Advertisement

2019 Yahoo Fantasy Basketball Week 9 Start 'Em, Sit 'Em and schedule breakdown

By Juan Blanco, RotoWire

Special to Yahoo Sports

We head into what should be a fruitful Week 9, as we’re only saddled with one two-game week (Golden State Warriors). That gives us a robust pool of players that will see the floor enough to benefit our fantasy squads. However, it also makes selecting your Sit candidates a bit more of a discerning process, as a scarcity of opportunity isn’t going to serve as much of a tie-breaker for making those types of decisions.

Without further ado, let’s delve into some candidates you should consider either rolling with or giving a breather to in Week 9:

TEAMS WITH FOUR GAMES: Charlotte Hornets, Dallas Mavericks, Detroit Pistons, Los Angeles Clippers, Memphis Grizzlies, Milwaukee Bucks, Oklahoma City Thunder, Phoenix Suns, Portland Trail Blazers, Toronto Raptors, Washington Wizards

TEAMS WITH THREE GAMES: Atlanta Hawks, Boston Celtics, Brooklyn Nets, Chicago Bulls, Cleveland Cavaliers, Denver Nuggets, Houston Rockets, Indiana Pacers, Los Angeles Lakers, Miami Heat, Minnesota Timberwolves, New Orleans Pelicans, New York Knicks, Orlando Magic, Philadelphia 76ers, Sacramento Kings, San Antonio Spurs, Utah Jazz

TEAMS WITH TWO GAMES: Golden State Warriors

GUARDS

Start: Ish Smith, Washington Wizards (four games)

Smith has recently spent plenty of time on the floor with Isaiah Thomas ailing, and the former has done well with his opportunities. He’s scored in double digits in five consecutive games and dished out between four and eight assists in each of those contests. The veteran is currently shooting 45.5 percent overall — the second-best figure of his career — including a career-high 36.1 percent from three-point range. The Wizards’ breakneck pace of play and tendency to get into high-scoring affairs benefits Smith as well. While Thomas could return Monday, it’s certainly possible Smith could remain the starter or log nearly starter-level minutes off the bench.

Start: Norman Powell, Toronto Raptors (four games)

Similar to Smith, Powell has thrived with extended minutes recently with starting two-guard Fred VanVleet tending to a bruised knee. But Powell has also shown very well off the bench this season and is posting career bests across the board. He’s scored between 17 and 25 points in the three starts he’s logged in VanVleet’s stead, but he’s averaged 28.4 minutes overall on the season, certainly more than enough time to offer strong production. Powell will also face a couple of enticing matchups this coming week, with the Cavaliers and Wizards on his docket.

[Yahoo Sportsbook powered by BetMGM: Deposit $10, Get $100 in Free Bets. NJ only. 21+. Terms apply]

Sit: D’Angelo Russell, Golden State Warriors (two games)

Russell has started to pick up the pace since returning from his long absence due to a thumb injury, which makes the decision of whether or not to keep him active in Week 9 all the more difficult. The fifth-year guard has taken at least 20 shot attempts in each of his last three contests, but with just two matchups on tap this week, there’s a strong chance you can find the production Russell will offer — primarily points-based, as he’s averaging a relatively modest 6.1 assists and 3.6 rebounds — elsewhere with guards that have four games on the docket.

Sit: Josh Richardson, Philadelphia 76ers (three games)

Richardson recently spent six games on the shelf with a hamstring injury, and he heads into a Sunday matchup against the Nets still on a minutes restriction. Richardson has also been underwhelming in the three games he’s played thus far since his return, averaging just 8.3 points (on 34.5% shooting) and 2.7 rebounds across 23.7 minutes per contest. Richardson may not be back up to his full allotment of minutes for all three games this coming week, and he’ll also face a couple of tougher matchups for shooting guards versus the Heat and Mavericks, with both squads yielding sub-41.0% shooting to the position heading into Sunday’s action.

FORWARDS

Start: Jaren Jackson Jr., Memphis Grizzlies (four games)

Jackson has had intermittent problems with foul trouble this season but has been on a hot streak of late. Jackson has averaged 24.4 points (on 50.8% shooting, including 40.4% from three-point range), 4.7 rebounds, 1.9 assists and 1.7 steals across 29.6 minutes over his last seven games. He’s still struggling with foul trouble most nights, which does give him an element of risk, but the floor-spacing role he slots into (6.0 three-point attempts per game) gives him considerable upside on a four-game week.

Start: Miles Bridges, Charlotte Hornets (four games)

Bridges appears to be coming into his own in his second season, as he’s starting to develop into an important piece of the Hornets’ attack on a much more consistent basis. Most recently, the second-year wing has four straight double-digit scoring efforts, and eight in his last 10 contests. Bridges is still trying to improve his overall efficiency with just 43.8% shooting on the season, but he’s draining an impressive 38.1% of his three-point attempts. Bridges has taken double-digit shots in all eight of the aforementioned contests as well, giving him a stable role that he should continue thriving in on a four-game week.

Sit: Paul Millsap, Denver Nuggets (three games)

Millsap heads into Sunday’s action dealing with a quadriceps issue, but even if he does suit up for Denver’s three games next week, his production has been difficult to trust of late. The veteran big man has seen his minutes limited to the low 20s on a couple of occasions over the last five games even when factoring out his one injury-shortened game during that span, and he’s averaging just 8.0 points (on 41.0% shooting), 5.4 rebounds and 1.0 assist over the last five contests. Some tough positional matchups await even if Millsap plays, as the Nuggets will tangle with the Magic, Timberwolves, and Lakers.

Sit: Nemanja Bjelica, Sacramento Kings (three games)

Bjelica did a fine job during Marvin Bagley’s extended absence due to a thumb injury, but the latter returned two games ago and should be in line to reclaim his starting power forward job, potentially as soon as Sunday against the Warriors. Bjelica also doesn’t have a full four-game slate on tap, and therefore, he could really see a reduction in his production if he also starts to see a drop in minutes to start the new week. If you have bigs from one of the many teams with a four-game schedule this coming week, you’re likely better served inserting one of them in Bjelica’s place.

CENTERS

Start: Bismack Biyombo, Charlotte Hornets (four games)

Biyombo appears to have taken over the starting center job in Charlotte over Cody Zeller for the time being, even though both players are still seeing plenty of minutes. Biyombo is typically renowned for his rebounding prowess, but he’s been a solid offensive contributor as well, posting nine double-digit scoring efforts in his last 15 games, with only five of those coming during starting opportunities. He’s averaging a career-high 7.8 points, and on a four-game week that also includes matchups against the rebounding-challenged Kings and Celtics, he’s an option worth considering over bigs of comparable offensive usage but with fewer games.

Start: Marc Gasol, Toronto Raptors (four games)

Gasol had been a Sit candidate for much of the season, but he’s shown a considerable improvement in play of late. The veteran big man has three double-digit scoring efforts in the last seven contests, with a pair of double-digit rebounding tallies thrown in. Gasol also has at least one block in seven straight contests, including four games with multiple rejections within that sample. Gasol is worthy of consideration if you’re stuck with other center candidates on three-game weeks who offer similar production, and he draws a pair of particularly solid positional matchups this coming week against the Cavs and Wizards.

Sit: Willie Cauley-Stein, Golden State Warriors (two games)

Cauley-Stein is on the team with the only two-game slate this week and he hasn’t exactly been generating stellar production. The seven-footer is averaging a modest 22.4 minutes per game and heads into a Sunday night matchup versus his old Kings squad having scored in single digits in four of his last six games, including one scoreless effort. Cauley-Stein’s 6.4 rebounds per game are serviceable, but you’ll certainly be in line for better production with a three- or four-game center this coming week.

Sit: Myles Turner, Indiana Pacers (three games)

Turner does have a solid three games over the next seven days, but he’s still a Sit candidate. The big man has been struggling heading into a Sunday contest against the Hornets, as he’s scored in single digits in three of the last five contests while pulling down no more than six rebounds in 12 consecutive contests. Turner does have the ability to spike your blocks production in category leagues, but he’s been a bit light even on that front recently. Finally, the positional matchups for Turner are thorny this week. He’ll see the Lakers, Kings and Bucks, who have the size and rebounding prowess down low to make production particularly difficult for Turner.

Listen to the Yahoo Fantasy Basketball Podcast