With the NFL regular season concluding this weekend, the NBA’s weekly schedule should be a bit more evenly distributed. For Week 12, a day with five games is considered “light,” which will be the case on Tuesday, Thursday, and Sunday. Wednesday and Friday will be the busy days, with ten games on each schedule. Also, Week 12 features an international game, with the Nets and Cavaliers meeting in Paris, and that’s the only game those teams will play. Let’s look at the Week 12 schedule breakdown and some of its noteworthy fantasy basketball storylines.
Week 12 Games Played
4 Games: BOS, CHA, CHI, HOU, IND, LAC, MIA, MIL, MIN, OKC, POR, SAC, UTA
3 Games: ATL, DAL, DEN, DET, GSW, LAL, MEM, NOR, NYK, ORL, PHO, SAS, TOR, WAS
2 Games: PHI
1 Game: BKN, CLE
Week 12 Storylines
— Nets and Cavaliers cross the ocean on a one-game week
The NBA hits Paris during Week 12, with Brooklyn and Cleveland facing off on Thursday. And that’s the only game those teams will play, effectively taking those players off the board for fantasy managers. Combining the travel with the fact that these teams only play once, a star like Donovan Mitchell is essentially off the board in leagues that require weekly lineups to be set before the start of games on Monday. At least in the case of Mitchell, a fantasy manager can take the approach of one outstanding performance from him is on par with a two-game run for another player. That can’t be said for Mikal Bridges, whose fantasy value has taken a significant hit this season.
— Will Victor Wembanyama play in all three games?
The Spurs still have their prized rookie on a minutes limit (24, with the ability to exceed it by a few due to the nature of the game, as was the case on Thursday), and he isn’t playing both ends of back-to-backs. San Antonio plays three games during Week 12, with two of the matchups coming against the Pistons (Wednesday) and Hornets (Friday). With San Antonio finishing Week 12 with a home game against the Bulls on Saturday, the best-case scenario for Wembanyama managers (if he doesn’t play both ends of the back-to-back) is for him to play against the Pistons and Hornets. When the…
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