Welcome to the 2020-21 Fantasy Basketball Week 15 Weekly Planner!
The NBA is starting to come to an end. Teams have loaded up trying to make a run at a potential NBA Championship. Other teams have decided they are playing for the future acquiring young talent and/or picks.
The playoffs are right around the corner and the fantasy season is wrapping up in just three short weeks. Now that the trade deadline is gone and you are likely left with the roster you have, it's the most important time of year.
You need everything from here on out to go your way and reading and listening are uber important. In this article, I'll be breaking down everything you need to help you out for this final playoff push.
Now let's dive into this 2020-21 Fantasy Basketball Week 15 Weekly Planner and breakdown some streamers, starts, sits, and many more things!
2020-21 Fantasy Basketball Week 15 Weekly Planner
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Schedule Run Down: April 5th - April 11th
Road Back-to-Backs
- Pistons (Mon @ OKC, Tue @ DEN)
- Pelicans (Tue @ ATL, Wed @ BKN)
- Grizzlies (Tue @ MIA, Wed @ ATL)
- Wizards (Fri @ GS, Sat @ PHX)
- 76ers (Fri @ NO, Sat @ OKC)
- Pacers (Fri @ LAC, Sat @ GS)
- Raptors (Sat @ CLE, Sun @ NY)
- Pistons (Sat @ POR, Sun @ LAC)
Home/Away Back-to-Backs
- Jazz (Wed @ UTA, Thu vs POR)
- Nuggets (Wed @ HOU, Thu vs MIL)
- Suns (Wed vs UTA, Thu @ LAC)
- Bucks (Thu @ DAL, Fri vs CHA)
Five Game Slates
Raptors, Pistons
Four Game Slates
Wizards, Jazz, Spurs, Blazers, Suns, Thunder, Knicks, Pelicans, Timberwolves, Bucks, Grizzlies, Clippers, Pacers, Rockets, Nuggets, Mavericks, Bulls, Cavaliers, Celtics, Hawks
Three Game Slates
Kings, 76ers, Magic, Heat, Lakers, Warriors, Hornets, Nets
Pickup of the Week
Chuma Okeke, PF/C, Orlando Magic
After an interesting trade deadline where the Magic sent away three of its top players away, Okeke along with other young players were left standing. Nikola Vucevic, Aaron Gordon, and Evan Fournier were all dealt opening up three starting spots.
That left young rising star Chuma Okeke to step in and take control. In his first night as a starter without the trio, he scored 22 points and collected six boards, four assists, and two steals during 37 minutes of work. An impressive performance for one of the young guns first starts.
20 points
6 boards
4 assists
2 steals
4/4 threesChuma Okeke pic.twitter.com/ygbfJn7oju
— Rayshard❼ (Tank 4 Jabari/Banchero/Chet ? ) (@Rayshard07) March 27, 2021
But that's just the beginning as the rookie continues to pile up more and more stats since the trade. Here is what he is averaging over the past five starts since the trade.
- 32.3 Minutes
- 15.5 Points
- 6.5 Rebounds
- 3.3 Assists
- 1.5 Steals
- 0.8 Blocks
Look at those numbers, utterly fantastic as he remains the top-scoring and defensive option on the team. During that time span, the rookie guard has hung over 29 points in five consecutive games and has even peaked upwards of 50 fantasy points.
Even with the additions, the Magic added during the trade, Okeke has still fended them off and held suit as the clear-cut best option for the Magic and their future. Okeke remains as a clear-cut top waiver option as he is racking up stats on both ends of the floor and is a dominant defensive presence for ROTO leagues.
Team to Target
Toronto Raptors
Playing five games out the gate is territory for success in fantasy leagues. Streamable guys on the Raptors are in play, especially over teams that only play three games. Toronto is one of only two teams that play five games and the streamable players get an edge as eight teams play only three games this week.
The five games the Raptors play this week are perfect for the railing squad that traded a few pieces at the deadline. They get to play three straight home games and then travel to a few average teams to end the week. Take a look at the breakdown.
- Monday vs Wizards
- Tuesday vs Lakers
- Thursday vs Bulls
- Saturday @ Cavaliers
- Sunday @ Knicks
What a juicy schedule that is, three of these teams rank in the bottom 12 in the league in defense with the Lakers and Knicks being the outliers. However, the Lakers are a bit misleading as they only rank high due to Anthony Davis and LeBron James who both will miss the matchup.
The Lakers are 0-4 without LeBron and AD.
Denver got reinforcements, Portland is getting healthy ?
Don't be surprised if all of a sudden LA doesn't have homecourt advantage pic.twitter.com/IibWd04XFX
— The South Boys Podcast (@SouthBoysPod) March 26, 2021
The Raptors themselves also rank in the bottom 12 in defense meaning it's going to be a track meet with little defense in some or all of these matchups. Looking at the first game you can see the Wizards are a bottom-five defensive team and are the NBA's fastest-paced team. That equals loads of fantasy points.
The Lakers are no threat without AD or LeBron, the Bulls are pitiful on defense with LaVine and a bunch of young guns, and the Cavaliers are a joke with Jarrett Allen, Larry Nance, and other pieces out.
With the Raptors battling some injuries and the rotation having several streamable pieces against low-end competition, things are looking upward for the Raptors this week.
Team to Avoid
Philadelphia 76ers
One of only eight teams to slot into playing just three games this week is the 76ers. That means a little more than 70% of the league is slotted into playing more than one game over the 76ers. Some are even slotted to play two over the Lakers. Just with that said it completely takes away value from any 76ers stream.
But to make matters worse, the rotation is about to become more crowded. MVP front runner Joel Embiid is slotted to take the court this week which should completely eliminate Dwight Howard as an option.
“You could see he was quickly making ground on those guys. He was a little raw, but he was so competitive."
Sixers’ Joel Embiid resumes his MVP-type season on Saturday. But he wasn’t always seen as an NBA sure thinghttps://t.co/GkcoVcZGr7
— Chris Franklin (@cfranklinnews) April 2, 2021
Embiid's impact also stretches farther and takes away a lot of Ben Simmons usage. The splits with him on and off the court are stupendous. Take a look at the tweet that sums up the impact of Simmons when Embiid sits.
BEN SIMMONS PUTTING THE TEAM ON HIS BACK WITHOUT EMBIID ????
LAST 5 GAMES:
12 PPG 7.4 RPG 5.2 AST 46 TS%
REALLY FEELING HIMSELF!!! pic.twitter.com/y6UKJEHHkO
— ⑦⑦⑦ (@JaylenPls) April 3, 2021
The rotation is also going to get a bit thicker as at the deadline, the 76ers traded for George Hill to bolster the point guard position. His return, if he does this week, could have impacts on Seth Curry and Danny Green. Both players are already streamer options that'll likely be off the board this week.
Last and finally not least, the 76ers are also slotted to play three consecutive road games. They travel to Boston, then to New Orleans, and finally to Oklahoma City. The matchups aren't bad outside of the Celtics, but the travel is a killer.
The 76ers are my fade of the week. Tough travel schedule, only three games, and a stuffed rotation. Things are down for them this week.
Hot and Trending
Nickeil Alexander-Walker, PG/SG, New Orleans Pelicans
There may not be a name hotter in the fantasy community right now than Alexander-Walker. The second-year guard has been forced center stage with Lonzo Ball out for an extended period. There has been no report on when Ball is coming back either. The Pelicans also have been without Brandon Ingram and Zion Williamson as well. Both dealing with injuries.
With the trio out, and now Josh Hart out for what equates to multiple weeks as well, the Pelicans rotation is looking uber thin. This should open up things for Alexander-Walker for longer-term, but in the meantime, he's been tearing it up.
Nickeil Alexander-Walker tonight:
31 points
8 rebounds
3 assists
13/24 FG
4/7 3PT pic.twitter.com/CIx1Q4vtOu— NBA Central (@TheNBACentral) April 2, 2021
Since Ball's injury, Alexander-Walker has been averaging off-the-charts numbers. Let's take a look starting from March 4th.
- 15.2 PPG
- 4.8 RPG
- 2.4 APG
- 0.8 SPG
- 0.9 BPG
The young gun has been balling and the stats don't even tell the whole story. Since March 4th, he has had nine games of 28 or more points, five games of 30 or more, and two games of 40 or more.
Even when Ball and company get back, the second-year guard should still have a spot in the rotation and play likely 28+ minutes per night.
Robert Williams, C, Boston Celtics
Another riser, Williams comes into this list after being one of the trade deadline's biggest winners. The Celtics shipped out starting center Daniel Theis at the deadline. This opened up starting role and extended minutes for the third-year man.
And with this extended run, he has put in WORK. On Friday, Williams dropped a career-high in points, assists, and field goal percentage. He also joined some exclusive company along the way, take a look.
Robert Williams tonight:
20 PTS
9 REB
8 AST
9-9 FGHe joins Nikola Jokic and Wilt Chamberlain (3x) as the only centers with a 20/8/8 game on 100% shooting in NBA history. pic.twitter.com/WaH4zCDHVP
— StatMuse (@statmuse) April 3, 2021
Imagine joining a list of the NBA's current best big man and also one of the NBA's best players ever? That's mighty impressive, to say the least.
The young gun has also been a force in fantasy basketball as since the trade he is averaging a whopping 43.67 points per game. He's averaging over a double-double per game and has been a defensive anchor averaging over 2 blocks per game.
Williams is hot and trending right now and he tops the list as the 2020-21 Fantasy Basketball Week 15 Weekly Planner's top riser!
Injuries to Monitor
And finally, the worst part of the 2020-21 Fantasy Basketball Week 15 Weekly Planner, some injuries we need to monitor:
- D'Angelo Russell (leg) out multiple weeks
- TJ Warren (foot) out for the season
- Kevin Durant (calf) out multiple weeks
- Eric Gordon (groin) out 4-6 weeks
- LeBron James (ankle) out 4-6 weeks
- Anthony Davis (foot) out for a while
- Steph Curry (tailbone) day-to-day
- Lonzo Ball (hip) day-to-day
- Serge Ibaka (back) day-to-day
- Marvin Bagley (hand) out multiple weeks
- Goran Dragic (knee) day-to-day
- Darius Bazley (shoulder) week-to-week
- Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (foot) out a while
- Josh Hart (UCL) out multiple weeks
- Zion Williamson (Thumb) day-to-day
Visit the F6P Fantasy Basketball Page for more advice during the 2020-21 season.
