Just about every fantasy owner is aware of whether or not his players have great schedules with regards to how many games they have left. What's more, savvy owners should also know how their games are broken down and whether or not the schedules are back-loaded for the fantasy playoffs or have a lot of games coming up in the next couple weeks to help owners that really need to make a push for the playoff spot.
On the other hand, for some owners in daily leagues the days in which the games fall on could have different levels of value. Owners in daily leagues with little to no restrictions on acquistions know that a game on Thursday (where there are usually less than six games) have slightly more value than on a day like Wednesday or Friday (where there will be 10 or more games). This is important because of the streaming factor. If your league is competitive, you guys know that on those five-game nights there should be slim pickings on streaming. Streaming, for those that don't know, is basically adding a player for one day (a day that he plays) and then cutting him after he plays.. and repeat. Personally, in some of my deep leagues owners might pick up a guy that doesn't even play when the NBA only has two or three games that night.
It's with that idea in mind I decided to go through the NBA schedule and see which teams are playing on the light days and which teams are stuck playinig on busy days like Wednesday and Fridays. This is important because owners mid-level players that might not be must-start guys on a Wednesday, would obviously be playing on a light night since less than half of the league is playing. It's also means that teams that play on less common days are less likely to be on your bench. There are 16 days left in the season where 20 teams are playing, which means there's a good chance stats could be wasted on your bench (assuming you don't have a games-played restriction). Especially for owners that have deeper benches.
The following is a table broken down with each team's schedule breakdown on days with less than five games and between five and seven games.
Check it out after the jump:
If you're not hip to the weekly breakdown, check out ESPN's schedule grid here. If you want analysis, you should be listening to Pick-N-Roll!
| Team | March games on days with between 5 and 7 NBA games | March games on days with less than 5 games | April games on days with between 5 and 7 NBA games | April games on days with less than 5 NBA games |
| Atlanta | 2 | 2 | ||
| Boston | 5 | 5 | 1 | |
| Charlotte | 4 | 4 | ||
| Chicago | 2 | 1 | 4 | 1 |
| Cleveland | 2 | 5 | ||
| Dallas | 4 | 2 | 4 | |
| Denver | 2 | |||
| Detroit | 2 | 4 | 1 | |
| Golden State | 3 | 4 | ||
| Houston | 4 | 2 | ||
| Indiana | 3 | 1 | 4 | |
| LA Clippers | 4 | 5 | 1 | |
| LA Lakers | 3 | 1 | 2 | |
| Memphis | 3 | 6 | ||
| Miami | 2 | 1 | 4 | |
| Minnesota | 4 | 5 | ||
| Milwaukee | 4 | 4 | ||
| New Jersey | 3 | 3 | ||
| New Orleans | 3 | 1 | 2 | |
| New York | 3 | 3 | 1 | |
| Oklahoma City | 3 | 1 | 4 | |
| Orlando | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Philadelphia | 2 | 3 | ||
| Phoenix | 4 | 1 | 3 | |
| Portland | 3 | 1 | 2 | |
| Sacramento | 2 | 4 | 1 | |
| San Antonio | 2 | 5 | ||
| Toronto | 1 | 1 | ||
| Utah | 4 | 3 | ||
| Washington | 3 | 1 | 4 | 1 |
Favorable March
Dallas has the most light days in March with two games on really light days and four others, too. It’s worth noting that two of those six are this week as part of their five-game week. It seems like there are quite a few owners in shallower leagues asking about cutting Jason Kidd, so this news makes him slightly more valuable in daily leagues. The jury is still out on Roddy Buckets, but he has a lot of upside and a lot of games coming up.
Boston, who has a lot of games to begin with, has the second-most games on lighter days with five. That means if you have Pierce, Rondo, KG or Ray Allen, you’re certainly not going to be rooting for a trade (which you wouldn’t be regardless). It also makes guys like Brandon Bass valuable because he can be used on those lighter days as well. If you really need to make a push for the playoffs, it wouldn’t be a bad idea to grab some Boston players. Boston also has a very nice April, too.
Phoenix also has five as well, so Marcin Gortat gets a mild boost. As for Steve Nash, it’ll be tough to give him a bump because of how there’s a possibility he is dealt.
Unfavorable March
Sacramento, Cleveland and San Antonio are three teams that have a lot of games for the second half. As it turns out, they don’t have much going on in March for light nights. However, their Aprils are pretty good and we’ll discuss that below. You can also throw Detroit in this group with better daily schedules for April.
Philadelphia, Atlanta and Denver have sub-par a weak March, too. They also don’t have favorable April schedules.
Wow the Raptors. They only have two games in the entire season where there are less than eight games. Simply amazing. I would consider dealing some Toronto assets once they build some value. Most of them don’t have much value right now though.
Favorable April
Memphis goes a ridiculous 5-5-4 in the last three full weeks of the season. The Grizzlies also have a phenomenal schedule to go with the favorable positioning of those games. I would do anything I could to try and get Zach Randolph on the cheap. Rudy Gay and Marc Gasol are basically locked in as top-20 players in my book. I can’t make this any clearer, if your team is chillin’ in the standings, then go after Memphis players.
There are those Celtics again, but this time with six games. They have some sneaky value and Doc is unlikely to rest him if in fact they don’t unload players at the deadline.
Memphis and the Clippers also tie Boston with six games. I’m probably lower on Blake Griffin than anyone because of his dirty FT%; this news does help him a little. DeAndre Jordan owners in a good position in the standings in daily leagues should also give him some very, very long leash (or those that don't own him should try to buy low and get him). Chris Paul would be ranked third on my rest-of-the-season rankings.
As mentioned above, Cleveland, San Antonio and Detroit change their fortunes with nice Aprils. Cleveland and San Antonio actually play the most games in April. This might explain why I have been preaching patience with Tristan Thompson. The Spurs advantageous schedule is slightly offset by the Pop factor though. Minnesota also has five games on light days, however their schedule isn’t that great in April (especially if the last partial week counts in your Fantasy Final).
Unfavorable April
Denver actually has a solid schedule games wise. It just so happens that they’re going to be busy on nights like Wednesday and Friday. I wouldn’t really knock them down much, but deep leaguers might want to get ready to get of the Manimal’s man area.
On the other hand, Atlanta is a bit lighter on the amount of games and it’s not like they fall on the light days.
On a side note, the Hawks, Nets and the Bulls are the only three teams in the league with multiple weeks with less than four games (not counting the partial week starting April 23rd).
This kinda sucks for their value in H2H.
As far as analysis on head-to-head leagues, we’ll constantly be visiting these issues on Pick-N-Roll and I’m sure you can figure out the schedule grid on your own. It would be a daunting task to attempt to analyze the schedules since a lot of leagues have different times for the playoffs. For example, some leagues do just one week for the semifinal and one for the final, others do two each and several leagues have quarterfinals.
No News
Golden State has the most games after the break. The just have an even distribution, so don't knock them down based on this article.
Thanks for reading and I hope this helps you fellow die-hard daily owners.