As sad as it is, there are less than two months remaining in the 2010-11 NBA regular season, which means fantasy basketball leagues are quickly approaching their playoff schedule. Most playoff matchups begin in Week 21 (March 14) or Week 22 (March 21), which is coming quicker than the next Carmelo Anthony trade rumor. Well, maybe not that quickly, but you get the idea.
This means most fantasy owners who are still in contention for a playoff spot in their leagues should start pondering whether or not they want to swing some deals to bulk up their teams’ schedules during that all-important stretch of the season. In essence, fantasy owners should see this as another way of buying low (on players whose teams have favorable fantasy playoff schedules) and selling high (on players whose teams have weak fantasy playoff schedules).
Below is a quick rundown of how many games each team plays in Weeks 21-25 (Week 25 might be combined with Week 24 in leagues that play to the very end of the NBA regular season), along with brief mentions of some key names to consider. Keep in mind that this post is meant to be read through the lens of your teams’ specific situations. So, for example, if your team is fighting for a spot in the playoffs, you might want to worry a bit less about playoff schedules than an owner whose team has a strong hold on the No. 1 overall spot in their league.
18 games
Boston 4-4-4-4-2
New Jersey 4-4-4-4-2
Phoenix 4-4-4-4-2
Sacramento 4-4-4-4-2
Washington 4-4-4-4-2
Guys like Marcin Gortat, Steve Nash, Channing Frye, Grant Hill, Beno Udrih, DeMarcus Cousins, Nick Young, John Wall and Andray Blatche should be on your buy-low radars. Kevin Garnett, Ray Allen, Paul Pierce and Rajon Rondo are decent buy-low targets as well, but all four of them could sit out a game or two near the very end of the season. Devin Harris, Kris Humphries, Brook Lopez and Anthony Morrow are all mildly appealing players to target for their favorable playoff schedules, though a Nets trade before the deadline could change that. Don’t go too crazy trying to trade for productive players on these teams, but if you own a player on a team near the end of this post, try to make a rational deal.
17 games
Chicago 3-4-4-4-2
Cleveland 3-4-4-4-2
Oklahoma City 4-3-4-4-2
Each of these teams has 10 games in 4-4-2 fashion to end the season, which is nice. If you own productive players on these squads, try to hold steady; if you can’t seem to trade for a good player on an 18-game team, getting a valuable asset on one of these teams isn’t a bad consolation prize. Derrick Rose, Carlos Boozer, Joakim Noah and Luol Deng will be valuable players to own around this time. The sorry Cavs, like the Nets, have a roster that won’t be truly cemented until after the trade deadline passes, but their younger guys could be sneaky waiver-wire pickups around this time, something that probably matters more to owners in deeper leagues.
16 games
Charlotte 3-3-4-4-2
Dallas 4-3-3-4-2
Denver 4-3-3-4-2
Golden State 4-4-3-3-2
Indiana 4-4-4-3-1
Miami 4-3-4-3-2
Milwaukee 3-3-4-4-2
New York 4-4-2-4-2
Philadelphia 4-3-4-3-2
Portland 4-3-4-3-2
San Antonio 3-4-4-3-2
Toronto 3-4-3-4-2
Now it gets trickier. The Bobcats seem poised to fight for that last playoff spot in the East, which could be good for guys like D.J. Augustin, Gerald Wallace, Stephen Jackson and, possibly, Tyrus Thomas, who is slated to return in mid-March. Thomas could be a decent player to deal for if you have a secure playoff spot and are looking to stash a guy who can make a small difference in the steals, blocks and rebounds columns. The Pacers end the season with a league-worst four games in the last two weeks, which could be a big downer if your league extends that deep into the schedule and you own more than one Pacer. Note that the Knicks have an unappealing two-game schedule in Week 23. The Bucks have a strong finish to their regular-season schedule, which could mean even more if they can pull within range of the No. 8 spot in the East. Beware of Manu Ginobili, Tim Duncan and Tony Parker, who are all candidates to see disruptive rest and DNPs during the fantasy playoff schedule, especially with the Spurs in command of the top spot in the West.
15 games
Atlanta 3-4-3-3-2
Detroit 3-3-3-4-2
Houston 4-2-4-3-2
L.A. Clippers 4-3-3-4-1
L.A. Lakers 3-3-3-4-2
Memphis 3-4-3-3-2
Utah 3-4-3-3-2
The Pistons have a decent six-game finish to the season in Weeks 24 and 25, and owners who can make it to the end might find guys like Austin Daye, Greg Monroe and Tracy McGrady to be helpful players to pick out of their leagues’ free-agent pools. The Lakers also finish the last two “weeks” of the season with six games, though their comfort with their late-season standing in the West will determine whether or not Kobe Bryant, Pau Gasol and Andrew Bynum get extra rest during this stretch of games. Rudy Gay could return as early as March 17, which would mean he could be a game-changer for owners who can either buy low on him before then or stash him and survive past the first round or two of their leagues’ playoff schedules. This also means owners in contention should be wary of leaning too heavily on Sam Young, Tony Allen and O.J. Mayo.
14 games
Minnesota 3-3-3-3-2
New Orleans 3-3-3-3-2
Orlando 3-3-3-3-2
If your team is locked into the winner’s bracket of your league’s playoffs and you’re not afraid of taking big risks for potentially big rewards down the line, it might be time to consider trading away guys like Kevin Love, Chris Paul, David West and Dwight Howard — for fair value in return, of course.
