The Fantasy Basketball Weekly Planner is the essential guide to setting your lineup for the upcoming week. Every Friday, we provide you with top matchups, the latest news and give you the scoop on injured players.
Projections are for March 10 to March 16 games.
Tipping off: A total of 14 teams will play a four-game schedule, while a dozen teams will play only three times. Cleveland, Denver and New Jersey will play both of its games at home. Detroit and Houston will also play all of its games at home. The Lakers, New Orleans, Toronto and Utah will hit the road for all of its games.
| TEAMS TO WATCH | |
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Pay close attention to teams like Chicago, Cleveland, Denver and the Clippers. With the playoffs no longer within their grasp, these teams will begin to look toward next season and will try many different lineup combinations to motivate their players. ... Cleveland dropped Ricky Davis from the starting lineup in each of its past two games, replacing him with Milt Palacio and Dajuan Wagner. Davis was still the high scorer in his first game out of the lineup on March 4, scoring 24 points. Zydrunas Ilgauskas was the high scorer in the other game, contributing 27 points and 11 rebounds. However, coach Keith Smart said that Ilgauskas isn't immune to the lineup tinkering. Smart will rest Davis and Ilgauskas in the remaining games to give the younger players a chance to play. Don’t rely too heavily on Davis and Ilgauskas. Also, Carlos Boozer replaced Jumaine Jones in the starting lineup on March 4. Jones had a brief, yet effective stint in the starting lineup. Avoid using Boozer and Jones until Smart commits to keeping one of them in the starting lineup. ... Bulls coach Bill Cartwright has tinkered with his starting lineup again. Jamal Crawford and Donyell Marshall returned as starters on March 6, replacing Jay Williams and Trenton Hassell. Williams and Hassell will be useless Fantasy players now that they are reserves again, but Crawford and Marshall should be helpful in larger leagues. ... Nikolai Tskitishvili has started in each of the past three games for Denver, playing center and forward, but has been rather unproductive. Denver will continue to tinker with its lineup, but Juwan Howard is the only reliable Fantasy starter on this squad. Nene Hilario is a useful reserve center for larger leagues. ... With Elton Brand, Lamar Odom and Michael Olowokandi sidelined by injuries, Corey Maggette and Quentin Richardson will be the team's main scoring options. Odom might return as soon as Friday, but no timetable has been set for Brand and Olowokandi's return. Look for Maggette and Richardson to get a lot of shots even if Odom is active. The two swingmen might not be too efficient, but their role makes them attractive options for larger leagues. |
| F I V E T E A M S W I T H F A V O R A B L E M A T C H U P S | |||||||
| The following five teams have the best matchups for the upcoming week. That doesn't necessarily mean they will post the best Fantasy stats, but if you're looking for a one-week start or are trying to make a difficult decision between two players to use, lean toward players from these teams: | |||||||
| Team | MON | TUE | WED | THU | FRI | SAT | SUN |
| Atlanta Hawks (ATL) | LAC | -- | HOU | -- | NY | -- | @MEM |
| The Hawks have won five of their past six home games. | |||||||
| Denver Nuggets (DEN) | -- | TOR | -- | -- | -- | -- | SEA |
| It's been a while, but the Nuggets past two victories came at home. | |||||||
| Detroit Pistons (DET) | -- | -- | LAL | -- | WAS | -- | BOS |
| The Pistons have won six of their past seven home games. | |||||||
| Houston Rockets(HOU) | -- | -- | LAC | -- | CHI | -- | PHO |
| The Rockets are 20-11 at home. | |||||||
| Minnesota Timberwolves (MIN) | @DAL | -- | SA | -- | LAL | -- | POR |
| Minnesota hasn't lost at home since Jan. 4. | |||||||
| F I V E T E A M S W I T H P O O R M A T C H U P S | |||||||
| The following five teams have the worst matchups for the upcoming week. That doesn't necessarily mean you should reserve every player from these teams, but try to avoid less-heralded performers from these squads if you have an alternative on your roster: | |||||||
| Team | MON | TUE | WED | THU | FRI | SAT | SUN |
| Chicago Bulls (CHI) | -- | LAL | @MEM | -- | @HOU | -- | @SA |
| Chicago is 3-30 on the road and its only home game is against the Lakers. | |||||||
| L.A. Lakers (LAL) | -- | @CHI | @DET | -- | @MIN | @MIL | -- |
| The Lakers are 11-16 on the road. | |||||||
| New Orleans Hornets (NO) | -- | @IND | @BOS | -- | @MIA | @ORL | -- |
| New Orleans is 13-18 on the road. | |||||||
| Toronto Raptors (TOR) | -- | @DEN | @POR | -- | @SAC | -- | @LAC |
| The Raptors have lost six of their past eight road games. | |||||||
| Utah Jazz (UTA) | @MIA | -- | @ORL | -- | @IND | -- | @CLE |
| The Jazz have lost three of their past four road games. | |||||||
| T H E S C O O P O N I N J U R E D P L A Y E R S | |
| It's tough to make a final decision on players who are battling injuries and are listed as day to day. Here's our look at which banged-up stars should remain in your lineup during the upcoming week: | |
| Go ahead, start 'em | Play it safe, sit 'em |
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Baron Davis (knee, back): It seemed that he was ready to
play when he practiced on March 4, but he won't return until March
11. Don't hesitate to use him for the upcoming week. Dirk Nowitzki (cold): A cold forced him to miss practice Thursday but he is expected to play on March 7. Paul Pierce (back): His back still isn't 100 percent, but he should still be able to come close to his season averages. David Robinson (back): He left Thursday's game because of a mild strain in his lower back, but is not expected to miss any extended playing time. |
Elton Brand (leg): What was originally classified as a
bruise has been diagnosed as a stress fracture. No timetable has
been set for his return. Elden Campbell (flu): He might return before the end of the current weekend, but hasn't been too productive when healthy. Matt Harpring (ankle): The rugged forward might return before the end of the weekend, but allow him to play in a few games and test his ankle out before using him. Lamar Odom (ankle): He might return this weekend, but don't count on it. Odom has a history of missing multiple games because of ankle injuries. |
| J U M P S H O T S | |
| Stromile Swift has been solid as a starter in the past week, averaging17.0 points and 8.3 rebounds in three starts. Look for him to remain a starter when Lorenzen Wright finally does return to action. Swift has been erratic, but should be a reliable third or fourth option at forward in the remaining weeks. He should also be a reliable No. 2 center if he qualifies for the position. ... The recent injury to Kenny Thomas has thrust Tyrone Hill into the starting lineup. Hill started at power forward on March 6 and Keith Van Horn moved to small forward. Hill only contributed four points and eight rebounds, but should be a useful reserve in larger leagues. As for Thomas, he might not be of much use for the remainder of the regular season. He is suffering from a sprained tendon in his right foot. Thomas is wearing a cast and will be out at least two games. Poor conditioning will likely make Thomas ineffective once he is cleared to play again, if he does return. ... Juan Dixon was sensational in his March 1 start scoring 27 points. However, he had only four points in each of his next three games. Coach Doug Collins replaced him in the starting lineup with Larry Hughes before his third consecutive four-point effort on March 5. Dixon is no longer worth starting, but should still be a useful reserve. Meanwhile, Hughes scored 15 and 20 points in his first two games back. He should be a good fourth Fantasy option at guard. |
