Week 3 Basketball Planner

Sergio Gonzalez takes his weekly look at the matchups and helps Fantasy hoops owners set their lineups for Week 3 of the regular season.

The Fantasy Basketball Weekly Planner is the essential guide to setting your lineup for the upcoming week. Each Friday, we provide you with top matchups, the latest news and give you the scoop on injured players.

Projections are for Nov. 12-18 games.

Teams with four games (15): Boston Celtics, Detroit Pistons, Houston Rockets, Indiana Pacers, Los Angeles Lakers, Memphis Grizzlies, Miami Heat, New Jersey Nets, New Orleans Hornets, New York Knicks, Orlando Magic, Portland Trail Blazers, Sacramento Kings, Seattle SuperSonics, Utah Jazz

Teams with three games (14): Atlanta Hawks, Charlotte Bobcats, Chicago Bulls, Cleveland Cavaliers, Dallas Mavericks, Denver Nuggets, Golden State Warriors, Los Angeles Clippers, Minnesota Timberwolves, Philadelphia 76ers, Phoenix Suns, San Antonio Spurs, Toronto Raptors, Washington Wizards

Teams with two games (1): Milwaukee Bucks

Teams with back-to-back games (21): Atlanta Hawks (Nov. 16/17), Boston Celtics (Nov. 13/14), Charlotte Bobcats (Nov. 13/14), Chicago Bulls (Nov. 17/18), Detroit Pistons (Nov. 13/14), Houston Rockets (Nov. 13/14 and 16/17), Indiana Pacers (Nov. 13/14 and 16/17), Los Angeles Lakers (Nov. 13/14), Memphis Grizzlies (Nov. 13/14 and 16/17), Miami Heat (Nov. 13/14 and 16/17), Minnesota Timberwolves (Nov. 16/17), New Jersey Nets (Nov. 16/17), New Orleans Hornets (Nov. 16/17), New York Knicks (Nov. 13/14 and 16/17), Orlando Magic (Nov. 13/14), Philadelphia 76ers (Nov. 13/14), Portland Trail Blazers (13/14 and 16/17), San Antonio Spurs (Nov. 15/16), Seattle SuperSonics (Nov. 13/14, 16/17), Utah Jazz (Nov. 16/17), Washington Wizards (Nov. 16/17)

Teams without back-to-back games (9): Cleveland Cavaliers, Dallas Mavericks, Denver Nuggets, Golden State Warriors, Los Angeles Clippers, Milwaukee Bucks, Phoenix Suns, Sacramento Kings, Toronto Raptors

On tap: The week ahead features nine nationally televised games: Cleveland Cavaliers at Denver Nuggets on Monday; Los Angeles Lakers at San Antonio Spurs on Tuesday; Los Angeles Lakers at Houston Rockets on Wednesday; San Antonio Spurs at Dallas Mavericks and Chicago Bulls at Phoenix Suns on Thursday; Houston at San Antonio and Detroit at Los Angeles Lakers on Friday; Chicago Bulls at Los Angeles Clippers on Saturday; Boston at Orlando on Sunday

FULLCOURT PRESS

Heat SG Dwyane Wade (shoulder, knee) is still considered day to day, but he didn't sound like he was close to returning when he talked to reporters on Wednesday. He says he is still "a ways away" from where he wants to be. If he doesn't return over the weekend, it will take a more concrete return date to make him a safe start in Week 3. ... Suns C Amare Stoudemire (knee) is ready to return to action and he should play over the weekend. If and when he does, he should let you know how ready he is to be activated for Week 3. We feel he'll be a safe start, making Boris Diaw slightly less appealing. If you bench Diaw, however, don't cut him. He's one lengthy Stoudemire injury away from a return to Fantasy stardom. ... The Andrea Bargnani Fantasy center eligibility countdown may be taking a hit. Raptors head coach Sam Mitchell told the Toronto Globe and Mail that he is going to start Rasho Nesterovic at center for the time being to shake up a starting lineup that failed to score a basket until six minutes into the first quarter on Wednesday. Bargnani has started all five games he's played at center and is just five starts away from gaining eligibility there. We don't expect this experiment to last long, though. Just long enough to annoy Fantasy owners. ... There was a report in the Akron <i>Beacon Journal</i> that said that free agent PF/C Chris Webber would consider the Cavaliers. With Anderson Varejao still in a contract dispute and Donyell Marshall (wrist) sidelined, it seems to be a good fit. However, there was also a report in the Cleveland Plain Dealer on Thursday that said the Cavs and Varejao are close to a deal. Now is a good time to snag Webber off the waiver wire in leagues with ample reserve slots. Varejao is more of a flier for deeper Rotisserie formats. He really only provides some cheap rebounds. ... Nuggets PF Nene (thumb) will be out for six weeks, leaving Kenyon Martin with a window to regain some Fantasy stardom. He's been limited to this point as he continues to recover from microfracture knee surgery and isn't playing in back-to-back games. This means that Eduardo Najera could be in line for a boost. He's worth a flier in larger formats. ... Wizards PG Gilbert Arenas continues to be hampered by a bad knee. He was able to play Thursday night at New Jersey a day after having the knee drained of fluids, but he finished with 21 points on 7-for-17 shooting, including just 2-for-7 from beyond the arc. That's a decent line, but not what you should expect from Arenas. He remains too productive to sit, but he isn't living up to his first-round Fantasy pick expectations yet. ... Lakers PF Lamar Odom (shoulder) is back and this weekend will tell you if he's ready to be activated in Fantasy leagues. He'll eventually cut into the shot attempts of everyone not named Kobe Bryant.

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	11/12	11/13	11/14	11/15	11/16	11/17	11/18
Cleveland Cavaliers (CLE)	@DEN	--	ORL	--	UTA	--	--
The Nuggets and Jazz are giving up a combined 105.7 ppg going into the weekend. Expect a couple of games in the 110-point range for Cleveland, and LeBron James won't be the only one doing all the scoring. It's a great week to start Drew Gooden, Daniel Gibson and Zydrunas Ilgauskas in all leagues. Larry Hughes (knee) is a bit risky. Sasha Pavlovic is worth flier in deeper formats.
Detroit Pistons (DET)	--	@POR	@GS	--	@LAL	--	--
The Warriors were the second worst team in the NBA last season defensively and they've started this season the same way. They have allowed 107.8 ppg going into the weekend. The Lakers have been even worse, allowing an embarrassing 108.8 ppg. It's a good week to start any of the team's big four, but also players like Antonio McDyess, Jason Maxiell and Jarvis Hayes in deep formats.
Houston Rockets (HOU)	--	@MEM	LAL	--	@SA	PHO	--
They have perhaps the best matchups in Week 3 if you take the Spurs out of the picture. The Grizzlies, Lakers and Suns have combined to allow 104.1 ppg. In cumulative scoring leagues, this should be a dream week for Tracy McGrady and Yao Ming. It should also be a good week to start Shane Battier and even Mike James, who has been off to a nice start averaging 13.2 ppg.
New York Knicks (NY)	--	@PHO	@LAC	--	@SAC	@DEN	--
A trip to the West Coast may not be a great things for the Knicks in the standings, but it could pay off in the box scores. The Suns are notoriously bad defensively and the Kings and Nuggets are even worse, eaech allowing 105 points per contest this season. It's a good week to start Jamal Crawford, who is off to a nice start at 24.7 ppg. David Lee and Stephon Marbury are as good a start as ever this week. Even Nate Robinson is worth a look as a stopgap.
Toronto Raptors (TOR)	--	--	UTA	--	IND	--	GS
They play the Jazz, who have allowed a surprising 106.4 ppg this season, and the Warriors, whom nobody is surprised to see allow 119.6 ppg (that’s a lot of points) this season. In between, the Pacers have allowed 102.5 ppg. There should be plenty of points to go around for Toronto this week.

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	11/12	11/13	11/14	11/15	11/16	11/17	11/18
Los Angeles Lakers (LAL)	--	@SA	@HOU	--	DET	--	CHI
Talk about a rough week. They start off with back-to-back games in Texas against the teams that finished first and third in total defense a season ago. Then, they head home to face the Pistons and Bulls, who both allowed under 94 points a season ago and have combined to allow 92.6 ppg this season. Add to that the fact that Kobe Bryant and Lamar Odom will be getting most of the shot attempts, and it spells doom for the Fantasy appeal of all the other Lakers this week.
Memphis Grizzlies (MEM)	--	HOU	@MIL	--	NO	@DAL	--
They'll play the Rockets and Mavericks, who were top-10 defensive teams a season ago and are off to good starts on that end this season. They'll also play a couple of teams who struggled defensively a season ago, but have gotten off to good starts this year. The Bucks are fifth in the NBA in points against, allowing just 90.3 ppg heading into the weekend. The Hornets are 10th, averaging 93.6 ppg to date. We wouldn't tell you to sit Pau Gasol, but this could be a slow week for Rudy Gay and Mike Miller. From Darko Milicic and Damon Stoudamire on down, we'd avoid them this week.
Milwaukee Bucks (MIL)	--	--	MEM	--	--	ATL	--
They have a bad week ahead of them, but it's based on your perspective. In cumulative scoring leagues, they'll be the only team in the NBA with just two games this week. In leagues that use scoring averages, they may be of some use considering they get to play the Grizzlies -- a team that has allowed 107.7 ppg this season. The Hawks have only allowed 92.3 ppg, though.
New Jersey Nets (NJ)	NO	--	@BOS	--	ORL	MIA	--
They will face those upstart Hornets and the improved Celtics. Then they'll face two more tough teams at home vs. Orlando and Miami. The Heat have struggled in the standings, but have allowed just 89.0 ppg in the process. Richard Jefferson, Vince Carter and Jason Kidd remain must-starts in most formats, but they could be in for slow weeks by their standards. Nenad Krstic, limited early this season as he is coming back from knee surgery, is a tough sell this week.
Seattle SuperSonics (SEA)	--	@ORL	@MIA	--	@ATL	@CHA	--
All three teams they face this week allow under 96.0 ppg and Miami and Atlanta have combined to allow just 90.7 ppg this season. This is not the week to take a chance on Nick Collison, Earl Watson or rookie Jeff Green unless you absolutely have to. Damien Wilkins should be viewed as a No. 4 guard option.

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