄 Christmas Day Slate
San Antonio Spurs vs. New York Knicks (noon ET)
This will be the Spurs’ second stop on their four-game road trip. These two teams have never played on Christmas Day.
A reason to watch: We must see Victor Wembanyama redeem himself in Mecca. In his first and only appearance at Madison Square Garden, Wemby scored 14 points (4-14 FG, 6-6 FT) with 9 rebounds, 2 assists and a block. I expect him to improve a lot after putting up his best numbers of the season in December.
Minnesota Timberwolves vs. Dallas Mavericks (2:30 p.m. ET)
A rematch of the Western Conference finals is second on the Christmas menu. These teams also didn’t play over Christmas and hopefully we’ll see Luka Dončić again for this fun match.
A reason to watch: Kyrie Irving rarely disappoints on Christmas, averaging 27 points, 5.5 rebounds, 5.0 assists, 1.8 steals and 3.0 3s in six games. Additionally, the 14-13 Wolves have lost two straight since Anthony Edwards’ brutally honest critique of the Wolves offense. Ant-Man’s Christmas debut is a gift, even if the NFL must have hated scheduling the Ravens and Texans early in this contest.
Philadelphia 76ers vs. Boston Celtics (5 p.m. ET)
This is a classic Atlantic Division rivalry where we’ll get to see a healthy Sixers team take on the defending champions in Boston. No one needs a signature win or statement game more than the Sixers.
A reason to watch: While there might be some entertaining moments, Boston is by far the better team. Jrue Holiday hasn’t played up to his level, and I’ve seen him on several 12-team waiver wires. Maybe a good match against his former team can get him back on track. I expect the J’s to disappear while the Sixers are still finding their footing.
Los Angeles Lakers vs. Golden State Warriors (8 p.m. ET)
Who knows how many times we’ll see LeBron James and Stephen Curry face off on Christmas. Cherish it – even if both teams go through a bit of an identity crisis.
A reason to watch: LeBron vs. Steph is still must-watch TV. Depending on the outcome of the Spurs/Knicks and this game, the Lakers could become the winningest team in the league on December 25 with a victory.
Denver Nuggets vs. Phoenix Suns (10:30 p.m. ET)
We’ll see if Devin Booker can pull it off, but many notable players are still preparing for the nightcap. Kevin Durant is averaging 28.6 points, 7.5 rebounds and 4.8 assists in 11 games on December 25. Nikola Jokić had a 41/15/15 triple-double against the Suns the last time they faced each other two years ago on Christmas Day.
A reason to watch: I’m going to replace Jokić with another triple-double against the Suns because they don’t have an answer for him. Hopefully Booker can play because a shorthanded Suns team will have their hands full. It’s not for nothing that Russell Westbrook has two triple doubles on Christmas and is averaging 23/8/8 for his career on December 25.
