The Utah Jazz have three games in the upcoming period. Even though they rank with only a "4" on our forecaster, indicating that their three games are in challenging circumstances (e.g., against good teams, on the road, possible back-to-backs, etc.), the natural inclination in most leagues with weekly transactions would be to start your good, productive starters on even a challenging three-game week. However, in the case of the Jazz, it may be worth it to rethink that with respect to a very recently productive big man.
Derrick Favors was once one of the promising up-and-coming young bigs in the NBA, and since we're both Georgia Tech guys, he was one whom I really kept my eye on. He has struggled over the past couple of seasons, and I (like most) believed that injury was the biggest culprit for his struggles. This season, though, the evidence suggests that his struggles are due to another cause: a giant, gifted center named Rudy Gobert.
Gobert recently missed 11 games due to a knee injury, which allowed Favors to move from the power forward slot to the starting center slot. And Favors absolutely thrived, showing strong hints of his old promise with averages of 16.5 points (61 FG%, 77 FT%), 9.3 rebounds, 2.5 assists, 1.5 blocks and 0.8 steals during that stretch. For the last two-thirds of November, Favors played like an impact player.
Then, this week, Gobert returned and Favors moved back to the starting power forward slot -- and his numbers fell through the floor, to the tune of 7.7 points (45 FG%, 71 FT%), 6.3 rebounds, 1.0 assists, 1.0 blocks and 0.7 steals during his past three games.
Lest you think that those three games are a fluke, in the five games before Gobert's injury, Favors averaged 7.2 points (48 FG%, 60 FT%), 3.4 rebounds, 0.2 assists, 0.8 blocks and 1.2 steals.
The problem is that both Gobert and Favors operate best in the paint, near the rim, but when both are in the game at the same time, Gobert gets the interior real estate and Favors has to operate outside of his comfort zone. We now know, after November, that Favors still has the talent to produce big numbers in the right situation. But playing next to another interior big, in Gobert, is not that situation.
Favors, therefore, might be a good candidate to be replaced next week in weekly transaction leagues with only three tough games, if you've got a solid stream option with four starts to choose from.
Matchup ratings are based upon a scale from 1 (poor matchup) to 10 (excellent matchup). These are calculated using a formula that evaluates the team's year-to-date and past 10 games' statistics, their opponents' numbers in those categories and their performance in home/road games depending on where the game is to be played. The column to the left lists the team's total number of games scheduled as well as home games, and lists the overall rating from 1-10 for that team's weekly schedule.
The week ahead
There are 13 teams with four games this week, 14 with three games, and three with only two games. Those three teams are the Golden State Warriors, Los Angeles Lakers, and Philadelphia 76ers. There is a high concentration of great players among those three teams, which means that fantasy staples like Kevin Durant, Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons will play only twice, so you will have to make the decision of whether two games are enough for them.
On the other hand, there are also players on those teams who commonly would start, but not with only two games. Players like Brandon Ingram, Robert Covington or Lonzo Ball. Are two games enough to start them? If not, then you'll need to think about some stream options that might be available to replace them this week.
From our forecaster, there are five teams that measure out with a rating of 9 or 10, indicating that they have a combination of a lot of games and a relatively easy schedule. Those five teams are the Houston Rockets, LA Clippers, Oklahoma City Thunder, Toronto Raptors and Washington Wizards. Thus, these five teams might be good places to look for streaming options. Here are a few names from this group to consider as potential streamers:
Danilo Gallinari, LA Clippers (available in 51 percent of leagues): Gallinari just returned from an extended absence, but while he was gone, Blake Griffin got injured. Gallinari was brought to the Clippers to provide an offensive punch, and he has a good chance to take on a larger offensive role over the next week.
Markieff Morris, Washington Wizards (available in 63.2 percent of leagues): Morris was an impact producer for the Wizards last season but had core muscle surgery during the offseason that delayed his start. He returned last month but has been slow in building back into shape. However, he's coming off one of his best performances of the season with 21 points and six rebounds, which came less than a week after his actual best game of 23 points and seven rebounds against the Pistons. He looks to be trending upward.
Ryan Anderson, Houston Rockets (available in 64.9 percent of leagues): Anderson is a streaky shooter, but the Rockets' system with Chris Paul at the point sets him up for all of the open treys he can handle. He is coming off of scoring 23 points with 6 boards and 5 3-pointers against the Jazz on Thursday, in his first game after leaving the previous one early with a back injury. In the five games before the injury, he was averaging 17.2 points, 5.2 rebounds and 4.2 3-pointers per game.